Psychotronic Video Issue # 39

IN THIS ISSUE!

BRUCE CAMPBELL, is known to millions as Ash in the EVIL DEAD trilogy. We decided to ask the best selling author, director, and cult movie and TV star about his many lesser known credits for a change. He still often works with friends (including Sam Raimi) from his high school days back in Detroit. They made 8mm comedy shorts and did skits on The Ghoul show! Campbell was interviewed by Tony Williams, from Wales, who also provided PV with our interviews with the late Diana Dors and Frankie Howerd.

YVETTE VICKERS was a 5'3" blonde 50s Playboy Playmate (photographed by Russ Meyer) known for her convincing bitchy roles in ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN and THE GIANT LEECHES. She talks about those cult hits, her stage, TV and singing careers, her jazz musician family, her affairs with an incredible mix of Hollywood leading men (including Steve Cochran, Ralph Meeker, Cary Grant and Jim Hutton) and how her film career suffered due to rumors and lies. Vickers was interviewed by John O'Dowd of Pinewood, NJ.

BILLY DRAGO, plays very creepy bad guys extremely well and has one of the greatest faces in movies today. I've been curious about Drago for years but never knew anything about him until Nicanor Loreti discovered that the Kansas born actor's background is Apache mixed with Romanian Gypsy. The former DJ started out being typecast in Indian roles but later played an Italian gangster (THE UNTOUCHABLES), a snake handling preacher (GUN CRAZY), and several aliens. Loreti, of Argentina, also interviewed Don Stroud for PV.

LINDSAY BLOOM, a beauty contest winner from Omaha, was in 70s drive in movies like SIX PACK ANNIE, COVER GIRL MODELS and TEXAS DETOUR and was Velda on TV's MICKEY SPILLAIN'S MIKE HAMMER series. Now she's a gun shooting mom who plans to make Christian movies. Bloom was also interviewed by John O'Dowd.

With another overflowing Never To be Forgotten section here are a few select obits of people who have helped shape our lives:

JOSEPH COORS (85), from Golden, CA, was heir to The Adolph Coors Co. which was founded in 1873. It was considered a West Coast brand until aggressive advertising and product placements (see SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT ­ 77) made it world famous. Despite controversy over unfair hiring practices it became the third-largest brewer in America. Coors provided money and his famous name to start the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, D.C. He served as one of Ronald Reagan's advisers and backers in the "kitchen cabinet," which financed Reagan's political career from the governorship of California to the White House. Bill Coors said of his brother's politics "He was a little bit right of Atilla the Hun."

CHARLES ROLLAND DOUGLASS (93), from Mexico, but raised in Nevada, invented canned laughter. His "Laff Box" has been "sweetening" soundtracks for TV shows with laughter, gasps and other forms of human reaction even when no audience is present since the early '50s. As many as 40 of the audience sounds can be combined. I LOVE LUCY was one of the first series to use the system (now the size of a laptop computer). It also includes the laughter of people from other cultures and is used all over the world. The family Northridge Electronics business has been run by his son Bob since he retired. Douglass worked in radio before serving in the Navy in World War II developing shipboard radar with other scientists.

EDWARD (Lewis) GAYLORD (83), from Oklahoma City, was the billionaire publisher and editor of the Daily Oklahoman, which he took over when his father Edward King Gaylord died (at 101) in '74. In '81 Gaylord Productions bought HEE HAW, then in '83, the entire Nashville Opryland Complex including the Opryland Theme Park, The Opryland Hotel and The Nashville Network. He sold TNN and CMT to CBS in '97 for a billion dollars. Gaylord also owned local TV stations in TX, GA, FL, New Orleans, Seattle, and Cleveland, radio stations, Publisher's Petroleum (oil and gas), real estate, and hotels. His pro Christian/ Republican paper (which runs prayers on the front page) has been called "the worst in the country" for, among other things, shamelessly promoting family businesses, and not hiring minorities.

I've had mixed feeling about TV since the late 60s (before that I simply watched and loved as many hours of shows as I could get away with), but TV is devolving as fast as new computers become obsolete. For a while it was just cable or late night shows but now its pretty much any station and any time slot. I've always been against censorship and am a long time fan of what many would consider extreme and distasteful entertainment. I admit I was attracted to some of these things because they were (or still are) hard to see, obscure, "underground", banned or frowned upon by the general population. TV still entertains and (mis) informs me but it disgusts and depresses me more and more. TV is fast becoming a soulless window to the end of the world. It's like an endless mondo movie, rubbing stupidity and cruelty of the past, present and future into our faces - in-between the increasing amount of always lying, usually irritating, and now often hateful or scary commercials. I'm starting to believe that the only hope for mankind is for everyone to smash their sets.

TV, which used to promote smoking, racism (still does, but not as obviously), and strict Cold war era politics and morality has always been more influential that must of us are willing to admit. It shapes the way we think and act much more than movies (in theaters), music, school, parents or the government, and has helped produce generations of jaded, non voting, credit card abusing over eating perfect consumers - and worse.

The TV industry has millions convinced that viewing enriches our lives with information, ideas and (canned) laughter and even helps reform bad people and governments - or at least is a harmless pastime. I think TV helps push people to drink, take drugs, become obese, be violent, be paranoid, be hypochondriacs, and be unhappy with their age, their bodies and their lives. I think TV helps drive some people to bankruptcy, prison, religious conversions, mental hospitals, and even suicide. Meanwhile, the solution is not to buy bigger and much more expensive screens while paying more and more for more and more channels! I refuse to watch many programs, but I'm not about to stop watching my TV set (s)! Never trust anybody who claims to never watch TV (or any man who claims to never watch porn).

I'm glad that the Iraqi war is turning out as well as has (so far) so that the media can now concentrate on what they do best, making us all 110% sure that we know everything about all the mindless new multi million dollar summer sequels and remakes. Don't forget to see the latest MATRIX and TERMINATOR movies at least 3 times and help bale out AOL Time Warner!!