Hello Kiddies...ghouls & ghoulettes...ladies and mentalmen. It's
your old friend Halloween Jack coming to you from the basement of the
Haunted Theatre.
I hope that those of you who are in cold regions are digging
yourself out of the mounds of snow. Here in the Northeast, we have gotten
buried. Now being under tons of dirt is one thing...that I can handle, but
this snow business is not my cup of tea. Bago Bones is outside right now
with the snow blower clearing a path to our door.
While he is preoccupied and out of my hair, it gives me time to sit
down and collect my thoughts.
Enough
thinking...let's look back a few other moments that took place this
week in Horror History...
February 7 births
1960 -James Spader,
who starred in the films "Wolf," "Stargate" and "Jack's Back."
1962 - Eddie Izzard who appeared in the films "Mystery Men," "Shadow of the
Vampire" and "My Super Ex-Girlfriend."
1955 - Miguel Ferrer, who stared in the films "Night Flier," "Robocop" and the
TV series "Twin Peaks."
1931 - Gloria Talbott, who starred in the films "The Cyclops," "Daughter of Dr.
Jekyll" and "I Married a Monster From Outer Space."
1929 - Alejandro Jodorowsky, director of the film "Santa Sangre."
1812 - Author Charles Dickens, whose novels include "A Christmas Carol" and "The
Mystery of Edwin Drood."
deaths
2007 - Jimmy
Justice, who appeared in the film "Memorial Valley Massacre," passed away at
the age of 75.
2007 - Fred Mustard Stewart who wrote the novel, "The Mephisto Waltz" and
the story for the TV movie "The Norliss Tapes," passed away at the age of
74.
1972 - William Campbell, director of "Ingagi," passed away at the age of 87.
1972 - Ottola Nesmith, who appeared in the films "The Wolf Man," "The
Uninvited" and "The Invisible Ghost," passed away at the age of 82.
1968 - Nick Adams, who starred in the films "Monster Zero" with "Godzilla" &
"Rodan," "Die Monster Die" with Boris Karloff, and "Frankenstein Conquers
the World," passed away at the age of 36.
films released on this date
Phantom of the Opera 1925 re-release 1930
The Monster Walks 1932
The Ghost Goes West 1935
Hangover Square 1945
The Tell-Tale Heart 1962 filmed in 1960
The Anniversary 1968
F/X 1986
Puppet Master II 1991
Demon Hunter 2005
Virus Undead 2009
February 8
births
1974 -"Scott Evil" a.k.a. Seth Green, who appeared in the
films "Idle Hands," "Ticks" and the TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
1955 - Ethan Phillips, who appeared in the films "Critters," "The Shadow," "The
Island" and the TV series' "Werewolf" and "Star Trek: Voyager."
1953 - Mary Steenburgen, who starred in the films "Time After Time," "Dead of
Winter" and "Back to the Future Part III."
1949 - Brooke Adams, who co-starred in the films "Shockwaves," the 1978 remake
of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and "The Dead Zone."
1933 - Jack Larson, who played "Jimmy Olsen" on the "Adventures of Superman," TV
series.
1902 - Lyle Talbot, who appeared in the films "Glen or Glenda," "Tobor the
Great" and "Plan 9 From Outer Space."
1828 - Author Jules Verne, whose novels include "Journey to the Center of the
Earth," "Master of the World" and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."
deaths
2007 - Anna Nicole Smith passed away at the age of 39. She
starred in the sci-fi comedy "Illegal Aliens."
2004 - Comic writer/editor, and creator of the "Silver Age" of comics, Julius
Schwartz, passed away at the age of 88.
films released on this day
The Beast With Five Fingers 1947
Blackbeard's Ghost 1968
Planet of the Apes 1968
The Fog 1980
Alienator 1990
Rollerball 2002
Shrooms 2007
February 9
births
1945 - Mia Farrow, who starred in "Rosemary's Baby," "See
No Evil" and "Supergirl."
1938 - Fred Williams who portrayed "Jonathan Harker" in the 1970 film, "Count
Dracula."
1928 - Illustrator Frank Frazetta. His extensive body of unique work included
Marvel, DC, EC comics, horror magazines such as "Creepy," "Eerie," "Vampirella,"
and album and paperback covers.
1901 - Brian Donlevy, who played the role of "Professor Quatermass" in the films
"Enemy From Space" and "The Creeping Unknown," as well as appearing in the films
"Gamera" and "Curse of the Fly."
deaths
2007 - Ian Richardson, who appeared in the films "Dark
City" and "From Hell," passed away at the age of 72.
1986 - Make-up artist Ben Nye, whose film work included "Planet of the Apes,"
"The Alligator People" and "The Fly," passed away at the age of 79.
1973 - Hajime Tsuburaya, who directed episodes for many of the "Ultraman" series
and spin-offs, passed away at the age of 41. He was the son of Toho effects
whiz, Eiji Tsuburaya.
films released on this date Ten
Little Indians 1966
Murder By Decree 1979
The Haunting of Morella 1990
Cyborg Cop 1993
Hannibal 2001
The American Nightmare 2001 filmed in 2000
Hannibal Rising 2007
Friday the 13th 2009 (LA premiere)
February 10 births
1967 - Laura Dern, who starred in the films "Blue
Velvet," "Haunted Summer, " "Jurassic Park" and "Jurassic Park III."
1929 -Composer Jerry Goldsmith, who has scored such films as "Planet of the
Apes," "The Omen" and "Alien." He also worked on the TV series' "Thriller"
and "The Twilight Zone."
1929 - Hazel Court, who appeared in the films "The Masque of the Red Death,"
the 1963 version of "The Raven," and "The Curse of Frankenstein."
1906 - The one and only Creighton Tull, a.k.a. Lon Chaney Jr.
deaths
2008 - Roy Scheider, who starred in the films
"Jaws," "Curse of the Living Corpse," "Dracula II: The Ascension" and
"Dracula III: Legacy," passed away at the age of 75.
2007 - Charles S. Swartz, writer/producer of the films "The Velvet Vampire,"
"Terminal Island," and "Beyond Atlantis," passed away at the age of 67.
2006 - John Belluso, who has written for TV shows such as "Deadwood" and
"The Ghost Whisperer," passed away at the age of 36.
2006 - David Knapp who appeared in the films "Home A Horror Story" and the
TV movie "Something Evil," passed away at the age of 67.
1932 - Edgar Wallace, the man who created the story of "King Kong," and
wrote the novel "Dead Eyes of London," passed away at the age of 56.
films released on this date
The Student Of Prague 1929 filmed in 1926 as Der
Student von Prag
Attack of the Crab Monsters/Not of This Earth 1957
The Night Visitor 1971
Black Cat 1984 filmed in 1981 as Gatto Negro
The Fly II 1989
Shallow Grave 1995
Queen of the Damned 2002
Final Destination 3 2006
Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud 2007
The Lodger 2009
February 11
births
1969 - Jennifer Aniston, best known for her role
as "Rachel" on the TV series "Friends." She starred in the film
"Leprechaun."
1940 - The creator of the "Monster Mash," Bobby "Boris" Pickett. When he
performed live for the first time, his backing band was unsigned,
unknown group called The Beach Boys.
1926 - Leslie Nielsen, who starred in the films "Day of the Animals,
"Prom Night," "Creepshow" and "Forbidden Planet."
1847 - Inventor Thomas A. Edison, whose film company was the first to
commit the story of "Frankenstein" to celluloid.
deaths
2006 - Author Peter Benchley who penned the novels
"Jaws", "The Beast," "The Deep" and Creature," all of which were made
into films, passed away at the age of 65. He also wrote the screenplay
for the TV movie "The Great Houdini."
2006 - Del Courtney, who appeared in the films "The Hideous Sun Demon"
and "It Came From Beneath The Sea" passed away at the age of 95.
2004 - Hugh Cecil, who appeared in "Frankenstein And The Monster From
Hell," "The Rocky Horror Picture show" and the TV series "Blake 7,"
passed away at the age of 90.
2002 - Barry Foster, who appeared in the films "Twisted Nerve," and
played "Robert Rusk," the necktie strangler in "Frenzy," Passed away at
the age of 74.
2000 - Roger Vadim, who directed the films, "Spirits of the Dead" and "Barbarella,"
passed away at the age of 72.
1994 - William Conrad, best known for playing "Frank Cannon" on the TV
show "Cannon," passed away at the age of 73. He was the narrator for
several TV series', including "Rocky & Bullwinkle," "Buck Rogers" and
"Tales From the Unexpected."
1994 - Sorrell Booke, best known for playing "Boss Hog" on the TV series
"The Dukes of Hazard," passed away at the age of 64. He appeared in the
films "Fail Safe," "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Devil Times Five." Much to
ole Jack's surprise, he also portrayed "General Bradley Barker" on the
TV series "M*A*S*H." Surprising because of his versatility.
1986 - Frank Herbert, author of the "Dune" novels, passed away at the
age of 65.
1976 - Lee J. Cobb, who played "Lieutenant Kinderman" in the film "The
Exorcist" and also appeared in the film "Gorilla at Large," passed away
at the age of 64.
films released on this date
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed 1970 filmed in 1969
Reflection of Fear/The Creeping Flesh 1973
The Last Dinosaur 1977
My Bloody Valentine 1981
Sphinx 1981
Jumper 2009 (NY premiere)
February
12
births
1980 - Christina Ricci, who portrayed
"Wednesday Addams" in the "Addams Family" films and also starred in
"Sleepy Hollow," "After.Life" and "Cursed." She also played the role
of "Trixie" in the big screen version of "Speed Racer." Too bad they
should have left it to the small screen.
1968 - Josh Brolin, son of James. He starred in the films "The
Goonies," "Mimic," "The Hollow Man" and "Planet Terror." He is
playing the title character in the upcoming film "Jonah Hex" based
on the DC comic of the same name.
1952 - Simon MacCorkindale, who appeared in the TV series' "Quatermass,"
"Manimal" and the film "Jaws 3D."
1950 - Michael Ironside, who appeared in the films "Scanners,"
"Visiting Hours," "Starship Troopers" and "Terminator Salvation."
1945 - Gareth Thomas, who played "Roj Blake" on the TV series
"Blake's 7."
1940 - Richard Lynch, who has starred in the films "Bad Dreams,"
"Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge," "Corpses Are Forever," Rob
Zombie's "Halloween" and "Mil Mascaras vs the Aztec Mummy."
1940 - Ralph Bates, who has starred in the Hammer classics, "Dr.
Jekyll & Sister Hyde," "Taste the Blood of Dracula" and "The Horror
of Frankenstein."
1919 - Forrest Tucker, best known for playing "Sgt. O'Rourke" on the
TV series "F Troop." He starred in the films "The Crawling Eye,"
"The Abominable Snowman" and "The Cosmic Monsters."
1899 - Edward L. Cahn, who directed the films "It, the Terror From
Beyond Space," "The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake" and "Invisible
Invaders."
1898 - Wallace Ford, who has appeared in the films "Freaks," "The
Mummy's Hand" and "The Ape Man."
deaths
2000 - Screamin' Jay Hawkins, who wrote the
song "I Put a Spell on You," passed away at the age of 70. As the
opening for his stage act, he would often rise from a coffin.
2000 - Charles Shultz, creator of the "Peanuts" gang and who gave us
that wonderful holiday show "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,"
passed away at the age of 77.
1982 - Victor Jory, who appeared in the films "The Man Who Turned To
Stone" and "Catwomen of the Moon," passed away at the age of 79.
films released on this date
Dracula 1931* *Dracula was slated to be released nation wide on Valentines
Day.
But in NY it was to open on Friday the 13th. Todd Browning
sent a telegram to the theater owner begging him to open the
film
on the 12th instead because he felt that it would be bad luck.
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon 1943
The Wasp Woman 1960
The Creeping Flesh/Reflection of Fear 1973
The Stepford Wives 1975
The Beast Within 1982
Dead Alive 1993, filmed in 1992 as Braindead
The Temp 1993
My Favorite Martian 1999
Mulva: Zombie Ass Kicker 2002 filmed in 2001
Messengers 2004
February
13 births
1979 - Mena Suvari who starred in the 2007 remake of "Day Of
The Dead."
1961 - Poet/musician and lead singer of the band "Black
Flag," Henry Rollins. He appeared in the films "Lost
Highway," "Johnny Mnemonic," "Feast," "The Devil's Tomb" and
"Wrong Turn 2: Dead End."
1951 - He's a Pepper, she's a Pepper, I'm a Pepper...David
Naughton who played the title of "An American Werewolf in
London," and also appeared in the films "Body Bags," "Big
Bad Wolf," and "Amityville: A New Generation."
1948 - Kitten Natividad, who appeared in the films "Double D
Avenger," Fred Olen Ray's "The Tomb" and "Zombie Ninja
Gangbangers."
1944 - Bo Svenson, who appeared in the films "Curse II: The
Bite," "Beyond the Door III, " "Raising Jeffery Dahmer" and
played the monster in the 1973 TV version of "Frankenstein."
1942 - Carol Lynley, who appeared in the films "Bunny Lake
is Missing," "Howling VI: The Freaks," "The Shuttered Room"
and the TV movie "The Night Stalker." She was hired to play
"Diane" (the secretary that Agent Cooper always dictated to
on tape) on the TV series "Twin Peaks," but sh never
appeared on the show.
1938 - Oliver Reed, who played the title role in "Curse of
the Werewolf" and also starred in the films "Burnt
Offerings" and "The Brood."
1933 - Kim Novak, who appeared in the films "Vertigo,"
"Massacre at Blood Bath Drive-in," "Tales That Witness
Madness" and "Bell, Book and Candle."
1932 - Susan Oliver who played "Vina" on the original "Star
Trek" TV pilot, "The Cage." She also made appearances on the
TV shows "Ghost Story" and "Freddy's Nightmare."
1908 - William Dozier, who produced the "Batman" and "Green
Hornet" TV series (which he also narrated).
deaths
2006 -
Andreas Katsulas, who appeared in episodes of the TV
series' "Max Headroom," "Star Trek: The Next Generation"
and "Babylon 5," passed away at the age of 59.
1994 - Martin Balsam who played "Detective Arbogast" in
the original "Psycho," passed away at the age of 81. He
originally played the part of "Rudy Wells," in the TV
pilot of "The Six Million Dollar Man."
1980 - The man who ran from the law for four years as
"The Fugitive," David Janssen passed away at the age of
48 . He also starred in the TV movie "Moon of the Wolf,"
the films "Cult of the Cobra," "Marooned," and in one of
my favorite TV movie's "Bird of Prey." Ok, it wasn't a
horror film, but ya have to broaden the mind once in a
while, and nothing will do that like mindless TV.
films released on this date
Scream &
Scream Again 1970
Sphere 1998
Horrorvision 2001
Dead Birds 2004
Devil's Den 2006
Friday the 13th 2009