The Morbid Fancy of Basic Gogos

By WALLACE McBRIDE

In 1914, authorities caved under pressure from the family of a woman murdered in Aurora, Ill., to try a dubious forensics technique called optography to identify her killer. The idea was floated by an "occultist" who went unidentified in news reports, who argued that photographs of the victim's retinas might show police the face of her killer. (Spoiler: They did not.)

But there was a morbid fancy to the proposal that captured the imagination of the public. Like any good superstition, optography is something that sounds like it ought to work ... at least, to those of us with an eighth-grade understanding of human anatomy. More to the point, wouldn't you really like to see those photos?

It was almost certainly this curiosity that swayed detectives to jeopardize their careers by resorting to tactics in the same ballpark as voodoo. It wasn't so much the mystery of her death they were trying to solve, but the mystery of death, itself. Common sense has no place in such a quest.

In that regard, I sympathize with the hapless detectives in this investigation. Once you realize your own fragile mortality, you spend the rest of your life coming to terms with it. Some dive into it with abandon by collecting crime scene photos, souvenirs from serial killers and other "true crime" garbage that makes pornography look like a Charlotte Brontë novel. I understand that repulsive fascination, even though I don't share it.

Then there are those who avoid the subject of death at almost any cost. Not to put too fine a point on things, but these folks are boring and don't deserve much attention. If they can't be bothered to analyze their own lives, why bother doing it for them?

Those of us who love horror movies - especially those of us who choose to occasionally write about them - occupy the middle lane. If you're visiting this website, you already know our morbid fancy is often difficult to justify. It's one thing to watch the occasional horror movie, goes the common wisdom. Who doesn't do that? But if you have shelves full of horror movies, books and/or comics, you must be some kind of weirdo.

These points were dueling in my head when I awoke this morning to news that artist Basil Gogos had died. Gogos' work was very much in the style of optography, the kinds of visions you might skim from the retinas of victims in a Universal Monsters movie. Monster Kids grew up with this imagery - seemingly captured in the glow of a lighting bolt - of Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and even Jonathan Frid leering at us as they prepared to strike. These are not comforting images, but there is an undeniable beauty to them. They're hypnotic, even, highlighting our awkward, electric romance with death. Instead of the the skeletons and horned devils that frequent classical art, Gogos relies on recognizable pop culture icons. I might stumble over my words (or even begin an essay with a probably inappropriate anecdote about a murder) when trying to express myself. But that was never a problem for Gogos, whose art screamed: When we watch horror movies, this is what we feel - and this is why we love them.



When I met him a few years ago in Charlotte, N.C., he was sitting alongside much younger, less established (and yes, less talented) artists at a comic convention. While I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have met him, my gut response was "What the fuck is Basil Gogos doing here?" No disrespect for you kids trying to get your web comic off the ground, but it seemed to me that we might have taken Gogos for granted. Matt Fraction's lines at the convention were impenetrable. There were no lines of any sort for Gogos, and it still pisses me off.

NOTE: Gogos appears to have left us with one final mystery: that of his birth date. Both his Facebook page and Wikipedia entry state a birthday of March 12, 1949. As news of his death made the rounds this morning, I was surprised to learn he was only 69 years old. (The man I met in Charlotte seemed much older.) But I was even more surprised to see that he would have been just 11 years old when his first Famous Monsters of Filmland cover was published in 1960. His bio also says his family immigrated to America from Egypt when he was 16 years old, which only makes things more confusing. It will be interesting to see how his formal obituary handles these discrepancies in his biography. 

Who's A-Frid of the Big Bad Vampire?

DARK SHADOWS quickly became one of the most popular topics of conversation in Famous Monsters of Filmland. It was a "Match Made in Hades," as Forrest J. Ackerman might have said. DARK SHADOWS carried the banner of the magazine's "Monster Kid" aesthetic higher and prouder than any other television show of its day. The series would be featured numerous times in the magazine, not only in the feature pages but in the advertising section, as well. Many a monster kid purchased their favorite  DARK SHADOWS merch from the back pages of Famous Monsters.

Below is a popular feature from the magazine, published near the end of 1969. You've almost certainly seen it before ... I even shared scans of the issue, myself, back in 2012. This time, though, I decided to do something a little different. Rather than punish you by making you read B&W text on a muddy JPEG, I've transcribed the text of the story. Whenever possible, I've also replaced the hazy, moiré patterned photos with crisper images, and retooled them for online viewing.

Enjoy!

MORE MENACE PROM THE TV VAMPIRE ...
WHO'S A-FRID OF THE BIG BAD VAMPIRE?
By Simon Laurie
Nov. 1, 1969

Jonathan Frid is the idol of millions as Barnabas the Vampire on ABC-TV's daytime serial "Dark Shadows" yet he remains the "reluctant dragon."

Don't expect him, though he is dedicated to his role, to eagerly anticipate being cast in “The Son of Barnabas" or “The Return Of Barnabas."

“I enjoy my part in 'Dark Shadows,” Frid explains, "but I am not a horror actor and I wouldn't want to be compared with a Lugosi or Christopher Lee in my characterization of the vampire. I play Barnabas as a being with human emotions. I'm not copying Lugosi because in fact I didn't know much about his characterization of the vampire until I caught the 'Dracula' movie on the late movie recently. I'll admit I was fascinated by Lugosi. His performance was like a ballet. Yet, his vampire was a bloodless, evil, passionless monster. With the white face and full, red lips, he gave the appearance of death.

Mr. Frid, with Mr. Lugosi in the background.

"I never took that tack. The 'Dark Shadows'  writers gave full life to Barnabas. He was a human being more like Mr. Hyde with a lust for blood.

"Lugosi played his character in a monotone. No range, no warmth. Just a cold-blooded vampire which actually is more legitimate in keeping with the legends.

"I suppose women see Barnabas as a romantic figure because I portray him as a lonely, tormented man who bites girls in the neck, but only when my uncontrollable need for blood drives me to it. And I always feel remorseful about it later. He has a nasty problem. He craves blood. Afterwards, like an alcoholic or addict, he's ashamed but simply can't control himself.

"Remember, too, Lugosi's 'Dracula' wasn't particular about where the blood came from. Renfield was a male, among his early victims. Barnabas is partial to women which makes him again a more romantic character."

Barnabas Collins lurks in the shadows, brandishing his wolf's head cane, as Dr. Julia Hoffman cringes in the background.

Frid, who considers himself a leading character actor rather than a horror actor, is not knocking the field. He just does not think of himself as the mad scientist type although physically he admits he could easily fall into that type of casting.

"In the past my forte has been appearing in villainous roles, a great many in Shakespeare dramas," he explains. "I've been the heavy in so many Shakespeare summer festivals that even today I owe my allegiance to the House of York."

Jonathan's acting arrow is aimed at one day playing Richard the Third.

"He's a study in hate," Jonathan explains, "and I can exude all the villainy called for in monster parts in this monster-of-sorts role whose direction and thinking motivates hate."

Frid, who maintains a near-phobia about being horror-type cast, was heartened recently when he learned Boris Karloff had also starred in other than supernatural roles.

The Werewolf of Collinsport.

"My only experience in seeing Karloff was with grotesque make-up or in lunatic professor parts," Frid notes, "so I was greatly encouraged by the fact that he was credited with non-horror performances, as well. In fact, when you mention Lon Chaney, Jr., I think immediately 'Of Mice and Men.’”

Frid's reading tastes are directed more to current news stories rather than fiction. "I used to read Poe and the classics when I had more time" he says, "but now I stick to the newspapers. I’m probably going to disappoint those fans who believe I do or should stock up on Lovecraft or Blackwood or Machen, but these are just names to me nothing more.

"Maybe I'm too realistic, but if you want to show me a ghost make it a 12 noon on Times Square."

Jonathan's acting idols include Katherine Hepburn with whom he appeared in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" and "The Merchant of Venice."

"She's bright, dynamic and conscientious," he points out Charles Laughton, according to Frid, was the greatest interpreter of George Bernard Shaw.

Lara Parker "ages" slowly for her role in TV'S DARK SHADOWS.

"Laughton was a giant in such epics as 'Major Barbara' and "Caesar and Cleopatra," Frid explains. "He was unbeatable when he came to grips with Shaw's climactic dialogue, playing cute in the beginning then thundering with his lines at the end. Superb. Oh, yes, he gave a great performance in 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame.'"

Sir Laurence Olivier is another of Frid's favorites. A great actor in "Richard Il," "Henry V" and "The Entertainer."

Unlike his cinematic confreres in celluloid scariness, Frid is most accessible to his millions of fans. In recent months, he has visited major cities around the country drawing greater crowds than campaigning politicians and playing host to thousands of youngsters and young adults at airports, department stores and local TV interview shows.

Also unlike his acting colleagues in monster movies, there have been Barnabas trading cards, game boards, comic books, paperbacks, caption books, records and more.

Left, Frid in his familiar role as Barnabas. Right, Frid as a 172-year-old man.

One of the facets of playing a monster is the make-up and Frid is proud to tell of the four hours he put in at the hands of super make-up artist Dick Smith, responsible for the Mr. Hyde make-up for Jack Palance and Julie Harris as Queen Victoria on TV.

“Dr. Hoffman gave me a massive transfusion," he says, "which made me a normal human—of 172 years old.

"I came in at 4 a.m. for that call to be made up. Dick was great. Now I know how I'll look when I'm 172. It was only an hour to take off, but we did it up brown for the cameras."

In two short years, Jonathan Frid has gone from one Of show business' comparatively unsung performers to probably the most popular TV actor whose fans comprise both the young
and the young at heart.

"It's a case of a vampire finding fame as he bites his way to the blood bank," quips Frid.

Left, the cover for FAMOUS MONSTERS #59. Right, artist Basil Gogos' original art.