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Remembering “The Lonster”
It was 1969 or 1970 and there I was looking in the bathroom mirror….about ten years old. I was squinting my eyes. Squinting and looking angry as I could. What the heck was I doing? Luckily my parents didn’t walk past. I didn’t need to confirm their suspicions that I really was crazy.
It was a commercial break on New York TV’s channel 5 WNEW. They were running INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN (1956) that Saturday night. I was emulating that revenge-filled look of Lon Chaney, Jr. in that film. I was, and am, a fan. Of, course I loved Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Vincent Price, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee…but, I had a special affinity for Chaney, Jr., who I dubbed “The Lonster” a few years later.
I think it started with his Larry Talbot character from the Universal Wolf Man films. That torment he went through in THE WOLF MAN (1941). I had empathy. Here was this nice guy who tried to save a girl he barely knew from a wolf (werewolf) and for his efforts, he’s cursed. No good deed goes unpunished…I learned that adage thanks to Lon’s Larry Talbot character. He spent film after film trying to free himself from this curse. He became a werewolf himself and was, perhaps, the most vicious and frightening of all the Universal monsters. A wild animal that just wanted to rip your throat out. Cover that jugular.
I felt happy for him when he was finally cured in HOUSE OF DRACULA (1945). But, what happened….? It didn’t stick. There he was, The Wolf Man in ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948). Again, trying his best to do good and free the earth of Dracula and The Frankenstein Monster. That was the cauterizing of Lon Jr. being my favorite horror actor.
Lon Chaney, Jr. always dominated every scene in every movie he was in for me. As soon as he walked into a scene, it was all about this guy. A screen presence to be reckoned with. Whether he was a good guy, a cowboy, Dynamo Dan (MAN MADE MONSTER), an evil Dracula (SON OF DRACULA), a one-handed Cajun (THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE), a gangster, or dear old Lenny Small (OF MICE AND MEN)….you can’t help but being focused in on this guy!
Speaking of his Lenny in OF MICE AND MEN (1939), I didn’t get to see that until it hit home video in the 1980s. I had always heard about it…and wow. It really is a blockbuster of acting. Chaney is powerful, and heart-breaking.
Lon Jr. has never been in the shadow of his talented father for me.
Flashback to eleven year old me and I’m encouraging all the neighborhood kids to play Universal monsters in a grassy yard. Big Dennis was The Frankenstein Monster, Scott was Count Dracula. Billy was the Creature From the Black Lagoon. Chris, the shambling mummy. Me? I was thrashing about on the ground, wearing a dark collared shirt…as The Wolf Man. What else?
-Ron Adams, February 2020.
On with the show, now let’s check out the new cool stuff and classic monster news…
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TODAY’S MONSTER BASH PHAN FOTO
Above: A great gag photo of Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man fooling around with director Charles Barton on the set of ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948).
Get ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN on Blu-Ray or DVD here at Creepy Classics!
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New! RETRO FAN #8 Magazine
Highly recommended! The new magazine RETRO FAN…all the stuff that we grew up with…monsters, super heroes, TV shows, movies, toys, games and interviews with the stars! Here’s the latest issue (in stock NOW!):
RETRO FAN #8 – Magazine
If you like FILMFAX magazine, this is kind of the TV and pop culture version on all gloss paper. Inside this issue: MARS ATTACKS cards from the 1960s, June Lockhart Interview, THE FLINTSTONES Turn 60, Anne Francis and Honey West, The Cowsills, MAD Magazine’s History, Real Flying Saucers and more!
Hop on your banana seat bicycle and pedal as fast as you can to the Creepy Magazine Newsstand and grab the latest issue in the Retro Fan Department at Creepy Classics.
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New! More Used DVDs at Creepy Classics
Get the DVDs in like new condition in our Used DVD Department here at Creepy Classics. It’s TWO ON A GUILLOTINE (1965) and ULTRA Q (Japanese Monster Show!).
You’ll also find titles like WAR-GODS OF THE DEEP (1964/Vincent Price), CASTLE OF BLOOD (Barbara Steele), THE CAT AND THE CANARY (1927), NOSFERATU (1922), NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968), TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA (Christopher Lee), THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD(1951), THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1940) and many more.
Put it in high gear and tear down to the catacombs at Creepy Classics and our Used DVD Department now.
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Arch Hall, Racing To MONSTER BASH in June
This June gathering with old friends and meet new ones…all classic monster movie fans at MONSTER BASH (June 19-21, 2020)! It’s at the Double Tree Hotel in Mars, PA (North Pittsburgh). www.monsterbash.us
Arch Hall, Jr.’s on his motorcycle heading to Bash, Ricou Brownings is swimming our way and the two surviving members of The Munsters will be in the house: Pat Priest and Butch Patrick. Plus, leaving Monroeville Mall…it’s zombies John and Denise Kiss from DAWN OF THE DEAD. You’ll also see that little girl from THE BODY SNATCHER, Sharyn Moffett. John Russo’s co writer and zombie from the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and more guests!
Get you membership admission now, click here: https://www.monsterbashnews.com/admission.html
If you’re a vendor, there are only a few vendor spaces left.
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Our New Best Seller! Massive Three Disc DVD Set of Interviews and documentary on 1950s Sci-Fi
It’s in stock now…
HORROR IN THE ATOMIC AGE (Interviews) – 3 DVD Set
Seven years in the making, HORROR IN THE ATOMIC AGE is the definitive oral history of science fiction and horror films of the Atomic Age, from 1950 through the early 60s as told by the actors, directors and others that made the films. Nearly 50 interviews with iconic actors like Julie Adams (Creature From The Black Lagoon), Joyce Meadows (The Brain From Planet Arous), Coleen Gray (The Leech Woman), Jimmy Hunt (Invaders From Mars), William Phipps (Cat Women On The Moon), and many more. A must for any fan of 1950s horror and sci-fi movies. It’s all here from the Red Scare to Mutant Monsters to Science Gone Mad.
Interviews include” Coleen Grey, Julie Adams, In Melchoir, James Karen, Robert Dix, Richard Anderson, William Schallert, Ann Robinson, Brett Halsey, David Hedison, Joyce Meadows, Jimmy Hunt, Kathleen Hughes, Phyllis Coates, Lisa Davis, Scott Morrow, William Phipps, Richard Erdman, Hugh O’Brien, Billy Gray, Pat Boone, Kenny Miller, Terry Moore, Laurie Mitchell, Caroline Munro, David Frankham, Peggy Webber, James Best, Paul Mantee, Paul Lukather, Victoria Price, Terry Castle, Diana Gemora, Laura Sobell, Bob Burns, Ariane Ulmer, Vincent Price, Roger Corman, Samual Z. Arkoff, Russell Johnson, John Agar, John Carradine, Pamela Lincoln, Boris Karloff, Jack Arnold, Bert I. Gordon, Ricou Browning…and Monster Bash’s Ron Adams.
Get it now in our New DVD Department…a must for your collection from Creepy Classics!
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Who Let the Mummy’s Out?!
Now sarcophagus stocked at Creepy Classics…great poster reproductions from classic mummy films! See THE MUMMY (1932), THE MUMMY’S HAND (1940), THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1942), THE MUMMY’S GHOST (1944) and THE MUMMY’S CURSE (1944) in our Poster Reproductions Department now.
You can also click on these poster images to order.
These all are in beautiful color on card stock, heavy paper and in crystal clear acrylic slip sleeves. We just filled the tomb with mummy posters…collect them all. The vertical ones are 11X17 inches and the horizontal lobby cards are 11X14 inches. Perfect to fill a wall in your own movie room.
Get wrapped up in our Posters Department now at Creepy Classics…just don’t read any ancient scrolls if you know what’s good for you!
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New! Classic Books For Your Shelves
Now in our Creepy Bookstore at Creepy Classics…
BELA LUGOSI (Midnight Marquee Actors Series) – Softcover Book
From Midnight Marquee…a detailed look at some of Lugosi’s most loved films explored by many noted authors. Illustrated with lots of great photo reproductions. 312 pages.
CREEPSHOW (Graphic Novel, 2017 edition) – Color Graphic Novel
A companion graphic novel to the Stephen King movie CREEPSHOW. It features the art of Berni Wrightson in the classic old EC horror comic style of the 1950s. Gruesome, ghoulish fun. This has become a collector’s item among fans of EC horror comics.
CREATURE FEATURES STRIKES AGAIN (John Stanley) – Guide Book
This is the fourth edition of JOHN STANLEY’S CREATURE FEATURES STRIKES AGAIN MOVIE GUIDE and for everyone how is addicted to horror movies of the past and present this book is a gem. After a lively introduction about he genesis of horror pictures and some sage wisdom about our need for these films, Stanley takes us on an alphabetically arranged tour of the greats in films and the actors and actresses who populated them. The large volume is peppered with photographs of memorable members of his genre – Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr, Vincent Price et at as well as cartoons and drawings and ads from these picture shows.
DO YOU WANT IT GOOD OR TUESDAY? (1997 Edition) – Book
1997 first edition. Jimmy Sangster proves the pen is mightier than the stake as he reflects upon his film career from his early apprenticeship in the British film industry to Hammer Films mainstay and then to a stint in Hollywood and television. Autobiography. Behind-the-scenes photos!
Pull these off our shelves in the Creepy Bookstore here at Creepy Classics today!
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Get Your Plans in Order for THIS Year’s MONSTER BASH Shows!
First off, it’s the June MONSTER BASH CONFERENCE (June 19-21, 2020) at the Double Tree Hotel, Mars, PA. Hotel phone: (724) 776-6900. Ask for the Monster Bash block, or they’ll say it’s sold out. A few rooms are left at the time of this writing. Web site: https://www.monsterbashnews.com/bash-June.html
New June 2020 video produced by Kevin Slick: https://www.monsterbashnews.com/bash-June.html
You can get your hotel room for June on-line too, CLICK HERE.
Then it’s the MONSTER BASH BELA LUGOSI FILM FESTIVAL (August 14-15, 2020) at The Palace Theatre, Canton, Ohio. Where most Bashers stay, The Canton Fairfield. Hotel phone: (330) 484-0300 for reservations. Web site for all the details: https://www.monsterbashnews.com/bash-August.html
And to wrap up 2020, it’s MONSTER BASH OCTOBERFEST (October 16-18, 2020) at the Marriott Pittsburgh North (Mars, PA, Cranberry Township). Web site for October’s show: https://www.monsterbashnews.com/bash-October.html
Hotel reservation block open now at the discounted rate of $109 a night. Hotel phone: (724) 772-3700. Make sure to say you want the “Monster Bash” rate. Order your on-site hotel room for the October Bash now, on-line, CLICK HERE.
Get all your reservations lined up, so you are ready to BASH in 2020!
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Our Best Wishes Go Out To Roberto “Bobb” Cotter
Author of numerous books, including THE MEXICAN MASKED WRESTLER & MONSTER FILMOGRAPHY, Roberto “Bobb” Cotter has suffered a stroke. He’s recovering in Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh now. While he’s doing better, he probably will not be able to make MONSTER BASH in June.
If you’ve been to BASH, you probably know Bobb as he was usually either in his “Kolchak” get-up or a Mexican wrestling mask.
Well wishes can be e-mailed to Bobb at this address: santoscene@hotmail.com
-Ron
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New from Arcane Shadows Press…BELA LUGOSI: THE MONOGRAMTHOLOGY
In stock now, a monumental project from writer/editor/publisher Brad Braddock…a continued history of Bela Lugosi’s Monogram films in fiction…check out the writer in this new soft cover book! What a line-up:
BELA LUGOSI: THE MONOGRAMTHOLOGY – Soft Cover Book
A collection of fiction, each short story based on Bela Lugosi films from Monogram Studios. Stories by Brad Braddock, Greg Mank, Frank Dello Stritto, Todd Shiba, Kurt McCoy, Dwight Kemper, Brian Carney, Robert and Stefanie Kokai. Forward by horror host Drac. 245 pages with photos.
It’s on stock at you home for all things classic horror and science fiction….Creepy Classics. You’ll find this new book on our Book Department in the “B” section for “Bela!”
You can meet Brad at this June, August or October MONSTER BASH shows!
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….and now, photos of fun from past MONSTER BASH shows! Stay up-to-date with MONSTER BASH Shows:
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Monsters After Midnight 