The Wild Real-World Playboy Adventures of a One-Time Superboy

Posted on by

Back in 1961, John Rockwell was cast to star as Superboy in a follow-up to the extremely popular Superman tv series which was enjoying renewed popularity in reruns.  Superboy never made it past the pilot stage (which you can see if you click over to the link I’ll provide in a second) because of a dispute between two cereal companies over who would get sponsorship rights!

Although the unproduced series became Rockwell’s biggest claim to fame, he was still considered a star and led a very interesting life.  Consider that Rockwell….

  • …once save saved Hugh Heffner’s life

  • … for years lived on and off in the Playboy mansion

  • … became a competitive backgammon player for big bucks (and he still competes!)

  • … married a Mexican heiress and although they haven’t seen each other in over 40 years, are still married due to a strange divorce stipulation

  • …competed with Frank Sinatra for the attention of a woman they were both after (and won)

Jennifer Vineyard’s The Wild Real-World Playboy Adventures of a One-Time Superboy for SyfyWire is worth a read.

 

Ace Atkins Talks Crossroad Blues and a Lot More!

Posted on by

Ace Atkins is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated novelist who has written 23 novels.  Perhaps best known for being selected to carry on Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series, Atkins has series characters of his own (Nick Travers and Quinn Colson).  If you dig his Spenser yarns, then you ought to give Travers and Colson a go.

Crossroad Blues is Atkins first Nick Travers novel.

The disappearance of a college professor investigating rumors of previously unknown recordings by renowned blues musician Robert Johnson, murdered more than fifty years earlier, leads football player-turned-blues historian Nick Travers along a dangerous trail as he seeks to unravel the dark truths behind an old mystery.

Crossroad Blues has been adapted into a graphic novel by Atkins along with artist Marco Finnegan.

“Thrillkill” by Jim Stenstrum and Neal Adams!

Posted on by


If you’re not familiar with Thrillkill by Jim Stenstrum and Neal Adams, you’re in for a real treat.  Originally published in Creepy #75, by Warren in November 1975,

Thrillkill is one of Neal Adams’ most beautifully illustrated stories and Stenstrum was ahead of the times looking at mass murders.  (You have to remember that they were almost unheard of in 1975.  These days, they happen regularly.)

Click over to The Bristol Board to see the full Thrillkill story in a format that’s easy to read.

“Creed” Named One of The 25 Best American Screenplays of the 21st Century

Posted on by

Did you know that Creed was named one of The 25 Best American Screenplays of the 21st Century by the fine folks at IndieWire?  It was and here is what they had to say…

Ryan Coogler and Aaron Covington’s “Creed” screenplay is the kind of crowd-pleasing knockout that seems to come along once in a blue moon. Not only does the script manage to tell an authentic origin story of the young and determined Adonis Creed, but it also finds an authentic way to revive Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky and make him the emotional lynchpin of Adonis’ rise to champion boxer. Nothing in “Creed” feels shoehorned in to satisfy “Rocky” fans. The script fights hard to invest you in Adonis’ journey and earn its callbacks to Stallone’s classic. No wonder the moment when Creed runs through the streets of Philadelphia feels like such an invigorated triumph. The script is the very definition of satisfaction. —Zack Sharf

You can see IndieWire’s other choices by clicking here.

Ranking the Top 10 “The Rock” Characters

Posted on by


Caitlin Busch decided to spend some time Ranking the Top 10 “The Rock” Characters for Syfy.com.

Using just her list, here are two of my favorites.  Yeah, just two this time.  Busch’s list favored The Rock’s comedy’s and I lean to action. So… here’s the two from her list…

  • Luke Hobbs, Fast and Furious franchise (2011-present)

  • Raymond Gaines, San Andreas (2015)

…and then a couple that I think should have made the cut…

  • Beck, The Rundown (2003)

  • Driver, Faster (2010)

9 Altogether Ooky Facts About John Astin

Posted on by


Me-TV presents 9 Altogether Ooky Facts About John Astin.  Here are three of my favorites…

3. He was nominated for an Oscar…

   Image: MGM Television

…but it wasn’t for acting. Astin directed the 1968 short film Prelude. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.

4. He appeared in ‘West Side Story.’

   Image: United Artists

The 1961 musical blockbuster starred box office heavyweights like Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno, but it also featured an uncredited appearance by Astin. The actor appeared as the character Glad Hand, the social worker who kicks off the “Mambo” dance sequence in the gymnasium.

 

5. He appeared as The Riddler on ‘Batman.’

Most people associate the devious villain with Frank Gorshin. But Astin also put on the green tights and purple mask in the season two episodes “Batman’s Anniversary” and “A Riddling Controversy.”