Monday, November 3, 2014

3 November 2014

Birthdays
Gemma Ward b. 1987 (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides)
Antonia Thomas b. 1986 (The Hybrid, The Misfits)
Daniele Watts b. 1985 (The Bloody Indulgent)
Gino Anthony Pesi b. 1980 (Grimm, The Vampire Diaries, Battle Los Angeles)
Adam Faraizl b. 1977 (It, RoboCop 2)
Dylan Moran b. 1971 (Shaun of the Dead)
Debbie Rochon b. 1968 (239 credits, every last one of them low budget crap)
Marjean Holden b. 1964 (BeastMaster [TV], Ghosts of Mars, Crusade, Babylon 5: A Call to Arms, Vampires, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Deep Space Nine, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Tales from the Crypt, Philadelphia Experiment II, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure)
Dolph Lundgren b. 1957 (Battle of the Damned, In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds, Universal Soldier, Retrograde, Bridge of Dragons, Johnny Mnemonic, The Punisher, Masters of the Universe)
Gary Ross b. 1956 (director, The Hunger Games, Pleasantville)
Kevin Murphy b. 1956 (Mystery Science Theater 3000)
Kathy Kinney b. 1954 (Lois & Clark, Arachnophobia, Scrooged)
Kate Capshaw b. 1953 (SpaceCamp, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Dreamscape)
Dennis Miller b. 1953 (Bordello of Blood)
Roseanne Barr b. 1952 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare)
Mike Evans b. 1949 died 14 December 2006 (Far Out Space Nuts)
Tom Savini b. 1946 (Inhuman Resources, The Dead Matter, Diary of the Dead, Planet Terror, Forest of the Damned, Land of the Dead, Unearthed, Dawn of the Dead, Sheena, From Dusk Till Dawn, Innocent Blood, Heartstopper, Creepshow 2, The Boy Who Loved Trolls, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Creepshow, Knightriders, Friday the 13th, Dawn of the Dead)
Aneta Corsaut b. 1933 died 6 November 1995 (The Blob)
Jeremy Brett b. 1933 died 12 September 1995 (Galactica 1980, The Incredible Hulk, Supernatural [1977 TV], The Champions, Beauty and the Beast [1961 TV])
Ken Berry b. 1933 (Small Wonder, The Cat from Outer Space, Hello Down There)
Lois Smith b. 1930 (True Blood, Minority Report, ‘Way Out)
Larry Gelman b. 1930 (Weird Science [TV], Amazing Stories, Dreamscape, Mork & Mindy, Batman, I Dream of Jeannie)
Claudia Barrett b. 1929 (Robot Monster)
Osamu Tezuka b. 1928 died 9 February 1989 (writer, Astro Boy, Metropolis)
Robert Quarry b. 1925 died 20 February 2009 (Droid Gunner, Mind Twister, Teenage Exorcist, Evil Spirits, Spirits, Alienator, Beverly Hills Vamp, Warlords, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Lost Saucer, Far Out Space Nuts, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, The Return of Count Yorga, Count Yorga, Vampire)
Leonard Stone b. 1923 died 2 November 2011 (The Invisible Man [2001 TV], Bigfoot and Wildboy, The Next Step Beyond, Gemini Man, The Six Million Dollar Man, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Soylent Green, Land of the Giants, Lost in Space, The Invaders, The Outer Limits)
Charles Bronson b. 1921 died 30 August 2003 (Twilight Zone, House of Wax)
Bert Freed b. 1919 died 2 August 1994 (Knight Rider, Salvage 1, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Sixth Sense [1972 TV], The Green Hornet, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Munsters, The Outer Limits, Invaders from Mars)
Ignatius Donnelly b. 1831 died 1 January 1901 (author, Caesar’s Column, Atlantis: The Antediluvian World)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Okay. Charles Bronson is the movie star and he was on the original Twilight Zone series, Dolph Lundrgen is the genre star, Leonard Stone is my favorite Oh That Guy here and if I was in a mood for a fabulous babe, Kate Capshaw in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is the most iconic. But last year I went with Astro Boy, Osamu Tezuka's famous creation and this year I chose Kevin Murphy from MST3K, because... that's how I roll.
 
2. Oy, Debbie Rochon. It is my curse that I recognized her name immediately on imdb.com. My memory may be slipping, but in this case it is not slipping fast enough. If I was presenting proof there is a terrible drug epidemic in the United States, my first argument would be that Troma Films is still in business, which means there must be enough idiot stoners still watching this crap that they can keep filming it. Debbie Rochon is in fact Canadian, the only one on the list today, but she makes her living in this cut rate junk made in the U.S.A. When I'm on imdb.com, I don't count short films or direct to video, and even with that, Debbie Rochon probably still has about 100 credits. There was no way I was going to type them all in.  

There, I said it and I'm not taking it back.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list, even Debbie Rochon and Dennis Miller, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

 
Predictor: Sinclair Lewis in It Can’t Happen Here, published 1935

Prediction: November 3, 1936: Senator Berzelius “Buzz” Windrip is elected President of the United States and quickly institutes an oppressive regime.

Reality: So many people believe they are being oppressed now, it doesn't really matter who is president, does it? There have always been the goofball libertarians who believe any tax is theft, but now they get elected regularly. Likewise the climate change deniers who are certain global warming is a socialist hoax. On the left, you have the people afraid of government spying, corporate control of the food supply, America at constant war... the list of ways people are being oppressed is almost as long as the list of people who think they are oppressed.

Oy, such a headache.

Looking one day... INTO THE FUTURE!

Enough whining about current events! It's time to mock FM-2030 again!   

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

5 comments:

  1. Hey! Guess which zombie shares a birthday with Tom Servo!

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    Replies
    1. Geez, I had no idea. Since you are undead and all, I don't know whether to wish you many happy returns and just thank you for all the memories.

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  2. The Birthday Twins are scary. Dennis Miller and Kate Capshaw? Well, all right, though one is insane and the other tried to get Harrison Ford to grope her instead of that statue.


    But Ken Berry and Jeremy Brett? Mayberry, Rural Free Delivery and Sherlock Holmes? And the poor woman with only Steve McQueen's least distinguished role?

    (Also, my wife worked on several Troma films back in the day, and would agree with you. But it is a paycheck...)

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    Replies
    1. I have to admit it, Troma Films is one of the Blessed Job Creators (hallowed be thy names), but I still think the world would be better if they weren't.

      Like you, I love an Exact Same Day pair, though I haven't seen any yet to trump Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln.

      Delete
  3. Pretty accurate with your assessment of Troma, definitely grade D production values. But the worst has to be Full Moon Productions, they have no "so bad it's good" flicks that I have seen. Another great post, Prof. Keep up the great work!

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Traveler! Have you news... FROM THE FUTURE?