Thursday, July 23, 2015

23 July 2015

Birthdays

Daniel Radcliffe b. 1989 (Victor Frankenstein [2015], Horns, Harry Potter)
Pippa Bennett-Warner b. 1988 (Doctor Who)
Reece Ritchie b. 1986 (Hercules [2014], Atlantis: End of the World, Birth of a Legend, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, 10,000 BC)
Paul Wesley b. 1982 (The Vampire Diaries, Fallen, Smallville, Minority Report)
Tom Mison b. 1982 (Sleepy Hollow)
Kathryn Hahn b. 1974 (Tomorrowland, The Last Mimzy)
Stephanie March b. 1974 (The Invention of Lying, Early Edition)
Charisma Carpenter b. 1970 (Haunted High, Supernatural, Legend of the Seeker, Charmed, Angel, Buffy, Strange Frequency)
Marlon Wayans b. 1972 (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Dungeons & Dragons)
Bill Chott b. 1969 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Invader ZIM, Dude, Where’s My Car?, Galaxy Quest, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Shawn Levy b. 1968 (director, Night at the Museum, Real Steel, First Wave, The Journey of Allen Strange)
Philip Seymour Hoffman b. 1967 died 2 February 2014 (Hunger Games, The Invention of Lying)
Eriq La Salle b. 1962 (Under the Dome, Mega Fault, Quantum Leap, Jacob’s Ladder)
Rob Stewart b. 1961 (Dark Matter, Defiance, Beauty and the Beast [2013], Lost Girl, The Good Witch, ReGenesis, Jake 2.0, The Adventures of Sinbad, Highlander)
Woody Harrelson b. 1961 (The Hunger Games, 2012, Zombieland, A Scanner Darkly)
Diane Robin b. 1956 (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Brimstone, The Relic, RoboCop)
Edie McClurg b. 1951 (Flubber [1997], Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Homeboys in Outer Space, A.J.’s Time Travelers, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, Small Wonder, Faerie Tale Theatre, The Incredible Hulk, Carrie)
Belinda Montgomery b. 1950 (TRON: Legacy, Man from Atlantis, The Sixth Sense [1972])
Larry Manetti b. 1947 (Monster Makers, Quantum Leap, Swamp Thing, Tales from the Darkside, Battlestar Galactica)
Marianne Gordon b. 1946 (The Being, Rosemary’s Baby, Mr. Terrific)
Ronny Cox b. 1938 (Age of Dinosaurs, Stargate SG-1, Deep Blue Sea, From the Earth to the Moon, Time Trax, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Captain America [1990], Total Recall, Martians Go Home, RoboCop)
C.M. Kornbluth b. 1923 died 21 March 1958 (author, The Space Merchants [with Frederik Pohl])
Virgil Finlay b. 1914 died 18 January 1971 (artist)
Julie Mitchum b. 1914 died 21 February 2003 (House on Haunted Hill)
Coral Browne b. 1913 died 29 May 1991 (Dreamchild, Time Express, Theatre of Blood)
Michael Wilding b. 1912 died 8 July 1979 (Frankenstein: The True Story)
Arthur Treacher b. 1894 died 14 December 1975 (Mary Poppins)

Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Not surprisingly, the Picture Slot in 2013 went to Daniel Radcliffe, the most iconic actor on the list by a bunch. In 2014, I went with an illustration from Virgil Findlay, one of the great sci-fi and fantasy illustrators from the Golden Age of magazine illustration. This year, it's Tom Mison, Ichabod Crane from TV's version of Sleepy Hollow. While not as iconic as the other gentlemen, it should be noted that he is famous for work he is doing right damn now, which cannot be said for Radcliffe or Findlay.

2. Spot the Canadians! Today's three Canadians are all born before 1970. Actor Rob Stewart has that certain Canadian whiff on his resume, actress Belinda Montgomery does not. Director Shawn Levy does a lot of work south of the border and he garners hate from fans at levels to rival Joel Schumacher. I barely knew who this guy was before this morning.

3. Nepotism more or less. Julie Mitchum was the older sister of Robert Mitchum. His career hit the heights, hers didn't. Coral Browne got plenty of work on stage and screen, but most of her genre work is due to her husband Vincent Price.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.


Predictor: Dean Ing in Wild Country, published 1985

Prediction: The third volume in the Ted Quantill trilogy (the first volume is Systemic Shock, the second Single Combat). In 2006 Ring cities have been built around ruined metropolises. Essentially a crime adventure story involving heroin smuggling and the development of a matter synthesizer. Little is said about the nuclear war.

Reality: My source The Experts Speak has dried up, but it did give a good run and pointed to John Langdon-Davies and Morris L. Ernst, so no regret there. The new Thursday regular is a familar one, the nuclear holocaust database of Professor Paul Brians. Much like The Experts Speak, the "reality" section will be "Umm... no." This is not a problem as far as I'm concerned. Predictions with dates before 2020 that can be verified or falsified are the meat of this blog, and I'm glad to find them anywhere I can.


 Never to be Forgotten: Al Checco 1925-2015 A week ago I reported on British character actor Aubrey Morris passing away, and Al Checco is now the fifth familiar (or semi-familiar) face to die in that span of time. He had 95 credits on imdb.com from the 1950s to the 2000s, mostly but not all on TV. The genre credits are Knight Rider, Pete’s Dragon, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Far Out Space Nuts, The Terminal Man, The Reluctant Astronaut, Batman, Mr. Terrific, The Munsters, The Incredible Mr. Limpet and Tales of Tomorrow.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Al Checco, from a fan. He is never to be forgotten.

BLOG NEWS! Today is my 1,000th post. For a blogger, that's not an enormous number, but I have to admit to a certain pride.

Make that pride and trepidation.

As I said up in the prediction section, this blog lives on predictions that can be verified or falsified, and I am running out. I'd like to make it to the end of the year, so my new policy is just birthday, no predictions on the weekends. I do have a source that is going to help me get through November easily, but getting to November is the tough task. I don't like repeating prediction for the most part, but I might bring back one early predictor (hint for the regulars: man-crush) just to get the blog to the end of November, or better still, the end of the year. Beyond that, I make no promises. 

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

More early 20th Century cheese from H.G. Wells.
  
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

2 comments:

  1. "Director Shawn Levy...garners hate from fans at levels to rival Joel Schumacher."

    Dot (to a man sitting with Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy at dinner): Hey, aren't you Joel Schumacher?

    Schumacher responds affirmatively.

    Dot: I've seen all of your films. You should keep making them. (long beat) “Eventually one of them is bound to turn out watchable.”

    Night at the Museum isn't that bad. Though Real Steel did manage to make Hugh Jackman seem boring...

    ReplyDelete

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