Category Archives: Horror History

Horror History – John Ashley

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johnashleyJohn Ashley
Born Dec. 25th, 1934 – Died Oct. 3rd, 1997

John Ashley was one of the up and coming teenage stars of those popular beach movies in the ’50s and ’60s, which he made quite a few of.  But once he moved to the Philippines, he was responsible for giving us cult horror fans a lot of hours of enjoyment with the films that he was involved with, such as the Blood Island trilogy: Brides of Blood (1968), Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968), Beast of Blood (1971).

He later would become a successful TV producer for series like The A-Team and Walker, Texas Ranger.

But besides all the entertaining films that he made, this quote is one of the reasons why we admire him so much:

“This is a terrible thing to admit, but maybe the key to my success with exploitation films is that I always like those movies, and I never had any real reason to turn them down.  I just enjoyed doing them.”

Horror History – R.G. Armstrong

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rgarmstrongR. G. Armstrong
Born April 7th, 1917

Robert Golden Armstrong is another one of those character actors that you might not remember their name, but you will damn sure remember him.  With some of the most intense and beady eyes in the business, Armstrong made quite a few appearances in the horror genre, usually playing a character that is not the nicest guy.  One of our personal favorites was in Evilspeak, as Sarge, who threatens to show Clint Howard how to make a little boy into a little girl.  Classic stuff.

But Armstrong is one of those unique actors that have never been a huge leading man, but was always working, and always entertaining to watch.  Other genre films featuring him are Race with the Devil (1975), The Car (1977), The Beast Within (1982), and even Predator (1987).

Horror History – Evelyn Ankers

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ankersEvelyn Ankers
Born Aug. 17th, 1918 – Died Aug. 29th, 1985

Evelyn Ankers was the only actress to play opposite the main Universal monsters, Frankenstein’s creature, the Wolf Man, and Dracula (actually his Son).  She appeared in a few films in England in the ’30s before coming to the US and working for Universal.  Her first movie, even though a comedy, still hand its hands in the horror genre.  It was Abbott & Costello’s Hold that Ghost in 1941.  That same year, she appeared as the love interests for Lon Chaney Jr. in The Wolf Man.  She would then appear in Ghost of Frankenstein in 1942 and then Son of Dracula in 1943, all opposite Chaney Jr.  It’s been reported that even though they worked together quite often, they were not the best of friends.

She made over 50 movies in her short career of less than 15 years before she retired from the business.  She came back to make a few appearances in television, but it wasn’t that many.  In 1942, she had married actor Richard Denning, who also was well known making creature features.  She spent the rest of her life as a happily married housewife to Denning until her death in 1985, from ovarian cancer.

Horror History – Víctor Alcázar

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alcazarAlso known to use the name Vic Winner, this Spanish actor is probably a very familiar face if you’ve watched more than a few Paul Naschy films.  Alcázar usually played the good guy, or at least someone that was caught up with the nasty things going on.  But he was always one of those recognizable faces in those great Spanish horror films of the 70s’.  His first real horror appearance was in 1973, which was a very busy year for him.  The first film noted in that year was It Happened At Nightmare Inn (aka A Candle for the Devil), co-starring Judy Geeson.  But then that same year, he would appear in FOUR films with Paul Naschy.  They were Horror Rises from the Tomb, Count Dracula’s Great Love, Hunchback of the Morgue, and Vengeance of the Zombies.

While his acting wasn’t that of legends, he was always good in the roles that he had.  And he is one face that you will see pop up in these Spanish horror films of that era, so it is only expected that we wouldn’t want to highlight him here.  That way the next time you’re watching HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB with some friends, and Alcázar pops up on the screen, you can say “Hey…there’s Victor Alcázar!” and impress your friends!

Horror History – Nestor Paiva

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nestorpaivaNestor Paiva
Born June 30th, 1905 – Died Sept. 9th, 1966

Paiva is one of those actors that might look familiar but one that you just can’t place. That might have something to do with the fact that Paiva was a great character actor who had over 300 appearances in films and TV throughout his career. He had a natural talent for dialects, so he was always playing a variety of different ethic characters, from Arabs, Spaniards, Italians, Mexicans, Russians, Greeks, and many more. In 1955 alone, he appeared in 5 feature films and 19 TV appearances. Needless to say, he was a busy man.

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Horror History – Joanna Pettet

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joannapettet Most people will not know or recognize Joanna Pettet’s face or name, but if you grew up in the ’70s and watched a lot of TV, such as I did, then you might at least recognize her face. She had a promising career in the ’60s & ’70s in both film and TV, and even appeared in the James Bond spoof Casino Royale (1967). She didn’t do a lot of work in the horror genre, but enough to once again, make her very memorable to younger fans like myself. She appeared in the 1974 film Welcome to Arrow Beach, a very strange film starring Meg Foster and Laurence Harvey. She also was in The Evil (1978), alongside Andrew Prine and Richard Crenna.

But it really was because of her appearances in Rod Searling’s Night Gallery in the early ’70s where I’ve always remember her from. Pettet had such a unique and beautiful look to her that I immediately became entranced by her. The first episode she appeared in was called The House and was directed by actor John Astin, making his television directorial debut. On working with Pettet, Astin said directing her “was a lovely experience.” In her second appearance on the show, he co-starred with her husband Alex Cord, in the episode Keep in Touch – We’ll Think of Something, which is a story about the woman of your dreams…and murder.

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Horror History – Emil Umann

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Now that is one name that most of us horror fans do not recognize. But if wasn’t for Mr. Umann, we might not have ever got to see Universal’s Son of Frankenstein, as well as the monster films that followed thereafter. But what exactly did Mr. Umann do to cause this resurgence of the Universal Monsters?

wilshire theatreIn 1938, with The Bride of Frankenstein now already 3 years old, it seems that Universal had pretty much given up on their monster heritage. Sure, they were still making horror pictures, such as The Raven, The Invisible Ray, and such, but not a lot of them and those familiar characters from just a few years ago were now seemed to have been put to rest. This is where Emil Umann came in to the picture. He ran the Regina-Whilshire Theatre in Los Angeles and on August 5th, 1938, he started a triple bill of Dracula, Frankenstein, and Son of Kong, getting the rentals from the studio for only $99 for 4 days. But much to his surprise, the screenings were selling out and he was getting lines down the block. The triple bill was so popular, he was running them almost 24 hours a day. He even got in contact with Bela Lugosi, who was not in the best financial situation at the time, and hired him to make appearances at the screenings. This not only put the monsters back in the limelight, but Lugosi himself. Lugosi even told the press “I owe it all to that little man at the Regina Theatre. I was dead, and he brought me back to life.”

Once Universal heard about this and the business the theater was doing, they immediately ordered 500 more prints of Dracula and Frankenstein and started renting them out around the country for a double bill. Of course, these rentals were at a much higher rate, so much higher that Umann couldn’t afford to keep them pass the original commitment. In fact, Universal reported in making over $500,000 in new film rentals. So nice of Universal to show such gratitude to someone who showed them how to make so much money. And it was because of this newly discovered interests in these movies that Universal quickly rushed another entry in the Frankenstein series, which would become Son of Frankenstein. Not only would it be the last time Karloff appeared as the creature, but it would also give Lugosi a chance to give one of his best screen performances on his career, as Igor, the twisted-neck friend of the creature.

So to people like Emil Umann, we here at the Krypt salute you for what you did, bringing back the Universal Monsters from their grave.

Horror History: John Agar

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johnagarJohn Agar
Born Jan. 21st, 1921 – Died April 7th, 2002

Though he started his film acting career doing westerns, it’s the films he did in the ‘50s that made John Agar so memorable to horror fans.  Agar was a staple when it came to battling giant monsters, aliens, and mad scientists.  He always gave it his all, even when the script wasn’t the greatest, or even the monster that he was fighting against.  He always gave a fun and entertaining performance, even when working with uber-low-budget king Larry Buchanan on a couple of films.  He would even make appearances in more modern day films in titles like Clive Barker’s Nightbreed and the Tope Hooper directed episode of John Carpenter’s anthology Body Bags.

Of few of his highlights (and lowlights, depending on your feelings) would be Revenge of the Creature (1955), Tarantula (1955), and The Brain from the Planet Arous (1957), as well as Larry Buchanan’s  Zontar: The Thing from Venus and Curse of the Swamp Creature (both 1966).

Horror History: Laird Cregar

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Laird Cregar
Born July 28th, 1913 – Died Dec. 9th, 1944

laridcregarCregar was an actor of amazing stature, but in physical size and talent. Being 6′ 3″ and 300 lbs., he was a figure to be reckoned with. But even more powerful than his size, was his acting talent. With such deep and soulful eyes and soft voice, he gave the audience an incredible performance. It was his performance in his self-produced one-man play ‘Oscar Wilde” where Cregar really caught the attention of Hollywood. He would make his feature debut in the 1941 film Hudson’s Bay along side Paul Muni. Because of his size, he was getting roles of the villains and heavies but desperately wanted to be a leading man. His portrayals of two different madmen, in The Lodger (1944) and Hangover Square (1945) where the characters he is playing are hiding a deep dark secret. Maybe one of the reasons for his stellar performance was because Cregar was hiding his own secret that he was scared to death of it getting out. Cregar was a homosexual and thought if that news got out in Hollywood in the ’40s that it would ruin his chance of being a romantic leading man. Watching him in these two films is both fascinating and tragic since he was battling his own inner demons the whole time.

Between the two films, he decided that he would lose weight which he hoped would put him in the leagues of the leading man roles, dropping 100 lbs. He went into the hospital for an abdominal surgery for his weight loss, but suffered two heart attacks, with the second one killing him. It was such a loss, especially because  he was only 28 years old. But the real tragedy was that he was afraid to be who he was, and felt that he had to hide it from the public. Granted, back then one might have to do that, but it is still a damn shame.