R.I.P. Ben Chapman

[gracebuster]

Added more to it for you.

[typhooforme]

Beautiful photo spread, Dan.  Talk about taking us there with you for a memorable outing!  Ben was tremendous.  You are, too.

And yes, I've always been sure Mermaid Man is our Benny.

[Mike Scott]

Those were great, Dan! Thanks for posting them!

[Cryptkeeper1965]

Like everyone else, I'm saddened by the news of Ben's passing.  He was one of the few people that I have met in my life with a genuine kind and warm soul.  He was down to earth and very approachable and always had time for every fan he met.

I first met Ben at the 2003 Monster Mania convention in Cherry Hill, NJ.  This was my first convention and I arrived early Saturday morning before the start of the show.  I walked into the hotel restaurant to get some coffee and I immediately noticed Ben sitting at one of the tables doing the same.  Since it was about 6:00 am, I didn't want to bother him as I know how I am before I had my coffee!  I was wearing my Yahoo Creature group shirt and he immediately called over to me saying how much he liked the shirt and invited me to sit down.  Anyone who has ever met Ben will know that after about one minute, I felt like I had know this man my whole life!  Turns out he was waiting for Julie Adams to come down because they were both doing an interview together for the local paper.  I asked him when he was done if I could get a picture with him and of course he said yes.  After the interview, he brought Julie over to where I was sitting and introduced us and asked Julie if she could join in on the picture, which she agreed to do!  I then proceeded to have the interviewer take my picture with both Ben and Julie.  This photo has always been one of my prized possessions and hangs behind the bar down in my basement.  Tonight, my wife and I will have a drink and a toast to Ben, a truly special human being.  Godspeed my friend!

[Gary D Macabre]

The first monster toy I ever saw was the Aurora Creature glow kit, sitting on a bottom shelf in a drug store junk aisle.  I remember that moment - the moment I discovered monster toys existed.  A new world of childhood possibilities suddenly materialized.  It was the first step on a journey I'm still taking.  The Creature from the Black Lagoon was one of the first movies I remember watching with my father.  It was the only monster movie he  seemed to anticipate as much as I did.  In fact, he introduced me to it, describing the story beforehand.  He never did that with any other film.

Thanks again Ben for helping to build the person I am.

Similarly my first exposure to classic horror was The Creature from the Black Lagoon.  A local independent station got the chance to broadcast it in 3D, and had made distribution of the red and blue glasses available through local 7-11 stores. The build up for the event for a week prior, it was amazing. This was the first and only time my entire family ever made such an effort for a family movie night.  I fell in love with classic sci-fi and horror then and there.  I too am a monster Kid because of Ben.

[fmofmpls]

In loving memory. Somehow the haunting NIN soundtrack to this tribute seems to work with the mood of the moment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0gLAuY0Z44

[MadCow]

Wow, this is really sad sad news. I was really looking forward to meeting Ben at Monster Mania next month. He will truly be missed. R.I.P. Ben...

[malfuncsean]

Just heard the news and had to join up and say a few words about this great man. I had the pleasure of meeting him on several occasions and he was always so much fun and so enthusiastic about the Creature. I was really looking forward to seeing him in a few weeks at Monster-Mania in New Jersey but sadly that won't happen. We have truly lost an icon and an amazing person. He will be missed. -Sean Clark

[NekroDave]

Very sad news indeed. I only met him briefly at Creaturefest 2004 (I think it was 04 anyway) so I don't have any great story or pictures, but he seemed really cool with a great sense of humor as everyone has said. Sorry to hear of his passing....

[UniversalTim]

That day on the Universal lot was one I'll never forget. Thank you Dan for posting those.

I had the pleasure of seeing Ben many times at conventions and at Dan's house over the last few years. I'll definitely miss him.

Thanks Benny, it was an honor to know you!

-Tim Keegan

[The Toyroom]

Some super-sweet pics there! Really nice to see those...he looks like he was a real ball-buster!
RIP Mr. Chapman...

[fmofmpls]

Tim, great to have you enlisted here. Looking forward to our most dangerous meeting in a couple weeks!

[UniversalTim]

Thanks Terry!

Me too!

Is it above freezing yet?? 

[The Phantom Creep]

Well I'm very saddened to wake up to this news today but at least he lived a good long life, and we all know he enjoyed it!!

I met him at Creaturefest years ago along with Ricou, Julie and Ginger and it was quite a thrill meeting them all at the actual Black Lagoon. I told a story on another thread about how when I met Ben at Creaturefest his wife saw my Creature tattoo on my forearm and wanted a photo of me displaying it along with Ben. Well we did just that but the whole time I just kept thinking about how the Creature on my arm was the swimming Creature and not Ben. I had always heard about him getting kinda uppity regarding him being the real, "Reel", Gillman but he didn't say anything and just let the photo be taken. He really was a funny and very kind person who seemed to very much enjoy meeting his fans. He'll be missed.

[The Phantom Creep]

Dan, I had seen those photos before of you guys at Universal but thanks for posting them again. I love that one of Ben inside the tank!

Also, when you were in Hawaii you got to hang out with the great Don Stroud as well? Man I'm a huge fan of his. That's awesome!