monsters | Following The Dream

Monsterpalooza – Part 2

Hello Friends!

I hope you all had a pleasant weekend. Mine was split between a creature convention, Neil Young performing at the Dolby Theater and work – yes, I’m tired. Tired but happy for all the fun I had. With so much to tell you, I will limit this post’s topic to Monsterpalooza – I’ll share the concert with you later this week.

Let me start by saying it was ridiculously crowded! My good friend, Jeff Clark, artist and “industry professional”, accompanied me on this super neet-oh adventure where monsters, aliens and robots roamed.

Jeff Clark with furry friend.

Price of admission this year was $30.00 a person, up from last year’s fee, but WOW! it was worth it – costumed character, vendors selling incredible memorabilia – I could have owned a piece from one of my favorite Twilight Zone Episodes – a museum with displays from the top FX, prosthetic and make-up artists – special viewings of short films and trailers – contest, demonstrations, Actors, Actors and more Actors.

In attendance, to name only a few, were Bill Mumy, the kid from Lost In Space and Twilight Zone – Richard Kiel from classic Bond movies and Twilight Zone – Dee Snider from Twisted Sister – Rutger Hauer from Blade Runner, James Hong from Big Trouble in Little China – Lance Henriksen from Alien.

I actually talked to Judee Morton from Twilight Zone, Bonanza and The Fugitive – she is the author of “Grandmas Never Die” and is working as a Family Therapist. I was too cowardly to speak to Richard Kiel and Lance Henriksen – I didn’t know what to say, but we did exchange pleasant smiles from across the room. Ha! I really wanted to see Rutger Hauer having had a crush on him when I was younger – he was out to lunch, literally.

A life-like bust from Twilight Zone’s “Eye of the Beholder” could be purchased for $500.00

There was soooooo much to see that I could only handle a few hours – the pressing crowd and the amount of cool and bizarre stuff – the huge number of actors who turned out – their tables stacked with photos and personal memoirs – was literally overwhelming. By 3:00 pm my brain had overloaded – it was time to leave.

There will be another creature convention – Son of Monsterpalooza- happening in September or October (not sure about the dates) in Burbank at the Marriott. You can get more info as it draws near by following their page.

https://www.facebook.com/MONSTERPALOOZA