ANSIBLE(R) 411
OCTOBER 2021

From DAVID LANGFORD, 94 London Road, Reading, Berks, RG1 5AU, UK. Website
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identium, Ningis, obs, sequins, sprine, _strakh_ or truffle skins.

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### MAN-SIZE IN MARBLE ###

TOM CRUISE was the subject of an admiring _Guardian_ profile, with a
pen-portrait that presumably captures his science-fictional essence: 'He is
a wisp of stardust blowing across a barren nebula.' (23 August) [PE]

JIM HENSON's former London home is now marked with a blue plaque for the
'Creator of the Muppets'. (_Guardian_, 7 September) [AIP] Meanwhile _Slate_
published an opinion piece splendidly titled 'We Need a Muppet Version of
_Frankenstein_'. (11 September) [RB] With Miss Piggy inevitably cast as
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

JAMES MCAVOY received 'good advice for starring in projects like _Dune_
from _Farscape_ actress Claudia Black. "It was at the L.A. premiere of
_Children of Dune_, and she said to me, that the thing with this shit, i.e.
science fiction, is that you have to believe it more than you believe good
writing. [...] Good writing, you can just do. It's easier. But this stuff
is hard, because it's so bonkers...."' (_IndieWire_, 28 September) [BT]

GRAHAM MASTERTON has been honoured in Warsaw as the latest of the city's
600-odd bronze dwarf statues, showing him with a pointy hat and a copy of
his horror novel _The Manitou_ -- a Polish bestseller. [HWA]

NICK PARK was exceedingly pleased to unveil a new bronze bench/statue in
Preston featuring his creations Wallace and Gromit in a scene from _The
Wrong Trousers_. (_Lancashire Post_, 10 September; all UK media)

IAN WHATES of NewCon Press couldn't attend Fantasycon as a guest of honour
in September, owing to 'a medical condition requiring swift attention' in
the form of surgery. (23 September) Get well soon!

### CONCUPISCENCE ###

ONLINE. 8-10 Oct [] IRISH DISCWORLD CONVENTION, formerly Cork International
Hotel, Cork. Euro30 reg; Euro40 with extras. See idwcon.org.

15-17 Oct [] LAKES INTERNATIONAL COMIC ART FESTIVAL, Kendal, Cumbria. GBP25
reg; GBP15 concessions. See www.comicartfestival.com.

16 Oct [] BEDFORD WHO CHARITY CON (_Doctor Who_), The King's House,
Ampthill Road, Bedford. Details at bedfordwhocharitycon.co.uk.

19-26 Oct [] SCI-FI LONDON (film festival), Stratford Picturehouse,
Stratford, London. See sci-fi-london.com/info/.

SOLD OUT. 21-24 Oct [] CELLULOID SCREAMS (horror film festival), Showroom
Cinema, Sheffield. See tickets link at celluloidscreams.co.uk.

21-31 Oct [] EDINBURGH HORROR FESTIVAL: Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh
Dungeon, Lauriston Castle. See www.edhorrorfest.co.uk.

ONLINE. 22-24 Oct [] THE INEFFABLE CON 3 (_Good Omens_). Ticket price: what
you will (for charity). See theineffablecon.org.uk.

23 Oct [] TR25 'celebrating 25 years of _Tomb Raider_', QUAD Centre, Derby.
From 11am. Tickets GBP25. See www.derbyquad.co.uk/TR25.

29-31 Oct [] FESTIVAL OF FANTASTIC FILMS, Pendulum Hotel, Manchester. GBP99
reg. More at fantastic-films.com/festival/.

29-30 Oct [] FRIGHTFEST (film), Cineworld, Leicester Square, London.
Tickets at www.frightfest.co.uk/filmsandevents.html from 2 October.

HYBRID. 30 Oct [] BRISTOLCON, Hilton DoubleTree Hotel, Bristol. _Now GBP30
reg; concessions GBP20_ (GBP35/GBP25 at door). See www.bristolcon.org.

30 Oct [] HALLOWE'EN HORRORS (writing workshops), QUAD Centre, Derby. GBP32
reg. See www.derbyquad.co.uk/HalloweenHorrors.

30-31 Oct [] SURREY STEAMPUNK CONVIVIAL, Epsom. Weekend pass GBP20 plus fee
at bumpandthumper.wixsite.com/steampunkconvivials.

5-7 Nov [] ARMADACON 2021, Future Inns, Plymouth. GBP35 reg; GBP30
concessions. More at www.armadacon.org.

HYBRID. 5-7 Nov [] CORFLU 38, Mercure Holland Hotel, Bristol. _Now
GBP60/$75 reg_; virtual (Zoom) membership free via robjackson60 at gmail
dot com. Hotel booking form etc at corflu.org.

CANCELLED. 11-14 Nov [] CAMP SFW, Vauxhall Holiday Park, Great Yarmouth.
This event quietly vanished from www.scifiweekender.com, now listing only
21-24 April 2022 (sold out) and 10-13 November 2022.

26-28 Nov [] UK GHOST STORY FESTIVAL, QUAD Centre, Derby. GBP60 reg; for
individual event tickets see www.derbyquad.co.uk/UKGSF2021.

15-19 Dec [] DISCON III (Worldcon), Washington DC, USA. _Now $275 reg; YA
$140; virtual $90;_ supp $50; other rates at discon3.org.

11-13 Feb 2022 [] SCI-FI BALL (media), Southampton. Tickets from GBP145
(GBP35 child) plus various more expensive options at scifiball.com.

20-22 Aug 2022 [] TITANCON, Hilton Hotel, Belfast. Guests of Honour
Jeannette Ng, Robert Sawyer, Jodi Taylor. 'Early bird' membership GBP30;
GBP35 from 1 January; GBP40 from 1 May. More at titancon.com.

16-19 Sep 2022 [] FANTASYCON 2022, Park Inn, Heathrow. GBP80 reg (BFS
members GBP70) until the end of 2021. See www.fantasycon.org

RUMBLINGS. _Eastercon 2023:_ 'Conversation' is a new bid chaired by
Caroline Mullan, for an event with both physical and virtual elements.

### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

AS OTHERS REASSURE US about the _Foundation_ tv series: 'As the Nobel Prize
winning economist Paul Krugman writes in his introduction to the Folio
Society's edition of the original _Foundation_ trilogy, Isaac Asimov's
great saga is "not exactly science fiction ... _[the]_ novels are about
people, not gadgets".' (Tortoise Media culture digest, September) [CM]

AWARDS. _Booker Prize_ shortlist: of genre interest is _Bewilderment_ by
Richard Powers. [L]
_Clarke:_ _The Animals in That Country_ by Laura Jean McKay.
_Dwarf Star_ (poem 1-10 lines): 'Yes, Antimatter Is Real' by Holly Lyn
Walrath (_Analog_ 9/20). [L]
_Otherwise_ (was the Tiptree Award): "Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of
Imadeyunuagbon" by Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald (in _Dominion: An Anthology
of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora_, 2020).
_Women's Prize for Fiction_ (not genre-specific; GBP30,000 awarded):
_Piranesi_ by Susanna Clarke.

THE WEED OF CRIME. 4,996 genre comics, pulps and Big Little Books were
stolen from the Robert M. Ervin Jr. Collection at Florida State University
between 17 March 2020 and 20 February 2021 (_New Antiquarian_, 14
September). See tinyurl.com/8s3ycmzk for details and full list. [EO]

AS OTHERS STERNLY QUESTION US. _Interviewer:_ 'Imaginative storytelling is
sometimes portrayed as outmoded or even ethically suspect amid the rise of
autofiction and concerns over cultural appropriation. Do you feel as if
you're defending its virtues?' _Anthony Doerr:_ 'I don't live in New York
City; I live in Idaho, where many of us are readers and really bright
people but just aren't in that literary zeitgeist and so don't deal with
those anxieties.' (_Guardian_, 18 September) [GD]

R.I.P. _Douglas (Doug) Barbour_ (1940-2021), Canadian academic, poet and
critic who wrote _Worlds Out of Words: The SF Novels of Samuel R. Delany_
(1979) and coedited _Tesseracts 2_ (1987) with Phyllis Gotlieb, died on 21
September aged 81. [BRG] He reviewed for _Algol_, _Foundation_, _NYRSF_,
_Riverside Quarterly_, _SF Commentary_, _Vector_ and others.
_Graham Garfield Barnard_ (1962-2021), Australian producer with
credits for tv horror shows _Anthology of Interest_ (2006-2017) and _The
Schlocky Horror Picture Show_ (2007-2019) -- hosting the latter as Nigel
Honeybone -- died on 16 September aged 59. [MD]
_Edward Barnes_ (1928-2021), head of BBC children's tv 1978-1986, died
on 7 September aged 92; relevant genre shows include _Rentaghost_
(1976-1984) and _The Chronicles of Narnia_ (1988-1990). [AIP]
_William Beck_ (1937-2021) US special effects model-maker with credits
from _The Empire Strikes Back_ (1980) to _The Phantom Menace_ (1999), died
on 19 September aged 84. SJ
_Fran Bennett_ (1937-2021), US actress in _Quantum Leap_ (1991-1992)
plus other genre tv series, _Wes Craven's New Nightmare_ (1994), _Crazy as
Hell_ (2002) and _The Manor_ (2021), died on 12 September aged 84. [SJ]
_Ben Best_ (1974-2021), US actor in _Land of the Lost_ (2009) who
scripted _Your Highness_ (2011), died on 12 September aged 46.
_Carol Carr_ (1938-2021), US fan (active from the early 1960s) and sf
author whose work in both capacities appears in _Carol Carr: The Collected
Writings_ (2013), died on 1 September aged 82. [RL] She was married to
Terry Carr until his death in 1987, and since 2000 to Robert Lichtman, to
whom all sympathy.
_Nino Castelnuovo_ (1936-2021), Italian actor in _The Creatures_
(1966) and _Star Odyssey_ (1979), died on 6 September aged 84. [SJ]
_John Challis_ (1942-2021) UK actor in _Where Has Poor Mickey Gone?_
(1964), _Dracula_ (1974) and _Doctor Who_ ('The Seeds of Doom' 1976), died
on 19 September aged 79. [SJ]
_Carlo Chendi_ (1933-2021), Italian cartoonist who created hundreds of
authorized Disney-character stories for Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, died on
12 September aged 88. [PDF]
_Don Collier_ (1928-2021), US actor in _The Cellar_ (1988), died on 13
September aged 92. [SJ]
_Michael Constantine_ (1927-2021), Greek-US actor in _The Night that
Panicked America_ (1975), _Thinner_ (1996) and assorted genre tv series,
died on 31 August aged 94. [LP]
_Robert (Bob) Couttie_, UK screenwriter for _Future War_ (1992, in
which he acted) and _Doomsdayer_ (2000), died on 21 September aged 70.
[StS]
_J. Randolph Cox_ (1936-2021), Munsey Award-winning US expert on crime
and dime-novel fiction whose _Man of Magic and Mystery_ (1989) is a
biblio-biography of Walter Gibson -- creator of The Shadow -- died on 14
September. [SL]
_Stephen Critchlow_ (1967-2021), UK actor in _The Infinite Worlds of
H.G. Wells_ (2001) and _Journey to the Centre of the Earth_ (2017) -- plus
voice work for videogames and _Doctor Who_/_Torchwood_ audio dramas -- died
on 19 September aged 54. [SJ]
_Tim Donnelly_ (1944-2021), US actor in _The Death of Ocean View Park_
(1979) and _Parts: The Clonus Horror_ (1979), died on 19 September aged 77.
[LP]
_Robert Fyfe_ (1931-2021), Scots actor in _Cloud Atlas_ (2012) and
_Pride and Prejudice and Zombies_ (2016), died on 22 September aged 90.
[PDF]
_Willie Garson_ (1964-2021), US actor in _Repossessed_ (1990), _Mars
Attacks!_ (1996), _What Planet Are You From?_ (2000) and genre tv series
including _Supergirl_ (2019-2020), died on 21 September aged 57. [MR]
_Judith Hanna_, Australian fan in London since the early 1980s, whose
fanzines included _Shallow End_ with various others and _Fuck the Tories_
and _International Revolutionary Gardener_ with Joseph Nicholas -- her
husband since 1983 -- died on 6 September. [JN] All sympathy to Joseph.
Judith was an old friend.
_Sondra James_ (1939-2021), US actress in _Ice Age: Continental Drift_
(2012), _Spider-Man: Homecoming_ (2017), _Joker_ (2019) and others, died on
12 September aged 82. [SJ]
_Anne Joliffe_ (1933-2021), Australian animator who worked on _The
Beatles_ (1965-1967), _Yellow Submarine_ (1968) and _Grendel Grendel
Grendel_ (1981), died on 27 August aged 87. [MD]
_Langdon Jones_ (1942-2021), UK author, editor and musician involved
with the 1960s _New Worlds_, whose stories are collected as _The Eye of the
Lens_ (1972), died in late September. [MM] He edited the New Wave anthology
_The New S.F._ (1969) and restored the misedited text of Mervyn Peake's
_Titus Alone_ to definitive readability. Michael Moorcock adds: 'One of the
few people of whom it's possible to write: Loved by all.'
_Irma Kalish_ (1924-2021), US screenwriter and tv producer -- one of
the first women in the latter role -- with credits for various genre
series, _Ghost of a Chance_ (1980) and _I Dream of Jeannie ... Fifteen
Years Later_ (1985), died on 3 September aged 96. [AIP]
_Tommy Kirk_ (1941-2021), US actor in _The Shaggy Dog_ (1959), _The
Absent Minded Professor_ (1961), _Son of Flubber_ (1963), _Mars Needs
Women_ (1968) and others, died on 28 September aged 79. [LP]
_Denise Lee_ (aka Denise Tyler), US author of 'Sailing the Painted
Ocean' (1999) and co-editor of the seven-time semiprozine Hugo finalist
_Speculations_, died in late September. [GVG]
_Elizabeth McCann_ (1931-2021), US producer of many Broadway stage
shows who won nine Tony awards -- two for the long-running _Dracula_ (1977)
-- died on 9 September aged 90. [AIP]
_Norm MacDonald_ (1959-2021), Canadian actor in _The Animal_ (2001),
_The Adventures of Panda Warrior_ (voice, 2012), _Skylanders Academy_
(voice, 2016-2018), _The Orville_ (2017-2019) and others, died on 14
September aged 61.
_Catherine MacPhail_ (1946-2021), Scots author of children's/YA
fiction including supernatural and fantasy tales such as _Dark Waters_
(2003) and _Another Me_ (2003), died on 1 September aged 75. [PDF]
_Ugo Malaguti_ (1945-2021), noted Italian sf author and editor of
_Galassia_ magazine whose novels appeared 1963-1970, died on 26 September
aged 76. [PDF]
_George Martin_ (1937-2021), Spanish-born US screenwriter and actor in
_Island of the Doomed_ (aka _Maneater of Hydra_, 1967) and the later 'Three
Supermen' superhero films, died on 1 September aged 83. [SJ]
_Art Metrano_ (1936-2021), US actor in _History of the World: Part I_
(1981) and several genre tv series including the Marvel-based animation
_The Thing_ (voice, 1979), died on 8 September aged 84. [LP]
_Michael Murrin_ (1938-2021), US academic scholar of allegory in epic,
romance and fantasy -- a 'dracologist' specializing in the dragon theme
from _Beowulf_ to Tolkien -- died on 27 July aged 83. [SHS]
_Peter Palmer_ (1931-2021), US actor in _Li'l Abner_ (title role:
Broadway 1956, film 1959), _Deep Space_ (1988) and _Edward Scissorhands_
(1990), died on 21 September aged 90. [PDF]
_Morris Perry_ (1925-2021), UK actor in many genre tv series from
_City Beneath the Sea_ (1962) and _Out of This World_ (1962) via _Doctor
Who_ ('Colony in Space' 1971) to _The Dark Side of the Sun_ (1983), died on
19 September aged 96. [SJ]
_Jay Sandrich_ (1932-2021), US producer/director -- _Get Smart_
(1965-1966), _Captain Nice_ (1967), _The Ghost & Mrs. Muir_ (1969-1970) --
died on 22 September aged 89. [SJ]
_Tony Selby_ (1938-2021), UK character actor in _Ace of Wands_
(1970-1972), _Doctor Who_ ('Trial of a Time Lord' 1986; 'Dragonfire' 1987)
and _Cockneys vs Zombies_ (2012), died on 5 September aged 83. [PDF]
_Matthew Strachan_ (1970-2021), UK composer with film credits for
_Psychomanteum_ (2018) and _Devil Witch Way_ (forthcoming 2022), died on 8
September aged 50. [SJ]
_Bill Taylor_ (1944-2021), US visual effects expert, the co-founder of
Illusion Arts (1983-2009), with many genre film credits from _Dark Star_
(1974) via _Blade Runner_ (1982) to _The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor_
(2000), died on 28 August aged 77. [SJ]
_Mikis Theodorakis_ (1925-2021), Greek composer with genre film
credits for _The Shadow of the Cat_ (1961) and _The Day the Fish Came Out_
(1967), died on 2 September aged 96. [SJ]
_Melvin Van Peebles_ (1932-2021), US director of _Watermelon Man_
(1970) and actor in _Last Action Hero_ (1993), died on 21 September aged
89. [MMW]
_Joan Washington_ (1950-2021), Scots voice/dialogue coach with many
genre credits from _Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes_
(1984) via _102 Dalmatians_ (2000) to _The Witches_ (2020), died on 1
September aged 71. [MMW]
_Charlie Williams_, US fan artist whose cartoons appeared in many
fanzines including _Challenger_, _File 770_ and _Mimosa_, died on 3
September. [GHL]
_Michael K. Williams_ (1966-2021), US actor in _The Devil Goes Down_
(2013), _The Purge: Anarchy_ (2014) and _Lovecraft Country_ (2020), died on
6 September aged 54. [AIP]
_Andy Yanchus_ (1944-2021), US colourist for hundreds of Marvel comics
including _Alpha Flight_, _Incredible Hulk_, _Doctor Strange_ and _X-Men_,
died on 11 September aged 77. [PDF]
See also the overflow section R.I.P. II in digital/online editions
only.

On 10/2/21 2:49 AM, David Langford wrote:
> JIM HENSON's former London home is now marked with a blue plaque for the
> 'Creator of the Muppets'. (_Guardian_, 7 September) [AIP] Meanwhile _Slate_
> published an opinion piece splendidly titled 'We Need a Muppet Version of
> _Frankenstein_'. (11 September) [RB] With Miss Piggy inevitably cast as
> Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

We need to work on this. Animal is obvious for the monster, though Gonzo
is also possible. The title role could go to Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, and
Kermit could fit as Henry Clerval. If Miss Piggy is Shelley, who will be
Elizabeth? There aren't many female Muppets. Would Piggy do both roles?

--
Gary McGath http://www.mcgath.com

On Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 8:40:25 AM UTC-4, Gary McGath wrote:
> On 10/2/21 2:49 AM, David Langford wrote:
> > JIM HENSON's former London home is now marked with a blue plaque for the
> > 'Creator of the Muppets'. (_Guardian_, 7 September) [AIP] Meanwhile _Slate_
> > published an opinion piece splendidly titled 'We Need a Muppet Version of
> > _Frankenstein_'. (11 September) [RB] With Miss Piggy inevitably cast as
> > Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.
> We need to work on this. Animal is obvious for the monster, though Gonzo
> is also possible. The title role could go to Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, and
> Kermit could fit as Henry Clerval. If Miss Piggy is Shelley, who will be
> Elizabeth? There aren't many female Muppets. Would Piggy do both roles?
>
> --
>

Wanda of "Wayne & Wanda" as Elizabeth.

https://www.women.com/shannon/lists/list-of-all-the-female-muppets

--
Kevin R