inktober 2022: week 4

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Week 4 of Inktober 2022 spotlights Oscar’s “Best Art Direction” award for Tim Burton’s 1999 twist on the classic Washington Irving tale “Sleepy Hollow.”

Burton cast his favorite muse Johnny Depp in the lead role of “Ichabod Crane.” This time Crane is a New York police constable instead of a squirrelly schoolteacher. He visits the appropriately named Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of grisly murders, in which each victim has been decapitated. While the film could have been a bit scarier for my tastes, the art direction is spot on, with its bleak, washed-out colors and dark forboding settings.

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DCS: don wilson

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Don Wilson was an integral part of the Houston Astros for nine seasons. His career could have continued… but other circumstances changed that.

Don won over 100 games for the Astros. He was selected to the All Star Game in 1971, where he pitched two scoreless innings. Her also threw two no-hitters – one in 1967 (his rookie season) and one in 1969 against the Cincinnati Reds, just one day after the Reds no-hit the Astros, just the second time that occurred in Major League history.

The 1974 season was an unremarkable one for Don. He went 11-13, although his final mound appearance was a two-hit shutout against the Atlanta Braves. That was on September 28. It was the last time he would play baseball.

On January 5, 1975, Don pulled his 1972 Thunderbird into his garage late at night. He shut the door behind him, but he didn’t get out of the car and he didn’t turn off the engine. He passed out from a night of drinking. The next morning, Don’s wife Bernice discovered Don in the car in the garage. He was dead, but — strangely — he was in the passenger’s seat. The engine was no longer running, as the car had run out of gas during the night, but not before the exhaust has generated enough carbon monoxide to kill the 29-year old pitcher. The fumes made their way into his children’s bedrooms, which were just above the garage. Don’s 9-year old daughter Denise was overcome and lapsed into a coma. His son, 5-year old Alex, died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The family was brought to a nearby hospital after Bernice called police. Bernice was examined and, aside from mild carbon monoxide inhalation, it was discovered she had suffered a broken jaw. A confused Bernice could not recall how or when she received the injury. Don’s death was determined to be an unfortunate accident, but Bernice claimed she suffered from amnesia when she was questioned about events of that night. As the investigation into Don’s death continued, Bernice became less and less cooperative and eventually refused to speak to police.

There are many questions surrounding Don Wilson’s death that still remain unanswered.

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inktober 2022: week 3

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My Inktober 2022 entry for Week 3 is the 2010 winner for “Best Actress” – Natalie Portman in Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller Black Swan.

Natalie Portman’s tour de force and Oscar-winning performance was, unfortunately, missed by a lot of people because of the frightening press Black Swan received prior to its release. Keeping with director Aronofky’s “brand,” the film was a surreal nightmare, perfectly suited to the subject matter and effectively depicting the “spiraling into madness” experienced by the main character, as so effectively portrayed by Portman.

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DCS: diane webber

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As a teenager, Hollywood-born Diane Webber took ballet lessons from noted dance instructor Maria Bekefi. Diane’s mother, a model and sometime actress, sowed the seeds for Diane’s career path. She worked as a chorus girl at a San Francisco club. In between performing, Diane was an in-demand model, working with the likes of Bunny Yeager and appearing in a number of commercial advertisements primarily in men’s magazines as well as nearly a dozen album covers in the jazz and “bachelor pad” genres.

Using the pseudonym “Marguerite Empey,” Diane appeared in early issues of Playboy magazine. She was one of just a handful of women to be chosen “Playmate of the Month” more than once. Diane was “Miss May 1955” as well as “Miss February 1956.” The latter photoshoot was done by the notorious Russ Meyer, known for his kitschy “sexploitation” films of the 60s and 70s.

Diane used her new-found fame as a stepping stone to an acting career. She starred in a few B-movies, including “Mermaids of Tiburon,” playing the queen of the title characters. She also appeared as a mermaid in a 1967 episode of the action series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

In the 1960s, free-spirited Diane became active in the budding nudist movement, appearing in nudist publications and becoming an advocate for the counter-culture lifestyle. She was subpoenaed by the DA of Sioux City, Iowa to speak on their behalf at a trial involving the mailing of nudist magazines and pending obscenity charges. Diane spoke glowingly about the nudist lifestyle, much to the chagrin and embarrassment of the District Attorney.

In her later years, Diane gave up on acting and took up belly dancing, performing regularly and giving lessons. She ran a successful dance studio and welcomed families to participate, instead of merely pandering to an all-male audience. Years later, Diane worked as an archivist and librarian for a Santa Monica law firm.

Diane passed away in August 2008 at the age of 76. She lived the life she wanted — filled with fun and dance and doing things her way.

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inktober 2022: week 2

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Week 2 of Inktober 2022 features the 1986 Oscar winner for “Best Makeup” – David Cronenberg’s remake of The Fly.

Starring the always interesting, always quirky Jeff Goldblum, this version is more intense and decidedly more gory than the campy, but effective, original. Goldblum’s “Seth Brundle,” a preoccupied scientist, is believable, but the special effects and makeup is what puts this film over the top. Goldblum’s slow transformation is particularly unnerving. Goldblum’s co-star in this version was Geena Davis, whom he met while filming the horror/comedy Transylvania 6-5000 and eventually married. The couple made one more film together — Earth Girls are Easy — before divorcing.

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inktober 2022: week 1

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Wow! It’s already October! And you know what that means. Well, it might mean something different to you, but for a bunch of artists (and me), it means another round of Inktober. Based on a set of suggestions from the official Inktober website, artists (whom I selfishly and preposterously number myself among) create special works daily just for October, based on those suggestions. And once again, I’ll be making up my own rules of participation. I will be posting a new, black & white drawing (and a little bit of red) each week for the entire month – in addition to my participation in the regular Inktober 52 and, if I feel like it, another random drawing here and there. Every year, I choose a theme in keeping with the “spirit” of the Hallowe’en season. This year, my drawings will feature a selection of horror movies to which Hollywood gave its highest honor. In its 92-year history, only 18 horror movies have been awarded Oscars. While, in my personal opinion, the Oscars (and all awards) are meaningless, this slight to a very popular genre is ridiculous.

So let’s kick things off with Week 1’s entry. It’s Frederic March’s portrayal of the classic “good and evil” dichotomy in the 1931 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. An early entry in the “talkie” horror film category, this take came on the heels of two of Universal Studios blockbusters – Dracula and Frankenstein. The eerie transformation sequence in the film was kept a secret for years by director Rouben Mamoulian. It was also notable for its pre-Hayes Code production, heavy with overt sexual content. When it was re-released five years later, eight minutes of footage was removed.

Frederic March shared the “Best Actor” award with Wallace Beery for The Champ in a rare tie. The film was remade ten years later with Spencer Tracy. It was panned by critics.

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DCS: robert sorrells

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Robert Sorrells made his acting debut in  a first season episode of the anthology series Twilight Zone. In “The Mighty Casey,” Robert played an emotionless robot recruited by a losing baseball team as their pitching “secret weapon.” In typical Twilight Zone fashion, Robert’s robot was, at first effective, but gained human sensitivity and felt bad about striking out his opponents. The episode featured Jack Warden as the team’s coach, filling in after the death of original star Paul Douglas. In the wake of Douglas’s passing, the entire episode was reshot with Warden at the personal expense of creator Rod Serling. Robert Sorrells earned praise for his portrayal and soon found himself in guest roles on popular TV series, including multiple stints on Gunsmoke.

In 1962, Robert was cast in a supporting part on the sitcom Ensign O’Toole with Dean Jones. A forerunner to McHale’s Navy, the show lasted just one season. Robert, however, continued to land roles in episodic TV as well as several films.

In the 70s, he was cast as Woody Guthrie’s father in the biopic Bound for Glory. Later, he played a small role in Fletch, famously asking star Chevy Chase “What in the hell is the matter with you?”

Robert was known as a quiet, reserved, gentle soul who played guitar and practiced yoga. However, in the summer of 2004, Robert was drinking in a Simi Valley, California bar alongside a few patrons he did not know. Robert became uncharacteristically loud and belligerent. A man at the bar — Arthur DeLong — physically escorted a very resistant Robert from the premises. A short time later, Robert returned to the bar with a gun. He shot Delong at point-blank range, killing him. He shot another patron, one with whom he had no previous interaction. Robert left the bar immediately, but was apprehended by law enforcement a short distance away.

Robert was charged with premeditated murder. At his 2005 trial, he pled not guilty by reason of insanity. He later resubmitted a guilty plea and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Robert died in a Vacaville, California prison in 2019. He was 88.

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