R.I.P. CINDY WILLIAMS...

Along with Penny Marshall's Laverne DeFazio, you became pop-culture royalty as Shirley Feeney on the Happy Days' spinoff, Laverne & Shirley (as well as the animated Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirely/Fonz Hour), and your participation in George Lucas' American Graffiti and More American Graffiti as Laurie Henderson sealed your coveted status even further. 

Additional television and the big screen appearances abetted your envious fate, with so many appearances in so many popular and varied productions: Beware! The Blob (aka Son of Blob); UFOria; Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman; The Creature Wasn't Nice; Big Man on Campus; Petrocelli; Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen; Cannon; Canaan Land; Rude Awakening; The Conversation; Suddenly, Love; Love, American Style; Police Story; Bingo; CHiPs; The Biggest Fan; Saturday Night Live; Hawaii Five-O; The First Nudie Musical; Drive, He Said; Travels with my Aunt; Meet Wally Sparks; Gas-s-s-s; and the terrifying The Killing Kind. 

You were lively and grand, innocent and bold: a great combination for a great lady. It's no wonder that you left such a strong impression on us, and it's no wonder you'll continue to do so. You are, beyond any doubt, the unshakable stuff of mirthful longevity. 

R.I.P. LISA LORING...

You set the respectable standard, bringing to life Charles Addams' wee one, Wednesday, on the weekly sitcom, The Addams Family and later, in the television special, Halloween with the (New) Addams Family.

In addition to playing that splendid character (not to mention, making her a household name), you visited such productions as Iced, Savage Harbor, Blood Frenzy, As the World Turns and The Pruitts of Southampton, as well as Dr. Kildare, your first film appearance. 

Your life was sometimes tough and at other times exploited, but you kept the faith and trudged on, showing us all how to fight the good fight.

May you now find peace beyond your earthly adventure, knowing that you've left an everlasting presence for all to appreciate and admire. 

HAPPY NATIONAL GORILLA SUIT DAY 2023

 

AIRSHIP 27 PODCAST (JAN '23): READY FOR LIFTOFF

A new Airship 27 Podcast (Jan '23) ascends and waiting at the nearest cloud, The Purple Scar, Vol 4.

Ron Fortier and Rob Davis give the big-time scoop on this special submission (the first Airship 27 release of the year, no less), which contains tales by Felix Cruz, Fred Adams Jr, Gene Moyers and yours truly. To enhance the contents, this volume features cover artwork by the amazing Adam Shaw, a back-cover design by the adroit Rob Davis and interiors by the stylistic Chuck Bordell. (I'm gosh-darn proud to be part of this collection, which returns one of the greatest, dark crusaders to the eerie limelight.) 

In addition to Purple Scar #4, the guys give an avid rundown of 2022's titles (twenty-two in all!) and spin updates on such on-the-cusp releases as Jonathan Casey's After Sunset western, Phillip Pan's Mark Justice's The Dead Sheriff, Vol 5 and I.A. Watson's modernized Bulldog Drummond, Vol 3. 

Ron and Rob also pay homage to writer Lou Mougin, of Joe Computer, Private Detective fame, who passed away Dec 31. The imaginative Mr. Mougin will be dearly missed by many. 

Tune in at 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaeEVw0uxvk

 

SO LONG, LANCE KERWIN...

You were a television and movie staple, a personality who rose from adolescence to adulthood before our eyes, with performances distinguished by seamless perfection. 

And your line-up is as amazing as it's assorted: Escape From Witch Mountain; Outbreak; Enemy Mine; Once Upon a Midnight Scary; The Loneliest Runner; Little House on the Prairie; Shazam!, Wonder Woman; The Bionic Woman; Gunsmoke; Cannon; The Family Holvack; Amelia Earhart; Sara; The Greatest Gift; Children of Divorce; The Mysterious Stranger; James at 15/16; Faerie Tale Theater: The Snow Queen; The Meanest Man in the West; The Boy Who Drank Too Much; The Busters; ABC Afternoon Specials; Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy; The Fourth Wiseman; Cheering Section; The Death of Ritchie; The Healers; Murder, She Wrote; Trapper John, MD; Emergency!; Reflections of Murder; Advice of the Lovelorn; and A Killer in the Family.

You shined brightest, though, in Tobe Hooper's acclaimed adaptation of Stephen King's Salem's Lot. As the wholesome yet impassioned Mark Petrie, you captured not only the devotion of a monster lover, but the righteous zeal of monster fighter. 

Thanks for all that you gave, Mr. Kerwin. Your boundless depth and scope will stay a permanent part of our hearts. 

POMPOSITY & GOLEM CLAY: AN EDITORIAL

I've written about avoiding pompous people, those who bully, besmirch and trample hopes, dreams and artistic ambitions with their toxicity. 

I'm guilty of succumbing to such treatment. I fell victim to it for years, in particular when I composed a short story entitled "Golem Clay", intended for my self-published series, Wonderful, Magical, Literary Elixirs. In this pitiful instance, my detractor claimed the story was more amorous than chilling, not in any way his stinkin' cup of tea, let alone anyone else's, and therefore, it didn't deserve to be shared, tweaked or flaunted. Why, oh why did I swallow his putrid pomposity?!

Fortunately, I kept the concept swarming in my subconscious, and when Airship 27's Captain Ron Fortier asked me to compose a Purple Scar story several years back, I disinterred my golem strand. The rest is history. The Purple Scar, Vol 4 hit print in January 2023, and my contribution, "Golem Clay" (as refashioned and bracketed for Doctor Miles Murdock and his menacing alter ego) is included.  

That this tale (along with its thematic thrust) is now being purchased and absorbed, that it's adorned by Chuck Bordell's fluid illustrations, Adam Shaw's creepy cover and Rob Davis' eerie back-cover design, speaks volumes.

I hope my detractor reads this post. I hope it makes him ashamed. I hope it makes him feel the way he made me feel when he defiled my idea's evident worth. 

And to the rest of you, pay heed. Respect your instincts. Make autonomous decisions. Think your own thoughts. Your choices may not turn out for the best, but it's better to try, to act upon your gut, than to curb your visions based on what some decrepit swellhead says. 

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+purple+scar+vol+4&i=stripbooks&crid=1XW0ULFELSFBW&sprefix=the+purple+scar+vol+4%2Cstripbooks%2C73&ref=nb_sb_noss

TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: BATMAN '66/STEED & PEEL (AVENGERS)

 

I saw Gunfight at Rio Bravo...

A new western blazes across the screen: Gunfight at Rio Bravo, directed/produced by Joe Cornet, written by Craig Hamann and helmed by bodybuilder thespian/producer, Alexander (Moscow Heat) Nevsky. 

The convincing, no-nonsense Nevsky plays a Russian gunfighter named Ivan Turchin, who's in actuality a former Union, brigadier general. He assists a by-the-book sheriff, played with stealthy valor by the aforementioned Cornet, and a heedful mayor, played with mercurial edge by Lee Dawson. Misfortune befalls the trio when they receive a stayover protagonist named Colonel Ethan Crawley, portrayed with icy contempt by Matthias (I Come in Peace) Hues. Crawley awaits his grudge-prone, Confederate, Hellhound gang to break him out of the town's humble jail: a sure-fire setup for disaster. 

The superb supplemental cast fortifies the leads, with John Marrs, Oliver Gruner, Curt Lambert, John Fallon, Christopher Beeman, Bill Fortenberry, Natalie Denise Sperl, Anna Ornis and Kerry Goodwin (among a number of effective backgrounders), enhancing the calamitous splendor. On special note, my ultra-talented, Facebook friend, Maria Paris (aka Rita Guida!), stands out as a beautiful but deceptive insider. 

The tension mounts as the story progresses, as any quality thriller should, nurturing all those fine traditions that western buffs love, where bravery, strength and duty rise to the forefront. Sean Murray's grand, ominous score augments these commendable traits, as does Sam Wilkerson's vibrant, in-sync cinematography. 

Cornet's direction and Cody Miller's editing are tight and trim as the movie weaves its many elements: something that most modern, Hollywood-peddled products fail at, if only to pad their running times. Gunfight at Rio Bravo paints an identifiable picture with a nuanced ensemble that adheres to the fable's unswerving purpose, all under ninety minutes. (BTW: Hamann's focused screenplay was inspired by the real-life, Union general, Ivan Vasilyevich Turchaninov/John Basil Turchin, who marched a bold, if not controversial path during the Civil War.) 

Gunfight at Rio Bravo is available for viewing through Amazon Prime, YouTube, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, Redbox and Roku. The movie can be purchased on disc, as well, through Shout! Studios. Embrace this fine, morality tale and come away a better person for it. 

PIN-UP TIME: BETTY GRABLE