This is going to sound ridiculous...but I am curious....

[Anton Phibes]

When I watch the classics, sometimes something bizarre happens.  It doesnt happen every time...but occasionally I find myself thinking "too bad they are no longer with us" concerning the principal players...and actually get kind of choked up.  I am not an overly emotional individual, but it happens nonetheless. Which is odd, because we dont really know these people save through biographies and documentaries.

Let me explain.  I can watch Bela in Dracula and never tire of him, same with Karloff in anything, Price, Chaneys, etc.  But when the movies are done, I find myself saddened by the fact that these fellows are all dead now.  Coupled with the fact that some of them were seriously mistreated by studios, drug dependency or alcoholism and...I dunno.  It just saddens me some times after the programs have finished. Especially where Price and Cushing are concerned.  Primarily because I grew up with them being alive, and wrote letters to them via Forry... and now they have passed.  Does this happen to anyone else or am I the exception?

If you have ever watched the many faces of Christopher Lee(a self hosted filmography), Lee ends the show by holding up pictures of Cushing and Price and states how much he misses them and how close they all were.  This about kills me every time I watch it.

[monsterphile]

I'd say it depends on the situation.  I'd say I'm definitely a lot more emotional now that I'm older.  I think part of it for me is when I became a parent.  There is definitely a sadness with such things.  Everytime I hear a song from someone who died too young and think about that fact, it gets to me.  I remember watching a PBS show about Jim Croce where they talked to his wife and son, and I just felt so sad for them.  Nothing wrong with you.  IMO

Rob

[typhooforme]

Oh, I think I know just what you're saying, yes--those old-timers do, by a sort of psychological extension, become something akin to friends to us.  Part of that is because we DO know something about their private lives, I suspect.  We know them not just as images on the screen, actors in makeup, playing characters, but also as human beings with their own strengths and failings, their own hobbies and interestest, their own families and pets.  I just recently mentioned elsewhere that my user name here, typhooforme, has to do with Ty-Phoo brand tea, which was Peter Cushing's favorite (and I drink it, too).  I use a couple of Vincent Price's recipes regularly (one for baked eggplant is just second nature by now).  When I garden, I often think of Karloff, who loved puttering around in his own extensive gardens.  When, as you say, you "grew up knowing" various actors--and remembering when they passed--the likeness to family friends, or even family members, becomes that much nearer to us.  Drunken Severed Head and I have discussed on more than one occasion that we remember EXACTLY where we were when we heard that Karloff had died--and exactly how we felt upon hearing the sad news.  And for us fans of movies in general, the feeling of closeness isn't restricted just to the monster people--Lionel Barrymore's films always touch my heart, Beulah Bondi's characters invariably do, too; John Wayne can do it to me, as can Myrna Loy.  And I hope Angela Lansbury lives for many years more, for I'm not nearly ready to lose her!  My feeling is that if we are the sort of people who tend to have warm hearts, we end up sharing them even with people up on the screen.

[BlackLagoon]

When I watch the classics, sometimes something bizarre happens.  It doesnt happen every time...but occasionally I find myself thinking "too bad they are no longer with us" concerning the principal players...and actually get kind of choked up.  I am not an overly emotional individual, but it happens nonetheless. Which is odd, because we dont really know these people save through biographies and documentaries.

Anton, I agree with you so much here and on many different levels. I can remember I was in high school at the time, and I think I was in the 10th grade? So 1993? maybe? There was a show that used to come on E! hosted by A.J. Benza...I never would have watched this sort of thing, but my mom reminded me that this weeks show is about Bela Lugosi and by the 10th grade I was fully monster crazed. I cant remember the name of the show but its tag line was something along the lines of "the dark side of Hollywood". When that show was over, I was actually hurt! I was sad that one of my heroes had lived such a hard life with chemical dependencies and angered that his name be thrown around some tabloid trash after all he has done for the industry!

I always loved comic books too...the difference is that I would read a great comic, and I can remember "The Death Of Superman"...iconic, powerfull, and something we thought we would never see. It struck a chord. You knew he was comming back...you knew that re-birth was just a a month or so away, or however long it took the writers to come up with a solid story to bring him back. Dracula, especially "our" Dracula..was too a charecter, but sometimes I think, as a kid it wasnt always Dracula who I was mezmorized with...but Bela Lugosi....so in escence....and to me, in my world..Dracula was Superman and Bela was Clark Kent......and I hated HATED finding out that Bela struggled. Unfortunately, these guys are human and like everyone else have their share of problems.

Another example was Uncle Forry...I knew who he was, but honestly wasnt nearly as much "in the know" until I came here to UMA...now, going backwards and buying FM on eBay and seeing 1st hand for the 1st time all that he has done for this scene and community?..I kind of want to..well lets just say I dont think I like Ray Ferry at all. I dont think this needs further explanation.

I understood what you meant, and I hope I got my very "wordy" point across...on the bright side though, look at all of us here? A small Army! Keeping their names alive and strong. A comunity who celebrates the entire world these guys made...and we do it through friendship, which is built off..again..something these guys created that survives because of passion and love!..Here,  they are legends and because of their work, have been imortalized.

I like to think somewhere they are in a much better place, with no struggles and truly seeing how happy they are still making people and that they are among each other and at peace!

[Mego73]

I became interested in monsters in the 1970's, by that time, they were all, unfortunataly, dead. So, from the beginning, I saw these movies as being made by people who were no longer around. As I get older and learn more about them, I do feel sorry for some of them (especially Bela) and would've loved to live in his neighborhood in the late 50's because I heard he would let his kid fans visit. But the sense of loss is not there, because, from the beginning, I looked at monster movies as coming from a time way before me (as a kid, 30-40 years might as well have been 3 to 400 years).

[Wicked Lester]

I think this happens with any of the older time stars/semi stars. There are not that many actors/actresses today that hit home like those that are gone or getting close. Whether it be a 40s horror film 50s crime or 70s TV. If you clicked with them it makes their passing sad even if it's watching a movie and after wards thinking "What a great movie and actor" To think they've been gone 42 years" or whatever it may be. I remember when Larry Fine passed away I shed a tear because he was my fave Stooge and brought me so much joy as a kid.
Most of "the stars" today just don't do it for me altho there are a handful or two of exceptions. Especially some of the "celebrities" I hear people talk about at work like EVERYONE knows who they are. And I'm thinking "huh,who " Most of them I couldn't care less if they dropped tomorrow.

[avenger]

Robert,
     I think you put it in perspective.We did tend to know things about those people up on the
screen in a personal, comfortable way,not a paparazzi,tabloid way like we see nowadays.
I have been a John Wayne fan since I was a youngster and the year I lost my own Dad was
also the year John Wayne passed away. We always feel a sense of loss when our screen heroes
pass on.I think it has something to do with having those warm hearts,Robert and a sense of our own
mortality.

[Inkfink]

Recently the wife and I saw Gran Torino and I was telling her how that movie reminded me of John Wayne's last movie, The Shootist, and got all choked up about it. 

[CreepysFan]

 More when I'm looking through my Monster Magazines than watching the movies, but yes, I have felt an empty feeling over their memory.

[Scatter]

If feeling a bit sad at times, and missing having them with us is an odd reaction to watching these films, then count me among the odd (I know, what else is new?),

[Universal Steve]

It is sad but at least we still have the films they left behind which we can enjoy countless times. When I watch the classics I often wonder what the people in the audiences were thinking about the monsters. Back then these monsters were quite scary. I would have loved to see the reactions. I remember reading that when Forry saw Frankenstein, people in the audience screamed. Sad yes, but we can visit them anytime we want through the magic of video. Now comes the soapbox, you would think that the descendants of the classic horror stars would stop worrying so much about royalties and more about keeping their famous relatives legacy alive. Especially Bela Jr. Look how many incarnations of licensed Dracula merchandise there is. By doing this, if any of the new generation is buying the goodies, they are not going to know the true Dracula image but rather a generic one. Even to the point as Revell according to the last report in Amazing Figure Modeler is going to change the Dracula head. It just never ends for that guy. I hope that someday they get the idea because if they don't keep the memory alive, the new generation might forget about them and then there really won't be a market for the merchandise.

[Paul L]

I too understand the feeling. Forry's passing brought a lot to the surface. Many current celebs, movies & TV shows don't do it for me either, I couldn't tell you who half of them are. I often don't feel I'm the intended audience for much of the disposable culture that's offered today. I find many new genre films/TV so dark & intense they're not, know what I mean?
I sometimes feel like a product of a different time when I consider the movies/tv/music I prefer, even when I pour thru my monster collection. This is okay, because to an extent it's true. There's an inevitable sadness connected with this. It's sobering to lose 4E, to prefer the talents of some who lived & died before many of us were born ( & the awareness as time take it's toll in our personal lives).

[Toy Ranch]

It's funny how attitudes change over the years.  There was a time that people generally regarded Boris Karloff or Bela Lugosi movies as dreck, and referred to them in disparaging terms as someone would a Steven Seagal or Matthew Broderick movie today.  I don't think that perception exists among non-horror fans anymore, but it was a prevalent thought at one point.  I read something the other day about a star actress who angered some studio execs and was cast in a film alongside Karloff as punishment.  Not because Karloff was difficult to work with, but because it would be seen as a negative career move for her. 

[hammerfan]

When FJA passed I was profoundly sad. I had met Forry many times and had him as a guest for some shows I had put on in Chicago. I felt like I had lost a dear friend(and i had). I felt bad about John Phillip Law as well. He was a guest at one of my shows and we hit it off very well. He told some great stories about all the films he had done in Europe back in the swinging 60's.  I know I will be a basket case when ray harryhausen goes. I have met him many times and also had him as a guest in Chicago. One of the best things Ive done was have breakfast with him and Forry. I was 8 years old again!  I also got to go to Ray's home in London and have lunch with him and his charming wife Diana. Those memories will last a lifetime. I believe all of here here at UMA have a very special place in our hearts for these icons and embrace them as family. It is quite a normal thing to feel  sad about their death or how they were abused by the system.

[Wich2]

When someone has lived a long, fruitful life - whether it be a relative we know, or a beloved celeb that we feel we do - I usually feel more of a thankfullness for what they gave, than a grief because they have moved on.

Most folks, if their life is long, have accumulated plenty of the "thousand natural shocks that the flesh is heir to." And whether that be St. Peter's yearning for the wife who went before, Dear Boris's ailing legs & lungs, or Forry's general debilitation, I would never wish for them to continue to in this veil of tears for my sake.

Celebrate what has gone before - and if you are a person who, in any form, believes such, look forward to seeing them in a better world.

Best,
-Craig W.