Christopher Lee

Before he was Saruman (the ultimate in perfect casting!) and Count Dooku he was Dracula and Scaramanga and Lord Summerisle.  Like the films of Ray Harryhausen, I grew up watching all his movies. Hammer Films would not have been Hammer Films without him. Tons of great iconic roles and that voice! Cinema has lost a great presence.

Bringing Fantasy To Life: Ray Harryhausen 1920 - 2013

The godfather of fantasy special effects passed away today at the age of 92.  Ray Harryhausen, master animator and fantasy visionary, brought to life creatures and realms that are now taken for granted with today's easily created computer generated effects.  His screen creations, going back decades, have left impressions on everyone who saw them.  The creatures he created are iconic Hollywood.  Everything from undersea beasts, to marauding skeletons, to Medusa herself were brought to life with painstakingly minute movements and photographed a single frame at a time.  It would be hard not to say that he had an influence on the creators of the original Role-playing games as many of us imagined our initial battles with skeletons and ogres looking like a Harryhausen epic.  Another iconic fantasy creator has passed and will be missed but his imagination will always live on.

 

Gene Colan: 1926 - 2011

Another great illustrator has passed on.

Gene Colan, who brought a heavy noir style to superhero comics has passed away last night at the age of 84. Through his career he has worked for both Marvel and DC on some of their iconic characters most notably Daredevil in the mid and late 60's, Iron-man and Bat-man and Marvel's Tomb of Dracula among others. Bringing a sense of intense drama and realism through his penciled art to the four color medium he raised the bar of sequential storytelling.

His influence and artwork will live on.















Gene Colan's virtual studio

Fantasy Artist Jeffrey Catherine Jones 1944-2011

We lost another artist of fantasy today. Jeffrey Catherine Jones was best know for her ACE fantasy covers such as Fritz Leiber's Fafhard and the Grey Mouser series as well as being a member of The Studio with Barry Windsor Smith, Bernie Wrightson and Michael Kaluta.

"Legendary fantasy artist JEFFREY CATHERINE JONES passed away today, Thursday May 19, 2011 at 4:00 am surrounded by family. Jeffrey suffered from severe emphysema and bronchitis as well as hardening of the arteries around the heart. Jeffrey's dear friend Robert Wiener reported that there was a no resuscitation order as Jeffrey was weak from being severely under weight and had no reserves with which to fight"

Jones' artwork will live on....





To view more of Jeff's fantastic work please visit the Jeffery Jones web site.

Jeff Jones spotlight at Muddy Colors

Composer John Barry: November 3, 1933 – January 30, 2011

One of cinema's greatest composers, John Barry, passed this weekend. His film compositions include an incredible range of subjects from Giant Apes (King Kong) to the American plains (Dances With Wolves) to Sci-Fi opera (Starcrash) and to British Secret Agents (11 James Bond soundtracks). He has won 5 Acadamy Awards but for me he defined the swank and sophistication of the 1960 spy thrillers with his unforgettable James Bond soundtracks. His influences can be heard in much of the Trip-hop music from the 90's including Portishead and The Sneaker Pimps.

Being a huge James Bond (Connery) fan his soundtracks have left a everlasting impression on me and define that era.











His sound and vision of film will indeed be missed.

Mistress of Horror Ingrid Pitt - 1937 - 2010

The voluptuous Hammer mistress of horror Ingrid Pitt has passed on. Before vampires became all glittery they were horrifically sexy and that undead sexuality was never more defined than by Ingrid Pitt. Anyone who loves those old Hammer horrors undoubtedly will recall the beautiful Mrs. Pitt starring in such classic films as The Wicker Man, The House That Dripped Blood, The Vampire Lovers and Countess Dracula and helped usher in the sexually explicit horror films of the 1970's.


The Pitt of Horror: Official Ingrid Pitt web site

Dennis Hopper 1936-2010

Hollywood icon Dennis Hopper has died at the age of 74 from complications due to prostate cancer. The Easy Rider star -- who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in late 2009 -- became too weak for chemotherapy treatments in March when the cancer metastasized to his bones. According to a friend, he was surrounded by family and friends when he passed away in his Venice Beach home on Saturday morning.