1999 Archive: Guests
All of our guests for CONvergence 1999 proved to be wonderful, and had a good time themselves over the weekend. We can't thank them enough for their contributions to our first year convention.
CONvergence thanks all of our 1999 guests for being so generous with their time and sharing themselves with our membership. We hope they can all return to participate in CONvergence in the future.
Be sure to check out who's on deck for guests at this year's CONvergence.
Forrest J Ackerman
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Forry Ackerman was as charming and fascinating to listen to as ever, doing many
panels and readings, attending the Masquerade and making his presence felt at the
convention. Forry will always be considered CONvergence's FIRST guest of honor,
just one of the countless firsts belonging to this legend of Sci-Fi. Thirteen CONvergence members were drawn randomly at Opening Ceremonies from those who signed up, and these "Lucky 13" had the opportunity to sit down with Forry on Saturday morning for an intimate chat. The Lucky 13 were given autographed certificates as souvenirs of their special chat with Forry. |
A legend of Science Fiction and Fantasy, the man who coined the term Sci-Fi: The one and only Forrest J Ackerman was our first CONvergence Guest of Honor.
Forry is a man of many firsts, including being the winner of the very first Hugo Award (and five more since!). Forry founded Famous Monsters of Filmland in 1958, which he would continue to write and edit for over 30 years. He has also written and edited countless Sci-Fi-related articles and books.
Forry is also the keeper of the largest collection of Sci-Fi and Fantasy memorabilia in the world. It fills his home, the world-famous Ackermansion.
Forry has called himself "A Sci-Fi sponge that should be squeezed for information and anecdotes for as long as I'm here." We thank Forry for sharing himself with us, and letting us "squeeze him" a little.
For more information of Forry's life, career, and collection, visit Forrest J Ackerman's Wide Webbed World.
Forry's panels at CVG 1999 included:
- From Scientifiction to Sci-Fi
- Two Readings from "Letter to an Angel: The Lon Chaney Story"
- I Remember Karlon Torgosi - Movie Monster Greats
- Forry Ackerman's Slide Show Presentation
Harry and Jay Knowles
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In addition to his many panels, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News spent much of the weekend along with his father Jay "Father Geek" Knowles holding court with fans in his poolside cabana. |
Harry Knowles created Aint-It-Cool-News (AICN) just a few years ago (the name is a nod to John Travolta's line in Broken Arrow). Since then, he has built it into a resource for reports on some of Hollywood's best (un)kept secrets. Harry receives reports from a network of "spies" who feed him insider info on developing TV and film projects, often to the chagrin of Hollywood studios.
AICN has also become THE resource on the net for information about Peter Jackson's upcoming live-action Lord of the Rings film trilogy, shooting in New Zealand. Jackson has been filing reports directly with AICN, sharing precious information about the upcoming trilogy.
In the last year, Harry's media exposure has exploded, with Harry even making multiple appearances as guest co-host of Roger Ebert's movie review TV program.
Harry's father Jay Knowles is a regular contributor to the AICN site under the handle "Father Geek". He has a long history as a movie buff, and collector and dealer of movie memorabilia. His perspective on the history of Science Fiction and Fantasy film is as interesting as Harry's.
Check out his website for yourself, at http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com.
Harry and Jay's panels at CVG 1999 included:
- If it Ain't Broke...
- The Roddenberry Legacy
- The 10 Best Fantasy Films of All Time
- Phantom Menace, the Rants and Raves
- Why did Johnny Mnemonic suck and The Matrix rock?
Gary Russell
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Doctor Who writer/producer Gary Russell spent much of his weekend outside of panels in the Minnesota Dr. Who Viewing Society's (MNDWVS) poolside cabana, joining in their Men Behaving Badly party. He spent part of Saturday night playing guest DJ at the party, spinning many '80's favorites. |
Gary Russell is a writer and editor who has enjoyed a long association with all things Doctor Who. His and partner Jason Haigh-Ellery's Big Finish Productions has been granted the license to produce original audio adventures of Doctor Who. Stephen Cole, consulting editor of the BBC Doctor Who books, acts as Executive Producer for the audio series, which is considered party of official Doctor Who canon by the BBC.
Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy all co-starred (as the 5th, 6th, and 7th Doctors, respecively) in the first release in this new series: The Sirens of Time by Nicholas Briggs. Each have gone on to record additional solo adventures, paired with companions from the original TV series.
In addition to his work as producer on the Doctor Who Audio Adventures, Gary Russell is also the author of several Doctor Who novels, a contributor to the Short Trips anthologies, and writer of the novelization of the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie shown in America on the Fox Network. He has been the editor of Doctor Who Magazine, and produced 20 issues of his fanzine Shada from 1979 to 1995.
For more information on Gary Russell, Big Finish Productions, and the Doctor Who Audio Adventures, check out the Big Finish Web Site.
Gary's panels at CVG 1999 included:
- Doctor Who in Print
- Lights, Camera, Novelization
- Doctor Who in Black & White
- How TV Shows are Made
- Doctor Who Audio Plays
Pamela Keesey
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Pam Keesey made for a great guest, hosting a variety of interesting panels and making her presence felt for the entire convention weekend. We extend her our thanks and hope to see her at future conventions. |
Pam Keesey is enjoying a growing reputation as an authority on women's roles and themes in modern fiction. In 1998 Pam released Vamps: An Illustrated History of the Femme Fatale. This book traces the Vamp figure from silent film to modern movies such as The Hunger and even Basic Instinct. For more information on Pam Keesey and her works, check out her website at www1.minn.net/~pkeesey/.
Pam's panels at CVG 1999 included:
- Does This Lipstick Go With This Lightsaber?
- Taken in Vein
- Pulpy Goodness or Fortified Literature?
- Publish or Perish
- Queer Imagery in SF/Fantasy
Pam also participated in the following panels at Krushenko's:
- Monster Culture
- The Works of Pam Keesey
Gordon Purcell
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Gordon was a trooper in a year when we were trying to figure out how to fit comics programming into the structure of our con. Always a treat to listen to, we were very happy to have Gordon Purcell as a part of CONvergence. |
Comic book penciller Gordon Purcell has a long list of credits to his name, and has found particular success in the area of comics licensed from movies and TV. His work includes Star Trek, X-Files, Xena, Lost in Space, Godzilla, Young Indiana Jones, Barb Wire, Terminator, and others, plus illustrations for Star Trek young people's novels from Pocket Books and Star Trek coloring books. Gordon has also pencilled traditional super hero fare for DC, Marvel and Image Comics.
Gordon's panels at CVG 1999 included:
- The Insane World of Comics
- Giving Birth to a Star Trek Comic Book
- How I Stopped Worrying About the Bomb
- Xena, X-Files & Star Trek: The Comics
- Spandex vs. The Suit (or Superhero vs. Non-Superhero Comics)