American producer Arthur Gardner (Arthur Harold Goldberg) died on December 19, aged 104. A former bit-player in such movies as Mr. Moto’s Gamble and The Brute Man, with Jules V. Levy and Arnold Laven he co-produced The Vampire, The Monster That Challenged the World, The Return of Dracula (aka The Fantastic Disappearing Man) and The Flame Barrier in the 1950s before moving into TV Westerns. Gardner was the last surviving cast member of All Quiet on the Western Front (1930).
87-year-old Roberta Leigh (Rita Shulman), best-selling British romance and children’s writer (under a variety of psuedonyms), died the same day. She sold more than 25 million books in twenty-three languages, but is best known for being the first British female producer with her own production company, creating such children’s TV puppet series as Torchy the Battery Boy and The Adventures of Twizzle (both with Gerry Anderson) and Space Patrol (aka Planet Patrol), along with the SF pilots Paul Starr and The Solarnauts. Leigh also founded the comic Fun’n’Games and the teen magazine Boyfriend.
Dependable American director Joseph Sargent (Giuseppe Daniele Sorgente) died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on December 22, aged 89. A former actor, he directed One Spy Too Many, The Spy in the Green Hat, Colossus: The Forbin Project (based on the novel by D.F. Jones), The Man, The Night That Panicked America, Tomorrow’s Child, Nightmares, Jaws: The Revenge and Salem Witch Trials, along with episodes of TV’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., Star Trek, The Invaders and The Immortal.
Spanish cinematographer Raúl Artigot [Fernández] died on Christmas Day, aged 78. His many credits include Jesús Franco’s The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein and Les démons, along with The Cannibal Man, Horror of the Zombies, Perversión and El misterio de Cynthia Baird. Artigot also scripted and directed the 1972 film The Witches Mountain.
The death was announced in 2014 of veteran Spanish film editor Antonio Ramírez [de Loaysa]. His many credits include Face of Terror, Devil of the Desert Against the Son of Hercules, Vengeance of the Zombies, The Dracula Saga, The Vampires’ Night Orgy, The Night of the Sorcerers, Devil’s Possessed, Exorcismo and Island of the Damned (aka Would You Kill a Child?).
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 many 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 Australian Horror Writers Association (www.australianhorror.com) is a non-profit organisation that was formed in 2005 as a way of providing a unified voice and a sense of community for Australian writers of dark fiction, while helping the development and evolution of this genre within Australia. They also publish an excellent magazine, Midnight Echo, and offer a mentor programme, critique group and short story competitions. Emaiclass="underline" ahwa@ australianhorror.com
The British Fantasy Society (www.britishfantasysociety.org/www.fantasycon .co.uk) was founded in 1971 and publishes the BFS Journal, featuring articles, interviews and fiction, along with occasional special books only available to members of the Society. Run by volunteers, the BFS also enjoys a lively online community—there is an Email news-feed, a Facebook community, a forum 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, Emaiclass="underline" secretary@britishfantasysociety.org
The Friends of Arthur Machen (www.arthurmachen.org.uk) is a literary society whose objectives include encouraging a wider recognition of Machen’s work and providing a focus for critical debate. Members get a hardcover journal, Faunus, twice a year, and also the informative newsletter Machenalia. For membership details, contact Jon Preece, 9 Ridgeway Drive, Newport, South Wales NP20 5AR, UK (machenfoam@yahoo.co.uk).
The Friends of the Merril Collection (www.friendsofmerril.org/) is a volunteer organisation that provides support and assistance to the largest public collection of science fiction, fantasy and horror books in North America. Details about annual membership and donations are available from the website or by contacting The Friends of the Merril Collection, c/o Lillian H. Smith Branch, Toronto Public Library, 239 College Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1R5, Canada. Emaiclass="underline" ltoolis@tpl.toronto.on.ca
The Horror Writers Association (www.horror.org) is a world-wide 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, although a recent change in the bylaws allows self-published work to qualify authors for membership under certain conditions. HWA publishes a monthly online Newsletter, and sponsors the annual Bram Stoker Awards and StokerCon.
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.
World Horror Convention (www.worldhorrorsociety.org) is a smaller, more relaxed, event. It is aimed specifically at horror fans and professionals, and held in a different city (usually American) each year.