My "defining" moment was my first viewing of Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein at about age six...I spent weeks afterward "changing" into a werewolf in front of the bathroom mirror...
       --Frank Dietz

Classic horror film fans pay homage to their monster favorites in a variety of ways...building models, collecting props, etc.  Now, let's meet an artist who pays homage to his monster faves in a special way, by...

By ROBERT TAYLOR

(Herewith we introduce another new writer to the mildewed halls of HORROR-WOOD.  Robert Taylor, recently retired after more than 30 years as a small town Ohio school media specialist/librarian, has been a lifelong movie fan...especially of monster films!  Early frights included Creature From The Black Lagoon and Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, and watching all the Golden Age horror classics on Shock Theatre every Friday night was early on a way of life for him when he was a kid.  An admirer of Famous Monsters Of Filmland and Forry Ackerman since the late Fifties, Mr. Taylor thinks of himself as one of the "early generation" of "Forry's Kids."  Over the years he has had the pleasure of meeting and talking with John Carradine, Myrna Loy, and Cesar Romero (Dracula, the daughter of Fu Manchu, and the Joker, respectively), and has corresponded with many other old-time actors and actresses, from Priscilla Dean (silent film actress who costarred with Chaney Sr.) to Rouben Mamoulian (director of '32 Fredric March Jekyll-Hyde).   He believes monster folks are the finest folks you'll meet!)

To my mind, there are few things in this world as much fun as coming in contact with a kindred spirit, someone whose interests dovetail with your own, and in my years as a fan of horror films and monster-memorabilia collecting I've met a few such folks, much to my delight.  During the past several months I've had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of a wonderfully talented artist and actor and screenwriter...and friend of monsters...Frank Dietz.  I met Frank and his wife Liane via eBay Auctions on the Internet while searching for monster memorabilia.   I was so impressed with Frank's excellent caricatures and portraits of the classic monsters that I set about collecting a good representative grouping of his prints for my "monster room".  I also bought a copy of his book, Things Are A Bit Sketchy, a collection of dozens of his pen and ink drawings matched with his textual commentary on the great ghouls of the Golden Age of horror films. What a joyful celebration of our favorite monsters!  But let me get the artist himself involved here so that he can tell us about his life and his work...

* * *

ROBERT TAYLOR:  Frank, you have quite a few irons in the fire, but I know that your main profession is with Disney Studios.  Now, I know that jobs with Disney don't just come in a box of Cracker Jacks!  Can you tell us a little about how you came to work there and which films you've worked on?

FRANK DIETZ: For several years I had been working as a screenwriter, or "script doctor", which was fun to do, but not reliable.  Liane was working as a casting director, and was hired at Disney to help cast the voice talent for Hercules.  Soon after, she was asked to stay on and become a production manager in the animation department.  She encouraged me to take a shot at joining the crew, even though I had barely picked up a pencil in years!   So...I took a few gesture drawing classes to get myself reacquainted with that side of my brain, and then submitted a portfolio.  I made it into the training program, and then joined the Hercules crew.  Since then, I have worked on Mulan, Tarzan (specifically Kala, the Glenn Close character), and the "Rhapsody In Blue" segment of Fantasia 2000.

RT: Can you tell us anything about new projects in the works?

FD: Currently I'm working on Disney's Atlantis, The Lost Empire, which is a really terrific action-adventure animated feature.  It features the voices of Michael J. Fox and James Garner.  I can't say too much about it yet, except that it's got a great Jules Verne-esque feeling to it!

RT: We'll certainly look forward to that one, Frank!  That's what you're up to presently, but I wonder where it all started in the years "before Disney"?  Sometimes art talent seems to run in a family...as it does in the Wyeth family, for instance.  Was yours a talented family, too?  Give us some info about your early years....where you were born, where you grew up (if at all!)?

FD: I've been told that some of my relatives had artistic talent.  My immediate family members are talented in their own way, in other areas.  I grew up in Port Washington, New York, where I spent countless hours drawing monsters and making Super 8mm films with my friends.  We even started our own Sci-Fi Mini-Convention in conjunction with the public library!  We had guest speakers, showed classic movies and displayed our own collections of monsterabilia.   They were very successful and continued annually for years after we had moved on.   I remain in touch with one friend, Jonathan Guildroy, a superb artist himself, who greatly influenced both my artwork and my writing.

RT: How about your own household?   Is Liane involved in monsterdom at all?  How about your daughter?

FD: My wife Liane remains a production manager at Disney and is just wrapping up work on next summer's Dinosaur, which is absolutely stunning.  She has also cast the Tales From The Crypt series, Showtime's Rebel Highway movie series, and helped out on Peter Jackson's The Frighteners.  My daughter Caitlin is only eight, but already has a healthy appreciation for her Dad's hobbies.  She loves Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein, she knows who played most of the classic monsters (especially her "Uncle Benny" (Ben "The Creature" Chapman), and recently gave big hugs to the cardboard standups of the Universal Monsters at our local Blockbuster Video Store.   That's my girl!

RT: Speaking of monsters, Frank, let's talk about our favorite subject, if you're in the mood!  I'm always interested in what it was in each of us that made us horror fans.  Very often there's a defining moment that caught our attention, that won our hearts.  Can you remember which movie it was that first won you over to the monster world?

FD: My "defining" moment was my first viewing of Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein at about age six.   I was immediately drawn to these characters, particularly Chaney's Wolf Man, and I spent weeks afterward "changing" into a werewolf in front of the bathroom mirror. Years later I discovered my first issue of Famous Monsters Of Filmland   (issue #48, I think), and became one of "Forry's Kids".  I haven't recovered.

I remember being about eight, and my older cousin Tommy taking me to a matinee of The Last Man On Earth, at the local Theatre.  I was fine until the scene in which Vincent Price watches the home movies of his dead wife and daughter...at which point I lost it.  I started crying uncontrollably and insisted we leave the Theatre.  Tommy was justifiably pissed off, and one of these days I'll pay him back the 75 cents admission price.

RT: You're in good company, Frank.   That scene has tugged at many a fan's heart strings!  Price was one of the greatest, to my mind. We all seem to have our own favorite creatures and actors. You mentioned your youthful attempts at becoming a werewolf...can we assume your affection for that shape-shifter remains to this day?  Tell us about your favorite monsters and actors!

FD: I love all the Universal pictures and never tire of them.  Just give me a glass of wine, a mob of angry villagers, and a Hans Salter riff and I'm in heaven!  My favorite character remains the Wolf Man, followed closely by the Creature.  I've always been awed by Karloff's talent, but my favorite actor is Lon Chaney Jr....probably because I identify with his "regular guy" persona.

RT: How about the later films...do you have a Fifties bug-eyed monster or giant critter which appealed to you?  You've mentioned the Creature, and certainly he fits into this category, but maybe there are other later films you liked, too?

FD: The Creature movies are fun, especially the first one.  The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms remains a personal favorite, and "The Incredible Shrinking Man" is just brilliant.  I was lucky enough to actually meet Peter Cushing in 1975, so any film with him is worth watching in my book.  The Monster That Challenged The World scared the daylights out of me as a kid, as well as Terence Fisher's Island Of Terror.   I'm also a big Planet Of The Apes fan, especially fond of the first two.

RT: Frank, you've acted in a few horror films.  I recall your telling me that you appeared in a film with the beautiful Julia Adams (of Creature fame).  Tell us a little about your acting career, if you would.  How did you get started in that line, and who else did you co-star with?

FD: I was a Theatre major at the State University at Oswego in New York, and had done quite a lot of regional stage work before being asked to audition for my first film, Zombie Nightmare.  I was given the part of the young detective investigating the zombie murders, and my experiences on that picture could fill a website of its own!  But it was fun working with Tia Carrere, and especially with Adam West, who remains a friend to this day.  The film is so bad, it actually became an episode of Mystery Science Theatre 3000, which was the best thing that ever happened to it.

I also starred in Rock N' Roll Nightmare, The Jitters, and my favorite, Black Roses, which also starred Julie Adams.  She had only a few days on set, but was very kind, happy to discuss her dip into the lagoon, and even allowed a picture taken of us before she had her makeup on...not that she needed it!

RT: Maybe another interview down the road could cover your experiences with Zombie Nightmare!  What about your screenplays?  Maybe some of the readers have seen films you wrote the screenplays for!

FD: I've had several of my screenplays produced, although I've not always been happy about how they turned out.   Naked Souls was a fun script to write, but only about half of my dialogue remains in the film.  Pamela Anderson was the star, and she was very sweet in my dealings with her (this was only a week or two before her abrupt marriage to Tommy Lee).   I had a nice conversation with Dean Stockwell about The Werewolf of Washington while we were on set.  And David Warner was an absolute joy!  A nicer man I've never met.  He was charming, friendly and highly complimentary.  He signed a photo from Time Bandits for me with the inscription, "To Frank, Many thanks for the words."

Magic In The Mirror and its sequel, Fowl Play, were children's films for Paramount, and recently Cold Harvest premiered on Cinemax.  I have two comedies currently in the works.   4 Kicks And A Funeral, a "mock-umentary" about a missing Kung-Fu film star starts shooting in November, and Woodstuck is in development with David Permutt (Face/Off) producing.

RT: Obviously your work in the industry has brought you in contact with some very interesting actors and other film folks.  You've mentioned Ben Chapman in this interview, and I've heard you speak of Chris Walas (Arachnophobia, The Fly, etc.), Daniel Roebuck, Linnea Quigley, and the great memorabilia collector and gorilla impersonator, Bob Burns!   Can I get you to give a comment or two on your friends?  Let's lead off with Ben Chapman.  I've heard that "Benny" is one of the nicest guys around, and the life of every party!  Is that so?

FD: Let's just say that it ain't a party until Benny arrives!  Seriously, Ben is a great guy who really enjoys sharing his memories of stalking the Black Lagoon.  We all get together every time he's in town, to eat lasagna, tell jokes and roast each other worse than any Friar's Club tribute!  Chris Walas is a multi-talented guy.  A director, modeler, FX genius, and major Creature fan!  Anyone who owns his Dark Horse Gillman kit knows Chris rules!  Linnea Quigley and I met through our mutual manager, Cathryn Jaymes, and then by coincidence ended up neighbors!  Linnea's a very caring person, and is a serious animal rights advocate.  Did I mention she's really cute?  Anyone who's ever met Dan Roebuck knows he's not only a talented actor, but one of the nicest people you could meet.  His wife Kelly is an angel for enduring the seemingly constant parade of monster fans that visit their home.  Their daughter Gracie and my Caitlin are pals.   Danny's a good friend, and I'm not just saying that because I want his Creature Pinball Machine.  Nope, not at all.  Not one bit.

Bob Burns and his wife Kathy are largely responsible for my recent success as a classic horror artist.  As a Christmas gift last year, they presented me with two of William Stout's Dinosaur sketchbooks, which is what inspired me to create Things Are A Bit Sketchy.  Bob even wrote the foreword, and the book has been a real hit with monster fans across the country.  Bob and Kathy (who, by the way, is an extremely talented photographer!) are important to us all, not for their amazing memorabilia, but for their genuine enthusiasm and encouragement of young people to reach their potential.

All of the people I've talked about share a common bond...a wicked sense of humor.  I can't tell you how many times that humor has seen us through personal appearances, book signings, conventions, air flights and road trips where the conditions were less than comfortable...Can't wait for the next one!

RT: Frank, you lead a life many a monster fan would envy.  I can tell you this one does!  I know you're doing some new horror star artwork now in a different medium, switching from pen & ink to graphite.  Will this new artwork be coming out as prints, too?

FD: I've already begun posting a few on eBay, and plan on publishing the next book sometime in the Spring.  I had been referring to these recent pieces as my "new" style, but that's not really true.   The style of caricature is pretty much the same, my influences being people like Mad Magazine's Mort Drucker and Jack Davis.  I also remember really liking Bill Nelson's excellent work in mags like Photon.  But it's only the medium that's changed, as you mentioned, from pen & ink to graphite.  I use a regular 2.5/F pencil now, while the book was done entirely with Micron pens.

I like to do caricatures, because to me it really brings something new to the images.  Let's face it, we've all seen the reference photos a thousand times, so to do just another rendition of the same old pics just doesn't interest me.  I usually begin by trying to nail down the overall shape of the face.  The shape is probably the most important aspect of a caricature.   Once I feel pretty good about that, I start filling in the prominent features, such as the eyebrows, the nose, etc.  I push and pull them until I feel they convey the attitude I'm looking for.  Then comes the "tweaking", the seemingly endless task of tinkering with the highlights and shadows, and that's usually when the drawing really starts to take on the spark of life....and that's the payoff!

RT: Fans can find your prints for sale on eBay, but is there another way to find out about your work?  Some of the readers will want to know what's available and what's new.  How can they go about getting in touch with you?

Daniel Roebuck (The Fugitive), Frank Dietz, and Bob Burns.

FD: Anyone interested in seeing more, or anyone with questions they'd like to ask, can visit my rather modest website and/or e-mail me.

RT:  Thanks so much for letting me pick your brain, Frank!  I always enjoy a little scalpel work!   Seriously, it's been a great pleasure to find out more about you and your work.   Any last words of advice for your fellow monster fans?

FD: I'd like to say thank you to all of the folks who have supported my work so far.  I really appreciate the interest, from fellow "Forry's Kids" to the newer generations of classic monster fans, because they are ones who will keep the memories of these great films alive.  It's important that we carry the torches, like villagers through the woods of Vasaria, so that names like Karloff, Chaney and Lugosi will live on for centuries to come.   To paraphrase Graham Nash, "Teach your children well...and feed them on your dreams..."

Thanks to Robert and Frank for a great interview and some wonderful classic monster artwork.  Frank, your artwork is so great it even makes up for Zombie Nightmare!  Cheers!

Article copyright Robert Taylor.   Artwork copyright Frank Dietz.

Return To Archives From The Crypt