My mum emailed me today to remind me that the premiere of V was tonight. My brother, mum and I watched the show regularly when it originally aired back in (gulp) 1983. We were all fond of Willie, the innocent alien played by Robert Englund.

When I was a teenager my friends Skinny, Sims and I were really into horror movies. We even went to Fangoria‘s Weekend of Horrors in Toronto in 1991. The horror movie convention featured my favorite make up artist Tom Savini, Kane “Jason” Hodder from Friday The 13th VII and VIII, Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead 1 and 2), scream queen, Linnea “Queen B” Quigley and the Godfather of Gore, Herschell Gordon Lewis (Blood Feast). The only person missing was Robert Englund who we all knew and loved as Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street, but we didn’t hold it against him. The guy had a busy schedule back then!

We were all huge Freddy Krueger fans. The cool thing was that Robert Englund always returned to play Freddy in each of the many sequels. Englund was everywhere as Freddy. He attended countless horror and sci-fi conferences, television shows, movie cameos and even charity events.

And now history is being re-written without him.

In an interview with TV Guide, Englund said that the remake of V makes him “feel pretty old”. He added that, “My two biggest hits are being remade so there’s kind of a perfect storm right now.”

V premiered tonight as a remake without Robert Englund. I didn’t have the heart to tune in. The remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street is slated for next year without Robert Englund. Seriously, who else could play Freddy freakin’ Kruger?

What’s the world coming to?
While I’m on the topic, can somebody please put a stop to lame remakes of classic horror films?

Photo by: AP

1. I grew up listening to loads of punk rock music. My first concert was Circle Jerks and 7 Seconds at the Siboney Club in Kensington Market, Toronto. I think it was around 1986.

2. I was a huge horror movie fan when I was a kid. I attended Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors where my friend and I met Bruce Campbell, Tom Savini and H.G. Lewis, the god father of gore. My buddy and I use to have fishing tackle boxes filled with horror makeup. We would get together and create really nasty wounds and freak out our friends, parents and strangers.

3. I met Blues legend Albert Collins, who invited me backstage with my friends at a show. After the show we all hung out and he invited me on the road to his next gig as a roadie. I almost dropped out of college to become a permanent roadie for him. Leave me a comment if you want to “hear” that story.

4. I climbed Europe’s most active volcano, Stromboli. My wife and I made the six hour hike during dusk, so we would be at the top in time for night fall to watch it erupt into the Aeolian Sea below.

5. I rubbed shoulders with Francis Ford Coppolla, literally. I was attending a movie premiere at the Toronto Film Festival when I spotted Coppolla sitting a few aisles down. After the movie, as the crowd began to enter the aisles I made my way toward him. Just as he stepped out into the aisle I intentionally, gently, rubbed my right shoulder across his. Why did I do this? So that I can honestly tell people that I rubbed shoulders with Francis Ford Coppolla of course!

6. I was punished for misbehaving in Grade 1 or 2, my role in the school play had been demoted. I was suppose to play the lumberjack in Little Red Riding Hood, but was re-cast to play “the tree”. Dressed in brown cords and a green turtle neck, my job was to stand still with my arms spread out. When Little Red yelled for help, as the lumberjack was chopping me, I was suppose to tilt my arms in one direction. The fantastic effect would make it look as if I had been cut. In the last second I decided to improvise a little.

When the lumberjack swung his axe and hit me, I remained standing tall and still. Then, I slowly fell forward crashing on the stage below. The only person not laughing in the room (including my parents) was my teacher. I stole the show.

Years later I studied improv comedy with Second City in Toronto. When I moved to Galway, Ireland I started a troupe called “Da Ladds”, we performed every Thursday night for a little over a year. I miss performing comedy.

Now it’s time to tag six more people, here goes: Bob Goyetche, Sylvain Grand’Maison, Lizzie Keiper, Jett Loe, Scott Monty and Molly E. Holzschlag. Don’t forget to use the rules below in your posts. Have fun.

Random rules (hat tip to Connie Crosby):
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.