Remembering Haruo Nakajima

by Armand Vaquer

Above, yours truly with Haruo Nakajima at G-FEST 2000. I later had him autograph the photo.

The news that the original Godzilla, Haruo Nakajima has passed away today at age 88 is just devastating.

I first met him in 2000 at G-FEST 2000 in Hollywood. I got to see first hand how he enjoyed interacting with his fans. He enjoyed being with them as much as they enjoyed being with him.

 A year later, at the premiere of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack at the 2001 Tokyo International Film Festival, I met up with him following the movie's screening. Richard Pusateri and I had a photo taken with him.

Above, at the 2001 Tokyo International Film Festival with Richard Pusateri. Photo courtesy of Richard Pusateri.

I next saw him at the 2008 G-FEST in Chicago. In fact, I went to O'Hare International Airport to pick him up. It was at this convention that Nakajima was awarded the Mangled Skyscraper Award for his movie work.

Above, Armand with Haruo and Sonoe Nakajima in their suite at G-FEST in 2008.

Above, Sonoe and Haruo Nakajima at the 2008 G-FEST awards banquet. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Haruo Nakajima during his panel discussion at G-FEST. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Haruo Nakajima with his Mangled Skyscraper Award. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

At the first Monsterpalooza in Burbank following the Great East Japan Earthquake, I ran into him with Miki Hayashi. The proceeds received for his autograph went to earthquake relief.

Above, Haruo Nakajima with Miki Hayashi at 
Monsterpalooza 2011. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In 2013, I served has his "wrangler" at the Mad Monster Party convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the show, we sat together in the dealers room where he signed autographs and I sold copies of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan. I also moderated a discussion with him and "acted" in a spoof monster video where I was fleeing a giant monster attack and tried to tell him to also flee, but he was too interested in reading his newspaper.

 The following photos are from the 2013 Mad Monster Party:

Above, Nakajima signs a fan's poster. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Nakajima with a signed photo for Tony Isabella. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, yours truly "acting" with Haruo Nakajima.

Above, Nakajima with a costumed fan. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Haruo Nakajima with actress Lea Thompson. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Haruo Nakajima and I. Photo by Jeff Blanken.

Above, the panel discussion. Photo by Jeff Blanken.

Above, "Team Nakajima": Yoko Connelly, Sonoe and Haruo Nakajima, Jeff Blanken and Armand Vaquer.

War of the Gargantuas and Creature from the Black Lagoon 60th B-Day Celebration Highlight Monsterpalooza

From Monsterpalooza

One of the most beloved art/horror fests on the West Coast is Monsterpalooza, which celebrates the "Art of Monsters." The fest will hit Burbank once again on March 28-30. Save the date!

As usual, Monsterpalooza will feature award-winning F/X artists, special presentations, a walk-thru monster museum, and monster-related artwork on display and for sale. The list of celebrity guests is large and impressive. Take a look at whom you can expect to see at this year’s Monsterpalooza.

Special Celebrity Guests From The Genre And Beyond!

Kenji Sahara – War Of The Gargantuas, Destroy All Monsters, Rodan, Godzilla vs The Thing, The Mysterians, King Kong vs Godzilla

Harou Nakajima – Godzilla, Rodan, Destroy All Monsters

Russ Tamblyn – “Twin Peaks”, War Of The Gargantuas

Rutger Hauer – Blade Runner, The Hitcher, “True Blood”

Dee Snider – Twisted Sister, Strangeland, Van Helsing’s Curse

Tippi Hedren – The Birds, Marnie, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”

Nancy Allen – Blow Out

More at Monsterpalooza

Carla Laemmle Turns 104 On October 20

by Armand Vaquer

Above, Carla Laemmle at the 2011 Monsterpalooza.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In five days, actress Carla Laemmle will be celebrating her 104th birthday.

She is the last surviving actress of the 1931 Universal Pictures' Dracula that starred Bela Lugosi.

According to Wikipedia:

Rebecca Isabelle Laemmle (born October 20, 1909) known professionally as Carla Laemmle is an American actress and the niece of Universal Pictures studio founder Carl Laemmle, she is of German Jewish descent. She was a movie actress in the 1920s and 1930s, and is, along with Jean Darling, Baby Peggy, and Mickey Rooney, one of the very few surviving actors of the silent film era. 

Laemmle entered films in 1925 playing an uncredited role as a ballet dancer in the original silent film version of The Phantom of the Opera (1925) and a small role in the early talkie version of Dracula (1931), and is the last surviving cast member of both classic films. Laemmle continued to appear in small roles until the late 1930s, when she disappeared from the movie screen. She briefly came out of retirement to play a vampire in The Vampire Hunters Club (2001). 

She shared her reminiscences of appearing in a bit part in Dracula (1931) by hosting the original documentary The Road to Dracula (1999), a supplemental piece included on the 2004 DVD release, Dracula: The Legacy Collection. In that classic film, she portrayed a bespectacled passenger riding in a bumpy horse-drawn carriage with Renfield as he is traveling to Dracula's castle. In this documentary, Laemmle proudly states: "I had the privilege of speaking the first lines of dialogue in the first talking supernatural thriller".

Above, Carla Laemmle during her starlet years.

Miss Laemmle attended the Son of Monsterpalooza show last weekend in Burbank.

A Happy Birthday goes out to Carla Laemmle! 

Son of Monsterpalooza

by Armand Vaquer

Today, I made it over to the Burbank Marriott and Convention Center near Bob Hope Airport for this year's Son of Monsterpalooza.

Son of Monsterpalooza is like the big Monsterpalooza show, but on a smaller scale. Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun.

Fortunately, when I got there, the crowds had thinned out and I was able to move about with no problem. I was able to meet with actor Akira Takarada and Bela Lugosi, Jr. while at the show.

Lugosi, Jr. (whose table was a few feet away from Takarada's) asked me about Takarada as he wasn't familiar with his work. I explained to him that he was in the original 1954 Godzilla as part of the love triangle as well as other Toho epics.

Some highlights:

Above, some displays at the show.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, actor Akira Takarada and Armand with an autographed poster.

Above, Bela Lugosi, Jr. with a companion in a mask of his father.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, an attendee in the make-up chair.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a nicely-done bust of Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, more exhibitor displays.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Caroline Munro's New Horror Movie

by Armand Vaquer

Above, Caroline Munro and Armand at the 2012 Monsterpalooza.

Actress Caroline Munro is making a new horror movie and the producers are inviting people to invest.

According to Classic Horror Campaign:

Sultry Hammer Horror star Caroline Munro has teamed up with London’s Misty Moon Gallery to make a brand new horror film to be premiered at the Misty Moon Gallery in time for Halloween! The Landlady is a portmanteau horror in the tradition of Amicus classics like Dr Terror’s House of Horrors, 

The Landlady is being shot with a professional cast and crew but needs your help with funding to make sure it’s completed in time for Halloween.

Investors will be entitled to some "perks," according to the article.

For details, go here.

Monsterpalooza 2013 - Part 2

Text and photos by Armand Vaquer

Above, Kong dominates the Monsterpalooza Museum.

Along with King Kong, there seemed to be a lot of Erik from The Phantom of the Opera.  The Chaney Family had a booth there as did Sara Karloff and Bela Lugosi Jr.

I was pleased to meet and be photographed with Academy Award winning actor Martin Landau.  I also saw 2001: A Space Odyssey stars Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood.  I had met Gary Lockwood before when I used to patrol in Malibu.  He lives at one of our gated community accounts in Point Dume.

Back in the day, I used to pick up copies of G-Fan at the Creature Features store in Burbank to do the  highlights summaries for kaiju message boards (as issues tended to be slow in coming).  They closed down about 7-8 years ago.  They had a booth at the show and they are now open in Arcadia, California.  We talked a little and perhaps they will be carrying The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan at their store.

Here's some more from opening day:

Above, a rather well-done replica Robby the robot from "Forbidden Planet."

Above, the crew of the "Orca" from 1975's "Jaws."  Great likenesses of Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss.

Above, yours truly with Academy Award winner (for his role as Bela Lugosi in "Ed Wood")  Martin Landau.

Above, Erik and Christine from "The Phantom of the Opera."

Above, I took this photo because this reminds me of a co-worker in Malibu.

Monsterpalooza 2013 - Part 1

Text and photos by Armand Vaquer

Above, the Lon Chaney "Phantom of the Opera."

Monsterpalooza 2013 was another great show!  As usual, the Burbank Marriott's convention center was packed (it will be worse on Saturday and Sunday) with many happy attendees.

I got there at about 6:00 PM Friday evening.  I had about a 30 minute wait in line.  Fortunately, a nice costumed gent handed out copies of the show's program, so we had something to look at.

My ad for The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan was placed in an excellent position on page 5 of the show program.  Jessie Lilley did a great job on the program and I complimented her on it and congratulated her on her induction to the Monster Kid Hall of Fame.  She said that big plans are afoot for next year in getting Haruo Nakajima inducted.

Shinichi Wakasa was there, but I didn't see him.  Bob Johnson and Jay Grymyr were there, but I didn't run into them either.  I did manage to see (or, he saw me first) kaiju toy collector Jean Carbajal as I was waiting in line to get in.  We chatted a bit.

King Kong was prominent as this year marks the 80th anniversary of the original RKO King Kong (also, it would have been my mother's 80th birthday this year).

I roamed around the show and was impressed with all the displays.  There seemed to be more realistic wax figures of horror greats at this year's show.

Here's some photos:

Above, anxious fans waiting to get into the show.

Above, a young lady getting the make-up treatment.

Above, I met with Jessie Lilley of Mondo Cult magazine.

Above, the Max Shreck "Nosferatu."

Above, Jack Nicholson in "The Shining."

Monsterpalooza 2012

Above, The Monster confronts Elizabeth in "Frankenstein" in Monsterpalooza's Museum.

It was another fun Monsterpalooza in Burbank this year. I attended yesterday afternoon. The crowds waiting to get in were huge, despite an occasional downpour.

The first person I recognized was Godzilla suit-maker Shinichi Wakasa. We chatted a bit over at The Daily Grill, the Burbank Marriott's restaurant. I introduced longtime G-FEST volunteer Barbara Weiler to him.

While waiting to get in, a gent in a homemade Gill-man suit entertained people in line (below).

Once inside, I made my way to Mondo Cult magazine's table and met with Jessie Lilley. Earlier, I had Don Glut snap this shot of actor/writer/film historian Ted Newsom and me (below).

Wandering around, I found that the usual great exhibits one expects at Monsterpalooza were in abundance. Mike Hill's life-size sculptures (below) of Jack Pierce (with The Mummy) and Rick Baker (with An American Werewolf In London) were terrific.

Naturally, Monsterpalooza had celebritites and big names in the horror genre in abundance. Sara Karloff (daughter of Boris) had a table (below) as did Bela Lugosi Jr.

After meandering around the vendor areas, I made my way into Monsterpalooza's Museum. Here's some of the highlights in the museum:

Above, several portraits of Boris Karloff, Vincent Price and Al Lewis.

Above, "Avatar."

Above, Godzilla was represented by this huge sculpture.

Above, The Monster and Henry Frankenstein struggle on the mill.

Following the Museum, I made my way to the autograph section where I obtained this autographed photo of actress Caroline Munro (from 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me) with Roger Moore (below).

And, had a photo taken with her:

After this, I had to dash off to pick up my roomie in Pasadena.


Monsterpalooza continues today and tomorrow.


If you can, head out to Burbank and have yourself a great time!