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!
This Tony award winning actor was known and praised for his word on the stage, which is a shame that he never made it bigger on screen. Weaver passed away last Saturday at his home, at the age of 90. Gone, but never forgotten. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family.
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.
Fans of the Italian Giallo films has lost another actress that graced the screen in more than a few films in the early ’70s. Marina Malfatti passed away on June 8th, at the age of 76. She appeared in titles like The Fourth Victim (1971), The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971), All the Colors of the Dark (1972), Seven Blood-Stained Orchids (1972), and The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972).
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