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.

Sergio Salvati – Rest in Peace

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If you don’t recognize Salvati’s name, if you’re a regular here, then you know his work. He was a cinematographer that worked with Lucio Fulci on 11 different films, including some of his best titles. Films like The Psychic (1977), Zombie (1979), City of the Living Dead (1980), The Beyond (1981), and House by the Cemetery (1981). He worked on what was supposed to be Fulci’s big return with The Wax Mask (1997), but Fulci passed away, but Salvati still worked on it with the new director, Sergio Stivaletti. He also worked with Charles Band on Crawlspace (1986) and Puppet Master (1989).

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Scott Spiegel – Rest in Peace

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It’s a shame that Spiegel’s name isn’t more well known, since he was one of those crazy Michigan guys who went on to do some pretty important movies in the genre, such as Evil Dead (1981). Not only did he co-write Thou Shalt Not Kill… Except (1985), but he also co-wrote and directed the fun little slasher Intruder (1989), which both Sam and Ted Raimi, and Bruce Campbell appeared in. He would go on to direct From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999) and Hostel: Part III (2011).

Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.

Mad Ron Roccia – Rest in Peace

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Back in the early days of VHS, there weren’t too many tapes out there of just trailers. Especially ones that just were about horror films, especially some obscure ones. But if you were lucky enough to stumble across Mad Ron’s Prevues from Hell (1987), then you were in hog-horror-heaven! For young horror fans, this tape because a checklist of movies you had to find. Showing us bits from classics like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Night of the Living Dead (1968), but also more obscure ones such as Three on a Meathook (1972), Night of the Bloody Apes (1969), Deranged (1974), The Ghost Galleon aka The Horror of the Zombies (1974), and so many more.

Sadly, we heard that Mad Ron himself, Ron Roccia had passed away earlier this week. Ron was just part of the crew that gave us that wonderful tape, but it was sad news to hear of his passing. His work on that tape helped me want to seek these films out, and I know there were thousands of other fans that did the exact same thing. So, us horror fans salute you, Mad Ron, and thank you for opening those doors to us all those years ago.

Our thoughts go out to his friends and family at this difficult time. Rest in Peace, Mad Ron. You will always be fondly remembered. Your legacy lives on.

Michael Madsen – Rest in Peace

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Fans have lost another highly memorable character actor, Michael Madsen, who passed away yesterday at the age of 67. With well over 300 credits on IMDB, it is just amazing the amount of work he was involved with. Sure, there were a lot of low budget films in there, but as an actor, you have to work. He worked in about every genre but is probably best known for his portrayal of Mr. Blonde in Quintin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1993). Either that, or Free Willy (1993)! That’s not a joke, since he was known by a lot of younger audiences because that role. No matter what role or movie he was in, he never phoned it in and always made an impression. When he played a bad guy, he was one of the best. I know a lot of us can never hear the song Stuck in the Middle with You by Stealers Wheel and not think of him doing his little dance before some truly dark moments.

But at least he will always be remembered, not just when we hear that song, but for the hundreds of other performances that he has left us. Gone, but never forgotten. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time. Rest in Peace, Mr. Madsen.

Lalo Schifrin – Rest in Peace

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We’ve lost another incredible talent in the world of film composition, the great Lalo Schifrin. I don’t think there is anyone out there in the world that doesn’t know the theme music from Mission: Impossible, whether it’s from the original TV series or the movie series, but Schifrin is the one that created it. It is one of those pieces that immediately has an effect on the listener. In fact, Bruce Lee specifically wanted Schifrin to score his movie Enter the Dragon (1973) because Lee used to work out to the famous TV theme. He also worked quite a bit with Clint Eastwood, doing the Dirty Harry films, not to mention Cool Hand Luke (1967), and Bullitt (1968), and more recent, the Rush Hour trilogy.

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Mara Corday – Rest in Peace

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Mara Corday (1954)

I’m posting about this now because I just heard about it. But it seems the lovely Mara Corday had passed away back on February 9th, at the age of 95. While she had a relatively short career in movies, making only 46 appearances, in film and TV, mainly because she left the business to concentrate on her marriage and family. But she did appear in three of my favorites from the ’50s, Tarantula (1955), The Black Scorpion (1957), and my all-time favorite, The Giant Claw (1957)! That last title showed that no matter how silly the subject matter might be, Corday always played it straight and gave some wonderful performances. Later in life, after her husband had died, her friend and Tarantula co-star, Clint Eastwood, would cast her in small roles in his films, such as The Gauntlet (1977) and Sudden Impact (1983), that way she could keep her SAG membership (and all its benefits)!

I know she will always be remembered for a lot of fans because of the work she did, especially in the sci-fi/horror titles because those types of films never lose their charm. And one of those reasons is the work that Corday did in them. Gone, but she will definitely never be forgotten.

Joe Don Baker – Rest in Peace

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We lost another tough guy from American cinema, with the passing of Joe Don Baker. Now, he really only appeared in a couple of films that could be considered horror, especially the 1977 killer dog movie The Pack, which is highly underrated. But when he appears on screen, no matter if he’s playing the good guy or bad guy, he’s going to give one hell of a performance. His tough guy attitude was always intimidating, especially in roles like that of Buford Pusser in Walking Tall (1973), or even in a minor role the same year in The Outfit. But he could also appear in comedies, such as in Fletch (1985). He was one of the few actors to play a villain in a James Bond film, The Living Daylights (1987) and then play a good guy in GoldenEye (1995) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).

The point is that he always made an impact with the roles he took. Baker passed away on May 7th, at the age of 89. He will always be remembered in these roles that are here for us fans to remember, as well as creating new fans each year. Our thoughts go out to him and his family during this difficult time.

Rosanna Norton – Rest in Peace

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I had every intention of posting this several days ago, but life has a tendency to get in the way. But wanted to make sure I did get it posted, even if it’s a little late. Rosanna Norton is a name that few of us horror fans might know. She was a costume designer and had passed away on May 7th, at the age of 80 years old. She had gone to UCLA as a painting major but got into costume design. After she retired from film, she went back to her love of painting.

When I saw the news of her passing, it made me realize there yet another part of the filmmaking process that tends to get very little credit from fans. Sure, there is an Oscar category for it, which Norton got a co-nomination for her work on Tron (1982). But as deviant cinephiles, where we often recognize the cinematography, the makeup effects, the story, and of course the direction and acting, but how many times have we brought up costumes in those conversations.

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Greg Cannom – Rest in Peace

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Back in the ’80s, it was a time when the makeup effects artists were treated like celebrities. Sometimes we’d go to a movie because of who did the special effects more than who was in it! Names like Tom Savini, Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, and countless others help create the monsters and makeup that made the 80s and beyond so much entertaining. One of those names was Greg Cannom, who we lost yesterday at the age of 74.

From his very beginning assisting Rick Baker on films like It Lives Again (1978), The Incredible Melting Man (1977), to going on his own path, continuing to create some amazing work. He had been nominated 14 times for an Oscar, winning 7 times, mainly for non-horror characters like in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and Mr. Doubtfire (1993), but he also won for Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), which is still one of my favorite versions of the Stoker novel. Over the years, he had worked on films like The Lost Boys (1987), Blade (1998), and even turning Ozzy Osbourne into a werewolf for his 1983’s Bark at the Moon album cover!

I had the honor to meet him at the Monsterpalooza convention back in 2019, and it was indeed an honor, and I thanked him for the many, many hours of entertainment his work had given me, and countless other fans. Upon hearing the news of his passing, Rick Baker said “His work will be remembered long after his passing.” I couldn’t agree more. That is the one positive mark of working in the film industry, that you will live on through your amazing work. Rest in Peace, Mr. Cannom. Gone, but not forgotten.

Lar Park Lincoln – Rest in Peace

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As horror fans know, most all who did battle with Jason Voorhees either barely escaped or ended up as another statistic. Out of all the Final Girls to do battle with that undying monster in that series, I feel that it was the character of Tina Shepard in Part 7: The New Blood. So, it was sad news of her passing, on Tuesday the 22nd. She didn’t appear in a ton of horror films, though did appear in House II: The Second Story (1987) and an episode of Freddy’s Nightmares (1988), but she still left her mark when she did. But she also spent a lot of her time helping younger actors get their start, by starting the Actors Audition Studios, based in Dallas, TX.

Our thoughts go out to her friends and family during this difficult time. She may be gone, but as long as there are Friday the 13th fans (which there ALWAYS will be), she will live on. Rest in Peace.