Maverick American writer, producer and director Robert [Bernard] Altman died of cancer on November 20th, aged 81. After briefly trying acting (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), he turned to writing and directing. His credits include Countdown, Brewster McCloud, Images, The Long Goodbye, Quintet, the live-action Popeye, The Player, Gosford Park, A Prairie Home Companion and episodes of TV’s Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He received an honorary Oscar at the 2006 Academy Awards.
Japanese director Akio Jissoji died of stomach cancer on November 29th, aged 69. In the mid-1960s, while working for Tokyo Broadcasting System, he created the TV series Ultraman and Ultra Seven with special effects expert Eiji Tsuburaya. He later formed his own production company, and his films include Ultraman (1979), Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis, Silver Mask, A Watcher in the Attic, Murder on D Street and the omnibus Rampo Noir (the latter three titles based on stories by Edogawa Rampo).
Independent American writer, producer and director Don Dohler died of cancer on December 2nd, aged 60. Inspired by reading Famous Monsters of Filmland, he started making his own films at the age of twelve. His later credits include The Alien Factor, Fiend, Nightbeast, The Galaxy Invader, Blood Massacre and The Alien Factor 2: Alien Rampage. Dohler also scripted and produced Harvesters, Stakes, Crawler and Vampire Sisters. He was the founding editor of Cinemagic magazine, which published eleven issues between 1972–79.
83-year-old record producer Ahmet Ertegun, founder of the Atlantic Records label, died on December 14th, after falling and injuring his head at a Rolling Stones concert at New York’s Beacon Theatre on October 29th. In 1947 he borrowed $10,000 to start Atlantic Records, whose artists included Dizzy Gillespie, The Drifters, Bill Haley and the Comets, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, Buffalo Springfield and Bobby Darin (Ertegun produced his recording of “Mack the Knife”).
Joseph Barbera, who co-founded the animation studio Hanna-Barbera with William Hanna (who died in 2001), died on December 18th, aged 90. Joining forces at MGM in 1937, the team won seven Academy Awards for their work on Tom and Jerry cartoons before setting up their own production company in 1957 to cater for television. Starting with Ruff and Ready that same year, they churned out around 300 cartoon series, including The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Yogi Bear Show, The Flintstones, Top Cat, The Jetsons, The Adventures ofjonny Quest, Abbott & Costello, Space Ghost, Frankenstein Jr and the Impossibles, Scooby-Doo Where Are You!, The Funky Phantom, Sealab 2020 and numerous others, eventually winning eight Emmy Awards. In recent years, many shows originally created by Hanna-Barbera have been turned into big-budget movies with varying success. Barbera’s autobiography, My Life in Toons, was published in 1994.
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 most 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
The British Fantasy Society (www.britisbfantasysociety.org) was founded in 1971 and publishes the bi-monthly newsletter Prism and the magazine Dark Horizons, featuring articles, interviews and fiction, along with occasional special booklets. The BFS also enjoys a lively online community – there is an e-mail news-feed, a discussion board 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 organised around Britain. For yearly membership details, e-maiclass="underline" secretary@britishfantasysociety.org.uk. You can also join online through the Cyberstore.
The Friends of Arthur Machen (www.machensoc.demon.co.uk) is a group whose objectives include encouraging a wider recognition of Machen’s work and providing a focus for critical debate. Members get a hardbound journal, Faunus, twice a year, and also the informative newsletter Machenalia. For membership details, contact Jeremy Cantwell, FOAM Treasurer, Apt.5, 26 Hervey Road, Black-heath, London SE3 8BS, UK.
The Ghost Story Society (www.ash-tree.bc.ca/GSS.html) is organised by Barbara and Christopher Roden. They publish the superb All Hallows three times a year. For more information contact PO Box 1360, Ashcroft, British Columbia, Canada VOK 1A0. E-maiclass="underline" nebuly@telus.net.
The Horror Writers Association (www.horror.org) is a worldwide organisation 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 Newsletter, and its annual Bram Stoker Awards ceremony is now held in conjunction with World Horror Convention. Apply online or write to HWA Membership, PO Box 50577, Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA.
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.