Daily Birthdays and Events in Sci-Fi, Comics and related areas

May 25, 2011

Tarzan the Warrior, Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo, Frank Oz, Fozzie Bear, Yoda, The Professor, Alein Nation: Millenium, The Brain, Beyond Westworld, Shrek

It was great to have had Stan Sakai at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo last year. He was a big draw and it was nice to have finally met him in person.


Enjoy !!!



Birthdays

Marc Hempel 1957, cartoonist/comics artist best known for his work on The Sandman with Neil Gaiman. Hempel's art has also appeared in Marvel Fanfare, Epic Illustrated, Heavy Metal, Jonny Quest, Tarzan the Warrior, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser, Flinch, My Faith in Frankie, The Dreaming, Lucifer, and Disney Adventures.
Stan Sakai 1953, comic book artist, He began his career by lettering comic books (notably Groo the Wanderer by Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier) and wrote and illustrated The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy; a comic series with a medieval setting, influenced by Sergio Aragones's Groo the Wanderer. The characters first appeared in Albedo #1 in 1984, and were subsequently featured in issues of Critters, GrimJack, Amazing Heroes and Furrlough. Sakai became famous with the creation of Usagi Yojimbo, the epic saga of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai rabbit living in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century Japan. First published in 1984, the comic continues to this day, with Sakai as the lone author and nearly-sole artist.
Frank Oz 1944, actor, voice actor, Oz is known for his work as a puppeteer, performing with Jim Henson's Muppets. His characters have included Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam the Eagle on The Muppet Show, and Grover, Cookie Monster and Bert on Sesame Street, among many others. In addition to performing a variety of characters, Oz has been one of the primary collaborators responsible for the development of the Muppets over the last 30 years. Oz has performed as a Muppeteer in over 75 movies, video releases, and television specials, as well as countless other public appearances, episodes of Sesame Street, and other Jim Henson series. His puppetry work spans from 1963 to the present, though he has retired from the Muppets. His Muppets were taken over by Eric Jacobson, though Oz still performs his characters on occasion. He also worked with the puppets on the movie Labyrinth, starring David Bowie. Oz is also well known as the performer of Jedi Master Yoda from George Lucas' Star Wars series. Oz performed the voice and puppet for Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace, and provided the voice of the computer-generated imagery (CGI) Yoda in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
John Gabriel 1931, actor, The Professor - Gilligan's Island: Marooned (1964) (TV), Professor - Gilligan's Island (1 episode, "Marooned", 1964), Crewman - Star Trek (1 episode, "The Corbomite Maneuver", 1966), Dirk Shuster - The Six Million Dollar Man (1 episode, "The Cross-Country Kidnap", 1975), Joshua Lambert - The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988) (TV). John Gabriel played the "Professor" in the unaired pilot of "Gilligan's Island" (1964). This pilot also has a different theme song, composed by John Williams.
Susan Diol 1962, actress, Carmen Davila - Star Trek: The Next Generation (1 episode, "Silicon Avatar", 1991), Beth Calavicci - Quantum Leap (2 episodes, 1990-1993), Marina Del Ray - Alien Nation: Millennium (1996) (TV), Dr. Danara Pel - Star Trek: Voyager (2 episodes, "Lifesigns", "Resolutions", 1996).
Miles Malleson 1888, actor, Dr. Miller - The Brain (1962), Dymchurch Registrar - First Men in the Moon (1964).
Janet E. Morris 1946, sci-fi author, Golden Sword, Tempus
Connie Selleca 1955, actress, Dr. Wendy Day - Captain America II: Death Too Soon (1979) (TV), Pamela Williams - Beyond Westworld (5 episodes, 1980), Pam Davidson Hinkley - The Greatest American Hero (44 episodes, 1981-1986).
Mike Myers 1963, actor, Shrek - Shrek (2001) (voice), Shrek - Shrek 4-D (2003) (voice), The Cat - The Cat in the Hat (2003), Shrek - Shrek 2 (2004) (voice), Shrek - Far Far Away Idol (2004) (V) (voice), Shrek - Shrek the Third (2007) (voice), Shrek - Shrek the Halls (2007) (TV) (voice), Shrek - Shrek Forever After (2010) (voice).
Ann Robinson 1935, actress, Girl in Bar - City Beneath the Sea (1953), Sylvia Van Buren - The War of the Worlds (1953), Queen Juliandra/Noviandra - Rocky Jones, Space Ranger (3 episodes, 1954), Dr. Sylvia Van Buren - Attack from Mars, Sylvia Van Buren - War of the Worlds (3 episodes, 1988-1989), Dr. Sylvia Van Buren, Grandmother - War of the Worlds (2005).


Events

1945, Arthur C. Clark proposes relay satellites in geosynchronous orbit
1977, Star Wars is released.
1983, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi is released.
1994, Babylon 5 Episode 14 - "TKO" first aired

No comments:

Post a Comment