15 September 2014

 Birthdays
Matt Shively b. 1990 (Teen Wolf, Paranormal Activity 4)
Chloe Dykstra b. 1988 (COPS: Skyrim, Drag Me to Hell, Wizards of Waverly Place, Spider-Man 2)
Jonathan Liebesman b. 1976 (director, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2014], Wrath of the Titans, Battle Los Angeles, Darkness Falls)
Tom Hardy b. 1977 (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Sucker Punch, A for Andromeda, Minotaur)
Marcus Shirock b. 1975 (Hercules Reborn, Bermuda Tentacles, Android Cop, Angel, Charmed)
Danny Nucci b. 1968 (Arrow, Monster Heroes, Firestarter 2: Rekindled, Quantum Leap, The Twilight Zone [1986])
Kenneth Hite b. 1965 (writer, Lost in Lovecraft)
Steven R. Monroe b. 1964 (director, End of the World, Jabberwock, Mongolian Death Worm, Ice Twisters, Wyvern, Ogre, Sasquatch Mountain, It Waits)
Philip Paley b. 1963 (Land of the Lost)
Colin McFarlane b. 1961 (Hounded, Torchwood, Hyperdrive, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight)
Oren Aviv b. 1961 (National Treasure, RocketMan)
Ed Solomon b. 1960 (writer, Venom, What Planet Are You From?, Men In Black, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure)
Wendie Jo Sperber b. 1958 died 29 November 2005 (Back to the Future)
Barry Shabaka Henley b. 1954 (Carrie [2013], Flash-Forward, Heroes, Fallen)
Sabina Franklin b. 1954 (The Worst Witch, Blakes 7)
John Reynolds b. 1941 died 16 October 1966 (Manos: The Hands of Fate)
Tommy Lee Jones b. 1946 (Captain America, Men In Black, Small Soldiers, Batman Forever)
Shelby Leverington b. 1946 (The Island, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Twilight Zone [1985], Cloak & Dagger)
Roy Brocksmith b. 1945 died 16 December 2001 (Babylon 5, Kull the Conqueror, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Lois & Clark, Good & Evil, Eerie, Indiana, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Arachnophobia, Total Recall, Martians Go Home, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Wizard, Wolfen)
Norman Spinrad b. 1940 (writer, Star Trek, Bug Jack Barron, The Iron Dream)
Henry Darrow b. 1933 (NightMan, Babylon 5, Star Trek: Voyager, Time Trax, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Knight Rider, Beyond the Universe, The Incredible Hulk, The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, Halloween with the New Addams Family, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Invisible Man [1975 TV], Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits)
Henry Silva b. 1928 (Cyborg – Il guerriero d'acciaio, Escape from the Bronx, Alligator, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Quark, The Sixth Sense [1972 TV], Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits)
Jackie Cooper b. 1922 died 3 May 2011 (Superman, The Invisible Man [1975], The Astronaut, Twilight Zone)
Joseph Pevney b. 1911 died 18 May 2008 (director, The Incredible Hulk, Star Trek, The Munsters, Bewitched, Destination Space)
Fay Wray b. 1907 died 8 August 2004 (King Kong, The Vampire Bat, Doctor X)
Tom Conway b. 1904 died 22 April 1967 (The Atomic Submarine, Voodoo Woman, The She-Creature, Bride of the Gorilla, Cat People)
James Fenimore Cooper b. 1789 died 14 September 1851 (The Monikins)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The stars. Tom Hardy and Tommy Lee Jones are movies stars as we speak, but we should also note that Jackie Cooper was the biggest child star in the world before Shirley Temple came along and he parlayed that into a long and successful career.

2. The Picture Slot. Fay Wray, the original scream queen. Certainly iconic, obviously a fabulous babe. I don't even mind being called a geezer for choosing her, and a dirty old geezer at that. We shouldn't forget Fay Wray.

3. The Oh That Guys. I have to admit a little confusion between Henry Silva and Henry Darrow. Silva has the Mediterranean last name, but Darrow was the Latin Lover in the 1960s. Darrow is classically handsome, while Silva reminds me of the Tom Waits lyric "My friends say I'm ugly, I got a masculine face." Also, Silva had the lead role in a movie titled Johnny Cool. How cool is that? (Rhetorical question. Obviously extremely cool.)

4. Die young much? John Reynolds played Torgo in Manos: The Hands of Fate and died shortly after in his twenties. (Because I'm an MST3K fan, I consider Torgo iconic.) Wendy Jo Sperber was in her forties, Roy Brocksmith (definitely an Oh That Chubby Guy) was in his fifties. Tom Conway was in his early sixties, but that wasn't that rare back in the mid-century.

5. Die old much? In contrast, both Joseph Pevney and Fay Wray were 96 when they died. That's extra innings for anyone who isn't a tortoise.

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

Predictor: OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Pulsed electromagnetic therapy will be widely used for repairing broken bones, burns and bedsores. There is research that makes it hopeful that it might cure cancer, heal damaged nerves and increasing the rate of learning.

Reality: Used more in Europe than in the United States, the main uses are for bone repair and trauma, with some hope it may be useful in treatment of depression. As for cancer, repairing nerves and speeding up learning, the Wikipedia article makes no mention of these uses.

Never to be Forgotten:
Angus Lennie 1930-2014

Scottish actor Angus Lennie, best known to audiences both in the U.S. and the U.K. as Ives the Mole in The Great Escape, died yesterday in a nursing home. He also had several roles on long-running TV shows in Britain including Monarch of the Glen, but he is remembered here for roles on Doctor Who, Project Luna, One of our Dinosaurs is Missing and the TV version of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, in which he played Mr. Tumnus.

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

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Ah, Tuesdays! That happy day each week when we take out FM-2030's frozen corpse and kick it around for a few hours. Good times.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!