inktober 2026: week 1

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Hey everyone! It’s October! Summer is over. Hallowe’en is approaching! Pumpkin spice has been infiltrating all of your favorite food since July. But, October also marks the arrival of Inktober, the annual drawing exercise proposed by artist Jake Parker via his “Inktober” website.  Every October, Jake and his crew posts a list of 31 “prompts” or suggestions (one for each day of the month) and challenges artists around the globe to produce a daily drawing. While I have participated in this artistic exercise for over a decade, I have never followed the rules and I have never done an Inktober drawing based on any of his daily “prompts.” (’cause I’m a loner, Dottie. A rebel!) Instead, I do a weekly drawing based on a seasonal topic of my own selection. This year, I pay tribute to a relatively short trend from the 70s (that spilled into the early 80s) — the made-for television horror movie. I loved horror movies when I was a kid. I frequently watched the Universal classics when they were shown on Saturday afternoons by a local horror show host here in Philadelphia. In the days before a zillion streaming channels and when there were just three networks from which to choose entertainment, made-for-television movies were a big deal. Someone in network programming got the great idea to make horror movies and present them alongside the usual dramatic fare that made up the majority of made-for-television movies. For the most part, these horror movies were very low budget, very poorly conceived and very poorly acted. But, my pre-teen sensibilities didn’t know any better and I loved ’em all. Over the next month, I will attempt to jog your memory.

The 2026 version of Inktober (Josh Pincus-style) begins with Week One’s entry — Moon of the Wolf.

My favorite of the celebrated Universal Monsters was The Wolfman. The 1941 horror classic starred Lon Chaney Jr. as the hapless Larry Talbot, a role he reprised four more times on the big screen. Poor Larry was bitten by a werewolf and every full moon that popped up over the course of five films, he turned into a bloodthirsty werewolf himself. Although he was killed in each film, he would return and return again like a hairy Energizer bunny. The werewolf legacy proved to be enduring and has been the storyline for countless movie franchises.

In 1972, ABC jumped on the werewolf bandwagon with Moon of the Wolf. With a cast of familiar television faces like David Janssen, Barbara Rush and Geoffrey Lewis, Moon of the Wolf presented a creepy tale set in the creepy bayous of creepy Louisiana. Another familiar television actor, Bradford Dillman played the werewolf, sporting make-up that looked as though it was picked up from the Woolworth’s Halloween department. Following an often used trope, Moon of the Wolf told the tale of a mysterious canine that was terrorizing the sparsely populated bayou country. Packed with rehashed lore, predictable action and words like loup garou, Moon of the Wolf was perfect entertainment for any 11-year old horror fan… which I was.

Two years later, David Janssen would enjoy success in a role more to his suiting. He played detective Harry-O for two seasons. Barbara Rush took a recurring role in The Bionic Woman as the title character’s mother. She was later cast as the love interest of Captain Stubing in a two-part Love Boat. Bradford Dillman was a busy actor before and after Moon of the Wolf, with roles in theatrical releases as well as TV series and more made-for-television movies, though no more werewolf roles were in his future.

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DCS: harry chiti

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Harry Chiti had a pretty unremarkable career in Major League Baseball, but he did manage an interesting piece of baseball trivia.

With a lifetime batting average of .238 and 41 homeruns and 179 RBIs, Harry bounced around the majors as a back-up catcher. He played for Chicago, Baltimore, Kansas City, Detroit, Cleveland, and both New York teams. Harry’s reputation as a catcher who was able to handle a knuckleball brought interest from several teams, but his overall contribution as an offensive and defense player left a lot to be desired. In one game in 1956, however, Harry was at the plate and found himself being intentionally walked. Milwaukee Braves right-hander Ray Crone threw a ball a bit too close to the outside corner and Harry drilled it into right field for a triple.

In April 1962, Harry — then playing for Cleveland — was dealt to the New York Mets for a player to be named later. Harry played 15 games for the Mets and racked up a pitiful .195 batting average. In June 1962, The trade was completed when the player to be named later was finally named. It was Harry. He was sent back to Cleveland — making him the very first player to be traded for himself.

He spend the end of his career in Triple-A league until his retirement in 1964. He passed away in 2002 at the age of 69. Although three more players have been part of similar transactions, Harry was the first.

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DCS: judee sill

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Judee Sill had a turbulent childhood, a turbulent adolescence, a turbulent adulthood and an early, turbulent death.

The child of a broken marriage, Judee violently fought with her parents. As a rebellious teen, she and a partner began robbing gas stations and liquor stores in Southern California until the pair were arrested. It was during a nine month stretch in reform school that Judee rediscovered music. The piano lessons she took as a child reemerged and she became a church organist and developed a love of gospel music.

After her release, Judee worked as a piano player in a bar to earn money for her drug habit. In 1966, she married fellow musician — and fellow heroin user — Bob Harris. Once again, Judee resorted to crime — including robbery, sex work, forgery and fraud — to support her addiction. After her release from a jail sentence, Judee concentrated on songwriting.

Even during the lowest points of her life, Judee always displayed musical talent. She secured several gigs opening for Graham Nash and David Crosby. Her performances caught the attention of producer David Geffen and he offered to sign her to his new Asylum Records label. Her first self-titled release featured the single “Jesus Was a Cross Maker.” The single received a flurry of acclaim and Judee toured with singer Jimmy Webb as his opening act. Despite positive reviews, Judee’s debut album sold poorly. She released a second album that also did not do well commercially. She grew frustrated with her “opening act” status and expressed he frustration by berating David Geffen onstage, using several homophobic comments about the then-closeted producer.

With her friendship with Geffen dissolved, Judee found herself with a record label. She began work on a third album, recording songs at Mike Nesmith‘s studio. She struggled with her current songs and considered leaving the music business for other pursuits. Meanwhile, her drug use increased and her health deteriorated. Judee was found dead of a drug overdose in her North Hollywood apartment in November 1979. Although disputed by friends, the LA Coroner ruled the death a suicide. Judee was 35.

Although far from a household name, Judee Sill was often cited as an important influence by a number of successful artists, including Andy Partridge, Liz Phair, Warren Zevon, Shawn Colvin and many others. Nick Lowe said that Judee’s song “Jesus Was a Cross Maker” was very influential on his composition “(What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding.”

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DCS: percy helton

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that guy

Percy Helton’s IMDB page lists 237 credits over a career that began in 1915. He made his stage debut at two years old and never looked back.

Percy Helton? Never heard of him! Well, he’s one of those unsung, unnoticed, uncredited “that guy”s that keep Hollywood going.

With his high-pitched, breathy voice and his amiable round, elfish face, Percy Helton made a career playing timid, but weaselly, characters on television and in movies. Always reliable, Percy popped up in comedies, dramas and Westerns filling the roles of postmasters, store clerks, bookkeepers and any number of essential background folks. He was the drunken Santa that was replaced by Academy Award winner Edmund Gwenn in Miracle on 34th Street. He was a favorite of the film noir genre, with small roles in Kiss Me Deadly and Wicked Woman. On television, he portrayed similar characters in Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, Death Valley Days and numerous other series. He can be spotted in small roles in well-known films like Jailhouse Rock, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the 1954 version of A Star is Born, White Christmas and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He even shows up in the Monkees’ psychedelic motion picture experiment Head.

Percy passed away in 1971 at the age of 77. IMDB lists three acting credits in that year, as well.

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DCS: tim curry

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I discovered the Rocky Horror Picture Show in 1978 when I was a junior in high school. Talk of Rocky Horror spread through the halls of my Far Northeast Philadelphia high school. Every Monday morning, there was new buzz about this raucous audience participation phenomenon that occurred every weekend evening at the TLA Cinema, an independent “art house” movie theater located on Philadelphia’s ultra-hip and ultra-artsy South Street. With my interest piqued, I gathered a few friends, borrowed my mom’s car and we headed down to South Street late one Saturday evening to have our Rocky Horror virginity snatched away.

And I kept going back. Weekend after weekend. For years.

There was an art teacher I had in high school who was just a few years older that I was. One day, after several on-going and lengthy discussions about our musicial likes and dislikes, she brought in a copy of Tim Curry’s debut solo effort Read My Lips to let me borrow. The album — an eclectic collection of imagitively reworked covers of familiar (and unfamiliar) songs — was unlike anything that had previously spun on my home turntable. Tim sang “I Will,” the breezy Paul McCartney composition from side two of the Beatles overly-ambitious White Album… only Tim gave it a reggae inflection, complete with an indistinctive island accent. The torchy lament “Sloe Gin” became a notorious cut, thanks to Tim’s gut-wrenching recitation of the repeated lyric “I’m so fucking lonely…” My favorite track was his delivery of the nineteenth century abolitionist anthem “Wake Nicodemus,” augmented by a military-inspired march played by a bagpipe orchestra. I ended up trading my teacher for that album in exchange for an easily replaceable, but ultimately forgettable album in my collection.

In 1979, just after my high school graduation, Tim Curry released his second album, the much more accessible and far more commercially successful Fearless. A noted departure from his earlier work, Fearless boasted mostly originals along with a glorious take on Joni Mitchell’s “Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire,” that Joni herself praised. Fearless was more rock oriented, anchored by the playful radio-friendly hit “I Do The Rock.” Tim even made it to MTV, with not one, but two, videos in somewhat regular rotation. Following the path of established rock acts of the time, Tim embarked on a promotional tour in support of Fearless… and that tour had a stop right here in Philadelphia. Originally scheduled for the 3000-seat Tower Theater, the show was moved to the smaller Shubert Theater based on disappointing ticket sales. Nevertheless, My pal (and fellow Rocky Horror enthusiast) Janie and I bought tickets and counted the days until Tim arrived in Philadelphia on July 30.

And arrive he did.

Tim prowled the darkened stage of the Shubert. Backed by a full band, including Alice Cooper guitarist Dick Wagner and uncredited KISS sideman Bob Kulick, he captivated the audience with the full track list from Fearless, several selections from Read My Lips and soulful renditions of Bob Dylan’s “Simple Twist of Fate” and Percy Sledge’s “When A Man Loves a Woman.” At a quiet moment in the evening, I stood up on my seat and screamed “HI TIM!,” prompting the actor-singer to lean forward, shade his eyes from the spotlight and grimace in my direction. Janie was thoroughly embarrassed but I was seen!

Tim enjoyed a rich, fulfilling career of varying roles in films, television (one of my favorites was his deliciously evil turn as “Dale the Whale” on the quirky detective series Monk) and on the stage. He lent his magnificent voice to cartoon characters and over 60 audiobooks and, for goodness sake, he acted with Muppets.

Tim suffered a debilitating stroke in 2012. After a long rehabilitation process, Tim re-entered his chosen profession, including a stab at the role of “The Criminologist” in a live TV presentation of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Despite keeping a very tight lid on his personal affairs, Tim loved meeting his fans. He made frequent appearances at fan conventions to sign autographs and offer insider stories of his illustrious experiences in show business.

In 2025, Tim gave an interview with TCM host Ben Mankiewicz in conjunction with Vagabond, Tim’s recently published memoir. Ben asked Tim — who was confined to a wheelchair and experiencing fluctuation in health — if he feared death. Tim replied, “No, I don’t fear death… I think I will embrace it.”

Tim died on August 25, 2026 at the age of 80.

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