As this year goes on, we continue to lose more and more of some iconic faces in our movie world. You couldn’t grow up in the ’70s and ’80s and not recognize John Saxon’s face, mainly because he appeared in so many cult features over the decades. It didn’t matter if you were into the Italian giallo (Mario Bava’s The Girl Who Knew Too Much, 1963 & Dario Argento’s Tenebre, 1984), schlocky sci-fi films (Blood Beast from Outer Space, 1965 & Queen of Blood, 1966), martial arts film (Enter the Dragon, 1973), or the countless exploitation titles he appeared in, you would see his face in there somewhere. Not to mention appearing as a cop in more than a few of these films, like Blood Beach (1980), the Nightmare on Elm Street films, and even Nightmare Beach (1989).
We had the opportunity to meet him while at the Flashback Weekend back in 2007 where his table was set up right next to ours. So we were chatting throughout the weekend and he was such a nice guy. So even though the internet has already flooded with tributes and announcements of his passing, I wanted to add my condolences as well. No matter what the film was, even lesser quality productions like Blood Salvage (1990) or Hellmaster (1992), he always delivered a strong performance. His last appearance in a horror title was with his friend Dario Argento in Pelts (2006), in his episode for the second season of The Masters of Horror.
Knowing that his work in all these wonderful films will keep his memory alive and well for generations to come. And that really is all that we can ask in life, to be remembered fondly. And Mr. Saxon, you definitely will. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family in this difficult time.
Back in Feb. of 2018, we posted a mention about this upcoming book. Well, now it is officially out and can be ordered! In this 600 page book, the author gives us a “love letter to both the stars and often-invisible women who have made the genre what it is today. From Classical Hollywood to alt-Nollywood, mumblegore to J-horror, this book offers a tiny global snapshot of the vast number of women who have worked in the creation of dark and spooky movies for well over a century, both behind and in front of the camera, and in films both widely known and comparatively obscure.”
Hazel Court
