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.
