The world lost a true talent yesterday with the passing of actor John Hurt, who passed away at the age of 77 after a battle with cancer. While most horror fans know him for his role in Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979), where he literally gave birth to a new breed of monsters, he did appear in quite a few other horror films, such as the incredible chilling 10 Rillington Place (1971), The Ghoul (1974), Roger Corman’s Frankenstein Unbound (1990), and Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy (2004). Not to mention the countless other roles that he appeared in, even playing Doctor Who in a special episode, and doing it quite well.
Hurt was an actor that when he appeared on the screen, he got your attention. With his unique voice, it could sooth your thoughts as well as send chills up your spine. Such a talented craftsman. He will be missed, but always remembered for his stellar performances, and definitely never forgotten. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family.
There are some of those actors that play a character with such zest and passion, that as a young film watcher, they are forever cast in your head as that type of person. My introduction to Miguel Ferrer was, like many, in the 1987 film Robocop, where he played a young executive determined to make a difference. While he wasn’t really a bad guy in the film, he definitely showed his power in a tough role. But then a couple of years later, in DeepStar Six (1989), he really showed me how much of a jerk he could be! The real shame is that Ferrer was one of those actors that could play on both sides of the drama, and even be funny! But when he played a bad guy…man was he good.
Thursday, we have lost the author of one of the greatest horror novels of all time, William Peter Blatty. If you’ve never read the actual novel of The Exorcist, you’d be surprised at how effective it is, digging into your core just as much as the film version, if not more. That’s how good Blatty was. Strange though that before this novel, he was known for the most part as a comedic writer, writing several films for Blake Edwards, including the Pink Panther movie A Shot in the Dark. But once The Exorcist came out, there really was no turning back for him and he would always be known as “that guy”. But while it did pigeon hole him, he told the Washington Post in 2013, “I can’t regret The Exorcist. It’s done so much for me and for my family. And it’s given me a great deal of freedom to write what I want.”
Well 2017, that didn’t take long.
Okay 2016, enough, huh? I mean, you’ve only got a few weeks left, let’s end it on a something more than these obits, shall we?
This has been a rough year for horror fans, losing so many people that have given us so much pleasure over the years. And now, news of yet another one. Actress Valerie Gaunt passed away this last Tuesday the 27th. Now Gaunt only appeared in two films in her very short career, but those two made quite the impact in the horror world, not to mention the British film industry.
The acting world has lost another great talent recently, Fritz Weaver. Now he might not have appeared in a ton of genre pieces, but he definitely did his share. He had little parts in plenty of sci-fi/horror TV shows, like the original Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, X-Files, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Friday the 13th: The Series, Monsters, and Tales from the Darkside (which featured Tom Savini’s directorial debut). But he also appeared in a few feature film, like Demon Seed (1977). But for me, the role that I will always remember him from, which just happens to be one of my all-time favorites, the 1982 film Creepshow, where he plays Prof. Dexter Stanley, who comes face to face with the contents of The Crate!
Hammer fans have lost another familiar face, that of actor John Carson. He may have only made three appearances in a Hammer Film, as well as one episode of their TV series, every time he came on the screen, he made his presence known. Of course, my personal favorite of Carson’s performances was as the evil squire, Clive Hamilton in John Gilling’s 1966 film The Plague of the Zombies, where he is slowly taking control over this small village. The evilness just oozes from him. With his James Mason-ish voice, his presence is always authoritative and imposing, as well as damn entertaining to watch.
At the very first Cinema Wasteland, back in September of 2000, our dealer table was right next to Mr. Ted V. Mikels, the cult director of such films as Astro Zombies (1968), Corpse Grinders (1971), Blood Orgy of the She-Devils (1973), and many more. Sitting next to him over the next three days, hearing him talk to his fans with so much energy, as well as respect, made me a fan of him, even though I was already a fan of his work. He was such a kind and friendly soul, willing to talk to anybody about his work, as well as giving them any advice and guidance in the film business that he could. This wasn’t just an act that he was putting on to sell stuff from his table, but a genuine person that loved meeting his fans. I still have the Certificate of Assurance from the Dimension in Shock triple feature release that I got from him that weekend, which remains a prize possession in the collection.
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