inktober 2017: week 5

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inktober 2017 week 5

Let’s cap off Inktober 2017 with the Week 5 drawing of Guy Rolfe as Baron Sardonicus from the 1961 William Castle-produced horror film Mr. Sardonicus.  The film, which began life as a short story in Playboy magazine, included a gimmick in keeping with Castle’s modus operandi. The film was halted at the climax and the audience was asked to vote on the fate of Mr. Sandonicus — either punishment or mercy. The popular vote would be played out as the film’s ending. The thing was, no other endings were filmed.

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DCS: greg guidry

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goin' down

Greg Guidry liked to sing gospel and play piano. As a teenager, he formed a band with future Doobie Brothers keyboardist/vocalist Michael McDonald.

In 1977, with his friend and collaborator Rich Lang, Greg drove from his native St. Louis to New York City to pursue a career in the music industry. The pair wrote and recorded some demos and were soon signed to CBS Records. Their songs were recorded by the Climax Blues Band, Exile, Sawyer Brown, Reba McEntire and others. Greg sang backup on The Allman Brothers’ 1981 release Brothers of the Road.

Greg went solo in the early 80s and signed with Columbia Records. He released an album called Over the Line, which spawned the single “Goin’ Down,” an early entry into the then-unnamed “yacht rock” genre. The song hit Number 17 on the Billboard charts.

Greg continued his songwriting efforts into the 80s, but he didn’t release a follow-up to Over the Line for nearly two decades. Making up for lost opportunity, Greg actually released two albums in 2000 — Soul’d Out and Private Sessions. Neither one charted.

In 2003, Greg’s charred remains was discovered in the aftermath of a fire in his garage at his home in Fairview, Tennessee. After an investigation, his death was ruled a suicide. Greg was 53.

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inktober 2017: week 4

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inktober 2017 week 4

It’s already Week 4 in Inktober and the new film version of Stephen King’s It is still going strong in theaters. I, however, am partial to the schlocky ABC-TV mini-series from 1990. The always delightful Tim Curry brought Pennywise the Dancing Clown to life and, single-handedly brought back coulrophobia.

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IF: sugar

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A while ago, I belonged and contributed to another illustration blog called Sugar Frosted Goodness. I had a sort-of “love-hate” relationship with the guy that ran the blog. He reprimanded me once for an illustration I did that he considered to “cross the line.” I always believed that nothing “crossed the line” as far as the message that art — any art — expresses. So, I resigned from that blog. Now, it appears, someone else owns his domain name and it is no longer an illustration blog. So, all’s well that ends well; what goes around, comes around; and fuck him.

Anyway, in 2008, I posted this illustration on that blog for the word “sugary.” The illustration and accompanying original poem garnered eleven praising comments. This week, Illustration Friday, an illustration blog to which I have contributed weekly for over ten years (without missing a week), posted the word “sugar.” I decided to do a follow-up to the story of toothy candy maker Swirly von Swirly deCocoa McDuff.

the story continues...

Swirly von Swirly deCocoa McDuff… revisted
Remember old Swirly von Swirly McDuff
Who concocted a kitchenfull of sugary stuff
He mixed up a whole mess of sticky-sweet snacks
Like praline pecan apple cinnamon jacks
And crunchy crunch peanutty caramel chews
Licorice whips in reds, greens, blacks and blues
Ol’ Swirly, he was quite the master of sweets
Filling his shelves with all sorts of fine treats
Renowned for his pineapple rum jelly pops
And marshmallow-y chocolate-y gumdrop-y drops
But Mr. deCocoa McDuff never heeded
Dental warnings he got, ’til his gums finally bleeded
And he lost all his teeth, his big pearly whites
So now, he’s got candy — but he no longer bites.

 

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DCS: martin landau

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Karloff! Karloff did not deserve to smell my shit!

A one-time cartoonist, Martin Landau abandoned his artistic career to pursue acting. He worked with the great Lee Strasberg at the prestigious Actors Studio, along with his friend Steve McQueen. He met and became close friends with fellow actor James Dean.

Martin made his first major big-screen appearance alongside James Mason in Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller North by Northwest. He went on to take roles in the epics Cleopatra and The Greatest Story Ever Told, as well as Nevada Smith with pal Steve McQueen.

On television, Martin was remembered for his role as master of disguise “Rollin Hand” in the drama Mission: Impossible, where he starred with his then-wife Barbara Bain. Martin displayed great versatility with accents and mannerisms. Later, he and Bain would co-star in the syndicated sci-fi series Space: 1999.

Martin took an embarrassing role in the TV movie The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island in 1981. It seemed that he was teetering on the end of a career, but several years later, be bounced back to an Academy Award-nominated performance in Tucker: The Man and His Dream. He followed that role with another Oscar-nominated performance in Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors. In 1994, he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his eerily realistic portrayal of aging horror actor Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton’s biopic Ed Wood.

Martin, once again, became a highly sought-after actor and worked regularly in movies and television. He was nominated multiple times for Emmys in both comedic and dramatic roles. he also ventured into voice acting, with parts in 1994 animated Spiderman series.

Martin was hospitalized briefly in July 2017. He passed away from multiple organ failure during his stay. He was 89 years old.

 

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