27 May 2014

Birthdays
Bella Heathcote b. 1987 (Dark Shadows [2012], In Time)
Ben Feldman b. 1980 (Cloverfield, Them [2007])
Paul Bettany b. 1971 (The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Transcendence, Iron Man, Legion)
Joseph Fiennes b. 1970 (Hercules [2014], Amercan Horror Story, Camelot [2011], FlashForward)
Eddie McClintock b. 1967 (Warehouse 13, Boogeyman)
Linnea Quigley b. 1958 (A whole mess of low-budget stuff. Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama and Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers are typical examples. Not gonna type it all up.)
Richard Schiff b. 1955 (Man of Steel, Roswell, Doctor Dolittle, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Volcano, The Arrival, Special Report: Journey to Mars, Tank Girl)
Ken Lerner b. 1948 (The Big Bang Theory, They Crawl, Godzilla [1998], Buffy, The Exorcist III, RoboCop2, Project X, Twilight Zone, The Greatest American Hero)
Bruce Weitz b. 1943 (My Apocalypse, Dinocroc, Deep Impact, The X-Files, Lois & Clark, Highlander, The Twilight Zone [1989])
Louis Gossett Jr. b. 1936 (Stargate SG-1, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Legend of the Mummy, The Punisher, Enemy Mine, The Powers of Matthew Star, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Invaders)
Lee Meriwether b. 1935 (Wizards of Waverly Place, The Munsters Today, Time Express, The Immortal, Land of the Giants, Star Trek, The Time Tunnel, Batman, Batman: The Movie, 4D Man)
Harlan Ellison b. 1934 (writer, Babylon 5, Twilight Zone [1980s], The Starlost, A Boy and His Dog, Star Trek, The Outer Limits, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
Sir Christopher Lee b. 1922 (The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Dark Shadows [2012], Hugo, The Season of the Witch, Alice in Wonderland, Star Wars, The Golden Compass, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sleepy Hollow [movie], Tale of the Mummy, The Odyssey [TV], The Tomorrow People, Curse III: Blood Sacrifice, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Howling II:… Your Sister is a Werewolf, The Return of Captain Invincible, Captain America II: Death Too Soon, Return from Witch Mountain, Starship Invasions, The End of the World, Dracula and Son, To the Devil a Daughter, Space: 1999, The Wicker Man, The Satanic Rites of Dracula, Poor Devil, The Creeping Flesh, Dark Places, Horror Express, Dracula A.D. 1972, I Monster, The House that Dripped Blood, Scars of Dracula, Taste the Blood of Dracula, Count Dracula, Scream and Scream Again, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, Blood Fiend, Island of the Burning Damned, Psycho-Circus, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, The Skull, She, Dr. Terrors House of Horrors, The Gorgon, Castle of the Living Dead, Crypt of the Vampire, Hercules in the Haunted World, Scream of Fear, The Hands of Orlac, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, The Mummy, Horror of Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein)
Vincent Price b. 1911 died 25 October 1993 (Edward Scissorhands, The Offspring, Bloodbath at the House of Death, Thriller [narrator], House of the Long Shadows, Hansel and Gretel [TV], The Monster Club, Time Express, The Bionic Woman, Journey Into Fear, Theatre of Blood, The Aries Computer, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, The Cry of the Banshee, An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe, Scream and Scream Again, The Oblong Box, More Dead Than Alive, Witchfinder General, Batman, House of 1,000 Dolls, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Masque of the Red Death, The Last Man on Earth, The Comedy of Terrors, Twice Told Tales, The Haunted Palace, Diary of a Madman, The Raven Pit and the Pendulum, Master of the World, House of Usher, The Bat, The Tingler, Return of the Fly, The Fly, House of Wax, The Invisible Man Returns)


In my morning research routine, I always check the Internet Speculative Fiction Database for birthdays. They include a lot of writers not usually considered genre and often I don't include them on my list, especially if they are there for what we would consider ghost stories or magical realism or straight science writing. The folks who celebrate birthdays today that didn't make my permanent birthday list include Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961), Rachel Carson (1907-1964), John Cheever (1912-1982), Herman Wouk (born 1915 and still alive!) and Tony Hillerman (1925-2008). That's a hell of a lot of names that didn't have to be explained to me.

Regular readers who read yesterday's post knew that after Peter Cushing was in the Picture Slot yesterday, Sir Christopher Lee would definitely be there today. I figured that would be my decision for every May 26th and 27th for as long as I write the blog, but then... Vincent Price.

I frickin' love Vincent Price. Lee and Price aren't exactly pretty, but they are very tall and masculine and I think they both look great and still looked great as older men. I also love them as actors. I have to admit the amount of typing I willingly did looking through their credits made me lazy when I got to scream queen Linnea Quigley. I hope no relatives of Ms. Quigley stop by to see the short shrift I gave her. Maybe next year I'll get around to typing in all her credits, but it's a lot of direct to video stuff.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the late Vincent Price, thanks for all the memories, from a fan.

Predictor: Geoffrey Hoyle in his 1972 children's book 2010: Living in the Future

Prediction: All foodstuffs are delivered at night from the supermarket in an electric truck. You order your food on a vision phone. When satisfied with your order, you dial your bank number and an electronic version of your thumbprint identifies you as the owner of the account.

Reality: Close but no cigar on this one. Online groceries make sense, but they didn't catch on quite as much as was hoped. One of the problems is how many people have to work and getting deliveries on schedule would be problematic. Hoyle has the "vision phone" as the technology used instead of the home computer, which he also predicts will be a major part of life in the 21st Century, as we will see in future predictions. Our banks don't need our electronic thumbprints, though that technology is used in other settings.

It's like he saw all the jigsaw puzzles pieces, but didn't construct them quite correctly

Looking one day... INTO THE FUTURE!

Again we hear from our friend in 1905 T. Baron Russell.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!