Last night I talked with Jim Greene, co-author of the book, The House of Ackerman. Jim and his co-author Al Astrella were friends of the late Forrest J Ackerman and they cataloged his absolutely incredible collection of science fiction, fantasy, and horror collectibles and relics.

The book takes the reader on a room by room tour of the famous Ackermansion. From Bela Lugosi’s cape worn in Ed Wood’s Plan 9 From Outer Space to some of the dinosaur sculptures from the original King Kong. There are great pictures of Lon Chaney’s make-up kits and the original Dracula ring worn by Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., and John Carradine.

Hey, is that one of the original Creature From the Black Lagoon masks up on that shelf?

Be careful not to drown in the Ackermonster’s flood of posters, lobby cards, and books.

The book is published by Midnight Marquee Press. It is also available at Amazon.com.

We had a great conversation. Jim talked about Forrest J. Ackerman’s life and involvement with sci-fi and horror films and his magazine, Famous Monsters of Filmland. What was “Uncle Forry’s” prize possession? Take a listen.

Length: 1:00:59

From the Media Sound Off vault. Recorded September, 2008

Co-creator and editor of boingboing.net, Mark Frauenfelder talks with Emerson and Lyle. Mark and his wife started boingboing as a ‘zine and rode the .com boom, taking boingboing onto the internet. Mark talks about the origins of boingboing, the business of boingboing, censorship, the other editors, and the future of boingboing. Mark talks a lot about the sites he goes to and the podcasts he listens to. It’s an in-depth conversation with one of the internet’s first celebrities.

Length: 40:47

From the Media Sound Off vault. Recorded September, 2008.

Always controversial, journalist, film critic, and web host, Harry Knowles picks up the phone for a talk with Emerson and Lyle. The three talk about a wide range of topics including: Ain’t It Cool News’ humble beginnings, hype vs. reality in the news, journalism vs. “a guy having fun on the internet”, Harry’s mistakes, the future of journalism and film review, the origin of the AICN website colors, Harry’s movie collection, advertising on the site, and the running of the AICN empire. It’s a fascinating conversation with a leader in modern subjective journalism.

Length: 64:16

If you watch any Puerto Rican wrestling in its heyday, from the late 70′s and 80′s chances are pretty good that you will see photographer Eddie Gries at ringside.
Eddie talks about his days as a record dealer at The Relic Rack and his oldies label Relic Records to his time as a photographer and inside man with Carlos Colon’s WWC.
Eddie is another friend I met while working on my Bruiser Brody book and we have stayed friends since. He can come off as a crusty grouch, but he’s a great guy who started as a wrestling fan, made his way inside the business, but still remained a wide-eyed mark.

Fast Eddie Gries and Bruiser Brody. (Photo by George Napolitano)

When conducting interviews for my book on Bruiser Brody I had the chance to talk with Lord James Blears. Blears had been a mainstay at the AWA, but I also knew that he had worked as a talent agent for Giant Baba’s All-Japan Pro Wrestling and was instrumental in booking American talent in Japan.

Unfortunately, Lord Blears could not remember who Bruiser Brody was. However, he told me the incredible story of the SS Tjisalak, a Dutch freighter sunk in World War II. Blears was one of five survivors after being apprehended by a Japanese submarine, watching several of his shipmates beheaded, and diving back into the water under a hailstorm of bullets. Simply an amazing story.

Gary Hart passed away in March, 2008. I conducted this interview with Gary in 2006 for my book on the life of Bruiser Brody. The conversation drifts away from Brody quite a bit but Gary’s knowledge of the wrestling business is very informative. Gary was a matchmaker and agent for World Class Championship Wrestling and has some incredible stories about working for Fritz Von Erich. Gary reveals a secret he had never told anyone before about the NWA. He jokes about a funny rib he pulled on Abdullah the Butcher. There is naturally plenty about Bruiser Brody and Texas wrestling. The stories are hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking.

The recording jumps at one point when I had to flip the tape, and it also has a somewhat abrupt end, but I think it is a very interesting conversation.

Gary Hart and Bruiser Brody (photo by Bob Murphy)

I talked with Herb Robins, director of The Worm Eaters today. Herb acted in many films directed by Ray Dennis Steckler and Ted V. Mikels, such as The Thrill Killers, The Doll Squad, and Sinthia the Devil’s Doll. Herb also wrote Sinthia as well as the play version of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. I worked with Herb and Ted V. Mikel’s on a movie called Little Red Riding Hood Saves the Big Bad Wolf when I was younger. I had just started film school, but two weeks on that set taught taught me more about filmmaking than two years in a classroom. It’s a funny conversation with one of my friends and heroes.
If there is anything you thought needed to be talked about and wasn’t, leave a comment and I’ll do a call back with Herb.
Thanks for listening

Ted V. Mikels, Emerson, and Herb Robins.

The above picture was taken on the set of Little Red Riding Hood Saves the Big Bad Wolf. The pose was not my idea, but I remain ever flattered.

Jesse Thorn, America’s Radio Sweetheart, talks with Emerson and Lyle about his radio show and podcast, The Sound of Young America.

Jesse talks about his start on college radio, his rise to syndicated PRI talk show host and podcast superstar. What are the differences between traditional radio and podcasting? How are the audiences of each different? What does NPR’s Terry Gross think of The Sound of Young America? And where did the name of the show come from?

Recorded on August 28, 2008
Duration: 37:27

I also plan to post some of the conversations I’ve had in researching for my biography on Bruiser Brody, as well as some of the conversations Lyle Troxell and I had for our Media Sound Off podcast.

Thanks,
Emerson