inktober 2025: week 6

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Inktober 2025 draws to a close with the final entry in my “Scream Queens” series — Danielle Harris.

I used to attend fan conventions on a regular basis back when I used to collect autographed photos. I no longer add to my collection, because — in my opinion — the shows and participating celebrities have priced themselves out of the bracket that I am willing to pay.

Many years ago, I went to the Monster Mania convention on the Friday night of its three-day weekend run. The hotel that was hosting the event was packed, with long lines of folks waiting for celebrity autographs snaking through hallways. I found my way to a narrow walkway that led to a large ballroom. A very long queue of costumed attendees lined one side of the hallway. I stopped a staff member and asked: “Is this the line to get into the room?” “No,” he answered, “This is the line for Danielle.” “Who?,” I replied.” He frowned and angrily repeated, “Danielle! DANIELLE! You know… Danielle Harris!” and he stomped off.

I didn’t know who “Danielle” was. I was there to see Louise Fletcher, the Academy Award-winning actress known for her chilling portrayal of “Nurse Ratched” in the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I was able to by-pass the “Danielle” line and just stroll up to Miss Fletcher. I had a lovely conversation the the elegantly-reserved actress. I walked away from our interaction with a personalized photo (she wrote “Take your meds!” above her swirly signature) and it only cost me a very reasonable twenty bucks.

I caught a quick glimpse of “Danielle” as the top of her head bobbed above a throng of fans who obviously knew more about her than I did. When I got home I “Googled” her. Evidently, Danielle Harris is a pretty big deal in the current crop of horror films. She appeared in four entries in the Halloween series, several of the Hatchet franchise films and a bunch of stand-alone films of the spooky variety… none of which I have seen.

This brings us to the end of Inktober 2025. Thanks for playing. Happy Hallowe’en.

 

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inktober 2025: week 5

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Starting her stage career as a ballet dancer, Neve Campbell danced in productions of The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty in her native Canada. She did some modeling and appeared in a 1991 commercial for Coca Cola.

In 1994, Neve was cast as orphan “Julia Salinger”” in the teen drama Party of Five. The show, and especially her work, was praised by critics and the media. In 1996, she made her first “horror”-leaning film, The Craft, which was a surprise success. Impressed by her role in The Craft, director Wes Craven asked her to audition for a role in his new project Scream, a sort-of self-aware spoof of slasher films. Neve embodied the role of “Sydney Prescott” and she was thrust into the “scream queen” spotlight. She took roles in other films and other genres, including voice-over work, but returned to several sequels in the Scream canon.

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DCS: ace frehley

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I was a KISS fan for a few months when I was in 10th grade. I was one of the first people to wear a KISS t-shirt in my high-school. It was a big plastic-like iron-on decal of KISS’s debut album cover that I selected from a wall of designs on display at a local record store. A month or so later, my interest in all things KISS disappeared and I became a fan of… some other band.

In my junior year, in a final hurrah, three of my friends and I attended a Halloween party in full, homemade KISS regalia, complete with dead-on make-up expertly applied by my artistic mother. Our costumes were really an inside joke, as none of us were KISS fans.

Many, many years later, I was intrigued when I discovered that my wife’s soft-spoken aunt — a teaching assistant at an elementary school — was a closeted KISS fanatic. I was floored when she revealed that she paid an unheard of twelve hundred bucks for a backstage, pre-show intimate encounter with KISS at a local stop on their then-current concert tour. (That story is related HERE.) I certainly didn’t begrudge her for what she chose to spend her money on. What confounded me was her interest in KISS in the first place. Some quick calculations brought me to the conclusion that she was not the right age to have been a KISS fan in their initial wave of fame, let alone in any subsequent resurgence in popularity. The appeal didn’t make sense… to me, anyway.

A couple of years ago, my wife — the illustrious Mr. P — accompanied her Virginia-contingency of  cousins to an outdoor show featuring 80s rockers Def Leppard and KISS. Mrs. P, an affirmed Dead Head, is the last person you’d expect to find at a KISS show. Her cousins were all set to leave after Def Leppard’s set, but Mrs. Pincus was adamant about staying. She stood firm, saying that she paid her twenty bucks and she was determined to see what this “KISS thing” was all about. She was not impressed, but she did like when they performed “Beth.”

My brother-in-law was briefly married to a woman who was considerably younger than he. She admitted to being a fan of the face-painted purveyors of pop-metal. My brother-in-law, just like my wife, is a long-time devoted follower of the Grateful Dead. But, as an obedient husband, he agreed (albeit reluctantly) to attend a KISS concert at a casino showroom in Atlantic City. I saw them a few weeks later and asked, “How was the show?” My sister-in-law gushed and she began to tell me all about the experience. I stopped her and said, “No. Not you.,” then I pointed to my brother-in-law. “You.,” I said, “I want to know how you liked the concert.” He shrugged, “I don’t know. I left before it began and spent the time in the casino until it was over.”

KISS founding guitarist Ace Frehley passed away this week at the age of 74, after some health issues related to a fall he’d taken in his home recording studio. I really don’t have any KISS stories…. just some funny anecdotes. If you think about it, KISS, as a band, had become just a bunch of funny anecdotes.

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inktober 2025: week 4

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Dee Wallace is sort-of an unlikely “scream queen.” Although the bulk of her on-screen career has leaned towards the horror genre, she has had roles in other projects that are as far from horror as one can get. After appearing in early shockers like the original The Hills Have Eyes, The Stepford Wives and The Howling, Dee is best remembered as the mother of three kids hiding a earthbound alien in the 1982 beloved blockbuster E.T. – The Extraterrestrial. On television, she, again, was the typical “mom” on The New Lassie for four seasons. Dee had guest roles in countless TV series as well as roles on the big screen. But, horror has been very, very good to Dee Wallace. The versatile blond actress seems right at home in films like The Frighteners, Critters, Cujo, Rob Zombie’s Halloween reboot, and other creepers.

On a family vacation, I was walking through Los Angeles’s famous Farmers Market with my son, when I spotted Dee Wallace sitting at a picnic table reading a book and eating a salad. I pointed her out to my son, who seemed less than impressed. A few years later, I saw Dee signing autographs at a local horror convention in New Jersey. When I approached her for a signed photo and a bit of “celebrity interaction,” I mentioned about seeing her eating lunch at the LA Farmers Market. She laughed and said that she rarely goes to the Farmers Market because she lives so far and it’s inconvenient. She added that she hadn’t been the in many many years.  So, it turns out, that day in Los Angeles, I just pointed out some lady eating her lunch. No wonder my son was so indifferent.

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DCS: calisto tanzi

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In 1961, 22-year old college dropout Calisto Tanzi opened a small pasteurization plant in Parma, Italy. As time went on, the business, Parmalat, grew and grew, branching out from dairy products to include bakery items, juices and other beverages. The company began trading on the Milan Stock Exchange as its expansion continued, mostly by acquisition.

In the early 2000s, a majority of Parmalat’s new divisions were operating at a loss. A bit of complicated and “creative” accounting told otherwise. Under Calisto’s direction, company executive officers were shifted around or fired and replaced. The monetary results of fund-raising efforts were shuffled through off-shore banks and other financial entities. Financial statements were forged. Goverment auditors detained Calisto and some of his colleagues, investigating Parmalat’s books. They discovered an actual debt of over 14.3 billion Euros, nearly eight times the company’s official report. In 2008, it was revealed that Calisto had embezzled 800 million Euros from the company. He was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 18 years in prison. After two years, he was placed under house arrest.

In 2011, Calisto was sentenced to an additional nine years for bankruptcy fraud and criminal association. A large cache of artwork by Picasso, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne, and Matisse was discovered at Calisto’s home — works he denied owning. The art was seized before it could be put up for sale.

In the wake of Calisto’s sentencing, several honorary titles and degrees were withdrawn by their issuing organizations.

In January 2022, Calisto passed away from pneumonia at the age of 82.

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inktober 2025: week 3

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Five-year old Linda Blair modeled for catalogues from Sears, JC Penney’s and Macy’s. Her print work led Linda to over 70 television commercials, including Welch’s Jelly and other national products. She enhanced her marketable skills by taking equestrian training.  At 10, Linda had a regular role in a soap opera and landed small roles in films.

In 1972, Linda was chosen from a pool of 600 young ladies for the coveted role of “Regan MacNeil,” the daughter of an actress who happened to be possessed by an ancient demon,  in the film adaptation of the celebrated novel The Exorcist. Her terrifying performance garnered praise as well as a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination. To dispel rumors regarding Linda’s mental state during filming, Warner Brothers sent the young actress on a press tour to show she was just a normal teenager.

Linda tackled more controversial roles, including the TV movie Born Innocent about an abused teen, Sarah T – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic and several “women in prison” movies. She reprised her “Exorcist” role in the poorly-received Exorcist II: The Heretic. When that film wrapped, she took a year off from acting to compete in equestrian circuits under the name “Martha McDonald.” She even poked fun at herself in the 1990 spoof Repossessed.

Linda has been a long-time advocate for animal rights and maintains a namesake non-profit for animal rescue. She also regularly appears at conventions to meet and mingle with her fans.

Linda, however, almost didn’t get the iconic role for which she is best known. Voice actress April Winchell, daughter of voice actor Paul Winchell, was seriously considered for the role of “Regan MacNeil” until she was sidelined with an illness that required a lengthy hospital stay. April was ultimately dropped, opening the door for Linda Blair.

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DCS: sal mineo

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Poor Sal Mineo.

After a couple of film roles (including one for which he beat out another up-and-coming actor named Clint Eastwood), Sal Mineo was cast as “John ‘Plato’ Crawford” in Rebel Without a Cause alongside James Dean and Natalie Wood. The film earned Sal an Academy Award nomination and made him a household name, cementing his stardom as the quintessential “troubled teen.”

Sal soon found he was being typecast, something he wanted no parts of. He purposely sought out roles that went against the iconic role for which he gained his initial fame. He portrayed a Native American boy in the Disney film Tonka and later embodied drummer Gene Krupa in a biopic. In the epic Exodus, Sal played a Jewish holocaust survivor and earned his second Oscar nomination. He also recorded a couple of albums and released several singles, one of which hit the Top Ten on the Billboard Pop chart.

In the early 60s, rumors of homosexuality were attached to Sal. He blamed this on being turned down for several high-profile film roles. Actually, he was aging out of the “angry youth” roles that were once his bread-and-butter. He appeared briefly in the war drama The Longest Day, but missed out on a part in Lawrence of Arabia. He soon turned to television and appeared on episodes of Combat! and The Patty Duke Show. As the 60s came to a close, he directed the gripping drama Fortune and Men’s Eyes, a play about prison life with a focus on homosexuality.

In 1971, Sal took a small part in the second sequel in the lucrative Planet of the Apes franchise, Escape from the Planet of the Apes. Under heavy, constricting make-up, Sal reluctantly played “Dr. Milo,” a role he admitted doing purely for the money. The character was killed off early in the film, much to Sal’s delight. This would prove to be Sal’s final big-screen role. He continued to take parts in episodic television, including a powerful turn as a Manson-like cult leader in a 1975 episode of S.W.A.T.

Sal’s career began to show signs of a resurgence. He was appearing in Los Angeles in the comedic play P.S. Your Cat is Dead to positive reviews. On February 12, 1976, Sal was returning to his West Hollywood apartment after play rehearsal. After parking his car in the building garage, he was attacked and stabbed to death by a mugger who quickly fled. Sal Mineo was just 37 years old. The second act of his career ended abruptly.

There were rumors of “sexual motivation” regarding the attack, but after career criminal Lionel Ray Williams was arrested and later confessed, it was revealed that Williams didn’t know who Sal was.

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