Thursday, June 27, 2013

Alan Myers

Drummer; best known for his work with Devo -- via the Washington Post.





Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Lau Kar-leung aka Liu Chia-liang

Martial artist, fight choreographer, actor, screenwriter, and director -- via twitchfilm.com. One of the top figures in Chinese action cinema, Lau started his work in film as a performer in some of the 49 Wong Fei-hung movies that first popularized the genre. He moved on to stunt work and fight choreography in many of the genre's most significant works, including "Golden Swallow," "One-Armed Swordsman," "The Water Margin," "Master of the Flying Guillotine," "Pedicab Driver," "Seven Swords," and "Dirty Ho." He directed such classics as "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin," "My Young Auntie," "8 Diagram Pole Fighter," "Tiger on Beat," and "Drunken Master 2."

Over the course of 55 years and more than 150 film credits, Lau shaped the style and direction of action film as few others have.
































Monday, June 24, 2013

Richard Matheson

Writer of novels, short stories, screenplays, and teleplays -- via the Hollywood Reporter. Quite simply, one of the best and most imaginative writers of the 20th century. A list of his work, primarily in the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, is staggering. (He preferred "terror" to "horror," thinking of the latter as just "blood and guts.") It has influenced the popular imagination, including and especially mine, more than almost any other writer of recent times.

His first published short story, "Born of Man and Woman," is the most anthologized horror story of all time. He wrote "I Am Legend," filmed later as "The Last Man on Earth," "The Omega Man," and "I Am Legend"; "The Shrinking Man," filmed as "The Incredible Shrinking Man"; "A Stir of Echoes," filmed as "Stir of Echoes"; "Bid Time Return," filmed as "Somewhere in Tine"; "Hell House," filmed as "The Legend of Hell House"; as well as "What Dreams May Come."

He wrote the famous teleplay "Duel"; he wrote "The Enemy Within" episode of the original "Star Trek" series; he wrote 16 episodes of "The Twilight Zone," including the classic "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"; he created "The Night Stalker" concept, starring Darrin  McGavin as Kolchack, the investigative reporter who tangled with the unknown; he wrote the classic TV-movie "Trilogy of Terror"; he adapted four Poe stories brilliantly for Roger Corman ("House of Usher," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "Tales of Terror," and "The Raven"), as well as the darkly hilarious "Comedy of Terrors."

He was in touch with the zeitgeist; he could see our hopes and fears and tell them to us in story form. His intensely visual concepts lent themselves perfectly to the screen, making his impact even more pronounced. He opened up our skulls and peeked inside, and took notes. HE SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF US!


























Sunday, June 23, 2013

Bobby "Blue" Bland aka Robert Calvin "Bobby" Bland aka "The Lion of the Blues"

Blues genius -- via wreg.com. A contemporary of the late, great Johnny Ace, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Junior Parker, and others, he like them combined the fervent power of gospel with the heartsick longing of Delta blues, creating R & B, soul, and deeply influencing funk and rock. So cool he had one nickname within another. 'Nuff said.