I had the great pleasure of meeting Bob Burns in 2013 at Monsterpalooza in Burbank, CA. He was easy-going, gregarious, had a great sense of humor and always willing to talk about his second love, monsters (his first being his wife, Kathy, who sadly passed away in 2021 at the age of 86). That year the 80th "birthday" of King Kong was being celebrated which included a ceremony with a birthday cake commemorating the legendary giant ape. Burns brought along his King Kong armature designed by Willis O'Brien and built by Marcel Delgado. It has the unique distinction of being the only complete armature from the film known to still exist.
Following are two features about the young Bob Burns from FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND (#4, August 1961 and #6, January 1962 respectively).
BOB BURNS: BEAST WISHES Youtube:
Visit Bob's Official Website HERE.
Bob Burns is a hero to all monster fans. He's has been involved in more fascinating stuff than I can list. His memories always seemed to be filled with wonder and pleasant characterizations of the people he's been involved with over the decades.
ReplyDeleteYou're not kidding there. His prop and memorabilia conservation efforts alone are admirable.
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