Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
This week, I did something I’ve never done in all the time I’ve lived in Los Angeles. I went to the unveiling of a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. There have been some great names who got their stars while I’ve lived here, but for whatever reason, I just never felt the urge to go and see one of the ceremonies. On Tuesday morning, though, I finally found myself motivated, and I don’t think I was the only one. Occasional contributor “Uncapie” sent in the following report. The pictures you see here were snapped by me and captioned by Harry Ignatius Knowles:
A long-awaited celebration took place today. Ray Harryhausen, the stop-motion animator extrordinaire who created adventures with skeletons, mythical beasts, undersea monsters, space creatures and a little help on a giant ape, received his star with all the trimmings in a well-deserved tribute with friends and fans alike.
Mayor Of Hollywood Johnny Grant hosted the ceremonies at this crowded event that took place almost right across the street from where Ray's imagination was sparked in 1933 with the feature, "King Kong," at Sid Grauman's Chinese Theater. On hand were Ray's dearest and best friend, the great Ray Bradbury, our hero Forest J. Ackerman, smiling, looking fit and happy as usual, for whom without his great magazines, he would have never opened a world of movie magic to children and adults. A special thank you went out to film maker Mr. Arnold Kunnert, for without his dedicated love of the same movies we all care about and his persistence to get Ray his star on the "Walk Of Fame," it wouldn't have happened. Frank Darabont talked about the inspiration that Ray had on him as a child which made him want to be a director. His anecdote about Tom Hanks seeing "Jason And the Argonauts" as a kid, made Hanks want the job of fighting skeletons when he grew up, but settled on an acting career instead.
Make up greats Stan Winston and Rick Baker were on hand as well as the creative Bob Burns and his beautiful, loving wife Kathy (A great cook! Now I know why Bob married her!) and the man with one of the smoothest voices in Hollywood, Gary Owens, celebrated the event. Producer Charles Scheer showed up and mingled with the crowd. He was the driving force behind many of Ray's pictures. A gracious, humble man, he said that Ray's creative spirit was the driving force, not him and that he was so happy that these films still hold up today. Uncapie
The American Cinematheque is also in the middle of a tribute to Harryhausen right now. They showed JASON & THE ARGONAUTS last night on a double-bill with CLASH OF THE TITANS, and today they’re showing VALLEY OF GWANGI, BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, and EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS. Tomorrow wraps things up with ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. and THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON. And, yes, Harryhausen is attending all of the screenings and doing Q&A sessions. Pretty freakin’ cool.
For me, the ceremony this week was just a chance to finally see in person one of the people who first sparked my dreams as a kid. STAR WARS might have been the lightning bolt to the forehead that made me realize what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, but before that, I was taught to read by Jim Henson and I was taught to dream by Ray Harryhausen, 24 frames per second. The skeleton fight from JASON & THE ARGONAUTS is one of the first clear memories I have of a movie. When you see films at a certain age, they’re not stories. They’re not passive entertainment. They are virtual reality. And no special effect I’ve seen in the rest of my life as a viewer has ever come close to the impact of that skeleton fight. It was real. It was frightening and thrilling and so incredibly removed from the mundane details of the life around me that I was transported by it.
Thanks to Harryhausen and all of the artists he inspired with his work, I’ve never had to stop dreaming since. His impact on this industry cannot be overestimated, and this honor was well-deserved. It was a thrill to see Bradbury, Ackerman, and Harryhausen on the same stage together. These men, like all of us, are mortal and will one day not be available for an event like this. But on Tuesday morning, surrounded by fans and filmmakers, all of us inspired by them and their work, they seemed immortal, like their work.
"Moriarty" out.
