Today In Horror History

July 6th, 1927
On this day in Horror History, the late Janet Leigh (Jeanette Helen Morrison) was born. With her parents constantly relocating and being an only child, Janet spent most of her adolescence without friends and frequenting movie theaters. However, this was not her inspiration for her acting career. Graduating early from high school at the age of 15 and studying music and psychology at the University of Pacific, she was only "discovered" by a photograph that her father kept at his desk while working at a ski resort in Northern California, by retired MGM actress Norma Shearer, who thought she had the perfect look for a "young and naive, country girl." After a few screen tests, Janet landed a starring role in The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947) of which commenced her life long acting career. Starring in a variety of widely successful films from westerns to comedies to musicals, Janet would be known for her roles in such films as Act of Violence (1948), Little Women (1949), Angels in the Outfield (1951), Houdini (1953), Touch of Evil (1958) and many others before landing her iconic role in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). When reflecting on her experience working with Hitchcock she said:
"Hitch relished scaring me. When we were making Psycho, he experimented with the mother's corpse, using me as his gauge. I would return from lunch, open the door to the dressing room and propped up in my chair would be this hideous monstrosity. The horror in my scream, registered on his Richter scale, decided which dummy he'd use as the Madame."
Janet would later appear in The Fog (1980), and in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) alongside one of her daughters also in the film industry, horror icon Jamie Lee Curtis. Janet Leigh died at age 77 in her home in Beverly Hills, California on October 3, 2004 but will be forever etched in time with her sparkling blue eyes, sultry voice and long lasting influence on the horror genre. Happy Birthday Janet!

Horror On TV - Upcoming - Sleepy Hollow on Fox

Fox has annouced a premiere date of September 16th at 9-10 PM ET?PT for their upcoming horror show "Sleepy Hallow" which will be a modern day retelling of Washington Irving's classic.


Synopsis: “Sleepy Hollow,” from “Transformers” team Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, finds Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) being resurrected to find a world on the brink of doom.

From co-creators/executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (the Star Trek and Transformers franchises, “Fringe”), the thrilling new action-adventure “Sleep Hollow” is a modern-day retelling of Washington Irving’s classic. ICHABOD CRANE (Tom Mison) is resurrected and pulled two and a half centuries through time to find that the world is on the brink of destruction and that he is humanity’s last hope, forcing him to team up with a contemporary police officer (Nicole Beharie) to unravel a mystery that dates all the way back to the founding fathers.

“Sleepy Hollow” is from K/O Paper Products in association with 20th Century Fox Television. The series is co-created by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Phillip Iscove and Len Wiseman (“Hawaii Five-0,” Underworld and Total Recall). The series is executive-produced by Kurtzman, Orci and Wiseman and Heather Kadin. Iscove serves as supervising producer. Wiseman directed the pilot.

Sleepy Hollow - Official Trailer 

Today In Horror History - Double Feature!

June 25

On this day in Horror History, the world would see the theatrical release of The Omen (1976) and John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982). Both films that debuted on this day would ultimately make a formidable notch in the annals of the horror industry. The Omen would couple some of the most iconic actors of a generation; including Gregory Peck and Lee Remick, only to give life to one of the most terrifying tales placing the innocence of a child at a crossroads with what is undeniable evil. The movie would be a box office success, and would lead to 3 sequels and several TV Movies as well as an ’06 remake.

The Thing which debuted 6 years later was blessed by several cult actors including Kurt Russell and Wilford Brimley. Spawning into a popular video game and another remake in 2011, The Thing (1982) could be argued as one of the most beloved adaptions of the John W. Campbell Jr. Novella ‘Who Goes There?’.

“Look at me, Damien! It's all for you.” –Young Nurse

Today In Horror History

June 22, 1958
On this day in Horror History, Bruce Lorne Campbell was born in Royal Oak Michigan. Coming from humble beginnings, Campbell would find himself amidst the perfect storm in the horror industry at a young age. A close friend of director Sam Raimi with whom he met in high school, their aspirations fueled one another, and helped bring their dream to reality when they filmed Within the Woods (1978). The independent show of Campbell’s acting brilliance and Raimi’s directorial prowess would result in $350,000 raised to film The Evil Dead (1981), and in less than a decade thereafter, Campbell would be one of the most recognizable and beloved faces in cinematic history.

A kind soul who values his fans and the adoration which he’s built in the last thirty years, Campbell’s legacy continues to inspire and captivate all those who’ve had the privilege to indulge upon comedic bravado that comes naturally to the icon.

“It seemed that my lot in life was to either have big parts in small films or small parts in big films.” –Bruce Campbell

This Is My Boomstick! - Army Of Darkness (1992) 

Bruce Campbell Old Spice Commercial 

 

Today In Horror History

June 20, 1975
On this day in Horror History, Jaws made its theatrical debut. Opening on 409 Screens across the United States, in a mere 78 days it would become the highest grossing film of all that preceded it. Considered to be one of the most quintessential motion pictures of the last century, Steven Spielberg embedded an ever-present terror into the minds of movie goers worldwide.

“Mr. Vaughn, what we are dealing with here is a perfect engine, an eating machine. It's really a miracle of evolution. All this machine does is swim and eat and make little sharks, and that's all.” –Hooper

Today In Horror History

June 19, 1964
On this day in Horror History, The Twilight Zone ended its 5 season run on broadcast television. Perhaps one of the most definitive cult television shows in history, 156 Episodes of Rod Serling’s iconic series would air between 1959 to 1964. Inspiring several modernized reboots of the same name, a 1983 feature film, and countless homages littered through some of popular culture’s most recognizable movies and media, The Twilight Zone made an indelible mark on the history of science fiction and the lives of millions of viewers.

“There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.” -Rod Serling 

 

The Twilight Zone - "Where Is Everybody" - Full Episode - Original Pilot  

The Twilight Zone - Opening Title Sequence  

Today In Horror History

June 17, 1927
On this day in Horror History, Lucio Fulci was born. Considered to be one of the Godfathers of Gore, Fulci is by far one of the most influential and celebrated Italian film makers of all time, having given the world cult classics such as the Zombi franchise, and City of the Living Dead. Truly a visionary in his implementation of gore and the elegance of fear, something he preyed upon as he would rapidly zoom in on victims eyes as they were being eviscerated. Fulci’s brilliance as a director has been widely celebrated, he lived to see his films achieve cult fame and rightfully so. After living a life suffering from diabetes, it was during production of The Wax Mask (1997) with Dario Argento, that Fulci had supposedly forgotten to take his insulin before bed and passed away in his sleep. Widely considered to be a suicide, Fulci’s life ended tragically but not without giving horror fans a legacy of monumental proportion, and some of the most amazingly poetic films of all time.

“I am not a criminal because I make horror films. A lot of Italian genre directors are animal lovers. Mario Bava loved cats, Riccardo Freda loves horses, and Dario Argento loves himself.” –Lucio Fulci