Adieu to the Tall Man and Potpourri

Angus Scrimm (né Lawrence Rory Guy) has died at the age of 89. Scrimm is best known for his portrayal of The Tall Man, villain of 1979’s low-budget horror film Phantasm.

I saw the movie for the first time in the fall of 1983 at a repertory cinema in Lexington, KY. Yes, it was a goofy, low-budget, exploitation film — the very definition of a midnight movie (which is when my friends and I saw it). But it did a wonderful job of building tension — to the point that I actually had to get up and leave the theater for a couple of minutes as the film ran. And Scrimm was a magnificently charismatic villain.

In fact, he was charismatic enough that the film had several sequels, and Scrimm also was a fan favorite and frequent guest at various horror and SF conventions. But there was more to him than that — he also made a living as a writer of liner notes for record albums at Capitol Records. In fact, he won a Grammy Award in 1974 for his notes on an album of Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

So farewell, Mr. Scrimm — and thanks for the movies.

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I’ve mentioned before that I’m a fan of Cincinnati’s pro sports teams, and have been since I moved to the area in 1978. This meant that I watched the horror show that was the Bengals’ loss to the Steelers last night, a loss that extends the team’s playoff losing streak to a quarter-century. Here’s what I posted on Facebook:

I have been a Bengals fan since 1978. This was the most Bengals game ever.

Guys, I’ll be honest. When we went ahead at the end, I knew we would find a way to lose. I was _dead certain_ we would find an interesting way to crash and burn. The fumble recovery going all Jim Marshall? Sure, I wouldn’t have doubted it. A field goal, followed by a last-minute TD drive to a Steeler win? A bit tame, but sure.

But this? This was an amazing confluence of misfortune (the fumble) and self-inflicted stupidity. And again, like others on this thread, I’ve been a fan for a long time. I remember Stanley Wilson. I remember Tim Krumrie’s broken leg. I remember Carson Palmer’s ACL. I remember 0-6, 0-8, 0-whatever. I remember Ki-Jana Carter. I don’t remember Greg Cook, but I’ve read about him.

But this was Peak Bengals.

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I notice that Fannie Mae has an exciting new program to make it easier for people with subpar credit to buy homes — especially disadvantaged residents of disadvantaged areas. Government-backed subprime mortgages, now easier than before! What could possibly go wrong?

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Tomorrow, the Spawn reports for her orientation at Mondoville College. She seems excited about it in a way she never was for Flagship. Like a princess of Serendip, perhaps she had to look for something else to find what she really wanted. I’m looking forward to it as well.

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And for the traditional potpourri musical selection, here’s a longer-form video from way-cool power popsters The Cherry Drops. They get it. This is “Far Out”, and well, it is. I also like the name of the magician.

See you soon!