I met John Saxon from 512- Mitchell. I mentioned to him that I heard a rumor that he was annoyed that MST3k cut out his death scene in the movie on the show. He replied he recalled saying something like that years ago when asked. I made mention how the MST3k writers/performers apologized to him in a 1995 panel at the Museum of TV & Radio, citing the need to edit for time.
Saxon didn’t seem to be sincerely upset about the film appearing on the show. He seemed like a good sport about it. He was rather friendly with me. Saxon offers pre-signed photos of himself from his career at these shows, as he has a slight tremor when he signs his name, so everyone keep that in mind when you bring your items for him to autograph.
(He signed the Rhino and Shout Factory MST3k Mitchell DVDs, as well as the uncut Warner Archive edition of the film. I later got them autographed by the film’s director, Andrew V. McLaglen. McLaglen’s secretary wrote a note saying McLaglen was more than happy to sign them, despite being nearly 94 years old.)
I met Peter Mark Richman, aka agent Adam Chance from 815- Agent for HARM. He signed an original theatrical poster of the film. He confirmed that the film was indeed originally supposed to be a pilot for a TV series, but he didn’t want to play the lead role if it got picked up, which is why it was released to theaters instead. He was very friendly.
Richman’s heard of the MST3k edition. He said he had an 8×10 screen capture of him from the episode.
I met Sandra Giles from 307- Daddy-O. I didn’t know she was going to be there. Her family members are vendors at the show, selling movie memorabilia. She autographed an 8×10 glossy reproduction of the film’s poster. She’s a bit quiet. Her children were more talkative. They had heard of the film’s appearance on MST3k, many years ago.
I remarked how I’d like to get it signed by Dick Contino in the future. I noted how Contino now lives and performs his accordion act in Las Vegas these days. Her daughter said to her “You know, Mom, we aught to go to Vegas and have dinner with Dick Contino in the future.”
I met Sal Valentino of The Beau Brummels, as well as Johnny Crawford from 523- Village of the Giants and 906- The Space Children. I got the Shout Factory episode mini poster signed by both of them. They seemed to have no problem with MST3k. They remarked how they’ve both been meaning to see the Village episode in full. Crawford commented how he really enjoyed his acting role in Giants (likely referring to the giant breast riding scene).
I met William Schallert from K19- Hanger 18, 602- Invasion USA and 511 – Gunslinger. He signed my Shout Select DVD release of the Gunslinger episode. He recalled he finished filming his role in Gunslinger all on the first day of the production, as his character was killed at the very beginning. He’s never heard of MST3K.
I met Clu Gulager and paid to get a photo op and have him autograph my MST3k Master Ninja I mini poster from the Volume XX DVD set. Gulagher wasn’t much of a talker, didn’t seem familiar with MST3k when I brought it up, kind of cranky. His family members present did comment on his appearances, particularly a young man, who I later identified as his son, film directer John Gulager. John Gulager even referenced the “Clu Gulager alert” riffs from the show, which I guess indicates that his younger family members might be fans. I offered to mail a DVD fan copy of the San Francisco International episode to Clu at his fan mail address, but his family members told me not to, as he doesn’t even have a DVD player at home.
I met Hugh O’Brian from 201- Rocketship XM. He was kind of bit cranky as well. He would only sign and autograph his name on items only if it was personalized to the buyer, no exceptions. His wife, Virginia, mentioned how he was going to turn 89 years old later that month. She was familiar with his appearance on MST3k. I brought the uncut edition of Rocketship XM for him to sign, which prompted him to ask his wife if they owned their own copy at home, which she replied yes.
He’s also got a new memoir available for sale, “Hugh O’Brian, or What’s Left of Him”, only available through mail order and his website.
I met actor Michael Forrest, who played Zarko in 317- Viking Women and the Sea Serpent. He’s heard of the MST3k episode. He said he’d be interested in seeing it. He’s best known for playing Apollo in the classic episode of the Star Trek” original series, “Who Mourns for Adonais?”
I met Richard Kiel from 506- Eegah, 420- The Human Duplicators, and 902- The Phantom Planet. He was great and friendly to talk to (he is shown here trying to crush my skull–in a nice way, of course). I got my Rhino DVD of the Eegah and Volume 8 releases signed by him. When I mentioned how his role as the Solarite in Phantom Planet was his feature film debut, he remarked how he looked like Pluto the Dog in that costume. He doesn’t mind the MST3k treatments. However, he does prefer the version of Eegah hosted by B-movie horror host, Elvira. He quoted her verbatim from that edition. “Look at how big those feet of his are! You know what they say about guys with big feet…!”.
Discussing the poster art for “Human Duplicators,” he remarked how his character wasn’t depicted on the promo materials for that film.
I also met Fred Williamson from 501- Warrior of the Lost World. I had met him before at the Miami Fl SuperCon in 2010. I got my MST3k Shout Factory Volume XVI mini poster of the episode signed by him then. I asked him back them about MST3k, He was familiar with the film’s appearance on the show, which he said caught it channel surfing many years ago. He didn’t seem to be bothered by it.
) to help our users cope with "trolls" and other commenters whom they find annoying. Go to our
Nice report. Amazing some of these guys are still alive (I would have sworn at least two or three of them had passed years ago, and I’m an old guy myself).
What a wonderfully informative report–THANK YOU!
Fantastic report – thanks, Projected Paul!
Thanks for posting the report and the pics. It sounds like it was a fun show. The Richard Kiel pic is hilarious! What a good sport.
For a split second when the page loaded, I thought John Saxon had died. Glad to know it’s not the case!
I’m kinda surprised that William Schalert’s never heard of MST3K as he’s friends with two people who are certainly familiar with it. Radio hosit Stu Shostak who lovews MST3K, and director Joe Dante who *hates* MST3K.
To each their own, but I never liked Elvira’s take on the “Eegah” movie. Too many gaps in the jokes (more so than an early KTMA episode), and too many State Park jokes.
As for Jon Saxon, I wasn’t aware he was unhappy with his death scene being cut out…. although at least now I know it was The Brains themselves that cut the scene out (I always thought the cut was already there in the print they were using). In a way, it makes the “Wasn’t Jon Saxon in this?” riff a little less funny, knowing they’re joking about a plot hole that THEY THEMSELVES created.
I vaguely recall Saxon saying years ago, that he was more embarrassed, than upset about “Mitchell” being riffed on MST3K, because it was a film he hated, and didn’t like that MST3K brought it back into the spotlight.
Great report, thanks for sharing. Richard Kiel seems to be pretty centered with a terrific sense of humor. Respect to all these actors however they feel about MST3K.
Thanks Chris, for this GREAT piece…….REALLY makes me feel like I was there!
The only thing I find more interesting than learning who are, or have become, ‘cranky’ old cusses, are the stories of those, like Richard Kiel, who are gracious with their fans and actually make an effort to connect with them. In my humble opinion, THOSE are the real stars….. :-)
I also thought that John Saxon had passed when I saw his pic,too,but was relieved that he didn’t..Great report…Meeting any or some of these wonderful actors/people would be wonderful.More so than meeting any A list Hollywood personality…
#7 It more than likely was cut by the television distributors and not the MST crew. They were probably just mistaken.
Man, this is friggin’ cool! I used to go to the “Hollywood Conventions” back in the 90’s and this just brings back all those memories. Of course back then, I was able to get autographs signed for 5 bucks a pop LOL!. The lines and prices have gone completely nuts for these tired legs I’m afraid. Long live Eegah!
I’m sure Inga from Young Frankenstein could amplify
the “What they say about guys with big feet” commentary
that Jaws likes.
“Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: For the experiment to be a success, all of the body parts must be enlarged.
Inga: In other vords: his veins, his feet, his hands, his organs vould all have to be increased in size.
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: Exactly.
Inga: He vould have an enormous schwanzstucker.
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: That goes without saying.
Inga: Voof.
Igor: He’s going to be very popular. “
I’m looking forward to the day when elderly Joel and elderly Mike are at one of these events and they are really really cranky.
People standing in line, trying to get their Crow replicas autographed….
Parts falling off everywhere.
I’ll be there, with my giant nanite sculptures in the back of the truck, all dust blown from a cross country trip through the desert, my being one of the few vehicles still using wheels, everyone else hovering 42 inches above the super magnet highways.
Can’t wait to meet you, Elderly Mike and Elderly Joel! I’m going to make you sing the theme song, so just accept it, you cranky bastards!
We own you!
P.S.
R.I.P. John Saxon
Great write up as always, Paul. I really should try to get to one of these cons sometime. It would be amazing to see any of these folks we’ve enjoy watching over the years.
BTW, I’m almost positive that the John Saxon dune buggy death scene was cut by MST due to running time of the movie and an opportunity to cut out some (slighty more) graphic violence, which was always important to them. They kind of had to leave the Merlin Olsen gaffing death in.
I was hoping that the Fred Williamson encounter would include him being disrepected by a Jive Turkey at the con and kicking the Turkey’s *ss old school before pausing to sign some merchandise.
This is great! I love hearing about the reactions of the actors and director that got the MST treatment.
>> Brandon said: “In a way, it makes the “Wasn’t Jon Saxon in this?” riff a little less funny, knowing they’re joking about a plot hole that THEY THEMSELVES created.”
The way I look at it is that the Mads are cutting the films. That way, the bots reactions are still genuine, since they have no way to know why something is missing.
John Saxon should do a PR project with SpaceX and go to space.
That would be very cool and somehow makes a lot of sense to me.
JOHN SAXON has the right stuff.
JOHN SAXON lives for adventure.
JOHN SAXON IS SPACEX-ONBOARD
BTW, I have a soft spot for all these actors. I wish Mr. Green Slime Robert Horton had been present.
I really have a hornet in my Hooker Headers about Green Slime. Some kind of side effect fallout obsession since becoming a Mysteron.
Richard Kiel has always been generous with his time and connecting to fans.
He’s crushed many a skull.
Everything I’ve read online about Mitchell lead me to believe that the Made For TV version that they riffed didn’t include the John Saxon death scene from the theatrical version. The Brains are notorious for misremembering things about the movies they’ve riffed, so I’m not entirely convinced they’re responsible for editing that specific scene out. I’m sure they edited other stuff from Mitchell for time, just not that. The version they watch does briefly mention his character dying in a dune buggy accident on the radio just before the annoying kid shows up, but it goes by so quick it’s easy to not notice it.
Paul – Really nice write up. Most of these people are totally unknown in the UK. I stopped attending conventions in 1992. In those days the guests did a presentation, signed autographs for free and the profits went to charity. Hope that one day I will meet Joel and Mike. An autograph session from the ‘bots would be really cool !
Outstanding article! I always enjoy reading about the actors from the show. We need a weekly report of who is appearing where for the actors from the movies. I’ve purchased a few autographs here and there but I don’t think I’ve met any actors yet. I met most of the riffers though. Nice reporting!
Clu Gulager has always sounded like a man in the perpetual process of passing a stone. Is it surprising he seemed “kind of cranky.” Still, man, he’s outa sight!
Awesome job! Oh, if I could only meet Sandra Giles, I would hold up an apple, and say “want some?”.
I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mr. John Saxon twice (!) at Monster Bash last year in Mars, PA.
We met him first in the hotel restaurant while on his way to his table and I hailed him. He stopped and chatted with us and was very friendly.
Later, he signed a personal autographed photo and I got a picture with him. A true gentleman and he is still in great shape, though of course, older.
BTW, I met the Cinematic Titanic crew in Michigan and got their autograph. Joel, Trace and Josh were very gracious.
Mr. Kiel had a point about favoring Elvira’s treatment of EEGAH!. During the scenes in the cave, his mutterings were subtitled with some funny lines. “No Mom she’s not Jewish but she’ll convert…” “Really you think that’s you? That’s the Great Flying Pig but if you’re that self-centered.” “Make sure to save room for kugel!” Aside from those moments, Joel & Co. win overall.
Great report! It’s always interesting to hear where the actors are now. I, for one, don’t blame Hugh O’Brian for insisting upon personalized autographs. I get the impression that the main reason some people want generic autographs is so they can sell them to the highest bidder. Not everyone is OK with that, and that’s his choice.
Speaking of autographs, I was able to get Joel’s this weekend at CONjure Florida! He did two shows there; one on Saturday that was an abbreviated version of Riffing Myself, and one on Sunday for people who bought VIP tickets. He just sat in a room with about 20 of us and answered questions for an hour. He seemed to enjoy interacting with the fans, and afterwards I was able to get him to sign my copy of the ACEG. He couldn’t have been nicer, and I’m so glad I had that experience.
What a terrific report. Yeah, maybe we’ve seen a few too many obits here lately–now, every time we see a color head shot, we automatically assume someone’s passed away. So wonderful to see Richard Kiel alive and in good humor!
No matter how cranky he may get in his old age, Clu will always be a favorite of mine, for Return of the Living Dead alone.
I come to this site often, comment very seldom. I’d like to note that this article is the best single posting I’ve ever seen here. Thank you.
@ 28
“and one on Sunday for people who bought VIP tickets. He (Joel) just sat in a room with about 20 of us and answered questions for an hour.”
That sounds fun. But I would have demanded he play backgammon with the VIP group. Croquet is preferred, but often unrealistic, so I offer backgammon as a compromise to all celebrities.
(This doesn’t stop me from always having my special edition “Great Gatsby croquet set” in the car trunk. One must be prepared. One imagines John Saxon choosing his color: “Alright. I get red. Get ready to get your asses thoroughly beaten. I’m the Bruce Lee of croquet.”)
Btw, Happy Birthday, John Saxon!
(One of my favorite riffs of all time: If that’s John Saxon, I’m dead.)
@28
Manos Bride, I was at CONjure in Orlando this weekend, too! I live in Florida, so I made the drive up and purchased the VIP3k pass to listen to Joel speak. Maybe you saw me there. Recognize me from the photo op with Richard Kiel? I brought many of the autographed items from The Hollywood Show to CONjure for Joel to sign as well! You add value to your autographed items with each signature you add and collect on the surface alongside the others.
Yes, I believe I remember you, Projected Paul! It was a great time, wasn’t it? I was the one who asked the question about magic. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get the autographs of the others, but I’m glad I got Joel’s. Good luck with your autograph collection, and thanks for this article.
I envy you the opportunity to meet and talk with William Schallert. Form Man from Planet X to Them!, from Monolith Monsters to Star Trek to Get Smart and even up to the Torkelsons, he has always been my favorite character actor.
I very much appreciated, being able to read, what you had to say in this article and, I’m looking forward to reading what other people have to say. Good information to read here – thanks! Thanks, I’m considering what you have say here and am glad to comment!
I really enjoyed the article and agree with Richard the Lion-Footed about meeting William Schallert-He’s been a part of TV all my life,from Dobie Gillis on-I recently noticed him in a small part in a Peter Gunn episode from the 50’s-And of course he’ll always be Patty Duke’s Daddy!Thanks for the great pictures!