Legendary Disney “Imagineer” Martin A. “Marty” Sklar died on July 27, aged 83. While still a student at UCLA he began editing The Disneyland News in 1955, joining the company full-time the following year and working closely with Walt Disney to promote and develop the theme parks and attractions. During his liftetime Sklar attended the opening of every Disney theme park around the world, and he wrote the books Disney: Dream It! Do It!: My Half-Century Creating Disney’s Magic Kingdoms (2013) and One Little Spark!: Mickey’s Ten Commandments and The Road to Imagineering (2015).
American film editor Eric [James] Zumbrunnen died of stomach cancer on August 1, aged 52. He worked on numerous music videos, plus the movies Being John Malkovich, Where the Wild Things Are, John Carter and Her. Zumbrunnen also appeared in Alien Beach Party Massacre.
American film producer, writer and director [Willard] Tobe Hooper, best known for his iconic breakthrough movie The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), died on August 26, aged 74. His other credits include Eaten Alive (aka Death Trap/Slaughter Hotel), Salem’s Lot, The Funhouse, Poltergeist, Lifeforce, Invaders from Mars (1986), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Spontaneous Combustion, I’m Dangerous Tonight, Night Terrors, Body Bags (with John Carpenter), The Mangler, Crocodile, Shadow Realm, Toolbox Murders (2004), Mortuary (2005) and Djinn. On TV he directed episodes of Amazing Stories, Freddy’s Nightmares, Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories, Tales from the Crypt, Nowhere Man, Dark Skies, Perversions of Science, Prey, The Others, Night Visions, Taken and Masters of Terror (Richard Matheson’s ‘Dance of the Dead’ and Ambrose Bierce’s ‘The Damned Thing’, both scripted by Richard Christian Matheson). Hooper received a producer credit on the sequels/reboots The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Texas Chainsaw 3D and Leatherface, and he made cameo appearances in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Spontaneous Combustion, Sleepwalkers and Body Bags. With Alan Goldsher he co-authored the 2011 novel Midnight Movie, which featured the director as the main character.
South Korean director Ki-duk Kim, who co-wrote and directed Yongary Monster from the Deep, died on September 7, aged 82.
37-year-old Chris Jones, the British-born writer and director of the 2016 fantasy movie The Death and Life of Otto Bloom, died in Australia the same day.
Acclaimed British Shakespearian stage and film director Sir Peter [Reginald Frederick] Hall died of pneumonia on September 11, aged 86. He had been diagnosed with dementia in 2011. The founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company and a former director of the National Theatre, his stage productions include adaptations of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1959, 1962 and 2010) and The Tempest (1974), George Orwell’s Animal Farm (1988) and Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit (2004). Hall also twice directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the screen (1959 and 1968). The first of his four wives (1956-65) was French actress Leslie Caron.
The body of 47-year-old assistant location manager Carlos Muñoz Portal was found the same day with multiple gunshot wounds in an abandoned car on a dirt road near the rural town of Temascalapa, Mexico. He had been scouting locations for the next series of Netflix’s Narcos. Amongst the movies he worked on were Resident Evil: Extinction, Elysium and the James Bond film Spectre.
American scriptwriter, director and producer George Englund (George Howe Ripley) died of complications from a fall at his home on September 14, aged 91. He began his career as an actor, starring in an episode of TV’s Lights Out based on a story by John Collier. Englund also directed the surreal musical Western Zachariah (1971), loosely inspired by Hermann Hesse’s novel Siddhartha, and produced the post-apocalyptic drama The World, the Flesh and the Devil. He was married to Cloris Leachman (1953-78) and co-authored the actress’ 2009 autobiography.
American exploitation and adult film-maker C. (Charles) Davis Smith (aka “Charles Lamont”) died on September 20, aged 87. He worked (often with Doris Wishman) as a writer, editor, producer and director on numerous low budget movies, including The Girl from S.I.N., The Amazing Dr. Jekyll, The Amazing Transplant, A Night to Dismember and Each Time I Kill.
Two-time Oscar-nominated American cinematographer Harry [Alfred] Stradling, Jr. died on October 17, aged 92. He began his career working as an assistant camerman on such films as Gaslight (1944) before becoming a camera operator. As a director of photography, his credits include The Mad Room, Nightmare Honeymoon, Damnation Alley and Prophecy. He retired in 1988. His father, Harry Stradling, Sr., won an Oscar for his black and white photography on The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945).
Italian exploitation screenwriter and director Umberto Lenzi (aka “Humphrey Humbert”, “Bert Lenzi”, “Humphrey Logan”, “Henry Milestone” and “Harry Kirkpatrick”) died on October 19, aged 86. Lenzi worked in all genres, and his films include Samson and the Slave Queen, The Spy Who Loved Flowers, Paranoia (1969), So Sweet…So Perverse, Seven Blood-Stained Orchids, Man From Deep River, Spasmo, Eyeball, Eaten Alive!, Nightmare City (aka City of the Walking Dead), Cannibal Ferox (aka Make Them Die Slowly, initially banned in more than thirty countries), Ironmaster, Ghosthouse, The House of Witchcraft, The Hell’s Gate, House of Lost Souls, Hitcher in the Dark, Nightmare Beach and Black Demons. He retired in the early 1990s.
Oscar-winning, German-born cinematographer Walter [Israel] Lassally died in Crete, Greece, on October 23, following complications from surgery. He was 90. Lassally shot The Day the Fish Came Out, To Kill a Clown, Happy Mother’s Day Love George, Memoirs of a Survivor (based on the novel by Doris Lessing) and The Mysterious Stranger.
British costume designer John Mollo, who won an Oscar for his work on Star Wars (1977), died on October 25, aged 86. He also worked on the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, plus Alien, Outland, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan Lord of the Apes, The Jungle Book (1994) and Event Horizon. An expert in European and American military apparel, Mollo’s look for Darth Vader was influenced by First World War trench uniforms and Nazi helmets.
Pioneering television director Paddy Russell (Patricia Mary Russell) died on November 2, aged 89. She began her career as a BBC stage manager on such programmes as Nigel Kneale’s The Quatermass Experiment (1953) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954, starring Peter Cushing). In 1963 she became one of the first female directors in British TV, and her many credits include the 1972 serial The Moonstone (based on the novel by Wilkie Collins), along with episodes of Doctor Who (‘Pyramids of Mars’, ‘Horror at Fang Rock’ etc.), Out of the Unknown, Late Night Horror (Richard Matheson’s ‘No Such Thing as a Vampire’ and John Burke’s ‘The Corpse Can’t Play’) and The Omega Factor.
American producer and agent William Frye died on November 3, aged 96. Best known for his classic television series Thriller (1960-62), hosted by Boris Karloff, he also produced the TV movies The Screaming Woman (based on the story by Ray Bradbury) and The Victim. Frye was instrumental in getting Bette Davis to star in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962).
54-year-old Welsh technician Mark Milsome died while shooting a night-time car stunt for the BBC/Netflix in Ghana on November 18. He worked in the camera department in various capacities on Wuthering Heights (1992), Dark Waters, Mary Reilly, Photographing Fairies, Ritual (originally the third Tales from the Crypt movie), The Dark (2005), Dracula (2006) and Skellig, along with episodes of TV’s Sherlock and Game of Thrones.
Chinese film producer Mona Fong (Meng-Lan Li) died in Hong Kong on November 22, aged 83. A former singer, her many credits include Hex vs. Witchcraft, Corpse Mania, Gu, Hex After Hex, Human Lanterns, The Enchantress, Demon of the Lute, Seeding of a Ghost, Sex Beyond the Grave, The Mad Monk and Out of the Dark. She was married to studio executive Sir Run Run Shaw from1997 until his death in 2004.
British-born film editor and director Anthony Harvey died in Southampton, New York, on November 23, aged 87. As an editor he worked on Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Stopped Worrying and Love the Bomb, and went on to direct They Might Be Giants and Svengali (1983).
French screenwriter, director and novelist Alain [
Rene Sando] Jessua died of pneumonia on November 30, aged 85. His films include Shock Treatment (1973), Frankenstein 90 and The Colors of the Devil.
Prolific German screenwriter, producer and director Ulli Lommel (Ullrich Manfred Lommel, aka “Patricia Devereaux”/“Bianco Pacelli”/“Mario Van Cleef”/“Steven Sondberg”/“The Green River Band”) died of heart failure on December 2, aged 72. A frequent collaborator with Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Andy Warhol, his many credits (in various production capacities) include Tenderness of the Wolves, The Boogey Man (starring John Carradine), BrainWaves, Olivia, Boogeyman II, The Devonsville Terror (starring Donald Pleasence), Stangers in Paradise, Return of the Boogeyman, Lethal Orbit, Bloodsuckers (1997), Zombie Nation, Zodiac Killer, Green River Killer, The Raven (2006), Diary of a Cannibal, Curse of the Zodiac, The Tomb (2007), Borderline Cult, Dungeon Girl, Baseline Killer, Killer Nurse, Absolute Evil, Nightstalker (2009), Manson Family Cult and Boogeyman: Reincarnation. Lommel also acted in his own and others’ movies. He was married to his leading lady, actress Suzanna Love, from 1979-87.
American producer Howard Gottfried died of complications from a stroke on December 8, aged 94. A champion of unpredictable screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, he produced Ken Russell’s Altered States, Brian De Palma’s Body Double and Burt Kennedy’s Suburban Commando.
British director Paul [Anthony] Annett, best known for Amicus’ werewolf mystery The Beast Must Die starring Peter Cushing, died on December 11, aged 80. His other film credits include The Witching of Ben Wagner, and he also directed episodes of TV’s Dead of Night (1972), Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Tales of the Unexpected.
British director Peter [John] Duffell died on December 12, aged 95. Best known for Amicus’ The House That Dripped Blood (1971, with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing), his other credits include episodes of TV’s The Avengers (‘The Winged Avenger’), Hammer’s Journey to the Unknown, Strange Report (‘Report 8944: Hand—A Matter of Witchcraft’), Tales of the Unexpected and Space Precinct. Duffell also worked as an uncredited second-unit director on Superman (1978). His 2010 autobiography, Playing Piano in a Brothel: Memoirs of a Film Director, featured a Foreword by Christopher Lee, who described him as “The most underrated director we have had in Britain for a very long time”.
American movie producer Martin [Nelson] Ransohoff, who discovered actress Sharon Tate and introduced her to her future husband, Roman Polanksi, died on December 13, aged 90. With Edwin Kasper, he formed the production company Filmways Television in 1952, which produced such popular shows as Mister Ed (1958-66) and The Addams Family (1964-66). Ransohoff’s movie credits include Eye of the Devil (aka 13), Polanski’s Dance of the Vampires (aka The Fearless Vampire Killers or: Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1968), Castle Keep, Hamlet (1969), Catch-22, See No Evil and Nightwing.
American production designer and art director Thérèse DePrez died of breast cancer on December 19, aged 52. Her credits include Severed Ties, The Refrigerator, Summer of Sam, Dark Water, The Return, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, Black Swan and Stoker.
American camera operator Albert Bettcher died on December 21, aged 97. He began his career as an uncredited first assistant cameraman on such movies as Bell Book and Candle, The Three Stooges in Orbit, The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze and William Castle’s 13 Frightened Girls and Strait-Jacket before he became a camera operator on ABC-TV’s Batman series. He then went on to work on Battle for the Planet of the Apes, The Terminal Man, King Kong (1976), The Fury, Star Trek The Motion Picture, Blade Runner, Brainstorm (1983), All of Me, Howard the Duck, My Stepmother is an Alien and the 1967 Batgirl TV pilot.
Academy Award-winning American film editor Jerry Greenberg (Gerald B. Greenberg) died after a long illness on December 22, aged 81. He worked on They Might Be Giants, The Happy Hooker, Apocalypse Now, Dressed to Kill, Body Double and Inspector Gadget.
Oscar-winning, German-born movie editor Thomas Stanford died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on December 23. He was 93. Stanford edited Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) and The Legend of the Lone Ranger.
USEFUL ADDRESSES
THE FOLLOWING LISTING of organisations, publications, dealers and individuals is designed to present readers and authors with further avenues to explore. Although I can personally recommend many of those listed on the following pages, neither the publisher nor myself can take any responsibility for the services they offer. Please also note that the information below is only a guide and is subject to change without notice.
—The Editor
ORGANISATIONS
Australasian Horror Writers (www.australasianhorror.wordpress.com) is a non-profit organisation that was formed in 2005 and provides a community and unified voice for Australasian writers of dark fiction, fostering the evolution of the genre within Australia. AHWA is the first point of reference for writers and fans of the dark side of literature in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It spreads the acceptance and understanding of horror literature to a wider audience, and in doing so gains a greater readership for established and new writers alike. They also publish the magazine Midnight Echo, and offer opportunities to be published, mentor programmes, critique services, competitions and giveaways, opportunities to interact with other writers, publishers, artists and other key members of the community, genre news on the Australian scene, and links to horror-related and writing resources. E-mail: [email protected]
The British Fantasy Society (www.britishfantasysociety.org) was founded in 1971 and publishes the BFS Journal, featuring articles and reviews, and BFS Horizons, which is devoted to fiction and poetry, along with occasional exclusive publications only available to members of the Society. Run by volunteers, the BFS offers an e-newsletter, free entry into the BFS Short Story Competition, free specialist writing workshops, discounted membership of FantasyCon and organised open nights and book launches. For yearly membership see the website for details.
The Horror Writers Association (www.horror.org) is a non-profit organisation of writers and publishing professionals around the world, dedicated to promoting dark literature and the interests of those who write it. HWA was formed in the late 1980s and today has more than 1,250 members—making it the oldest and most respected professional organisation for horror writers. One of HWA’s missions is to encourage public interest in and foster an appreciation of good horror and dark Fantasy literature. To that end, they offer the public areas of their website, they sponsor or take part in occasional public readings and lectures, they publish a blog and produce other materials for book-sellers and librarians, they facilitate readings and signings by horror writers, and they are dedicated to recognising and promoting diversity in the horror genre. As part of the organisation’s core mission, they also sponsor the annual Bram Stoker Awards® for superior achievement in horror literature at the annual StokerCon. E-mail: [email protected]
SELECTED SMALL PRESS PUBLISHERS
The Alchemy Press (www.alchemypress.co.uk).
American Fantasy Press (www.americanfantasypress.com), 919 Tappan Street, Woodstock, Illinois 60098, USA.
BearManor Media (www.bearmanormedia.com), PO Box 1129, Duncan, OK 73534-1129, USA.
Black Dog Books (www.blackdogbooks.net), 1115 Pine Meadows Ct., Normal, IL 61761-5432, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Borderlands Press (www.borderlandspress.com), POB 61, Benson, MD 21018, USA.
Cemetery Dance Publications (www.cemeterydance.com), 132-B Industry Lane, Unit #7, Forest Hill, MD 21050, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Chthonic Matter (www.chthonicmatter.wordpress.com).
The Clive Barker Archive (www.clivebarkerarchive.com). E-mail: philandsarah @clivebarker.info
Cōnfingō Publishing (www.confingopublishing.uk), 2 Stonecroft, Parkfield Road South, Manchester M20 6DA, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
Copper Dog Publishing LLC/MoonDream Press (www.copperdogpublishing. com), 537 Leader Circle,
Louisville, CO 80027, USA.
Crystal Lake Publishing (www.crystallakepub.com).
Cutting Block Books/Farolight Publishing (www.cuttingblockbooks.com), PO Box 1521, Winchester, VA 22604, USA.
Cycatrix Press/JaSunni Productions, LCC (www.jasunni.com), 16420 SE McGillivray Blvd., Ste 103-1010, Vancouver, WA 98683, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Dark Cloud Press (www.darkcloudpress.com).
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