Universal Monster Army

Cons Of A Monstrous Kind => Shows, Events, & Attractions => Topic started by: Tom Smith Monsternut on January 03, 2008, 08:05:23 PM

Title: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: Tom Smith Monsternut on January 03, 2008, 08:05:23 PM
I was digging around and found some old pics from the con and figured I would post them..
See if you can spot some of our fellow UMA members ...

It was the greatest Con that I have ever attended " Back in 93 when Ray Ferry was still a good guy  8)"
A mini Acker museum full of Forry's awesome collection, Lots of celebrity guests hanging out at the bar ,the lobby ,everywhere and everyone was very friendly and approachable.

I hung out and partied for 3 days with Ray Bradbury ,John Agar ,Ray Harryhausen, John Landis ,Joe Dante ,Richard Matheson, Noel Nell ,Gloria Stuart ,Carol Borland ,Robert Bloch, Zacherly, Sara Karloff ,Bela Lugosi Jr , Ron Chaney ,Dwight Fry Jr. ,Curt Siodmak,William Schallert  ,Frank Kelly Freas  ,and everyone's favorite Uncle Forry ,also  tons of others and thousands of fellow monster fans. It was amazing !

I'm sure many members of the  UMA were there too.

The mini Acker museum at the con..
(http://members.aol.com/shortymouse1017/am.jpg)

Me and Forry..
(http://members.aol.com/shortymouse1017/forry.jpg)
John Agar and I..
(http://members.aol.com/shortymouse1017/johna.jpg)

UMA member.. Lon Madnight.. Whatever happened to Lon ?..
(http://members.aol.com/shortymouse1017/lonm.jpg)

UMA member Prof. Griffin as Frank..
(http://members.aol.com/shortymouse1017/drg.jpg)
(http://members.aol.com/shortymouse1017/drg2.jpg)



Want to see more Museum pics ? Click link below..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomscolor/sets/72157603629444819/


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomscolor/2164379181/" title="DSC00260 by tomscolor, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2275/2164379181_952bea5a83_o.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="DSC00260" /></a>

Anyone else attend ? Got memories to share , or Pictures ?

Best..
Tom









Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: ProfGriffin on January 03, 2008, 11:43:10 PM
Ahhhh, memories.
I see beloved member (and fellow Horror Host Lon Madnight) when he was known as Deadbeat!

My girlfriend, Carey Mcleod was the Bride...and my older brother James was the vampire.  Fritz was my younger brother George.
The Frankenstein Monster is familiar to me as well...

I shaved my arm hair off for that costume...yup.  Shaved both arms bald.  Only way to get the Make-Up to work...oh man did that itch when it grew back.

My other GREAT memory was being in the upstairs bar sitting next to Sarah Karloff, Ron Chaney, and Bela Jr. as they discussed and hatched the idea of the Stamp Petition.  Yes, it was there.  That was the start of the great NEW Monster wave of toys and collectables.  That meeting in 1993 gave us the Sideshow Toys, Hasbro 12" series, and more...I talked to Sarah for a bit...and then Ron and Bela joined. 
After a time I sat back and just listened...watching as the children (and grandchildren) of three men I admired so much...drank and talked and laughed.

I recall writing in a LARGE book for both Vincent Price and Peter Cushing.  Both of who were ill and not able to make the con.
I recall meeting Zacherley for the first time.  That man influenced me so much in my life...that very next Halloween...I was Zacherley.  That frock coat I bought for that costume, eventually became Prof. Griffin's Coat.

Zacherley was hillarious, gentle, kind, and slightly odd...but that's how I wanted my Horror Host.
I recall how he did NOT charge for autographs.  never did.  He even gave out his own photos.  One of those from my meeting with the Cool Ghoul hung on the set for the Midnight Shadow Show for 6 years.
Now it hangs in my monster room.  (just glanced up at it)

Forry...ah what a guy.  Bradbury...my hero...Harryhausen...Just a treasure to speak to.
The Monster Charades contest.  I played with author Les Daniels.  I was on the team with John Landis and Joe Dante.  My girlfriend was on Forry and Bobbie Breesie's team.  (what ever happened to Bobbie?)

We won and I got 300 dollars of monster swag from the Famous Monster table!  (Even then...Ray Ferry was kind of a jerk.  He was none too happy about parting with merchandise he was selling.  Seriously, he grunted and growled and scowled at me as I picked and choosed items from the FM table.)

I have a LOT of pictures from this con..in fact, I collected them into a photo scrapbook...I'll have to get it next time I'm in Houston (hometown). It's in a trunk somewhere...I'm sure of it.

Thanks Tom for posting this.  I simply had the greatest time of my monster -life!!!!

-Prof. 'Frankenstein's Monster' Griffin

Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: neonnoodle on January 04, 2008, 12:06:45 AM
You know what?  I don't remember if I was there or not...where was this one held?
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: Tom Smith Monsternut on January 04, 2008, 12:15:37 AM
Crystal City ..Virginia
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: arlened on January 04, 2008, 01:21:20 AM
Amazing!

You brought back a wealth of memories.

Unfortunately, my camera malfunctioned, and I was able to print one of three rolls of films I shot.
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: darkmonkeygod on January 04, 2008, 06:29:22 AM
That was the first one, right?  I was there.  Randy Bowen and Mark Pedersen (Mark went on to have the store Dr. Tongues 3-D House of Collectible Toys for years and is quite a monster fan) set up there for Dark Horse and Bob Schreck, comic book guru and best pal turned up for that.  Mi amigo Shawn, years later to be known as Zombophoto, flew in and I DROVE up from Athens GA with my good pal Devlin - check out his house and the comic shop he runs, which I ran in college, here( be sure to scroll down):

http://secretfunspot.blogspot.com/2007/07/what-i-did-on-my-summer-vacation-part-i.html (http://secretfunspot.blogspot.com/2007/07/what-i-did-on-my-summer-vacation-part-i.html)

That show was a blast and I made some lasting friendships there.  I've been to over 100 shows in my time, many of them quite fun, but FM '93 was truly one of the highlights.  I'd love to see more photos.

Shannon
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: neonnoodle on January 04, 2008, 10:17:25 AM
Ah, Virginia.  Alas, I was not at this convention. 

The only time I have ever been in Virginia was in the 60's...was born in Virginia and transported out to California.

I understand that Virginia is considered the birthplace of America's Halloween celebrations.  A lot of cool things go on there, apparently!
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: Inkfink on January 04, 2008, 10:52:53 AM
I was there on the first day for about two hours. I was probably the only one there wearing a suit as I had just come straight from a job interview that morning and then I had to get ready for a family reunion the next day. I sat in on the Ray Ferry presentation with FJA , Ray Bradbury and the other celebs and I remember a watching a Ray Harryhausen tribute film. I sat by a father and son. The son thought the whole thing was stupid. I hope that dad taught his kid some respect but I'm guessing he was too far gone by then. I rushed thru the dealer room and the FJA mini-museum. Wish I could have stayed longer! I didn't have a camera with me at the time... Thanks for posting those picts!
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: fmofmpls on January 06, 2008, 12:40:24 PM
I was there, and I've got photos too. It was a wonderful time! One of the best cons I've ever been to. I'll go dig for the pics. Unfortunately, I didn't know too many of you back then. I did however know Gakenstein, and the two of us had a blast meeting one another. Little did we know, that much later, something called "UMA" would bring us all together once again.  :)
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: Monster Bob on January 06, 2008, 04:37:26 PM


Unfortunately, didn't make that one, but I did get to the Universal Hollywood edition in '95 (?)
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: hhwolfman on January 06, 2008, 04:51:34 PM
Quote from: Monster Bob on January 06, 2008, 04:37:26 PM

Unfortunately, didn't make that one, but I did get to the Universal Hollywood edition in '95 (?)

Yep Same here.  Lot of weird stuff went on at the Cal one.  ;D
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: The Phantom Creep on January 07, 2008, 12:10:28 AM
As Shannon stated, we were there. Had a blast.
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: GAKENSTEIN on January 07, 2008, 11:03:33 PM
QuoteI did however know Gakenstein, and the two of us had a blast meeting one another. Little did we know, that much later, something called "UMA" would bring us all together once again. 

That was one cool con...meeting Forry, Ray Bradbury, Bela Jr, Karloff's kid Sara, Dwight Frye Jr., Ron Chaney, Harryhausen, Gloria Holden, Curt Siodmak, Carroll "Luna" Borland, but they all paled in comparison to meeting Terry FMOMPLS Ingram, the future General of this here UMA.  We had gabbed for hours on the phone about all things monster and traded terror-ific toys back and forth for a few years, but to meet him in the (undead) flesh was a true delight.  We even came away with matching Dracula statues, but as can happen once in a great while, his Vlad was bigger than mine....

To be an enlisted grunt in his Army is indeed an honor.  (As long as I never have to pull KP duty and peel potatoes.)
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: Tom Smith Monsternut on January 07, 2008, 11:43:49 PM
OK  that makes 8 of us that were there anyone else ? And I'm still waiting to see some other pics besides mine :)

Tom
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: The Phantom Creep on January 08, 2008, 01:23:27 AM
Unfortunately I wasn't really taking photos of stuff back then  :'(
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: darkmonkeygod on January 09, 2008, 04:07:33 AM
Quote from: ZOMBOPHOTO on January 08, 2008, 01:23:27 AM
Unfortunately I wasn't really taking photos of stuff back then  :'(

Ditto.  Spoke w/ Schreck tonight, he said he's got some photos from that that he just saw recently and will try to find 'em.  He's gonna be in Atlanta in a month for ACE,  and believe it or not, I'm looking at DRIVING over with a friend.  Nuts I know, but so am I...

Jack Davis will NOT be attending btw, as of 2008, he has retired from conventions I am told.  Damn.
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: claudin on January 13, 2008, 11:36:30 PM
Yeah, I was there. I was about 21 at the time. I attended with my Dad, who got me into monsters at a very early age.
I have the photos from the con somewhere. I'll have to look around and see what I can dig up.
I recall very vividly having my photo taken with Prof. Griffin's brother, who was made up as a vampire. I loved the way he looked as the vampire and asked him to take a pic with me. 

That was truly a grand weekend. Talk about getting a major monster fix!  :)
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: nvokes on January 14, 2008, 01:45:48 PM
Quote from: Tom Smith Monsternut on January 03, 2008, 08:05:23 PM
I was digging around and found some old pics from the con and figured I would post them..
See if you can spot some of our fellow UMA members ...

It was the greatest Con that I have ever attended
I'm sure many members of the  UMA were there too.


Yup-i was there,Tor ,my lad (almost didn't recognize ya in those photos,curly ;o)
- it was there that i 1st met in the decaying flesh good ol' Dick Klemensen (Little Shoppe of Horrors) ,Gary Dorst,Bob Sargent (Videooze) and best bud,Robert Tinnell (my partner on THE BLACK FOREST and THE WICKED WEST books) -i got autographs and pix of celebs Ray Bradbury,Angus Scrimm,Zacherle and a few others-here's a couple shots from my own archives...


(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q170/nvokes/davidprowse-famoncon93.jpg)

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q170/nvokes/angusscrimm-fmcon93.jpg)

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q170/nvokes/ndv-dk-1stmeeting-fmcon93.jpg)

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q170/nvokes/bobo-dickie-famoncon93.jpg)


and here's another cherished Famous Monsters Con memory-from 1975,in NYC: Mr. Peter Cushing!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q170/nvokes/FAMON75-cush-montage.jpg)

Hammer was there to promote VAMPIRELLA -and we know what happened to THAT project...but meeting Mr Cushing in person -shaking his hand-was a major highlight for this monster kid-matched years later at the '99 Monster Rally when i shook Mr. Christopher Lee's hand,while getting his signature on his autobiog...aaah...the memories,laddie buck...;o)

Neil
http://vokesfolks.blogspot.com/
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: nvokes on January 14, 2008, 01:48:38 PM
Quote from: darkmonkeygod on January 09, 2008, 04:07:33 AM
Ditto.  Spoke w/ Schreck tonight, he said he's got some photos from that that he just saw recently and will try to find 'em.  He's gonna be in Atlanta in a month for ACE...

Bob and i go way back-to the start of my career in comics,in the mid 80s-i think i got of him at the '93 show while he was at  Randy's booth-i'll check...;o)
Title: Re: 1993 Famous Monsters of Filmland con ..Who was there ?
Post by: Tom Smith Monsternut on January 14, 2008, 03:19:48 PM
Welcome ..buddy , I'm glad you to see ya here !  ;D

O man we could have had a major UMA party at that con if we only knew each other.

Ask Bob Tinnell to check out this new site too ,the more the merrier :)

WOW ! the 75 con ! I'm so jealous !

Thanks for sharing those pics. Anyone else at the FM 75 Con ?

Tom