I succeeded in getting autographed photos with the six celebs that I had earmarked for some personal attention. Let me say that as lovely as Tricia Helfer, Eliza Dushu, Elvira and Laura Vandervoort are on television, the small screen really doesn't do them justice. All of these talented ladies are even more beautiful in the flesh. Helfer seems really genuine in person and I'm even more enamored of her after chatting with her at the con. Elvira is just simply awesome, man what a cool lady. Dushku is sweet, but comes across as a bit shy and that's okay; she had heavy security, who knows why? [Psst, you guys think she heard about my "grabassing" comments?] Laura Vandervoort possesses an ethereal level of beauty that is just off the charts, plus she's a very nice girl. A killer combo, even if she weren't a good actress.
As for the gentlemen, what can you say about icons like Ernest Borgnine and Martin Landau? Just look at a sampling of their resumes. Borgnine: From Here to Eternity, Vera Cruz, Bad Day at Black Rock, Marty [Academy Award], McHale's Navy, The Flight of the Phoenix, The Dirty Dozen, Ice Station Zebra, The Wild Bunch, The Poseidon Adventure, The Black Hole, Escape from New York, etc. Landau: North by Northwest, Cleopatra, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Nevada Smith, Mission: Impossible, They Call Me MISTER Tibbs, Space: 1999, Meteor, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, Ed Wood [Academy Award], The Majestic, etc. The great thing about these two fine "old school" actors is that they were both extremely approachable. I really enjoyed speaking with each of them and was grateful for a chance to see them in person. I also finally took the time to grab an autographed photo of veteran actor Edward James Olmos, who is just one of those super-cool guys; so now I've added a nice pic of "Admiral Adama" to my wall. I really miss Battlestar: Galactica on the tube, and Olmos says that he does too.
Enjoy these few shots that I took at Dragon*Con 2011. The two girls in a couple of the photos are my daughters, Ashley & Stacy. My son Ian managed to avoid having his picture taken in Atlanta (darn him), but he was there having a great time along with us. The interior glass elevator photo was taken by me looking up towards the top of the Marriott Marquis, a great building, and only one of the five hotels across which the show spills. Believe me, my bones are aching a bit today from trudging between them yesterday. Enjoy!
7 comments:
The interior of the that building looks H.R. Gieger-ish! It's a great photo. Across the bay in San Francisco, there is a similar hotel, but I don't think it's the Mariott.
You've got two beautiful daughters and the photo of the Joker giving one bunny ears is funny.
You met Martin Landau! This summer I managed to see Hitchcock's North By Northwest. It was a surprise to see a young Landau in that classic movie. For you to meet an actor who worked with the legendary director is an okay experience in my book! Too cool. Borgnine too! Escape from New York, The WIld Bunch, and Poseidon Adventure. I'm sure you let them know how much they mean to us fans!
What a great time. Thanks again for sharing the images. ~ John
Chuck, It's the Hyatt, San Francisco that i"m thinking. They have an interior similar to the image you posted.
North by Northwest was Landau's first major film role and although I've been a fan of his since Mission: Impossible, I chose a photo of him as "Commander Koenig" from Space: 1999 to have autographed. He was really cool and I got to chat with him for several minutes. My twenty year old son was the photographer and when he moved to walk away from the table with me, Landau actually called him back, shook his hand and talked with him briefly. Nice guy!
Same with Borgnine, who's like ninety-four now. He was awesome to talk to in person and he amiably suffered through my litany of favorite Borgnine films; all those that you mentioned, plus several other of his westerns, Ice Station Zebra and Emperor of the North (which was also the source for the photo of his that I got signed).
Atlanta this year was a do NOT miss opportunity for me, specifically with these fine gentlemen in attendance. And to be fair, a coterie of my favorite Hollywood "hotties"!
I think it's great that we still have Landau and Borgnine with us. They are two very fine actors and between them have several movies on my personal Top Ten list of great American cinema (two of them being The Wild Bunch and North By Northwest. I appreciate seeing the pictures of them looking well.
You have some good kids, Chuck...much as I love my son he wouldn't set foot anywhere there were comic books. Nope, growing up with me he got more than enough of that.
Glad you got Landau's autograph. He was on my list but I never seemed to find him at his table. Borgnine was a hoot. Very funny and easy to talk to.
I appreciate the comments from everyone.
Pappy, the kids have always amiably endured my genre habits, but none have ever developed much of one themselves. The girls follow select authors of related material (Harry Potter, Twilight, etc.), but other than dabbling with comics when they were younger, the three of them didn't stick with the hobby.
These are some great, great shots, Chuck. You really scored. Great post!! Landau and Borgnine! Awesome!!!!!
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