PCA Announcments: Upcoming Interviews at PCA!

Hey there friends and readers! 

You may have noticed that material has been a bit scarce this week.  Well a big part of that is the fact that we are gearing up for Toronto’s FanExpo this coming weekend!  Every year fan boys, Trekkies, comic collectors, gamers, collectors, autograph seekers, and cosplayers of all shapes, sizes, agendas and walks of life come to Toronto in the thousands for three days of celebration of everything “geeky.”  This year will personally by my eleventh year at FanExpo, and PCA’s four year covering it as a part of the press!  It really is Canada’s greatest convention of this sort and a great opportunity to have encounters with your favorite stars as well as meet with other members from your own fan subculture!  Of course I hope that if you see me bopping around that you’ll stop to say hello.  PCA’s contributing writer Janet L. Hetherington will also be in attendance at her own table in artist alley, so make sure to stop by and say hello to her and her partner, comic artist Ronn Sutton, and check out all the great stuff that they have available.  If you are in Toronto you can not afford to miss FanExpo!  It runs Friday August 27^th to Sunday August 29^th at the Toronto International Convention Center on Front Street (just a few blocks away from Union Station).  Make sure to visit http://www.fanexpocanada.com/ for more details. 

Meanwhile, this August could be the busiest and most successful month that PCA has seen this year in regards to upcoming interviews!  I have been talking to some of pop culture’s biggest celebrities and some of my personal favorites in the last few weeks to the point that I am beginning to drown in tape!  I am really excited to be able to finally reveal some of the people we’ve been talking to and give you a sneak peek of who we have coming up in the weeks to come! 

John LaZar is coming to PCA in September 2011!

John LaZar – Only a few weeks ago I wrote a column asking for information on a number of “lost” pop culture icons that we were searching for.  Thanks to reader Tim Rowland we were able to locate actor John LaZar who played possibly my all time favorite film character, the enigmatic Ronnie “Z-Man” Barzell in the Russ Meyer classic Beyond the Valley of the Dolls!  John and I spoke a few weeks back about Dolls as well as his latest award winning short Alice Jacobs is Dead.  A native of San Francisco, John LaZar is a classically trained actor, martial artist, dancer and swords man who has had a long career in television, theatre and stage for over five decades. Although he will probably always be best known for his role as Z-Man, in which he had such famous lines as “It’s my happening and it freaks me out” and “You will drink the black sperm of my vengeance,” he is also fondly remembered for the role of Jarek in the Roger Corman cult classic Death Stalker II (1987) and for the role of Dr. Fez in the short lived cable series Click (1997).  Currently living in Los Angeles, John LaZar is a very funny and charismatic individual and everything that you would want him to be.  But guess what folks?  If you are in the Los Angeles area next week you can meet John LaZar yourself as he will be hosting the Valley of the Dolls/Beyond the Valley of the Dolls double feature at the legendary Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard on September 1^st.  As part of the 75^th Anniversary Celebration of 20^th Century Fox Studios, John will be doing a question and answer session and a signing along with some other very special BVD guests.  More information on that right here later this weekend, and look for our interview with John LaZar following shortly thereafter in September! 

Ed Asner is coming to PCA in September 2010

Ed Asner – In his career television legend Ed Asner has won more Emmy Awards then any other actor in television.  Via his role as Lou Grant on the classic 70’s sit-com The Mary Tyler Moore Show and his own groundbreaking spin off series Lou Grant, as well as noteworthy appearances in Roots and Rich Man, Poor Man, Ed Asner has had sixteen Emmy nominations and brought home an astonishing eight Emmy statues.  Although a television mainstay for decades,  Ed Asner recently managed to break into the hearts of a whole new generation when he performed the voice of Carl Fredrickson in the Oscar winning animated film Up.  One of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood and one of the most respected members of the pop culture community, Ed Asner is also as controversial as beloved.  Fiery passionate about a number of political issues, Ed Asner is a man who speaks a certain hard edged truth and is not afraid to stand up for what he believes is right.  I was honored to talk to Ed Asner about his most famous roles, his politics and much more.  PCA’s interview with Ed Asner will be coming in September! 

Ernie Hudson is coming to PCA in September 2010!

Ernie Hudson –Actor/playwrite Ernie Hudson will probably always be best known for his breakout role as straight man Winston Zeddmore in the 80’s cult mega-hit Ghost Busters (1984).  However, Hudson has had a long career in film and television pre-dating Ghost Busters and continuing today where he has appeared in dozens of televisions most beloved programs as well as co-staring in hit films such as The Crow, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Miss Congeniality.  However Hudson probably gave his strongest performances in the role of Warden Leo Glynn in the powerful and controversial award winning HBO series Oz.  Gearing up for his upcoming appearance in the long awaited Ghost Busters III, Ernie Hudson is currently promoting his next film project Doonby co-starring John Schneider, set to be released in 2011.  PCA’s interview with Ernie Hudson will be coming in September! 

Julie Newmar is coming to PCA in September 2010!

Julie Newmar – In conjunction with her upcoming appearance this weekend at FanExpo, PCA is thrilled to be able to talk with Julie Newmar!  One of the legendary beauties of stage and screen, Julie Newmar has been the subject of many fan boy fantasies for generations for her various roles in many of pop culture’s biggest franchises.  Starting her career as a dancer on Broadway, Julie Newmar made her first mark on the stage by playing the role of sex bomb Stupefyin’ Jones in the Broadway production of Lil’ Abner, based on Al Capp’s legendary comic strip.  She became so attached to the part that she reprised the role in the 1959 film version of the production.  Although she had a colorful career as a Broadway star, pin up model and movie siren, Julie Newmar will, of course, always be remembered for playing the Catwoman in the campy 1960’s TV production of Batman staring Adam West and Burt Ward.  Although she was only one of three actresses that played the part on TV, she still remains the most popular and mot famous.  Julie Newmar also achieved cult status for playing Rhoda the Robot in the short lived comedy series My Living Doll, April Conquest in The Monkees, Miss Devlin (aka Satan) in The Twilight Zone episode Of Late I Think of Cliffordville and Eleen in the Star Trek episode Friday’s Child.  Our interview with Julie Newmar will be coming in September! 

Alan Young will be coming to PCA October 2011!

Alan Young – One of the most recognizable and warmest voices in pop culture, comedian Alan Young started his long career on radio in Canada in 1944 before moving his show to the US as a replacement for Eddie Cantor on NBC.  His popularity with audiences proved so great that he moved to ABC where he developed The Alan Young Show, which moved from radio to television in 1950, winning him a pair of Emmy Awards in 1951.   After making a notable appearance as Filby in the 1960 version of HG Welles’ The Time Machine, Alan Young hit comedy gold when he played straight man Wilbur Post to a talking horse in the classic sit-com Mr. Ed from 1961 to 1966.  In the 1970’s Young turned to voice acting and found his most iconic animated character when he brought Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge McDuck to life for the first time in 1983.  By putting a heavier emphasis on his natural slight Scottish accent, Alan Young remains to be the only actor who has voiced the classic feathered character.  However, many fans of 1980’s cartoons fondly remember Alan Young’s voice as that of robot 7-Zark-7, the narrator of Battle of the Planets.  Now retired from show business and living in Los Angeles, Alan Young will be coming to PCA in October! 

Anyways friends, as you see we have a busy time ahead of us at PCA, and lots to prepare for FanExpo this weekend in which there will surely be even more announcements to be made. 

Stay tuned because there is more to come, 

Sam Tweedle 

Pop Culture Addict