Category Archives: Rest in Peace

To highlight those that we have lost, that have made an impact to this genre we love so much. They may be gone, but will never be forgotten.

Marjoe Gortner – Rest in Peace

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You couldn’t have grown up in the 70’s and ’80s, watching a lot of TV and movies, and not know at least the face of Marjoe Gortner. My first memory of his work was Earthquake (1974), which happened to be his first feature film that he acted in, which he turned out to be not so nice of a guy. But then between Food of the Gods (1976), Starcrash (1978), and Mausoleum (1983), and that crazy curly hair, he was always memorable. But sadly, it was announced that he had passed away at the age of 82.

Gortner had a very unusual upbringing, be a child evangelist at the ripe age of 4 years old and eventually had an Oscar winning documentary made on his life. But once he got into acting, his contributions to helping people and charities never stopped. Some of his performances were a bit over the top, but that probably came from Gortner’s own over the top personality. But no matter what, he always gave us entertainment. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time. Gone, but not forgotten.

Tim Curry & Gerrit Graham – Rest in Peace

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We lost two actors that were known for some of their roles in more than a few cult titles. Yes, we lost Tim Curry almost a month ago, but I was reprimanded last weekend for not posting about him when he did pass, and rightly so. Thanks for the reminder, Hannah! But then yesterday we also heard the news of Gerrit Graham passing away as well. Both actors had a very long career appearing in a wide variety of genres and roles. Curry, of course, will always be remembered for his incredible and daring performance in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), but also have horror and fantasy fans a treat with Legend (1985) and the first appearance as Pennywise in It (1990). And Graham… wow. He’s best known as Beef in Brian De Palma’s Phantom of the Paradise (1974) but also had so many roles where he gave us characters we loved to hate, or just laugh with, such as Son of Blob (1970), TerrorVision (1986), Chopping Mall (1986), and yes, even C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud (1989). Of course, one of my favorites is the space-horror parody he did called The Creature Wasn’t Nice (1981). If you’re a fan of the Airplane-syle humor, look this one up, if anything, for the alien doing a song & dance number, singing “I Want to Eat Your Face.”

But like all actors that have appeared in memorable roles in their career, it is us fans that are grateful to have these lasting performances on DVD, Blu-ray, or whatever format, so we can go back to them, time and time again, and remember how much joy they brought us, and how much they possibly even inspire us. They will never be forgotten. So, to quote the immortal Dr. Frank-N-Furter, “Don’t dream it, be it.”

NEW YORK – JUNE 05: Actor Tim Curry attends the 59th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall June 5, 2005 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images)
NOW AND AGAIN, GERRIT GRAHAM, 1999. ©CBS

Victor Miller – Rest in Peace

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It’s strange how you could be a 3-time Emmy winner, nominated 8 times, and countless other awards in Daytime Television, but it is because of writing one film that most people are going to remember him by. That film was the first, the one and only Friday the 13th. And no, he’s not the creator of Jason, because it is only the first film that he ever wrote, not even liking the sequels because he didn’t care for the fact that Jason was now the killer. But nonetheless, he helped give us one of horror’s most famous franchises and kept a lot of people from camping in the woods!

But it is with sadness when we read of his passing on August 31st, at the age of 86. But he will be remembered for his work on that one specific film. And that’s okay. Because that series will always have a fanbase, and they will always remember the man that helped start it all. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time. Rest in Peace, Victor.

Screaming Mad George – Rest in Peace

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Yesterday, we heard the news that the makeup world had lost another iconic voice from the industry. Screaming Mad George had passed away back on February 10th at the age of 69, but his family had not released it to the public because they wanted time to grieve on their own, which is completely understandable. His work was unmistakenly original, creative, and usually so bizarre and off the wall, you knew it was his work. He liked being called a “surrealist” rather than a makeup artist, and that couldn’t fit him better. While he didn’t work on a ton of films, the ones he did definitely carried his brand of talent. But the most famous is probably his work on Brian Yuzna’s Society (1988). You’ll see special effects creations you’d never thought you see onscreen, brought to life by this mad genius. He definitely had a unique vision, and we are thankful that we had a chance to experience some of that madness on film, and that his work will live on.

Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time. Rest in Peace, S.M.G.

Reggie Bannister – Rest in Peace

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I’ve been going to conventions for over three decades and have met a lot of celebrities. But I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like Reggie Bannister. I would watch him interact with fans coming up to see him and every single one walked away like they have a new best friend. Reggie was about as genuine as you can get, and one of the nicest humans ever to grace this planet. He also happened to be the biggest bad-ass, 4-barrell toting, mutant dwarf-killing, ice cream man you’d ever hope to run across. 

As most fans knew, Reggie had been battling a few issues over the last several years, but always kept his head held high. He is now at peace, driving that black Cuda into the next world, with the tunes blasting. While I always say that when our movie heroes pass away, they will live on in the wonderful movies they left us. But I think even more than that, Reggie will be missed for all the human connections he made with those that knew him, even if that was just spending 5 minutes chatting with him at a convention. We have lost a great one here. They really didn’t make too many like Reggie, so this loss hits harder than most. So bust out your favorite Phantasm entry, play one of Reggie’s music CDs, and remember how so damn cool he was.

Rest in Peace, my friend. We’ll see you on the other side. Our thoughts go out to his wife Gigi, and the rest of his friends and family during this difficult time.

Jim Krut – Rest in Peace

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We have lost another character that is forever immortalized because of playing not just a zombie in George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978). Jim Krut was known as the “helicopter zombie”, the one that stands up and has the top of his head chopped off from the helicopter blades. It’s a scene everyone remembers once they’ve seen it.

But it was all over the internet that Krut has recently passed away. He was a guest at the very first Cinema Wasteland show back in Sept. of 2000 and was such a friendly guy. He will be forever remembered to so many horror fans, both old and newer ones because of this one character. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.

Chuck Russell – Rest in Peace

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My very first horror convention was a Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors, in California, in April of 1988. At that show, promoting their latest film, the remake of The Blob, were screenwriter Frank Darabont and director Chuck Russell. They talked about being told that they can’t kill a kid in their version of The Blob. Chuck said, “Watch me.” And let’s not forget that the previous year, him and Darabont helped catapult Freddy Kruger into real stardom with A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. Years later, here in Chicago during a screening of The Blob, he gave another great Q&A after the screening, which is where I took this photo.

But it is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Mr. Russell, who left us on Wednesday, July 22nd. While he didn’t have a huge filmography, what he did do was always pretty damn entertaining. A talent that will truly be missed. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.

Sam Neill – Rest in Peace

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Movie fans are definitely morning the passing of actor Sam Neill, who appeared in so many films, of all genres, and no matter what it was, it was always so entertaining to watch. He could play the bad guy that you would despise, or the hero that was out to save everyone. Most actors are always remembered from the first role that you remember him from, so for me, it was always the adult version of Damien Thorn from The Final Conflict (1981). Granted, he would go on to appear in quite a few other horror titles like Possession (1981), In the Mouth of Madness (1994), Event Horizon (1997), and of course the Jurassic Park films (yes, those are horror films).

So, we were very saddened to hear of his passing on the 13th. Such a talented actor, but one that never seemed to take himself too seriously. Our cinematic world has lost a real talent and a true icon. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.

Kelly Curtis – Rest in Peace

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Back in November of 2012, HorrorHound Weekend had the honor of having Jamie Lee Curtis as a guest, where fans were going nuts to have the chance to see and meet her. But when I heard her sister was also at the show taking photos and documenting the event, that got me a little more excited. Kelly Curtis had starred in Michele Soavi’s 1991 film The Sect, aka The Devil’s Daughter, appearing alongside the great Herbert Lom. Nothing against her younger sister Jamie but wanted to at least meet her and tell her how much I enjoyed her only entry in the horror genre. I think she was a bit surprised when someone came up to her to ask her if she was Jamie’s sister but then asked her about The Sect! We only chatted for a few minutes about her working on the film, about Soavi, and of course, Herbert Lom, but she was super nice and even took a photo with me.

It was in the news yesterday, announced by her sister, that she had passed away, I know she appeared in more than a few productions both in film and TV, but because us horror fans are a dedicated lot, because of this single title in the genre, she will be remembered by a lot of us fans. Our thoughts go out to her and her family during this difficult time. Rest in Peace, Kelly.

George Eastman – Rest in Peace

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While his real name was Luigi Montefiori, most everyone knew him as George Eastman. Or maybe his huge screen presence, no matter if it was a horror film, action, western, or even post-apocalyptic film, when he came onscreen, you recognized him. Eastman started in the film industry as an actor in the mid ’60s, appearing in 60 productions, in about every genre from westerns including a few Django films, the giallo, post-apocalyptic features, and of course, horror. It wasn’t too long in his career before he added screenwriter to his list of credits, writing over 50 features, including The Great Alligator (1979), Antrophophagus (1980), and Michele Soavi’s StageFright (1987). He worked a lot with cult director Joe D’Amato aka Aristide Massaccesi, writing for him, as well as acting in a bunch of his titles. He would even step behind the camera to director 2 features, Metamorphosis (1980) & 2020 Texas Gladiators (1983).

But it came out a few days ago that we had lost this massive talent, who passed away back in March, at the age of 83. And when I say “massive”, I mean the fact that he was 6′ 9″ feet tall! But his contribution to the horror / cult / western genre is just as massive. While nobody is going to claim his work was Oscar worthy, most of what he was involved with was entertaining, and memorable. And at the end of the day, that is what it is all about, isn’t it?

Our thoughts go out to his friends and family. Rest in peace, Luigi. You will always be remembered.