Tribute Gallery: Robert Forster

The Black Hole (1979)

Alligator (1980)

Tales from the Darkside: "The Milkman Cometh."

Delta Force (1984)

Jackie Brown (1997)

Supernova (2000)

Twin Peaks (2018)

Zienia Merton (1945 - 2018)

Zienia Merton (1945 - 2018)

Childhood's End: A Farewell to Toys "R" Us

This summer, America's children, and all children at heart -- meaning adults like me -- were forced to grow up in a most dramatic and unpleasant way. 

We had to say goodbye to Toys R. Us, an American institution since 1948. The store filed for bankruptcy in 2017, and now, in summer 2018, remains nothing but a cherished memory. The doors to this particular dreamland have been permanently shut.

But Toys R Us was just a store, some people might say, right? A temple to consumerism, and one that hooked our children young.

To which I would reply: not so fast.  Toys R. Us was a lot more than that.

For many of us, Toys R Us was a place where imagination and dreams took root, and where they began to sprout, to bloom. It was a place that led to hours, years, and even decades of make-believe and fun. I grew up in New Jersey and some of my earliest memories are of visiting Toys R. Us stores in Totowa, or Paramus with my sister and my parents.

Why was Toys R. Us so special? What made it significantly different from the toy section in Target, or Walmart? What made it different from Amazon.com?

For children, Toys R Us was a place constructed just for them: a store devoted entirely to their interests and it told the world that they -- that children -- were important. Their interests were important too. In a world that moves fast and is always on the move, that message is one that is significant.  So I suppose you can conclude that Toys R Us was a place where children mattered, and made children realize that they mattered.  

And it was a temple in a way, I concede, but not merely to consumerism. It was a mecca of fun, excitement, and most importantly, possibilities. It was row after row, aisle after aisle, of creativity made manifest in the newest and best toys.  From bikes to trains to video games, it was the greatest toy store there is...or was.

For adults, like me, Toys R Us has become something else too: a legacy. My son Joel was born in 2006, and I have been taking him to the store since he was an infant. 

For approximately eight years, we have had a standing summer ritual. As soon as the summer starts, and either I am off from work, or Joel is out of school, we pick a day, drive up to Concord, N.C., together and visit the Toys R. Us there. We arrive just as it opens, and then spend an hour or so, checking out the newest action figures, or Legos. We then go out to lunch together, and drive home with bags filled of toys, or video games, or Nerf guns.  

In my childhood, of course, Toys R. Us was the place of Star Wars toys, or Micronauts, or Star Trek. For Joel, the store has fueled his interest in Transformers, Pokemon, Star Wars (again), Marvel, Nintendo, and, perhaps greatest of all, Lego. For both of our childhoods, I know nothing is better than arriving home with a new toy or two, and beginning a brand new adventure and letting our imaginations run wild.

A visit to Toys R. Us is about the toys, sure, but it is also about me and my son being together, and sharing interests and imagination.

I suspect it is precisely this way for many fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters too. 

So Joel and I had our last visit to Toys R. Us together in May of 2018.

My wife won't allow me to post photos of Joel on the Internet yet, but I do have a photo of him there on the final visit, and it is a little sad, to tell the truth. He is an eleven year old boy standing in the center of largely empty aisles, looking somewhat downcast at the state of the store. 

We actually had an opportunity to go back one more time after that, a few weeks ago, and Joel didn't want to go back.  He said he would rather remember the store the way it was, than see it at the very end, "cannibalized" in his words.

I will confess I felt a lump in my throat on our last visit, as we drove away from the store, and awareness settled in that it was the last time I would be there with my boy.

And that he would never take his son to Toys R. Us. 

And that a generation of American kids would grow up without a place, in every state and city, devoted just to them; reminding them how important they are, and how much they matter to us, and our posterity.

We can look at all the reasons why Toys R. Us closed. Perhaps it was mismanagement. Perhaps it was changing times, or the competition of the Internet.  But it is a crying shame that our culture no longer has the time or interest in a 60 year old, American institution designed for children.

Nothing lasts forever, of course, and all good things must come to an end.  I am grateful that this store has been a part of my life, and my son's too. But I am sad that this particular tradition ends here, when other children still need it. 

I'm not ready for Toys R. Us to go. To coin a phrase:  "I don't wanna grow up."

So, one final refrain:

Tribute 2017

The year 2017 was a dreadful one for fans of science fiction, horror, and film and television. An inordinate number of icons passed away.

This was the year we lost the leading actor of four classic science fiction TV series: Richard Hatch of Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979), Martin Landau of Space:1999 (1975-1977), Jared Martin of The Fantastic Journey (1977), and Heather Menzies of Logan's Run (1977).

2017 was the year we lost two of the greatest horror film directors the world has ever seen: George A. Romero, and Tobe Hooper.

This was also the year we lost two of my greatest childhood heroes, Adam West, who played Batman, and Roger Moore, who played James Bond, 007, longer than any other actor in movie history.

This was the year we lost teen heart-throb David Cassidy, and the xenomorph's first cinematic victim, John Hurt, as well as his cast-mate, Harry Dean Stanton.

Below is a gallery of those who passed away in the last twelve months. 

As always, if I have forgotten anyone, it was an oversight, and not intentional. Please feel free to post your memories of those featured in the gallery, in the comments section.

Richard Anderson

Mike Connors

David Cassidy

Jonathan Demme

Roy Dotrice

Miguel Ferrer

Dominic Frontiere

Robert Guillaume

Richard Hatch

Tobe Hooper

John Hurt

Barbara Hale

John Heard

Glenn Headley

Martin Landau

Jerry Lewis

Jared Martin

Heather Menzies

Mary Tyler Moore

Roger Moore

Dina Merrill

Jim Nabors

Bill Paxton

George A. Romero

Don Rickles

Della Reese

Harry Dean Stanton

Sam Shepard

Jay Thomas

Adam West

Tribute: Harry Dean Stanton (1926-2017)

Today, America has lost one of its greatest actors: Harry Dean Stanton (1926-2017).  

The star of such films as Paris, Texas (1984), Repo Man (1984), and the TV series Big Love (2006-2011), is beloved, in particular, by sci-fi/horror fans for his turn as Brett in Ridley Scott's Alien (1979).

Stanton had a long and distinguished career; one stretching back to the mid-1950's.  

In terms of genre work, he was a frequent guest star on TV programs, and is remembered for roles in Inner Sanctum (1954), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1960), The Wild, Wild West (1967), and Fairie Tale Theatre (1987).

Mr. Stanton's career in movies was even bigger. 

In addition to playing Brett in Alien, he starred as Brain in John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981), and had roles in several David Lynch films, including Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), and Inland Empire (2006). He also had supporting roles in Red Dawn (1984), and The Green Mile (1999).

Outside the genre, Stanton is remembered for Paris, Texas, a role in Cool Hand Luke (1967), and many other great films.  All these films and TV programs are a reminder of Stanton's versatility, and effectiveness as an actor.  He always seemed absolutely "real," whether in a futuristic setting, an absurdist one, or in a grounded drama.

Mr. Stanton will be missed, but he leaves behind a catalog of work that is astounding in its breadth and depth.

Tribute 2017: Richard Anderson (1926 - 2017)

A beloved figure in science fiction film and television has passed away. 

The press is now reporting the death of Richard Anderson, a man beloved by my Generation (X) for his performances as Oscar Goldman -- the kindly head of the O.S.I. -- on The Six Million Dollar Man (1973-1978), and The Bionic Woman (1976-1978).  

At the height of distrust of government in America, because of the Watergate Scandal, Anderson's Oscar Goldman painted a picture of incorruptibility, decency, and competence.

Richard Anderson was heralded in the seventies as the first actor to play the same role in two series running at the same time. Memorably, Oscar Goldman was so ubiquitous a presence on seventies TV that Anderson's character was released as a Kenner action figure -- with exploding briefcase! -- in the Kenner Six Million Dollar Man toy line.

Yet Richard Anderson was much more than Oscar Goldman. He appeared in the beloved science fiction movie that introduced the world to Robby the Robot: Forbidden Planet (1956).  Opposite Leslie Nielsen and Warren Stevens, his scenes mostly saw him working on the bridge of the cruiser C-57D.

Richard Anderson also starred as the villain, an immortal man craving more life, in the second Kolchak TV movie of the early 1970's, 1973's The Night Strangler.

Throughout his long and impressive acting career, Mr. Anderson appeared on just about every important genre series of the '60s and '80s, from Mission: Impossible and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. to Knight Rider and Airwolf.

Mr. Anderson contributed enormously to cult-film and television. His presence will be greatly missed. My deepest condolences go out to his family and loved ones at this time.

Tribute: Martin Landau (1928 - 2017)

This has been a dreadful day.  

I just learned of the passing, at age 89, of Martin Landau (1928 - 2017), an actor who was a staple of popular television in the 1960's, the star of Space:1999 in the '70s, and an acclaimed, award-winning talent in the '90s and beyond.

I grew up watching (and admiring) Martin Landau on Space:1999, and his performances as Commander John Koenig of Moonbase Alpha are etched permanently in my memory.

When I think of my earliest childhood heroes, in act, I think specifically of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, Roddy McDowall in the Planet of the Apes films, and, Martin Landau's Koenig. 

Indeed, to this day, Commander Koenig is still one of my most important heroes and role models.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Martin Landau on the phone once, about Space: 1999 (for a Cinescape article celebrating the year 1999), and I still remember how incredible it was to listen to his voice, and experience his intelligence. Even twenty-some years after the end of the series, he was passionate and engaged about it.

What set apart Landau's character, Koenig, perhaps, from other space heroes of the tube, was the sense that the character was a man of science and reason, and not just a typical "adventurer" in space. Landau's human approach to the character resonated with me as a child, and still does, forty years later. Koenig was strong but fallible, decisive and accountable. He was sometimes desperate, and yet he clung to hope, and to his moral barometer. 

Of course, John Koenig is only a tiny piece of Landau's impressive career.  

Martin Landau appeared as a guest on literally every 1960's American prime time series you can think of.  

He was on Gunsmoke, The Untouchables, The Wild, Wild West, The Rifleman, I Spy, and more. Many fans first encountered him as Rollin Hand, the master of disguise on Mission: Impossible. He played that role opposite his then-wife, Barbara Bain, for three seasons (1966-1969).

Landau also gave memorable performances on The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) in "Mr. Denton on Doomsday," and "The Jeopardy Room," and on The Outer Limits (1963-1964) in "The Man Who Was Never Born," and "The Bellero Shield."

After years which saw him star in efforts such as Meteor (1979), Landau achieved more acclaim for dramatic roles in films such as Tucker: A Man and His Dream (1987), and Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).  

He won an Academy Award for his (loving) portrayal of Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton's masterpiece, Ed Wood (1994).

Landau's career stretches back to films such as Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959) and includes films of great historical import (Cleopatra [1963], for instance).  

But Martin Landau will always be Commander John Koenig to me; a man of courage and decency fighting for the survival of his people on Moonbase Alpha, and among the stars.

That universe seems so much dimmer without his presence, tonight.