One Helluva Reporter: My Love Of Kolchak.

Darren McGavin as Carl Kolchak

Hello again friends! This time out I'll be writing about something that most of you have never heard of. It's forty-four years old, it has less merchandising than almost anything else I'm a fan of, and yet it remains one of the highest rated television movies of all times, has fanatical fans ranging from Stephen King to my mother, stars an actor almost all of you love come Christmas time and was the inspiration for the X-Files.

I'm talking about Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Based on a book by Jeff Rice, The Night Stalker was a made for television movie from 1972 that starred Darren McGavin as down on his luck reporter Carl Kolchak. Based in 1970's mob run Las Vegas, the film tells the tale of a string of murders in sin city that are being covered up by the local authorities. See, then as now, Las Vegas depends on tourist dollars and the bodies of women turning up completely drained of blood isn't good for business.

Kolchak digs into the case and quickly turns up evidence that the murderer must think he's a vampire. Trying to get a story like that printed though proves wildly unpopular with everyone from his editor Tony Vincenzo to the District Attorney.

The next generation?

When the suspect is identified as Janos Skorzeny, a man with a bloody past who manages to be unaffected by multiple gunshots, Carl quickly realizes the impossible must be true. Janos Skorzeny is a real life vampire.

Without spoiling any more, the film was smart, witty and fresh. At the time it needs to be remembered that vampires on film were usually of the Bela Lugosi type. To bring a vampire into the modern world, in an urban setting, and a non glamorous vampire at that was practically unheard of. The hero of the film was equally unusual. Darren McGavin most famously remembered now as the father in the classic, A Christmas Story, was a middle aged reporter in a painfully out of date seersucker suit and straw porkpie hat. Kolchak was a brash and world weary guy who had been kicked out of every big city paper in the country. It soon becomes apparent why. Carl Kolchak doesn't trust authority and believes in uncovering the truth no matter who it embarrasses. In a classic scene from the movie, While arguing with Kolchak about the story, editor Vincenzo shouts for him to get out. The follow exchange takes place as the reporter yells,

"What is this out, out, get out game we play? This nut THINKS he's a vampire! He has killed four, maybe five women! He has drained EVERY drop of blood from EVERY one of them. Now that is NEWS Vincenzo! NEWS! We are a NEWS paper! We are supposed to print NEWS not SUPPRESS it!!"

Uncovering the hard truths...

That exchange tells you all you need to know about Carl Kolchak. He believes in the truth, in the power of the press, and that the truth will out, no matter who wants to keep it hidden. He ends up on a collision course with his destiny. If no one else will stop this monster he'll go on killing forever. Carl Kolchak is not always a brave man, in fact he's usually not. He may not be a well-liked man. He often rubs people the wrong way. He wants nothing more than to land a big enough story to get his way back to a nice big city paper. Success often comes with playing ball with people you don't like. Keeping your mouth shut at times. These are two things that Kolchak just can't seem to abide.

Darren McGavin plays one of the most believable, flawed and interesting heroes I have ever seen put on film. Carl Kolchak would call you a fool for even using the word hero, but in truth it's what he is. His flaws are many, and viewers of the film, and there were many, cheer his climactic victory and sat stunned at his final defeat. The rating were massive at the time and remained unchallenged for years.

So popular was the movie, that screenwriter Richard Matheson was tasked to pen a sequel. He did. The Night Strangler debuted the following year. This time Carl wound up in Seattle trying to get anyone to listen to his vampire story. Eventually former editor Tony Vincenzo takes pity on him and gives him a job at the paper he now works at. Kolchak settles down to go back to run of the mill crime reporting, but when women start turning up dead with puncture marks on their necks, he feels himself drawn into the case of an impossibly old killer stalking Seattle.

Two vintage TV magazines in my collection.

Another big hit, The Night Strangler was a solidly enjoyable follow-up. A year later Kolchak ended up in Chicago. Again with Vincenzo. Again with a crazy story. This time it wasn't a movie. It was a television series. Kolchak: The Night Stalker follows the life of the reporter that just won't quit, who reluctantly becomes the supernaturals greatest pain in the ass. For one season, Carl stumbles across everything from werewolves to Jack The Ripper. 

After one season that had some fantastic episodes written by Hammer Horror alumni Jimmy Sangster, Soprano's creator David Chase and Back To The Future director Robert Zemekis and a few turkeys to be sure, the series ended. That was the end....but much like Carl Kolchak himself, the character just kept popping up. 

My Mom introduced me to the character she loved in the early 80's and I couldn't get enough. The first bit of merchandise I ever bought was a 20th anniversary book about the series and films. Then a new original novel, "Grave Secrets". Years later Moonstone books began publishing a Kolchak comic book and graphic novel series and later short story collections and more novels. 

The first Kolchak item I purchased back in 1992, and the revised edition 1997.

Chris Carter, creator of the X-Files openly credits his love of the series as the inspiration for his own creation. They even wanted to bring Darren McGavin onto the series as Kolchak, but legal rights prevented it. Eventually McGavin did make two appearances as Arthur Dales, the man who started the X-Files. 

In recent years, books and comics continue to find an audience, and Johnny Depp has secured the rights and apparently intends to bring Carl back as a film. 

One of my biggest Kolchak joys was researching the series and films meticulously to identify everything from the type of cameras, recorders and press I.D. he used to the kind of watch he wore. I then created the most accurate costume I could. I wore it proudly at Halloween and at several horror and pop culture conventions. Most of younger folks have no idea who I am, but when someone does I get a great feeling. Not because of the accuracy of my costume, but because people recognize one of my favorite fictional heroes. Maybe even my favorite hero. That makes me happy to know the character who means so much to me means something to other people too. 

Accessories make the man!

Once McGavin was asked about the longevity of A Christmas Story. He smiled and said it would live on. That is true, but apparently so will Carl Kolchak. Like many of the monsters he faced, he refuses to die. Sadly the same couldn't be said for the great Darren McGavin. The actor who brought joy to so many over the years, especially at Christmas time passed away in 2006. He is missed.

This blog post is dedicated to Darren McGavin, to Simon Oakland who played long suffering Tony Vincenzo and to my Mom, who introduced me to my hero that I probably share the most in common with. I remember fondly discovering the series on late night reruns in the mid 1980's. Dad would come home from work about 12:30 a.m. with pizza and we'd stay up late watching together, while recording each episode with our VCR. Cherished memories indeed.

- Paul D. Poole
1/29/2016

"So, when you have finished this bizarre account, judge for yourself its believability, and then try to tell yourself, wherever you may be, it couldn't happen here."

Holy Anniversary Batman!

The Author.

It wasn't my plan to write a blog tonight, but on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the first episode of the Batman television series first airing, I knew I couldn't let such a momentous pop culture event happen without commenting on it. In this blog posting, I'd like to take a few moments to talk about the history of the series and why it's important.

Call it campy. Call it cheesey. Don't call it an invalid portrayal of Batman. For all the younger generations raised on a dark and gritty Dark Knight, this wasn't always the way it was. While darker in the early days and more a swashbuckler in the 40's, by the 1950's Batman and Robin had devolved into a series of garish battles with aliens and monsters. Gone were the days of villains like Penguin and Catwoman. Sales plummeted and DC Comics contemplated cancelling the series for good.

Talking Joker with Cesar Romero's voice. NECA Robin. Mattel Cowl. Figures Toy Company Boxing Riddler, Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne.

By 1965 DC decided to reinvent the character, by bringing back the old classic foes, and jettisoning so many of the characters and concepts that had arguably taken the character away from his roots. Still, it was hardly a dark comic. Batman was still pals with Superman, a member of the Justice League and brightly colored. Keeping that in mind, the series that debuted in January of 1966 was not only a good representation of the comics, but in some instances darker than the comics.

Getting that out of the way, anyone who watches the series and doesn't understand that you're supposed to laugh with it isn't paying attention. One of the brilliant parts of the series was the way it was written for two audiences. The kids ate up the derring-do and villainy. The adults enjoyed the in-jokes and clever satire.

NECA's Quarter Scale Dynamic Duo.

The star of the series, Adam West, was a working actor but not famous by any means, and Robin, Burt Ward, was a total unknown. While the heroes may not have been household names, the villains sure were. Right out of the gate, well known comedian Frank Gorshin, famous for impressions, set the tone for the series as the Riddler. The pilot episode sets all the familiar elements into place. A crime and the reveal of the villain behind it. The police knowing they're outmatched. The police calling Batman for help. Batman and Robin on the case. The end of the half hour episode concludes with a cliffhanger ending. In a true first for television, the very next night, the conclusion aired. This was how the series aired for the first two of the three seasons. In the third season it aired once a week and the stories for the most part were either single part episodes or two part episodes airing over a two week period.

Batman became a massive overnight hit with viewers. Quickly "Batmania" swept the nation. Merchandise flooded stores and everyone in Hollywood wanted to appear on the series as a villain. When that wasn't feasible, cameos were cleverly placed in other areas. The most popular were the "window" cameos. Batman and Robin would be climbing up a wall with their Bat-Ropes, and some celebrity would open a window and have a brief discussion with them.

More from Figures Toy Company and Funko Pop's.

Famous car customizer George Barris designed the Batmobile off an unused concept car body, and that car is still one of if not the most famous Batmobile ever created. I wrote a previous blog post just celebrating that car. Feel free to check it out.

The first season actually adapted several comic book stories, and villains like The Penguin, The Joker, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman, False Face and the Mad Hatter made appearances. Several villains were created just for the series in this first season, most famously Victor Buono as King Tut. Tut was really Professor William Omaha McElroy, a quiet professor of Egyptology from Yale who when struck on the head developed a second personality, that of the reincarnation of the famous boy king, Tut. Gotham City of course was the reincarnation of ancient Thebes. Tut of course believed it was his destiny to rule.

Figures Toy Company's King Tut

While only making one appearance in the series, Roddy McDowall starred as The Bookworm, a brilliant mind but also a frustrated and failed novelist. It's one of the very best episodes of the series and it's truly a shame that the Bookworm never made another appearance.

Figures Toy Company's Bookworm

Other episodes that really stand out in the first season are the Jokers debut in "The Joker Is Wild", The Mad Hatter's debut in "The Thirteen Hat", the first and only False-Face story, "True Or False-Face", and the last Riddler episode of the season, "Death In Slow Motion".

After the season ended production began on a feature length film. Batman: The Movie premiered that summer, this time with an increased budget, the Bat Boat, Bat Cycle and Bat Copter were shown, and The Penguin, Riddler, Joker and Catwoman all teamed up to form United Underworld.

The second season premiered in the fall. Right out of the gate the season began with one of the weakest episodes of the series. With twice as many episodes ordered, the quality began to dip. All the popular villains returned including King Tut. Several new villains appeared. Most were forgettable with two exceptions. Vincent Price made his first appearance as Egghead, the world smartest crook and Cliff Robertson as a mean and not too bright cowboy villain named Shame.

Figures Toy Company's Shame and Mad Hatter

Second season highlights include the first three part episode teaming the Joker and Penguin together, Egghead and Shame's debuts, Walter Slezak's appearance as The Clock King in an episode written by Batman co-creator Bill Finger, Eli Wallach's appearance as Mr. Freeze and Batman and Robin teaming up with The Green Hornet and Kato.

With ratings dropping, the decision was made to change the format. Yvonne Craig as Batgirl was added and the series began airing only once a week. The quality really declined here mostly due to the change in format and budget cuts. The series seemed to forget its concept and often teetered on the brink of self parody. That said there are still some real gems in the third season. Returns by Egghead and Shame, two of King Tuts absolute best appearances, Joan Collins' excellent debut as the series only super powered villain, The Siren, and Eartha Kitt's taking over the role of Catwoman from Julie Newmar who was unavailable at the time. While Julie is the preferred Catwoman by most, the more villainous turn taken by Eartha Kitt is refreshing.

Sadly the series went out with a wimper instead of a bang, with the last few episodes being real stinkers featuring some pretty bad guest villains like Zsa Zsa Gabor and Ida Lupino.

A Batarang Bottle Opener!

Still, all in all the series stands as a colossal success. Played for the last 48 years in reruns for future generations to enjoy, the popularity of this incarnation is at an all time high. The home video rights were mired in legal issues for year, only recently finally being resolved. A truly beautiful quality release on DVD and Blu-Ray is now available, and DC Comics who long treated the series as an eyesore in the history of the character they only wanted to present as a dark urban vigilante, even published a comic series in the series continuity.

Batman 66 ran for 30 monthly issues only recently ending, however specials and mini-series are still being made. New tales featuring the characters as they appeared gave us more appearances by the Bookworm, and thanks to likeness rights, he even looks like Roddy!

Merchandise has been coming out ever since the licensing and DVD deals were made. Everything from bendy figures to Batman's cowl to King Tuts very first action figure have been released. As you may have guessed, I own many of these. Just today Lego announced a massive 60's Batcave set is coming in March complete with Batmobile, Bat Copter and Bat Cycle!

Copy of original script signed by Adam West. Vintage Autographed photo by Adam West and Burt Ward. Vintage charm bracelet and Batman and Robin Society pin.

In closing, it's now past midnight. As I finish this it's tuesday, january 12th. 50 years ago tonight Adam West first donned the cape and cowl, revitalized a failing comic book character and made history. Happy Anniversary Batman and Robin. You changed the world. You inspired a lot of people. That's truly the best a couple of heroes could ever hope to achieve.

- Paul D. Poole
1/12/16

Dawn and I in The Batmobile!

The World's Richest Duck

The Author and Scrooge. I'm Holding His Dime.

Scrooge McDuck is one of my heroes. Yes you read that right, one of my personal heroes is a fictional cartoon duck. Before I delve into why, how about a little history of Donald Duck's famous uncle.

Scrooge McDuck first appeared in a 1947 Donald Duck comic book written and drawn by Carl Barks. "Christmas on Bear Mountain" introduced the World's Richest Duck to the world but he wasn't really the Scrooge we all know yet. He was created as a one shot character and since he was a rich miser and it was a christmas story, naming him as an homage to Charles Dickens' Ebenezer Scrooge was a bit of a no-brainer.

A short time later, Barks realized that having a rich uncle would be a great springboard for adventure tales featuring Donald and his nephews. Within a few years Scrooge was so popular that he got his own comic series.

Barks retired in 1967 and during the previous 20 years, his exceptionally well crafted stories and art made Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge the best selling comic books in the world. How loved were his treasure hunting adventure tales? Remember the opening of Raiders Of The Lost Ark? Spielberg and Lucas admitted they borrowed the opening from their favorite comic series, right down to the giant rolling boulder!

Scrooge's first animated appearance was a brief cameo during the opening of every episode of 1955's The Mickey Mouse Club. Disney animators were well aware of the massive popularity of the World's Richest adventurer, however not really a humorous character, the Disney story men could never really come up with a gag for an animated short with the character. In 1967 that would change.

Disney was making a series of fun educational cartoons and when approached to make one about the history of finance and currency, who better to host than Uncle Scrooge? In "Scrooge McDuck and Money", Scrooge and the Money Bin (already well known to America's kids) made their debut onscreen. In the cartoon, Scrooge teaches Huey, Dewey and Louie about the history of finance. I actually remember seeing this on an old reel to reel projector in school in the early 1980's!

A Scrooge Clock Featuring Art From "Scrooge McDuck And Money"

In 1983 Scrooge came full circle by starring as Ebenezer Scrooge in "Mickey's Christmas Carol". 1987 showed the lovable skinflint turn up again in "Sport Goofy". As a side note, this was also the first animated appearance of Barks' other creations, Gyro Gearloose and The Beagle Boys. In many ways, this played a lot like an unofficial pilot for Ducktales.

Uncle Scrooge Gumball Machine.

In 1988 Ducktales debuted. Based largely on the body of Barks' work (over 500 Duck stories), Ducktales even adapted stories from the comic books, most notably his origins in the Yukon Gold Rush. Ducktales brought Scrooge, Duckburg, Gyro Gearloose, Gladstone Gander, The Junior Woodchucks, Magica DeSpell, The Beagle Boys, Flintheart Glomgold, Glittering Goldie and the Money Bin, all Barks' creations, into America's living rooms. Ducktales did make some changes though. For starters it softened Scrooge a bit. Second, Webby, Mrs. Beakley and Launchpad were all created for the show. Webby was there to soften Scrooge a bit and Launchpad to take the place of Donald Duck who had always worked for his Uncle Scrooge in the comics at the rate of 30 cents an hour. In the comics, Donald accompanied the elder Scrooge on most adventures.

Original Animation Cel From Ducktales. Scrooge Holding His Number One Dime.

Post Ducktales, Scrooge has appeared in multiple video games, Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas, Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas, the House Of Mouse series, and brief appearances in the newest animated cartoons.

Through all but his first two appearances, Alan Young has provided the voice for Scrooge. Alan Young got the role due to the fact that he actually co-wrote an adaptation of A Christmas Carol for Disney Studios in the late 1970's. It was for a record actually, and he performed Scrooge's voice in that production. They used him in the animated Mickey's Christmas Carol and Ducktales and he's voiced him ever since. In 2013, the then 93 year old actor again provided the voice in the Ducktales: Remastered video game.

Autographed from Alan Young. A gift from my wife, Dawn.

One thing that always upsets me is when people who only vaguely remember the character assume he's a mean spirited, crooked capitalist. Scrooge has in fact since his earliest days, lived by his personal and oft-repeated motto that he made his fortune "by being smarter than the smarties and tougher than the toughies and I made it square!".

Another misconception is that the giant Money Bin is filled with gold coins. It's filled with pennies, nickels, dimes, etc. Each is a symbol and memory of one of McDuck's victories and as such he can pick up any coin or bill and tell you exactly how and where he earned it!

My Money Bin birthday cake from a couple of years ago.

Scrooge McDuck was born poor in Scotland in 1867. He was one of three siblings, with his two sisters Matilda and Hortense. Hortense, his younger sister, is Donald Duck's mother. Scrooge's father made him a shoeshine kit when he was a boy and Scrooge earned his first dime cleaning the filthy boots of a ditch digger. Wait! An American dime? That's right. After all that hard work he was ripped off by being paid with a foreign coin! It made him vow to never be duped again, to always be fair in his dealings and also inspired him to come to America, the land of opportunity, to seek his fortune.

My Number One Dime display. I sewed the pillow and on it sits a real 1875 Seated Liberty Dime.

As with many though, Scrooge found his dreams didn't come easily. after many failed attempts and much back-breaking work, Scrooge through truly inspiring persistance, joined the Yukon Gold Rush and finally, dressed in rags and half starved and beaten, discovered the Goose Egg Nugget. Scrooge's first million was earned.

In Don Rosa's "The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck", the author gathered all the various nuggets of information Scrooge had revealed about himself in Bark's tales and told the definitive origin of Uncle Scrooge. In a truly inspiring series, Rosa weaves these facts into a story that will make you marvel at the young Scrooge's persistance, cheer his eventual victory, and dismay at his downfall. When Scrooge's obsession to become the richest man in the world is finally realized, it is done so by pushing his family away. He has everything he wanted but at the high cost of losing everything truly important. For years Scrooge becomes a recluse until his nephew Donald and Huey, Dewey and Louie come into his life and force him back into the world. This is where Bark's stories begin.

Here I am the second time I met Don Rosa.

I love "The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck". It's one of the best stories I have ever read, It truly has it all. Drama, adventure, comedy, and lessons we could all learn from. I'm also not alone in this opinion, as Don Rosa's masterpiece won the prestigious Eisner Award. I cannot recommend it enough. I actually own a spare loaner copy so I can spread the joy of this tale to anyone interested.

The two sketches I got from Don Rosa. He drew one each time we met.

Scrooge is a world traveler, the greatest fictional adventurer of all time, he's outfoxed the Dalton gang and helped inspire Teddy Roosevelt to get into politics. The important thing that makes Scrooge so great is his wealth. Not the cubic acres of cash, but the wealth of memories. The hard work and experiences. We could all take some lessons from that.

Did I mention my Scrooge Tattoo? In the style of Don Rosa. Tattoo by Nicki Gaulin.

These are the reasons Scrooge is one of my heroes. An inspiration honestly. It's also why I've amassed a pretty sizable Scrooge collection! I don't see that ending any time soon,

- Paul Poole
1 / 09/ 2016

The Author at home with a small sampling of my Scrooge collection.