I’ve been meaning to mention this for a while now, but essentially, author Marc Tyler Nobleman’s latest project is a great one, which focusus on some forgotten players in pop culture in the 1970s and 1980s. Here’w how he describes it.
To bridge the gap between my book Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman (which made the front page of USA Today) and my upcoming book on Batman/Bill Finger (2012), I found and interviewed 100 “lost” stars of superhero/cartoon entertainment of the ’70s and ’80s – from more than 40 Sea World water skiing superheroes to the pimp in Superman: The Movie to the original singer of the Scooby-Doo theme to the voice actors of the Wonder Twins. (Scroll down for the link and a list of the 10 subseries.)The interviews are sometimes hilarious and often poignant; many of these people have not been interviewed before and had no idea they have fans. You will also see many previously unpublished “then and now” photos and rare documents and mementos from various private collections.I am posting one interview per day between now and 10/12/11, with a few gaps for my blog’s “regularly scheduled content.”10 subseries.71 posts.88 days.100 interviews.The 10 subseries (mark your calendar!):Super Friends (1973-86)28 interviews (15 voice actors, 7 writers, 2 animators, 4 other production staff)launched 7/17/11Sea World superheroes water ski show (1976-79)45 interviews (37 skiers, 1 boat driver, 1 high diver, 2 announcers, 4 production staff)launched 8/22/11Superman: The Movie (1978)3 interviews (all actors)Legends of the Superheroes (1979)5 interviews (3 actors, 1 deceased actor’s niece, 1 director/producer)Batman and Robin Meet Dr. Danger (circa 1979)2 interviews (both performers)launches 9/26/11Bugs Bunny Meets the Superheroes (1979-81)6 interviews (all performers)launches 9/27/11The Plastic Man Comedy Show (1979-81; repackaged with live-action host in 1984)2 interviews (1 actor, 1 director/producer)launches 9/28/11Superman (Ruby-Spears animated series, 1988)1 interview (voice actor)launches 10/2/11Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (seasons 1-2: 1969-71)7 interviews (2 voice actors, 2 theme song singers, 1 music producer, 1 songwriter’s widow, 1 songwriter’s son)launches 10/4/11And a wild card:Mick Smiley (“Magic,” Ghostbusters, 1984)1 interviewlaunches 10/12/11
The amount of research is very impressive and for those like me who grew up in those awesome 2 decades, this is a pretty intriguing project. In fact, I didn’t even know there was a Plastic Man cartoon, or that Bugs Bunny and his pals teamed up with a few DC Comics characters for stage show.
See? Great stuff, including interviews with the 2 actors who played Clark Kent before Christopher Reeve grew up in my fave film, Superman: The Movie, and a chat with the pimp who first comments on Superman’s outfit! ( “Say, Jim—whoa! That’s a bad out-fit! Whoo!”)
Check out Marc’s site right here.
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