Frank Kelly Freas (1922-2005)
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers News Site
January 2, 2005 

Frank Kelly Freas passed away at  4:46 this morning. He was under hospice care and with his wife, Laura, at their Los Angeles home. Kelly was an eleven time Hugo Award winning illustrator of cover and interior art for science fiction, fantasy, advertising, and MAD Magazine. Active in the science fiction field from 1950 until weeks before his death, Kelly illustrated stories by writers such as Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, A. E. Van Vogt, Poul Anderson, and Frederik Pohl. 

A member of First Fandom and the Dorsai Irregulars, Kelly was an official NASA mission artist and his space posters hang in the Smithsonian. He was commissioned by the Skylab I astronauts to design their crew patch and did album and CD covers for Queen. In 2000 Kelly was elected a Fellow of the International Association of Astronomical Artists. He painted beautiful women on the noses of World War II bombers, as well as portraits of five hundred saints for the Franciscans. He both wrote and illustrated the books The Astounding Fifties, Frank Kelly Freas: The art of Science Fiction, A Separate Star, and Frank Kelly Freas: As He Sees It. 

A funeral will be held at 1PM on Monday, January 3 in the chapel at the Gates Kingsley & Gates Praiswater Mortuary, 6909 Canoga Ave, Canoga Park, CA. It will be followed by burial at Oakwood Memorial Park, 22601 Lassen St Chatsworth CA at 2 PM. An additional memorial service will be held from 11AM-1PM on  Sunday, January 9 at Church of Scientology Celebrity Center and Manor Hotel, 5930 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, CA.

Comic book pioneer Will Eisner dies ~ Created The Spirit
 John Pain ~ Canadian Press ~ January 5, 2005 MIAMI (AP) -- Will Eisner, the artist who revolutionized comic books with the popular newspaper supplement The Spirit, helped pioneer the graphic novel and taught generations of soldiers how to maintain their equipment with the Joe Dope series, has died. He was 87. Eisner died Monday at Florida Medical Center in Lauderdale Lakes of complications from quadruple bypass heart surgery last month, according to Denis Kitchen, Eisner's agent and publisher for three decades."He was absolutely the greatest innovator the industry ever saw," Kitchen said.

Eisner started making comics in the 1930s and was the first to use "silent" balloonless panels to emphasize characters' emotions by focusing attention on finely wrought facial expressions. He addressed subjects considered unthinkable in comic books and rarely seen at the time in newspaper comics: spousal abuse, tax audits, urban blight and graft. The graphic novel combines elements of comic books and literary novels. His first, A Contract with God, was published in 1978 and had stories of his childhood and the immigrant Jewish experience in a poor Brooklyn tenement.

"He had a real capacity to bring hope to the most dire circumstances . . . the toils of immigrant life," said Robert Weil, an executive editor at W.W. Norton, which is publishing two Eisner books this year. In 1940, he created a gritty weekly newspaper supplement titled The Spirit, which at its height had a circulation of five million in 20 Sunday newspapers. The supplement consisted of a comic book with three self-contained stories, and The Spirit became the most popular.

Its title character was a detective named Denny Colt, believed murdered by a mad scientist's potion but actually buried alive. He protected the fictional Central City, which was based on New York. But the series' lead character usually took a back seat to others. "The stories would focus not necessarily on The Spirit, but on some poor average Joe who was having a bad day," Collins said. Eisner "had been producing comic books for 15-year-old cretins from Kansas," he told The Associated Press in a 1998 interview. With The Spirit, he was aiming for "a 55-year-old who had his wallet stolen on the subway. You can't talk about heartbreak to a kid."

Michael Chabon, author of Wonder Boys, said he interviewed Eisner before writing The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, a book about two cousins who created a comic book superhero and his battles against Hitler. "He was unquestionably the first person who ever took comic books seriously as an art form," Chabon said. He said Eisner spoke publicly about the artistic value of comic books as early as 1940. "Even the guys who were making the comic books and those were the most talented thought what they were doing was worthless garbage," Chabon said.

Eisner was drafted during the Second World War, and the army had him create Joe Dope to teach Jeep maintenance to soldiers with a bumbling comic-strip character. After the war, he went back to The Spirit and continued the series until 1952. The army also hired him for more instruction manuals, which he produced until the 1970s, Kitchen said. "Will was a multi-faceted treasure," said Paul Levitz, president and publisher of DC Comics, which has released reprints of The Spirit. Eisner was "a pioneer as a cartoonist as well as a young entrepreneur at the dawn of comic books."
© The Canadian Press 2005

 

GREY'S PAR DEAL FINALIZED

Variety ~ January 2, 2005
Brillstein-Grey turned over to its current managers Viacom today named Brad Grey, vet Hollywood talent manager and producer of the hit television series "The Sopranos," to head its struggling Paramount film studio. Grey, 47, will start as chief executive and chairman of the Paramount Motion Picture Motion Picture Group by March 1. He replaces Sherry Lansing, whose contract ends this year. 

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PARAMOUNT GOES FOR GREY MATTER 
Viacom taps Hollywood manager to turn around studio's fortunes
Variety.com ~ January 3, 2005
Brad Grey will become Sherry Lansing's successor at Paramount Pictures, a signal that corporate parent Viacom intends to follow through on its promise to re-invigorate the studio.
A SURPRISE POWER PLAY: New topper puts Paramount in Grey area
Consider the anomalies of Viacom's decision to hire Brad Grey. No studio in memory has ever brought in a head of production so lacking in formal filmmaking credentials of corporate experience.

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NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR READERS
by Charles Matthews ~ Mercury News ~ December 26, 2004
In the spirit of the season, I propose literary self-improvement: . . .Two new books could help you accomplish that, with their authors as instructors in your do-it-yourself course -- though both of them are a lot more entertaining and informative than most of the lit profs I endured.
"Bound to Please" (or An Extraordinary One-Volume Literary Education) is a collection of literary essays, mostly book reviews, by Michael Dirda, a Pulitzer Prize-winning book critic for the Washington Post. . . . He has a Ph.D. in comparative literature, and he specializes in reviewing biographies of eminent literary figures and new editions of classics.

The essays in "Bound to Please" have been arranged more or less chronologically by subject, starting with essays on the Greek historian Herodotus, the Bible, Ovid and the Arabian Nights, so you could almost use it as a textbook for a self-study survey course. . . . . All sorts of classics are represented in the book: Pepys, Boswell and Johnson, Blake, Flaubert, Dostoevski, Emerson, Shaw, Proust, T.S. Eliot and plenty more. . . .  And there's a section on masters of popular fiction, including P.G. Wodehouse, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Terry Pratchett.

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The winners in the pairs competition
By David Elliott ~ Union-Tribune Movie Critic
SignOnSanDiego.com
December 26, 2004
Not a grand year for art, but the film game remains more plus than minus. In that spirit I add the pluses to deal seven doubles: . . . 
2) "The Aviator" plus "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" – Fliers. Martin Scorsese has a lavish aerial fling with young Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio); a crash and Cate Blanchett's sexy Kate Hepburn top it. Kerry Conran's dizzy retro update on flighty 1940s serials is a lovable windup fantasy, a can-do triumph that should have hit bigger. 

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SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW
A score reminiscent of Hollywood's Golden Age graces
Kerry Conran's retro-futuristic FX extravaganza
 Review by A.L. Sirois 
SciFi.com 
 With the able assistance of the London Metropolitan Orchestra and emerging jazz artist Jane Monheit, composer Edward Shearmur has pulled out the stops on a score that kicks some serious musical keister. If Shearmur's name isn't more familiar to the filmgoing audience, it isn't his fault. At the relatively young age of 38, the former Royal College of Music student has an impressive resume. 

The music for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow 
is no letdown—it's exciting, muscular and in places downright thrilling. 
There's nary a false note on the disc, which is so energetic in places that it seems to want to leap out of the CD player. 
Review

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TARZAN SPECIAL COCKTAIL
ERBzine 0010
Contest held in 1933 at Carmel, California, sponsored by the National Association of the 
Advancement of the Fine Arts of Drinking.
2 ounces bourbon
1 ounce water
5 drops angostura bitters
2 tsp simple syrup
1 cube ice
Pour into an old-fashioned glass and stir; squeeze lemon peel 
over top and garnish with thin slice of orange and a maraschino cherry.

ERB claimed that after two of his specials: "you will beat yourself on the chest and go roaring into the jungle."

Statue of Cheeta pilfered 
Tarzan’s chimpanzee said to be disturbed by replica’s absence  TheDesertSon.com ~ January 1, 2005
The statue of Cheeta, the ape that starred in the "Tarzan" movies and currently lives in retirement in Palm Springs at the Casa de Cheeta in the Racquet Club area, has been stolen. . . .  Cheeta, the world’s oldest known living chimpanzee, is 72, about 20 years past the 50-year average life-expectancy for chimpanzees in captivity. He lives with 11 other primates in the primate sanctuary . . .  Cheeta, who debuted in "Tarzan and His Mate" in 1934 and retired after an uncredited role in the 1967 movie, "Doctor Doolittle," has a star in downtown Palm Springs, on South Palm Canyon Drive right outside Ben & Jerry’s. The statue had only been in place for a few months. It is worth about $800 and is made of bronze.   Cheeta was not happy. "When I brought him out for a walk he noticed it was gone and he was upset about it," Westfall said. . . . .

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Found: Stolen statue of Cheeta returned to the sanctuary  GoodNewsBlog ~ January 16, 2005
The bronze chimp that marks the home of Hollywood’s beloved Cheeta has been returned. Stolen during Christmas week from the Casa de Cheeta primate sanctuary where the retired movie star ape makes his home, the 90-pound statue was returned by a Palm Springs resident who had bought it. 

According to Dan Westfall, who operates the sanctuary, a resident from less than 2 miles away put a note in the mailbox saying he had purchased it off the person who had stolen it. “He was nice enough to let me know he thought he had it,” Westfall said, noting the man didn’t know the statue had been stolen.

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Adieu Godzilla 
It may be curtains for the monster that never let you forget the horrors of nuclear war. 
TribuneIndia.com
. . .  For me the best films of my youth were the Tarzan adventures. They were not called sequels or remakes, just adventures and they say that there were 33 Tarzana films in all. I particularly remember Tarzan’s Secret Treasure and Tarzan’s New York Adventure and Johnny Weismuller in the lead role was unbeatable. Like Sean Connery in the Bond films. Then came Lex Barker and Gordon Scott but for me Tarzan was Johnny Weismuller . . . 

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Did animals have quake warning?
by Sue Nelson ~ BBC Science Correspondent
January 1, 2005
Wildlife officials in Sri Lanka have reported that, despite the loss of human life in the Asian disaster, there have been no recorded animal deaths. . . .
Yahoo News

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR READERS
by Charles Matthews ~ Mercury News ~ December 26, 2004
In the spirit of the season, I propose literary self-improvement: . . .Two new books could help you accomplish that, with their authors as instructors in your do-it-yourself course -- though both of them are a lot more entertaining and informative than most of the lit profs I endured. "Bound to Please" (or An Extraordinary One-Volume Literary Education) is a collection of literary essays, mostly book reviews, by Michael Dirda, a Pulitzer Prize-winning book critic for the Washington Post. . . . He has a Ph.D. in comparative literature, and he specializes in reviewing biographies of eminent literary figures and new editions of classics.

The essays in "Bound to Please" have been arranged more or less chronologically by subject, starting with essays on the Greek historian Herodotus, the Bible, Ovid and the Arabian Nights, so you could almost use it as a textbook for a self-study survey course. . . . . All sorts of classics are represented in the book: Pepys, Boswell and Johnson, Blake, Flaubert, Dostoevski, Emerson, Shaw, Proust, T.S. Eliot and plenty more. . . .  And there's a section on masters of popular fiction, including P.G. Wodehouse, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Terry Pratchett.

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The winners in the pairs competition
By David Elliott ~ Union-Tribune Movie Critic ~ SignOnSanDiego.com
December 26, 2004
Not a grand year for art, but the film game remains more plus than minus. In that spirit I add the pluses to deal seven doubles: . . . 
2) "The Aviator" plus "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" – Fliers. Martin Scorsese has a lavish aerial fling with young Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio); a crash and Cate Blanchett's sexy Kate Hepburn top it. Kerry Conran's dizzy retro update on flighty 1940s serials is a lovable windup fantasy, a can-do triumph that should have hit bigger. 

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SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW
A score reminiscent of Hollywood's Golden Age graces Kerry Conran's retro-futuristic FX extravaganza
Review by A.L. Sirois ~ SciFi.com
 With the able assistance of the London Metropolitan Orchestra and emerging jazz artist Jane Monheit, composer Edward Shearmur has pulled out the stops on a score that kicks some serious musical keister. If Shearmur's name isn't more familiar to the filmgoing audience, it isn't his fault. At the relatively young age of 38, the former Royal College of Music student has an impressive resume. 
The music for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is no letdown—it's exciting, muscular and in places downright thrilling. There's nary a false note on the disc, which is so energetic in places that it seems to want to leap out of the CD player. 

Tarzana Imports Barsoomian Technology
State-of-the-Art Airships Manufactured in Tarzana, California
AEROS
www.aerosml.com

Providing Yesterday's Dreams with Today's Technology

Aeros has developed the helium-assisted, partially bouyantaircraft, the Aeroscraft. The Aeroscraft "transport category aircraft," is capable of carrying up to 20 tons of cargo or 80-200 passengers. The Aeroscraft will change and greatly impact luxury tourism, domestic travel and cargo transportation. . . . the most advanced airship available today,

Worldwide Aeros Corporation
6005 Yolanda Avenue
Tarzana, CA 91356

WIDER WORLD OF QUOTES
Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Reported in The Washington Times
December 20, 2004
". . .Misquotations have cultural cache as well. The dictionary cites 44 of historic merit.  The phrase "Me Tarzan, you Jane" never was included in Edgar Rice Burroughs' original book, or any of the "Tarzan" movies for that matter. 
It was actor and swimming champion Johnny Weismuller — 
who played the original Tarzan in the first film — 
who uttered the famous phrase in 1932 after 
Photoplay magazine asked him to sum up his role in the movie. 

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SF LISTS
Top 100 Sci-Fi Books
A statistical survey of the all-time Top 100 science fiction books:
No. 60: Edgar Rice Burroughs A Princess of Mars  1912 

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Edgar Rice Myners
By Martin Dickson
Financial Times: www.FT.com
December 21 2004
"The dry language of Treasury reports has little in common with the racy novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs. But Paul Myners' review of the governance of life mutuals reads at times like the business equivalent of The Land That Time Forgot. Life mutuals are the dinosaurs of corporate governance - Jurassic relics whose capacity for nasty surprises was brought home by the Equitable crisis. As Lord Penrose's inquiry made clear, Equitable had little effective scrutiny and was "a self-perpetuating oligarchy amenable to policyholder pressure only at its discretion". . . .
Read more:

Police Make Arrest In Theft of Tarzan's Olympic Memorabilia
Man Accused Of Stealing Johnny Weissmuller's Olympic Medals Local10.com ~ December 15, 2004
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Fort Lauderdale police arrested a man they say stole nearly a half-million dollars-worth of Olympic memorabilia -- most of which once belonged to Johnny Weissmuller, who eventually went on to play "Tarzan" in the movies.Weissmuller was an Olympic gold medal winner in 1924 and 1928, before he became a Tarzan movie star. Clarence "Buster" Crabbe won one of the other stolen medals. Crabbe also went on to Hollywood and is known for his roles as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, as well as Tarzan. Last Thursday, police arrested 48-year-old Paul Nicholas Cristow (aka Joseph Mancino), of Fort Lauderdale. Cristow had been temporarily employed at the Hall of Fame doing janitorial duties. Investigators believe he stole the items over the period of a few months.

Missing Medals End Up On eBay
Robert Duenkel, curator for the International Swimming Hall of Fame, first noticed Olympic medals missing from a museum case Dec. 4. Police said at about the same time, Cristow had taken the medals to a coin dealer to try to sell them. Cristow reportedly said he was an attorney named Sylvio Decalvacante. He said he was liquidating an estate of a family who wished to remain anonymous. The store took the items in on consignment, and attempted to sell them on eBay. Jeffery Ensminger, a memorabilia dealer in North Carolina, bought some of the medals, and realizing they should have been in the Hall of Fame, he called to inquire why they had been sold, and found out they were stolen. With help from Ensminger and the dealer from coin store, police zeroed in on Cristow. Marty Bookston, from Double Eagle Rare Coins, agreed to set up a meeting with Cristow to discuss purchasing the remaining items that he was "liquidating."

More Memorabilia Still Missing
Approximately half of the stolen items have been recovered. Detectives are attempting to locate and recover the remaining items and are additionally requesting the public's assistance. If anyone has heard of or seen such items, which include all types of Olympic water-related event medals, trophies, ribbons, they are asked to call Detective Machurick at the Fort Lauderdale Police Department at (954) 828-5898. The loss of these items is valued between $400,000 and $500,000, and possibly more if sold individually to collectors. Cristow is being held on $40,000 bond. He is charged with two counts of Grand Theft over $100,000 and two counts of dealing in stolen property. 

Copyright 2004 by Local10.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Developers Plan to Convert Historic Chicago School into Residences Home Real Estate News ~ Author Beth Bresnahan ~ December 6, 2004
By Wayne Faulkner ~ Chicago Tribune

RISMEDIA, Dec. 6 – (KRT) – The writing is still on the chalkboards and copies of National Geographic still line library shelves in a Chicago school. A squirrel sits strangely atop a jungle of beat-up cabinets, tamed by taxidermy -- not by Tarzan, though the man who created that king of another kind of jungle once shared the same space as a boy.

Edgar Rice Burroughs was among the children of the South Side's wealthy and powerful who came to the Harvard School in Chicago's Kenwood neighborhood to learn Latin and Greek. Those classrooms have been empty of students and teachers since July 2003 and now they're empty of most furniture. Paint peels from the ceilings. The gymnasium's wooden planks are silent of any bounce of a basketball.

. . . North Side real estate developers plan to convert the Harvard school's buildings into a complex of four condominiums and a single-family home. The school, in the Kenwood Historic District, educated many of the Hyde Park area's finest and at least one of its infamous, Nathan Leopold, who was convicted along with Richard Loeb of killing Bobby Franks, who was a Harvard student at the time. . . . 

The school was established in 1865 by Edward S. Waters, a Harvard University graduate, to prepare boys for study at his alma mater and other Eastern colleges. It originally was located at what is now Congress Parkway and Wabash Avenue. It eventually absorbed the Princeton-Yale School at 41st Street and Drexel Boulevard and the South Side Academy. Among its famous alums were the sons of the Armours, Drakes, Fields, Kelloggs, Walgreens, Burnhams and Rosenwalds -- as well as author Burroughs. . . . 

© 2004, Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.