Saturday, June 12, 2004
6/12: Today in G-History
1918: SAMUEL Z. ARKOFF, co-founder of American International Pictures with James H. Nicholson, is born in Fort Dodge, Iowa. He was executive producer for the stateside releases of "Reptilicus", "Atragon", "The Lost World of Sinbad", "Frankenstein Conquers the World", "Yog — Monster from Space", and "Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster", along with "The Amazing Colossal Man", "War of the Colossal Beast", "Earth vs. the Spider", and over 300 B-movies.
1952: MAYASA OKI, who was in "The War in Space", is born in Beppu, Oita, Japan.
1966: Episode 24 of "Ultra Q", "The Idol of Goga", debuts on Japanese TV.
1967: Episode 50 of "The Space Giants", "Go to Hell Cosmic Mold Monster Kindora!" a.k.a. "Fury in Space", debuts on Japanese TV.
1971: Episode 11 of "Kamen Rider", "Vampiric Demon Gebacondor", debuts on Japanese TV.
1974: Baseball player HIDEKI "GODZILLA" MITSUI, who appeared as himself in "Godzilla x Mechagodzilla", is born in Ishikawa, Japan. He is currently playing for the New York Yankees.
1978: YUMIKO SHAKU, who played Akane Shakiro in "Godzilla x Mechagodzilla", is born in Japan.
1988: Episode 35 of "Kamen Rider Black" debuts on Japanese TV.
1993: Episode 11 of "Electronic Superhuman Gridman", "Pocket Money is 100,000 Yen?", debuts on Japanese TV.
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Friday, June 11, 2004
6/11: Today in G-History
1914: GERALD MOHR, who played Colonel Thomas O'Bannion in "The Angry Red Planet", is born in New York City. He was the voice of the Lone Ranger, Phillip Marlowe, Johnny Dollar, and the Lone Wolf on the radio, and starred on the TV series "Foreign Intrigue".
1931: LUCIANNA PALUZZI, who played Lisa Benson in "The Green Slime", is born in Rome. Best known as Fiona Volpe in "Thunderball", she was also in "Hercules" and appeared on "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.".
1936: CHAD EVERETT, who was the voice of Chuck on "Ultraman: The Adventure Begins", is born Raymond Lee Cramton in South Bend, Ind. Best known for the TV series "Medical Center", he was also in the films "The Dakotas", "Get Yourself a College Girl", "Made in Paris", "Return of the Gunfighter", "Psycho", and "Mulholland Drive", and on TV in "Centennial", "The Intruder Within", and "Manhattan, AZ".
1965: YASUKO SAWAGUCHI is born in Osaka. She played Naoko Okamura in "Godzilla 1985" and Erica Shiragami in "Godzilla vs. Biollante", and was Princess Kaguya in "Princess from the Moon" and Oto Tachibana in "Orochi the Eight-Headed Dragon". Sawaguchi also appeared in "Story of a Policeman 3" and the TV series "Miotsukushi".
1972: Episode 11 of "Superhuman Barom-1" debuts on Japanese TV.
1973: Episode 11 of "Zone Fighter", "By a Thread — The Roar of Godzilla!", is shown on Japanese TV. Gigan makes an appearance in this ep.
EI HAMURA, who played Shoji Tenjyosei a.k.a. Pegasus Ranger on "Five Star Task Force Dairanger", is born.
1974: Episode 10 of "Inazuman Flash" debuts on Japanese TV.
1977: MAMI HIGASHIYAMA, who played Miku Imamura a.k.a. Mega Pink on "Electromagnetic Task Force Megaranger", "Star Beast Task Force Gingaman vs. Megaranger", "Electromagnetic Task Force Megaranger vs. Carranger", and "Hundred Beast Task Force Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai", is born in Hyogo, Japan..
Episode 10 of "JAKQ Blitzkrieg Squad" debuts on Japanese TV.
1979: Episode 6 of "Megaloman", "Order: Operation Invasion", debuts on Japanese TV.
1989: Episode 22 of "Kamen Rider Black RX", "The Sky of Love and Hope", debuts on Japanese TV.
1993: Episode 16 of "Five Star Task Force Dairanger" debuts on Japanese TV.
1995: NOBORU TSUBURAYA, son of Eiji Tsuburaya and producer at Tsuburaya Productions, dies. Born in 1939, he produced "Space Warriors 2000", "The Last Dinosaur", "Star Wolf" (a.k.a. "Fugitive Alien"), "Attack of the Super Monsters" ("Dinosaur War Aizenborg"), "The Ultraman Story", "Ultraman: Towards the Future", and "Gridman" ("Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad").
1998: "Godzilla" is released in Australia.
2000: Episode 20 of "Kamen Rider Kuuga", "Smiling Face", debuts on Japanese TV.
posted by Jay | permalink
Thursday, June 10, 2004
Godzilla returns to spread anti-nuke message
. . . or so says Dana Bisbee of the Boston Herald. We could point out that there were a lot of other factors involved in Godzilla's creation and subsequent popularity, but it's nice just to see that the original 1954 film is getting renewed praise. Read the full article here.
posted by Christopher | permalink
6/10: Today in G-History
1873: VERA LEWIS, who played a theater patron who screamed when "King Kong" escaped, is born Vera Mackey in New York City.
1908: OTTO LUND, set decorator on "Reptilicus", is born in Copenhagen.
1910: BUD WOLFE, who played the bus driver in "Tarantula", is born in New York City.
1921: GARRY WALBERG, who played an army general in the 1976 remake of "King Kong", is born in Buffalo, N.Y.
1935: KOJI TAKAHASHI, who played Dr. Genichiro Shiragami in "Godzilla vs. Biollante", is born in Niigata, Japan.
1947: YURIKO HISHIMI, who played Anne Yuri on "Ultraseven" and Tomoko Tomoe in "Godzilla on Monster Island", is born Chiako Sakaiya in Tokyo. She also appeared in "Waga aishita Ultraseven" and "Ultraman Zearth 2".
1966: NED LE FEVRE, who played an announcer in "The Deadly Mantis", dies of cancer in Sun Valley, Calif.
1972: Episode 63 of "Kamen Rider", "Demon Rhino Gang — Auto Race of Death", debuts on Japanese TV.
1996: FRANKIE SAKAI, who played reporter Bulldog Fukuda in "Mothra", dies at 67.
1999: Filming starts on "Godzilla 2000".
2000: "Kurosufaia" ("Cross Fire") a.k.a. "Pyrokinesis" is released in Japan.
2003: "Gamera: Revenge of Irys" is released on DVD in the U.S.
posted by Jay | permalink
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
6/9: Today in G-History
1964: HIROKO YAKUSHIMARU, who played the childlike samurai in "Time Slip", is born in Tokyo.
1968: Episode 32 of "Ultra Seven", "The Deadly 0.1 Second" (a.k.a. "Sharpshooter Showdown"), debuts on Japanese TV.
1972: Episode 10 of "Transforming Ninja Arashi" debuts on Japanese TV.
1973: Episode 5 of "Kikaida 01", "Terror! An Egg Laughs on Blue Alligator Island!!", debuts on Japanese TV.
Episode 17 of "Kamen Rider V3", "Devil Spray is the Weapon of the God of Death", debuts on Japanese TV.
1979: Episode 19 of "Battle Fever J", "The World’s Strongest Beauty", debuts on Japanese TV.
1995: Episode 15 of "Superpower Task Force Ohranger" debuts on Japanese TV.
2003: "Kikaider: The Animation" premieres in the U.S. on the Cartoon Network.
posted by Jay | permalink
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
6/8: Today in G-History
1893: ERNEST B. SCHOEDSACK, who co-directed, produced, and co-wrote "King Kong", and played the machine-gunner of the plane that killed Kong, is born in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
1900: GEORGE ANTHEIL, who composed music used in "20 Million Miles to Earth", is born in Trenton, N.J.
1923: MYRON HEALEY, who played Commander James Bradley in the U.S. version of "Varan the Unbelievable", is born in Petaluna, Calif. He appeared in over a hundred movies, most of them B-westerns, as well as "The Time of Their Lives", "The Unearthly" and "The Incredible Melting Man".
1955: SHUSUKE KANEKO, who directed "Gamera, the Guardian of the Universe", "Gamera 2: Attack of Legion", "School of Ghosts 3", "Gamera 3: Revenge of Irys", "Pyrokinesis", and "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack", is born in Tokyo. He also served as co-writer on G3 and GMK, and was special effects consultant on GMK.
1973: Episode 36 of "Warrior of Love Rainbowman", "Your Sweetheart is an Assassin", debuts on Japanese TV.
1974: Episode 17 of "Kamen Rider X", "Scary! Humans Are Being Made into Trees!!", debuts on Japanese TV.
Episode 10 of "Electroid Zaborger", "Scary! Humans Are Being Made Into Trees!", debuts on Japanese TV.
1975: Episode 49 of "Electroid Zaborger", "Hurry, Daimon! Rescue the Zaborger Base!", debuts on Japanese TV.
1991: Episode 302 of "Mystery Science Theater 3000", featuring "Gamera", debuts on Comedy Central.
2002: "Dark Water" premieres in Australia at the Sydney Film Festival.
posted by Jay | permalink
Monday, June 07, 2004
6/7: Today in G-History
1919: ALIX TALTON, who played Marge Blaine in "The Deadly Mantis", is born in Atlanta.
1964: SUMIKO TANAKA, who played Yellow Four on "Super Electron Bioman", is born.
1973: Episode 10 of "Robot Detective" debuts on Japanese TV.
1974: Episode 9 of "Ultraman Leo", "Bridge of Friendship That Spans Space", debuts on Japanese TV.
1975: Episode 9 of "Secret Task Force Goranger" debuts on Japanese TV.
Episode 10 of "Kamen Rider Stronger" debuts on Japanese TV.
1983: DANIELE AMFITHEATROF, who composed stock music used in "20 Million Miles to Earth", dies in Rome.
1986: KOJI WADA, who played Mashida in "Gappa the Triphibian Monster", dies.
posted by Jay | permalink
Sunday, June 06, 2004
6/6: Today in G-History
1912: JIRO NITTA, who wrote the novel "Mount Hakkoda", is born in Suwa, Nagano, Japan.
1925: SHUJI OTAKI, who was in "Lake of Dracula", "The War in Space", and "Deathquake", and played Col. Nakabayashi in "Mount Hakkoda" and Professor Otawara in "Tokyo Blackout", is born in Tokyo.
1931: ROBERT DUNHAM, who played Antonio, the King of Seatopia in "Godzilla vs. Megalon", is born in Maine. He also played a Rolisican cop in "Mothra", agent Mark Jackson in "Dogora, the Space Monster", Captain Martin in "The Green Slime", and the airline captain in "E.S.P.Y." He also directed and starred in "The Time Travelers" and was the motorcycle stuntman in "Megalon".
1968: Suit actor AKIRA OHASHI, who played Gamera in "Gamera 2: Advent of Legion", Irys in "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle", and Ghidorah in "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah — the Giant Monsters’ All-Out Attack", is born. He also worked as a stunt double in "Zeiram", "Zeiram 2", "Moon Over Tao", "Godzilla 2000", and "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus".
1975: GEORGE WORTHING YATES, who wrote "Them!", "The Amazing Colossal Man", "War of the Colossal Beast", "Earth vs. the Spider", and an earlier script for "King Kong vs. Godzilla", dies in Sonoma, Calif.
1980: Episode 36 of "Sky Rider" debuts on Japanese TV.
1981: Episode 31 of "Kamen Rider Super-1" debuts on Japanese TV.
2002: "Dark Water" is released in Singapore.
2003: "Dark Water" is released in the United Kingdom.
posted by Jay | permalink
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