Saturday, February 04, 2005 - Part One

Special Report - The Texas Frightmare Weekend
Or at least the first half of Saturday – Part One, the Celebrities

I’ve waited a long time for a Horror Convention to come to Dallas, TX. Seems like all the good ones are either on one of the coasts, or Ohio. WAY too far for a working stiff like me. So when it was announced that we were gonna have a convention, and that we’d get an all star line up of guests, I bought a VIP pass for Saturday a month in advance. (NOTE: this burned me with the Full Moon Roadshow, as the price dropped by over half closer to the date. But I’m a sucker who doesn’t learn from his mistakes).

The VIP pass got me in an hour early, so there wasn’t a line to see the celebrities I wanted to see most. Before I go into who I talked to, and my impression of them, let me say that the busiest star there was Sid Haig, who was also one I didn’t really care about meeting. Good thing, ‘cause apparently every Goth in Dallas came to see him. So now, without further ado, the stars.

Joe Bob Briggs – signed by copy of Profoundly Disturbed. Very nice, didn’t charge since I brought the book. I know that some have complained that at other venues, the stars really raped the fans. No here. Mr. Bloom (Joe Bob’s real name for those who aren’t a fan) told me how they do the “God Speak” for The Daily Show. Very nice indeed.

Herschell Gordon Lewis – OMG! My hero. And nicer than you could ever wish for. Signed my copy of Wizard of Gore. (Opening bid, ladies and gentleman, is $2000. I will not entertain a bid of a penny less). I told him that his commentaries are my absolute favorite, and asked him if the rumors about a remake of The Wizard of Gore were true. He was very surprised, saying that HE just found out about it from Jimmie at SWV on Thursday. Wish I could remember where I heard that. I will treasure the pictures I have of HGL and myself for the rest of my life.

Betsy Palmer – That’s right, Mrs. Voorhees herself, looking VERY much like she did in the movies, even wearing a similar sweater. And when she said “Kill ‘em, Mommy! Kill ‘em”, its still VERY creepy. But she was as sweet as you could ask. I bought one of her pictures to sign, as I really wanted to support those who might not have other streams of revenue (yeah, big softie me).

Tom Savini – probably the least friendly, but was cordial, and seemed pleased that I had brought a copy of Maniac (in which he stars and did the special affects, including decapitating himself) for him to sign.

Bill Hinzman – In grey makeup, and he signed my copy of “Santa Claws” that he shot, “The First Zombie”. Very nice, but not a lot to say.

Debbie Rochon – even in dark shades, you’d know her a mile away. She was very nice, and she too signed my copy of Santa Claws, so that one’s double special. Considering who she is, she was terrifically approachable.

Brinke Stevens – Wow! I’ve not met very many actors or actresses. Certainly none with as many screen credits as Ms Stevens (well, actually, now that I look, Debbie has 5 more, but you get the idea). But she was nicer to me than I ever could have dreamed. I asked her to sign two movies (Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama and Demon Sex), and joke’d about how some roles she’s more proud of than others. Super nice, and her smile is so bright and warm, it could melt stone.

Lloyd Kaufman – last, but certainly not least, the King of Tromaville himself. He asked for a shout out in my blog, so here you go Lloyd. By the way, I just did a quick query on my database of discs, and I have 38 Troma Releases (#3 of all, only beaten by Something Weird Video (68) and Image Entertainment (65). That beats out some big competition, but I just love their stuff. It’s irreverent, sexy, and fun. What more could you ask? And you know what, so was Lloyd. You know that goofy guy at the start of all his movies? He’s just like that in person. He signed my copy of Class of Nuke’em High, and added a voice balloon to the guy on the cover of Die, You Zombie Bastards that said “I luv Ken”. What a nut. He was VERY gracious, considering he’s a CEO and all. Keep doing what you’re doin’, Lloyd, and I’ll keep buyin’ ‘em.

Well, this is one HUGE entry, and I haven’t even mentioned the movies yet. So I’ll split this, and do the movies in part 2.