American director Ted Post died on August 20, aged ninety-five. He began his career in TV in the early 1950s, and his movie credits include Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Night Slaves, Dr. Crook’s Garden, Five Desperate Women, The Baby and Nightkill, along with episodes of Thriller, Twilight Zone, Ark II, Future Cop and Beyond Westworld.
Veteran British cinematographer Gilbert Taylor (aka “Gil Taylor”) died on August 23, aged ninety-nine. After starting out in 1929 as a camera assistant at Gainsborough Studios in London, his credits include Seven Days to Noon, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, The Bedford Incident, Cul-de-sac, Theatre of Death (aka Blood Fiend), Macbeth, Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy, The Omen (1976), Star Wars, Dracula (1979), Flash Gordon (1980), Venom and Voyage of the Rock Aliens. Taylor contributed additional photography to 2001: A Space Odyssey and Damien: Omen II, and he also worked on episodes of TV’s The Avengers and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).
Globe-trotting British TV presenter, writer and producer Sir David [Paradine] Frost died of a heart attack at sea, travelling between Britain and Portugal, on August 31. He was seventy-four. Frost executive produced the movie The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella and the 2003 TV documentary Bloodlines: The Dracula Family Tree. He was also set to produce the Hammer film Nessie, which was announced but never made. Frost was married to actress Lynne Frederick from 1981–82.
Spanish writer and director José Ramón Larraz [Gil] (aka “J.R. Larrath”/“Joseph Larraz”/“Joseph Braunstein”) died after a short illness on September 3, aged eighty-four. A former comic book writer/illustrator and fashion photographer, he is best known for his psycho-sexual horror films of the 1970s and ’80s, often filmed in Britain. Larraz’s credits include Whirlpool, Deviation, La muerte incierta, Vampyres, Emma puertas oscuras, Symptoms, Scream … and Die! (aka The House That Vanished), Stigma, The National Mummy, Black Candles, Rest in Pieces, Edge of the Axe and Deadly Manor. He was the subject of the 2011 documentary On Vampyres and Other Symptoms.
American TV movie director William A. Graham died of complications of pneumonia on September 12, aged eighty-seven. His credits include Beyond the Bermuda Triangle plus episodes of Great Ghost Stories (1961), Batman, Otherworld, The X Files and Seven Days.
American director and actor Richard C. (Caspar) Sarafian died of complications from pneumonia on September 18, aged 83. Best known for his 1971 existential road movie Vanishing Point, he also directed episodes of TV’s Twilight Zone, The Wild Wild West, Batman (1966) and The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., along with the troubled 1990 SF film Solar Crisis under the industry pseudonym “Alan Smithee”. Sarafian provided the voice of a beaver in Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001).
Hiroshi Yamauchi, who took Nintendo Company Ltd from a maker of playing cards to a global videogames giant, died from pneumonia on September 19, aged eighty-five. He was president of the company from 1949–2002 and was responsible for the development of the Game Boy and for hiring Super Mario Bros. designer Shigeru Miyamoto.
Veteran Hollywood producer A. C. Lyles (Andrew Craddock Lyles, Jr) died on September 27, aged ninety-five. A former publicist who was employed by Paramount Pictures since 1928, he produced the 1972 horror film Night of the Lepus and during the 1960s made a string of low-budget Westerns giving work to old-time movie stars, including Lon Chaney Jr, Bruce Cabot, Jane Russell, John Agar, Richard Arlen, Yvonne De Carlo, Brian Donlevy, Kent Taylor, Terry Moore and others. Lyles was married to actress Martha Vickers from 1948–49.
Hugely influential Hammer Films producer and writer Anthony [Frank] Hinds died of Parkinson’s disease on September 30, aged ninety-one. The son of co-founder William Hinds, he started working for the studio in 1946 and produced Dick Barton Strikes Back, Dr. Morelle: The Case of the Missing Heiress, Man in Black, Room to Let, Stolen Face, The Quatermass Experiment (aka The Creeping Unknown), X: The Unknown, The Curse of Frankenstein, Quatermass 2 (aka Enemy from Space), The Camp on Blood Island, Dracula (aka Horror of Dracula), The Revenge of Frankenstein, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Stranglers of Bombay, The Brides of Dracula, The Curse of the Werewolf, The Phantom of the Opera, Paranoiac, The Damned (aka These Are the Damned), The Kiss of the Vampire (aka Kiss of Evil), The Old Dark House, The Evil of Frankenstein, Fanatic, The Lost Continent and the TV series Journey Into the Unknown. Under the alias “John Elder”, Tony Hinds worked on the screenplays for The Brides of Dracula, The Curse of the Werewolf, Captain Clegg (aka Night Creatures), The Phantom of the Opera, The Kiss of the Vampire, The Evil of Frankenstein, Dracula Prince of Darkness, The Reptile, Rasputin the Mad Monk, The Mummy’s Shroud, Frankenstein Created Woman, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, Taste the Blood of Dracula, Scars of Dracula, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, Legend of the Werewolf, The Ghoul (1975), The Masks of Death and an episode of TV’s Hammer House of Horror. He resigned from the Hammer Board in 1968, when Joan Harrison was brought in above him to oversee the TV series Journey Into the Unknown.
Hilton A. Green, assistant director on Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Psycho, died on October 2, aged eighty-four. Green also produced the sequels Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning, along with Encino Man.
Emmy Awardwinning TV animation producer and voice actor Lou (Louis) Scheimer, who co-founded Filmation Studios in 1963, died of Parkinson’s disease on October 17, aged eighty-four. Among the series he produced or executive produced are The New Adventures of Superman, The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1967), The Batman/Superman Hour, Fantastic Voyage (1968), Aquaman, Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies, Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1971), My Favorite Martians, Star Trek (1973–74), The Ghost Busters, Shazam!, Isis, Ark II, The New Adventures of Batman, Sabrina Super Witch, Space Sentinels, Space Academy, The New Archie/Sabrina Hour, The Freedom Force, Tarzan and the Super 7, Tarzan Lord of the Jungle, Jason of Star Command, Flash Gordon (1979–80), The Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour, The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam!, Hero High, Blackstar, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra: Princess of Power, Ghostbusters and BraveStarr, along with the movies Journey Back to Oz, The Fat Albert Halloween Special, A Snow White Christmas, Flash Gordon: The Greatest Adventure of All, Gilligan’s Planet, Mighty Mouse in the Great Space Chase, The Secret of the Sword, He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special, Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night, BraveStarr: The Legend and Happily Ever After.
British producer and director Antonia Bird, who directed the cannibal horror film Ravenous (1999), died of anaplastic thyroid cancer on October 24, aged sixty-two.
Hal [Brett] Needham, the highest-paid stuntman in the world who later became a successful movie director, died of cancer on October 25, aged eighty-two. Best known for such comedy action films as Smokey and the Bandit and Cannonball Run, both starring Burt Reynolds, he also directed the TV movie Death Car on the Freeway and the SF adventure Megaforce. As a stuntman/actor, Needham appeared in Our Man Flint, Escape, The Night Stalker and episodes of The Wild Wild West, Star Trek, The Immortal and Fantasy Island. During his career, he broke fifty-six bones, his back twice, punctured a lung and lost a few teeth. Needham was also the first person to test a car airbag.
American choreographer Marc Breaux, who worked (with his wife Dee Dee Wood) on Disney’s Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella and The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, died in an assisted-living facility on November 19, aged eighty-nine.
British film and TV director Alan Bridges died on December 7, aged eighty-six. He began his career at the BBC in the 1960s, directing episodes of Suspense, Out of the Unknown and many other series. He also directed the low budget SF film Invasion (1966), while his 1987 production of Stephen King’s Apt Pupil was shut down after ten weeks of shooting due to a lack of funds.
French screenwriter and New Wave director Édouard Molinaro died the same day, aged eighty-five. In 1976 he made the comedy Dracula and Son starring Christopher Lee and Molinaro’s wife, actress Marie-Hé
lène Breillat. His other credits include the TV movie Tombé du nid (1999).
The death was announced in December of British animator Richard Taylor, who created the Charley Says series of public information films featuring the voice of Kenny Everett. He was eighty-four. In the 1980s Taylor also directed the BBC language-teaching series Muzzy in Gondoland and Muzzy Comes Back, featuring the eponymous big green alien voiced by Jack May. His Encyclopedia of Animation Techniques was published in 1994.
USEFUL ADDRESSES
THE FOLLOWING LISTING of organizations, 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
ORGANIZATIONS
The Australian Horror Writers Association (www.australianhorror.com) is a non-profit organization that was formed in 2005 as a way of providing a unified voice and a sense of community for Australian writers of dark fiction, while helping the development and evolution of this genre within Australia. They also publish an excellent magazine, Midnight Echo, and offer a mentor programme, critique group and short story competitions. Email: [email protected]
The British Fantasy Society (www.britishfantasysociety.org/www.fantasycon.co.uk) was founded in 1971 and publishes the BFS Journal, featuring articles, interviews and fiction, along with occasional special books only available to members of the Society. The BFS also enjoys a lively online community – there is an email newsfeed, a Facebook community, a forum with numerous links, and a CyberStore selling various publications. FantasyCon is one of the UK’s friendliest conventions and there are social gatherings and meet-the-author events organized around Britain. For yearly membership details, email: [email protected]
The Friends of Arthur Machen (www.arthurmachen.org.uk) is a literary society whose objectives include encouraging a wider recognition of Machen’s work and providing a focus for critical debate. Members get a hardcover journal, Faunus, twice a year, and also the informative newsletter Machenalia. For membership details, contact Jon Preece, 9 Ridgeway Drive, Newport, South Wales NP20 5AR, UK ([email protected]).
The Friends of the Merril Collection (www.friendsofmerril.org/) is a volunteer organization that provides support and assistance to the largest public collection of science fiction, fantasy and horror books in North America. Details about annual membership and donations are available from the website or by contacting The Friends of the Merril Collection, c/o Lillian H. Smith Branch, Toronto Public Library, 239 College Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1R5, Canada. Email: [email protected]
The Horror Writers Association (www.horror.org) is a worldwide organization of writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting the interests of writers of Horror and Dark Fantasy. It was formed in the early 1980s. Interested individuals may apply for Active, Affiliate or Associate membership. Active membership is limited to professional writers. HWA publishes a monthly online Newsletter, and sponsors the annual Bram Stoker Awards.
World Fantasy Convention (www.worldfantasy.org) is an annual convention held in a different (usually American) city each year, oriented particularly towards serious readers and genre professionals.
World Horror Convention (www.worldhorrorconvention.com) is a smaller, more relaxed, event. It is aimed specifically at horror fans and professionals, and held in a different city (usually American) each year.
SELECTED SMALL PRESS PUBLISHERS
The Alchemy Press (www.alchemypress.co.uk), Cheadle, Staffordshire ST10 1PF, UK.
Arctic Mage Press, 222 Parkview Hill Crescent, Toronto, ON M4B 1R8, Canada.
Bad Moon Books/Eclipse (www.badmoonbooks.com), 1854 W. Chateau Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92804-4527, 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. Email: [email protected]
The Borgo Press (www.wildsidebooks.com).
Cemetery Dance Publications (www.cemeterydance.com), 132-B Industry Lane, Unit #7, Forest Hill, MD 21050, USA. Email: [email protected]
Chaosium, Inc (www.chaosium.com).
ChiZine Publications (www.chizinepub.com). Email: [email protected]
Chômu Press (www.chomupress.com), 70 Hill Street, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1TW, UK. Email: [email protected]
Curiosity Quills Press (curiosityquills.com) PO Box 2540, Dulles, VA 20101, USA. Email: [email protected]
Crystal Lake Publishing (www.crystallakepub.com). Dark Moon Books (www.darkmoonbooks.com), 13039 Glen Ct., Chino Hills, CA 91709-1135, USA. Email: [email protected]
Dark Renaissance Books (www.darkrenaissance.com), 315 Paige Court, Colusa, CA 95932, USA. Email: [email protected]
Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. (www.grantbooks.com), 19 Surrey Lane, PO Box 187, Hampton Falls, NH 03844, USA.
DreamHaven Books (www.dreamhavenbooks.com), 2301 East 38th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55406, USA.
Earthling Publications (www.earthlingpub.com), PO Box 413, Northborough, MA 01532, USA. Email: [email protected]
Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing/Hades Publications, Inc. (www.edgewebsite.com), PO Box 1714, Calgary, Alberta T2P 2L7, Canada. Email: [email protected]
Edgeworks Abbey (www.harlanellisonbooks.com).
Ex Hubris Imprints (www.pstdarkness.wordpress.com). Email: [email protected]
Exile Editions Ltd. (www.ExileEditions.com), 144483 Southgate Road 14 – GD, Holstein, Ontario, N0G 2A0, Canada.
FableCroft (www.fablecroft.com.au).
Fedogan & Bremer Publishing (www.fedoganandbremer.com), 3918 Chicago Street, Nampa, Idaho 83686, USA.
47North, PO Box 400818, Las Vegas, NV 89140, USA.
Gauntlet Publications (www.gauntletpress.com), 5307 Arroyo Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80922, USA. Email: [email protected]
Gray Friar Press (www.grayfriarpress.com), 9 Abbey Terrace, Whitby, North Yorkshire Y021 3HQ, UK. Email: [email protected]
Hippocampus Press (www.hippocampuspress.com), PO Box 641, New York, NY 10156, USA. Email: [email protected]
IDW Publishing (www.idwpublishing.com), 5080 Santa Fe Street, San Diego, CA 92109, USA.
Immanion Press (www.immanion-press.com), 8 Rowley Grove, Stafford ST17 9BJ, UK. Email: [email protected]
KnightWatch Press/Fringeworks (www.fringeworks.co.uk).
Megazanthus Press (www.nemonymous.com).
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers (www.mcfarlandpub.com), Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640, USA.
Miskatonic River Press (www.miskatonicriverpress.com), 944 Reynolds Road, Suite 188, Lakeland, Florida 33801, USA. Email: [email protected]
Mortbury Press (www.mortburypress.webs.com), Shiloh, Nantglas, Llandrindod Wells, Powys LD1 6PD, UK. Email: [email protected]
NewCon Press (www.newconpress.co.uk).
Noose and Gibbet Publishing/Karōshi Books (www.nooseandgibbetpublishing.com). Email: [email protected]
Nightjar Press (www.nightjarpress.weebly.com), 63 Ballbrook Court, Wilmslow Road, Manchester M20 3GT, UK.
Night Shade Books (www.nightshadebooks.com), 1661 Tennessee Street, #3H, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA. Email: [email protected]
Overlook Connection Press (www.overlookconnection.com), PO Box 1934, Hiram, Georgia 30141, USA. Email: [email protected]
Pendragon Press (www.pendragonpress.net), PO Box 12, Maesteg, South Wales, CF34 0XG, UK.
Prime Books (www.primebooks.com), PO Box 83464, Gaithersburg, MD 20883, USA. Email: [email protected]
PS Publishing Ltd/Drugstore Indian Press/PS ArtBooks Ltd (www.pspublishing.co.uk), Grosvenor House, 1 New Road
, Hornsea HU18 1PG, UK. Email: [email protected]
Salt Publishing (www.saltpublishing.com), 12 Norwich Road, Cromer, Norfolk NR27 0AX, UK.
Sarob Press (sarobpress.blogspot.com), La Blinière, 53250, Neuilly-le-Vendin, France.
Savoy (www.savoy.abel.co.uk), 456 Wilmslow Road, Withington, Manchester M20 3BG, UK. Email: [email protected]
Shadow Publishing (www.shadowpublishing.webeasysite.co.uk/), 194 Station Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14 7TE, UK. Email: [email protected]
Small Beer Press (www.weightlessbooks.com), 150 Pleasant Street #306, Easthampton, MA 01027, USA. Email: info@smallbeerpress
Spectral Press (www.spectralpress.wordpress.com), 5 Serjeants Green, Neath Hill, Milton Keynes, Bucks MK14 6HA, UK. Email: [email protected]
Spectre Press, 56 Mickle Hill, Sandhurst, Berkshire GU47 8QU, UK. Email: [email protected]
Subterranean Press (www.subterraneanpress.com), PO Box 190106, Burton, MI 48519, USA. Email: [email protected]
Tachyon Publications (www.tachyonpublications.com), 1459 18th Street #139, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA. Email: [email protected]
Tartarus Press (www.tartaruspress.com), Coverley House, Carlton-in-Coverdale, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 4AY, UK. Email: [email protected]
Ticonderoga Publications (www.ticonderogapublications.com), PO Box 29, Greenwood, Western Australia 6924.
Valencourt Books (www.valancourtbooks.com).
SELECTED MAGAZINES
Albedo One (www.albedo1.com) is Ireland’s magazine of science fiction, fantasy and horror. The editorial address is Albedo One, 2 Post Road, Lusk, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Email: [email protected]
Best New Horror, Volume 25 Page 60