gwynnega

Back in 2021, when I was writing my poem "the ending" about my late father and his film I Bury the Living, I had a lot of questions I wished I could ask him (including how he got the idea for the movie and whether it bothered him that he had to rewrite the ending). I did some research online, but many questions remained.

The following year, my mother died, and in the midst of packing up her house with the people from the bank in charge of this undertaking, I discovered an issue of Scarlet Street: The Magazine of Mystery and Horror in the office. Someone had left it out in plain sight, maybe thinking it would be of interest. The issue was from 1993. I saw Bela Lugosi and Carroll Borland on the cover and grabbed it, though I had no idea what it was doing there. I didn't give it much thought, though, overwhelmed by grief and the million tasks before me.

Over three years went by, and although I kept the magazine where it wouldn't get lost, I didn't have the heart to peruse it. I may have briefly paged through it at some point; I think I had some idea that it contained something about one of my dad's movies. Finally on Sunday, I was ready to look through it. It features a lot of interesting articles (Carroll Borland! Curtis Harrington! Elizabeth Russell!). And it contains a lengthy appreciation of I Bury the Living, featuring lengthy quotes from my dad and a lovely photo of my parents on their honeymoon(!).

Reading through the story felt almost like a dream, there was so much information about my dad's life and career I didn't know, told in his own voice. He tells how he came up with the idea for I Bury the Living, and indeed, how much it bothered him to have to rewrite the ending. In 1993, my dad was already pretty incapacitated from Parkinson's, but his mind was still sharp enough that it was possible for him to recount all this information in a coherent, engaging fashion. A year later, even, this probably wouldn't have been possible, so it feels like even more of a gift that the writer of the piece got to him in time, so I could, eventually, read it.

The issue is available online, along with the other issues of Scarlet Street.

I've finished chapter 21 of this draft of the Jo book, and am working on chapter 22 (though it's a tough one).

Word count: 65,553

Page count: 229

Four chapters to go?!

***

Today is General Hospital's 49th anniversary. I do hope ABC lets it live until 50, at least. Someone posted a cool early GH promo on YouTube, and to my surprise, it also features a promo for the ABC daytime show my dad wrote, Day in Court. As far as I know, this is the only available footage of the show, as ABC wiped the tapes. I hadn't realized that the show my dad wrote was GH's lead-in! I did know that my dad knew Frank and Doris Hursley, GH's creators, but now I understand why--they were working for ABC Daytime at the same time!

I remember the day John Lennon died so clearly. I thought I would write about that today, but I find I don't want to. Instead I've been thinking about my dad taking me to Beatles and solo Beatles marathons at movie theaters and Beatlefests back in the 1970s, when that was the only way you could see this stuff, back in the pre-DVD, pre-YouTube age.

My sisters were teenagers in the 1960s, so I grew up hearing the Beatles on the radio (along with Donovan and Tiny Tim). My sister Luane took me to see Yellow Submarine when I was tiny. Then in 1976 I became a full-fledged Beatlemaniac. I had a burning crush on Ringo Starr, but I wanted to BE John Lennon.

Back then the sixties didn't seem that far off. There were still rumors that the Beatles would get back together, and all four Beatles had active solo careers. (John Lennon's career was on hiatus, but in 1976 no one really knew that yet.) It was somewhat more of an endeavor back then to acquire all the Beatles' and solo Beatles' recorded output--but I set about doing that, and then moved on to the bootlegs. Here's a Lennon 10-inch bootleg I particularly enjoyed.

As for the Beatles feature films, it was possible to see them on TV (though the first time I saw HELP! on the 3:30 movie, they'd cut out about half an hour!). But for the promo films and other assorted appearances, you had to be on the lookout for Beatle marathons at revival houses (and, once a year, Beatlefest). My dad kindly drove me to these events and sat through hours upon hours upon HOURS of Beatle and solo Beatle material. Thankfully he liked 'em, and it's a happy memory for me, seeing John Lennon sing "Instant Karma" with my dad. I'm pretty sure I saw this clip with him too:

Here's the trailer for my dad's extremely silly (but successful) movie The Doberman Gang (1972). I remember seeing the movie in the theater when it first came out, and liking it a lot. (I must've been seven at the time!) It spawned two sequels, one starring Fred Astaire. After The Deer Hunter came out, I told my dad he ought to always put animals in the titles of his films, since they were so successful...

Some of you will remember that my dad, Louis Garfinkle, co-wrote The Deer Hunter. So I went with my parents to the Oscars in 1979. My parents sat up front, and I sat further towards the back with my cousin. My dad's movie was up for lots of awards, and it was very nervewracking, which I hadn't expected it to be. I remember John Wayne announcing that The Deer Hunter had won for best picture. I also remember being in the ladies' room with a young Meryl Streep. (I think she got her first ever Oscar nomination that year, though she didn't win.)

I remember Christopher Walken winning for best supporting actor. But what I didn't remember is that Christopher Walken beat out John Hurt! I was in the same room with John Hurt, and I didn't even know it!?! (Because I hadn't become a fan of his quite yet.)

My dad and his writing partners were nominated for best screenplay but didn't win--Coming Home did. But wow, also in that category were Woody Allen (for Interiors, not a great film as I recall), Ingmar Bergman (for the awesome Autumn Sonata), and Paul Mazursky (for the very good An Unmarried Woman). Excellent company, Dad!

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Forrest J Ackerman. My dad knew him, and according to my mom, my parents visited his memorabilia-laden home many years ago. My mom can't remember how my dad and FJA met--whether perhaps it had to do with some project they were working on (my dad was a screenwriter).

When I was a monster-movie-loving kid in the mid 1970s, my dad presented me with several issues of Famous Monsters of Filmland FJA had given him, including ISSUE #2. As I recall, these issues had great photos from the 1930s Universal films I loved and the silent horror films I hadn't yet seen--but they also included lots of photos from later movies I had no interest in. Thus I, being a child and having no idea of what these items might be worth, proceeded to cut the magazines up and save my favorite pictures. ACK! It seems to me I had at least one late 1960s issue that featured Dark Shadows, however this was about thirty years before I became a Dark Shadows fan.

After my dad gave me those issues, I faithfully bought Famous Monsters from my local newsstand every month and read it cover to cover.