THIS GALLERY'S FOR YOU, JACK

When Jack Pierce died in 1968, few in the movie industry seemed to take note of his passing.  As Frank Taylor wrote in the LOS ANGELES TIMES, only 24 mourners attended his funeral.  But a small cadre of Pierce’s fans led, of course, by Forrest J. Ackerman worked valiantly to keep alive the memory of his magnificent makeup achievements.  Today, Jack Pierce is a revered figure among horror film fans as the creative genius behind the iconic Universal Studios monsters of the 1930s and 1940s.  The Cinema Makeup School in Los Angeles honored him on May 30 with the dedication of the Jack Pierce Memorial Gallery for Makeup and Character Arts.

The Gallery is a sight to behold!  In a beautifully appointed room just off the entrance to the school office, are some amazing examples of work by teachers and alumni from the Cinema Makeup School.  Two of Joel Harlow’s mermaids from PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN occupy a platform in the center of the gallery.    Two masks created by contestants in SyFy television’s FACE OFF makeup show are there, as well as a beautiful sculpture of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, standing about three feet tall.  A sample of Lee Joyner’s makeup for the Jack Pierce character in the Pierce tribute stage play is featured.

The highlights of the gallery for me were two pieces by Brent Armstrong.  The first is a stunning head and shoulders likeness of Karloff as the Mummy, with one of his wrappings supporting him on a column with hieroglyphics printed on the sides.  The second is a fantastic bust of Jack Pierce, with images of his various creations engraved in the sides of the sculpture.  The bust’s stand slowly rotates so the viewer may see all the monstrous faces adorning the work.  It is a truly wonderful piece of art.  If you are in the Los Angeles area, a visit to the school’s gallery is well worth your time.

Brent Armstrong's The Mummy sculpt.

Jack Pierce bust by Brent Armstrong.

Positive cast of Jack Pierce that makeup appliances were pulled from for the Scott Essman-produced film tribute to Pierce.

The dedication ceremony featured an excellent overview of Mr. Pierce’s career by Scott Essman, author of the commemorative magazine JACK PIERCE: THE MAN BEHIND THE MONSTERS and the producer of the stage play about the makeup artist.  The presentation took place in an expansive classroom, with large-screen television monitors placed around the room to show photos from the various movies of Pierce’s career.  The remaining wall space is taken up by large mirrors, and the images of werewolves, mummies, and man-made monsters could be seen from all angles.

The audience consisted primarily of young makeup students who have travelled from across the country—if not the globe—to learn the art of makeup, hairstyling, and fashion design in the heart of the entertainment industry.  It was clear that not all of the twenty-somethings in the group had heard of Boris Karloff or jack Pierce, but they definitely were familiar with their characters.   The students paid close attention as Essman described the painstaking, time-consuming process of turning Karloff into the Mummy.  After stating that the mummy makeup took about eight hours to apply, Scott posed the question to the prospective filmmakers, “If your actor has a 9:00 a.m. call time, when would you have to start applying his makeup?”  Eyes widened and jaws dropped as they mentally calculated the answer!  Mr. Essman spent a fair amount of time on Frankenstein’s monster and the wolf-man, as well as the mummy, but picked up the pace for the later stages of Pierce’s career.  Upon the conclusion of the presentation, Scott was swarmed by students asking for his autograph.

Scott Essman signing autographs.

The gallery is open to the public free of charge during school hours, 8:30 to 5:30, Monday through Friday.  Nate Cohn, a member of the school’s administration, told me that the Gallery’s exhibits will be rotated on a regular basis, so people will be able to see multiple examples of masks, makeup, and art from the school’s students, teachers, and alumni.  The Cinema Makeup School is located at 3780 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles, next to the Wiltern Theater.  It is a stately older building with an elevator lobby that hearkens back to earlier times, the type of building one sees too infrequently in Los Angeles.  The school offers a comprehensive course of study in makeup (beauty as well as special effects) for TV, movies, and photography; hair styling; fashion design; maquette sculptures, and other aspects of cinema art.  Check out its WEB SITE for more photos and further information

CRISWELL PREDICTS ED WOOD TO GET HOMETOWN STATUE

This news clipping submitted by Hall of Flame Doug reports that legendary auteur filmmaker Ed Wood may get a statue erected (no pun intended) in his honor. The article is written by Anthony P. Musso for the Poughkeesie Journal.

"Now uninhabited, the boarded house at 115 Franklin St. in the City of Poughkeepsie was once home to a somewhat dubious Hollywood legend. Despite being posthumously awarded the Golden Turkey Award as the worst film director of all time and having his sci-fi film, “Plan 9 from Outer Space,” dubbed the worst movie ever made, screenwriter, director, actor and author Ed Wood has become a cult figure in more recent years.

Edward Davis Wood Jr. was born in Poughkeepsie on Oct. 10, 1924. His father, Ed senior, was a maintenance man-custodian at the post office on Market Street, then between the Nelson House Hotel and the Dutchess County Courthouse.

Young Ed did not have a happy childhood, largely because of his overbearing parents and the bizarre behavior of his mother, Lillian, who desperately hoped to have a girl. When Ed was born, his mother frequently dressed him in girl’s clothing, a practice that he embraced for the rest of his life.

Wood attempted to find solace by reading pulp magazines and attending local movies. His initial inspiration toward filmmaking occurred while watching a Bela Lugosi film at the city’s Rialto Theater. The youngster became attracted to horror and science fiction genres.

While he frequented the Rialto, Wood secured his first job as an usher at the nearby Bardavon 1869 Opera House.

“In those days there were quite a few movie houses in Poughkeepsie,” recalled Ed Fitchett, 91. “The Bardavon showed first-run motion pictures and the Rialto, which was a very large theater, offered lower-budget films.”

Wood received a Kodak movie camera for one birthday. One of his earliest films captured the German airship Hindenburg flying over the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie on its route to – and demise in – Lakehurst, N.J.

Following time in the military during World War II and a brief period performing in a carnival, Wood moved to Hollywood in 1947 to pursue his dream.

Despite enlisting the services of a then-elderly and drug-dependent Lugosi, his low-budget, campy films were never well-received.

Wood continued to write, authoring 80 crime and sex novels from 1960 to his death in 1978. A combination of rejection, alcohol and depression contributed to his massive heart attack at 54 years old.

In recent years, Wood’s films have attracted a new audience, one that celebrates his creativity as opposed to those that condemned his work decades earlier.

Perhaps most astonishing is that the director who could not produce a hit movie was portrayed by Johnny Depp in the 1994 motion picture, “Ed Wood,” which won two Academy Awards.

Poughkeepsie’s Joe Mendillo is attempting to raise funds to commission and build a life-size bronze statue of Wood in the city.

“Ed Wood dared to dream,” Mendillo said. “Here’s a guy from Poughkeepsie who started as a theater usher, went on to Hollywood and though he wasn’t the most talented guy, he made the most of his life, had an incredible time and we are still talking about him 90 years after his birth.”'

MONSTERS CARRYING GIRLS NO. 2

CARRY ON, MONSTERS
By Doug Brown

Being a one-time English major, I enjoyed John’s foray into the linguistic realm with his discussion of tropes, trends, clichés, and icons.  But I freely admit I am more interested in the trollops and trolls than the tropes in his recent “Monsters Carrying Girls” column.  Immediately upon seeing the photo of Tor Johnson and his fainted companion, my mind flashed on an old FAMOUS MONSTERS feature, “Carry On, Monsters.”  The article appeared in FM 33 and John’s post inspired me to re-read the story for the first time in decades.

FAMOUS MONSTERS 33 is an issue I have long considered among the best ever produced by the FJA/Warren Team.  The fantastic Hunchback cover by Ron Cobb and the accompanying filmbook inside are great examples of FM in its prime.  However, reading “Carry On, Monsters” after so many years is a somewhat unsettling experience.

In direct contrast to the Hunchback article in the same issue, “Carry On” is pure hokum.  It is five pages of non-stop jokes and puns that only Forry could write.  From the opening line, “To be scary, you gotta carry!” to the closing line “…we’re carried away by the subject,” there is barely a serious sentence to be found.  As kids reading this piece in 1965, my friends and I laughed and groaned at Ackerman’s humor.  Today I mostly groan. 

Eye owe you—signed, Cyclops!

Dread Skeleton: we dood it!

Bat, The Magic Vampire!

Colossus of New York suffering from Broxitis!

The whole thing is a cornucopia of corn!

The photos, of course, help rescue this feature from consignment to the dustbin. Great shots from FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN, EL CASTILLO DE LOS MONSTRUOS, and CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON are included.  Notice the wrinkles in the knees of the Stone Man costume from CURSE OF THE FACELESS MAN.  The picture of Kharis the Mummy is a classic.

Some of the photos definitely underscore the trope’s sexual tension, the underlying question of “what will happen next?”  Check out Konga’s paw placement.  His leering eyes look out at the viewer as if to say, “I’m getting to second base, baby!”  And the young blonde object of his desire looks none too pleased at the prospect! Most of the women seem to swoon and faint as they are carried off, but sometimes they try to protest.  Elaine Enwright seems to be telling the Faceless Man, “Not tonight, I have a headache.”  Not that he is listening, since his ears are encrusted with stone and ash.  Thematically (or trope-wise), FACELESS MAN follows THE MUMMY in that the monster is searching for the reincarnation of a lost love.  Finding her, the monster can carry her off to the sea, the museum, or some other locale to reunite with her soul and/or her body.  What will happen next, indeed!

Curiously, the essay ends with the note, “To be continued,” but I can find no evidence that “Carry on, Monsters, Part 2” was ever published.  Forry clearly enjoyed the trope, as shown by the later “Girls and Ghouls Gallery.”

“Carry on, Monsters” epitomized the jokes and puns that were Forrest Ackerman’s trademark.  While my initial reaction in reading it again was to cringe a bit, I warmed up to its silliness after a time.  And I guess that is why I love FM 33:  it reflects the full spectrum of Forry, from his most thoughtful and informative to his funniest and silliest.  And that just may be the magic combination as to why FM and FJA live on today.

Monsters and girls make live worth living.  Carry on, monsters!

DIABOLIQUE NO. 13

CHRISTMAS, "DIABOLIQUE" STYLE
by Doug Brown

Santa Claus has run his course for another year.  Plastic statues of St. Nick and his reindeer-drawn sleigh are stored in the garage.  The stockings are being removed from the hearth and packed away with the tree ornaments and lights and other decorations.  Christmas trees are ready to be cut up and composted.  The annual celebration of Christmas is drawing to a close.  What many people do not realize is that the holiday just passed is a continuation of a centuries-old commemoration of the Winter Solstice, a holiday that predates the birth of Jesus Christ by many years. In its cover feature, “The Pagan History of Santa Claus,” DIABOLIQUE #13 reveals some of the decidedly non-Christian origins of many Christmas traditions.

In her entertaining and informative essay, Dr. Springwolf discusses how Norse, Celt, Greek, and Roman traditions have been modified and incorporated into aspects of modern Western Yuletide rites.  The twelve days of Christmas, for example, have their roots in the Norse myth of Odin and his warriors traveling through the winter sky on a “Wild Hunt” beginning on the Solstice and lasting twelve days and nights.  The Roman Saturnalia was a festival of light leading to the “rebirth” of the sun on December 25, which influenced the modern tradition of gift-giving.  Springwolf explains the evolution of St. Nicholas from the historical Bishop of Myra in third century Turkey to the mythical “jolly old elf” of Clement Moore.  In fact, Santa Claus is a “composite of many mythological figures” and given a modern face by editorial cartoonist Thomas Nast and the advertising agency for Coca Cola.  Dr. Springwolf’s article is a fascinating tonic for readers weary of the blather about the “war on Christmas.”   Evil and deadly movie Santas are the timely topic of David Calbert’s accompanying story, “Tis the Season to Eviscerate.”  He chronicles bad Santas from the scary to the cheesy in movies from around the globe.

Some of my favorite horror shows involve devilish dolls and puppets, so I was thrilled to read Brandon Kosters’s article “Toys of Terror.”  From CHILD’S PLAY’s Chucky to the TRILOGY OF TERROR, Kosters delves into the psychological underpinnings of people’s fear of inanimate figures coming to life.  Along the way he discusses the classic TWILIGHT ZONE “Talky Tina” episode and the under-appreciated 1978 film MAGIC, both personal favorites of mine.  Accompanied by some excellent photos, this is a great article.

DIABOLIQUE does not limit its content to standard monster movie fare, as evidenced by “Horror Ink” an examination of the social phenomenon of horror tattoos.  Scott Feinblatt interviews two outstanding tattoo artists to see if clients choosing horror subjects are “significantly different” culturally than other tattoo clients.  Apparently not, is the conclusion, but people getting monster tattoos “are definitely more set on what they want.”  Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein monster and Bela Lugosi’s Dracula are the most popular characters, but there is a wide variety of subjects.  Beautiful color photos of eight different tattoos are shown.

Filmmaker Chris Marker’s influence on modern time travel movies such as 12 MONKEYS and LOOPER is discussed by David Kleiler.  Marker, who died in 2012, created LA JETEE, a 1962 short film in which the lead character witnesses his own death via time travel.  As something of a time travel geek, I was fascinated by the article, despite the fact I have never seen LA JETEE.  References to Marker’s movie embedded in 12 MONKEYS as homage are described.  Kleiler’s background in film studies really shines through this informative piece of writing.

Many (male) monster fans growing up in the 60’s and 70’s lamented the fact that so few females seemed interested or involved in horror films.  That has clearly changed—thankfully!—in recent times.  The Viscera Film Festival, and the attendant Viscera Organization, were created to showcase and assist females in the horror film business.  Michele Galgana interviews Viscera founder Shannon Lark about women’s opportunities and involvement in the horror genre, as well as the new Mistresses of Horror Alliance in an interesting look behind the scenes of fright films.

“Young adult” horror fiction sends shivers up my spine, but not in a good way.  I cringe at the impact TWILIGHT and its ilk have had on traditional horror stories.  Kristen Micek addresses some of these concerns in “The Twilight of the Ghouls: Why TWILIGHT Didn’t Defang the Vampire Genre.”  She discusses the evolution of the vampire from Bram Stoker’s DRACULA to modern film blood-drinkers.  The stories have shifted emphasis from human heroes using their wits to overcome inhuman monsters to “humanized” vampires fighting internal demons driving them to kill.  It is an interesting perspective, but I still recoil at the image of teen-aged vampires on a date in a sunny meadow.

Before J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer appeared on the scene, Christopher Pike dominated the teenage horror bookshelves.    In an interview here, the elusive author talks about the art of story-telling and his latest book, WITCH WORLD.  It piqued this skeptic’s interest enough to seek out one of his books to read—unless I hear that his vampires go on dates in the afternoon sun.

Multiple Bram Stoker Award winner Michael Arnzen contributes a one-page fiction story, “Convictions,” which is very good.  It is reprinted from his collection 100 JOLTS.

The issue is rounded out by a too-brief story on television horror hosts.  Vampira, Zacherley, Svengoolie, Elvira, Jeepers Keeper and their kin played a major role in the monster boom of the Fifties and Sixties.  Brandon Kosters writes a nice overview of this favored topic, but three pages is insufficient space for such a popular and important subject.

DIABOLIQUE is a heady, well-written excursion into the horror world.  Its far-reaching, eclectic content is adult and intelligent.  In short, it is a great read which brightened my Christmas vacation.