Writer and historian Robert “Bobb” Cotter passed away due to complications from a recent stroke. He was a regular member of the Monster Bash family, which is where I first met him, back in 2015, at our first time there. We talked for a few minutes while he graciously signed the copies of his books that I brought from my own library, chatting about Mexican horror films and how much crazy fun they are. You would always seen him one of the days at the Bash wearing his Carl Kolchak costume, tape recorder and all. While he might not been someone in front of or behind the movie camera, he was one of those behind the keyboard, working hard to help educate so many of us fans of the women of Hammer Horror, the Misfits, and of course, Mexican horror and masked wrestler movies.
His book The Mexican Masked Wrestler and Monster Filmography is an essential volume for anybody interested in that sub-genre. Anytime I’ve gone to write something on one of those films, I am always checking that book for information. That goes as well as this books on the ladies of Hammer as well.
The Mexican movie nights at the Bash just won’t be the same this year without him and it will be a sad time. But I want to say thank you to him, for helping not only me, but a ton of other fans learn through your hard work and generous fandom. Our thoughts go out to him and his family, and all of the Monster Bash family. His absence will be deeply missed.
She may have been an evil of a character in the movies, but in real life, she was an ordained, non-denominational minister in Las Vegas, where, along with her husband, Howard Maurer, would get couples traveling from all over the world to be married by the one and only Ilsa! Now, I’ve never been a huge fan of the Ilsa movies, which are not my particular cup of tea. But I’ve had the occasions to meet her a couple of times at the different Cinema Wasteland shows and she is another one of these actors that creates one of the most terrible of characters, but is total opposite of what they are like in real life. The photo to the right here was taken at her last Wasteland appearance, after she stopped by our table and chatted with me for more than a few minutes. When the conversation was done, she insisted that we take picture together. Such a sweet soul, kind and generous with her time with her fans, that it was so cool to have a chat with her. And she really did seem to love meeting her fans.
The Haunted House on Film: An Historical Analysis
I know I may be a little late to the party on this one (and kind of pissed at myself that I’m just finding out about this) but there is a book about this amazing composer out now, called Ennio Morricone: In His Own Words. Whether you are a fan of western soundtracks, horror, and any of the other genres Morricone worked on, you know he created an unbelievable amount of magic through his music. For me, going back to films like Nightmare Castle to the work he did with Dario Argento, his scores are always amazing.
