Noonan's Sci-Fi Fun Club a great place for cult genre fans; a chat with its founder

 

Today, Plan9Crunch blogs is thrilled with the opportunity to interview Clark West, who runs the Noonan’s Sci-Fi Club Facebook page. Recently nominated for a Rondo Award, Noonan’s is just a fascinating, cerebral journey into all things fantasy and horror … and more. I’m addicted to it and love to share observations, clips, art, blog posts and more. Ed Wood, vintage horror, grindhouse, TV sci-fi, Godzilla and pals including Hedorah, I’m a frequent poster to Noonan’s. It’s just a great, valuable genre site, and we now talk with its founder, who lives in Osaka, Japan.

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Plan9Crunch: Welcome Clark! You have this very interesting Facebook page that tackles some cult genres, and has a steady stream of followers and conversation. Tell us about your past, and how you developed an interest in these genres?

West: I got an early start. Really early! My older sisters and dad were Trekkies, so I cannot even remember the first time I saw STAR TREK, but I am fairly certain my first glimpse of the Gorn required a diaper change. My earliest memory of ANY movie was James Whale’s 1931 FRANKENSTEIN. I learned how to tell time because my sister Joy came home from school one day exclaiming how there was going to be a really awesome movie called KING KONG on at 8pm that night. I sat and watched the clock on the kitchen wall for what seemed hours, and very well could have been, waiting for the fat hand to reach eight and the long hand twelve! Shortly after that, my sister introduced me to Godzilla via the infamous NBC 60 minute broadcast of GODZILLA VS MEGALON, hosted by John Belushi in a Godzilla suit! That hooked me on not just Kaiju but ALL things Japanese. Anime, Kurosawa, Hello Kitty… you name it. Almost a half century later, here I am in Osaka, lamenting that I cannot, for at least now, watch THE TWILIGHT ZONE or DOCTOR WHO, the latter of which I was hooked on since I was a 5 year old, and I’ve been a TZ fanatic since I was seven, so why not devote my spare time to creating a Facebook Group celebrating all this stuff! I was born in Oklahoma but ran away as fast as I could.”

Plan9Crunch: What made you decide to take the social media plunge and create a Facebook page. How did your ideas for it develop?

West: All the peeps I refer to as the “Founding Noonans”, and I, belonged to a really fun Facebook Group more than half a decade ago called “The Science Fiction Multiverse.” (It was) really fun, except for the person who ran the group. One day the group’s “Overlord,” as he liked to call himself, had a meltdown and closed shop on our dear old “SFM.” So a few days later, Noonan’s Sci-Fi Fun Club was born. I didn’t do it all alone though. A super fan named Perry Williams, our senior admin, as it were, was a huge help, even rewriting the Group Intro into something more presentable. And Andrew Gaska, now an award-winning professional writer of roleplay games and various things, talked me out of calling the place “Richard’s Sci-Fi Fun Club”, telling me “You can’t have a more Sci-Fi name than Noonan!” I am forever in their debt! And I owe a debt to my late friend Richard Noonan, in whose memory the page was named.

Plan9Crunch: What drives you to think about new ideas, and how do you keep the enthusiasm to maintain an atmosphere where new ideas can be discussed?

West: Perry Williams clearly states in our Group Intro, “And Everything Else Geeks and Nerds Love.” So I take that as cart-blanche. Just about anything goes! From Silent Movies to Baby Sloths!  I often post about interesting things in Japan, and our Welsh Administrator often shares facts about his country. I really want Noonan’s Sci-Fi Fun Club to appeal to the Renaissance Nerd, the Anorak who is all over the place, the Otaku who does not where to curb their enthusiasm. Basically, people like me!

Plan9Crunch: You place an emphasis on hashtags. I try to make hashtags. I think it's an intriguing idea within the page. How do the hashtags increase the impact of the page?

West: The Hashtag idea was introduced to me by a former admin, David Cho, and I am forever in his debt! I was slow to pick up on the idea myself, but then I realized, it was genius! Especially if you come from a Message Board Background, the hashtags enable you to actually organize your Facebook Group’s content, making it easier to browse, and in my thinking, more conducive to the sort of fan scholarship I try to encourage in the group. The average Facebook Groups I am sad to say are ephemeral wastelands. Hashtags lend your post some immortality. It is a hard sell though. None of the Admins and Mods in Group understand the benefit. Except for our hashtag hero, Alex Pass! A new member Marcie Carpenter has also been a big help of late. I think the hashtags are FINALLY starting to catch on!

Plan9Crunch: Your Facebook page was nominated for a Rondo. That must have been gratifying. Who do you credit besides yourself for the nomination?

West: Just being nominated for a Rondo, that will always be worn by the group as a badge of honor! David Colton’s Classic Horror Film Board is what I am striving for with Noonan’s Sci-Fi Fun Club! That level of fun, yet serious, scholarly analysis, and discussion of the things we love. Who do I credit for the nomination? All the fantastic members of course! They are the ones who helped us come close to that goal this year!

Plan9Crunch: What new ideas are in the planning stage?

West: My wife is very insistent I make something called “money”, so now that I appear to have a recognizable brand name, even if to a limited crowd … expect Noonan’s Sci-Fi Fun Club, the Pod Cast, to come soon. I have also have been trying off and on to encourage members to create local, physical chapters of the Club. All of that was before Covid-19 hit. As the world recovers, or at least gets used to the new conditions, I plan to continue that push. We have an Osaka Chapter, with a Meet Up page and everything, but with only three members!.

Plan9Crunch: I think it's a great idea to have page followers vote occasionally. Although Noonan's Sci-Fi Fun Club encompasses many genres, what is your favorite cult genre?

West: I try to make everyone feel they have a voice! They too are playing a major part in the Group. So I usually put the bigger decisions up to a poll. I want everyone to feel included! I am not sure I can reveal my favorite cult genre though! Noonan’s Sci-FI Fun Club covers so many things precisely because I love so many things with a deep passion! I love the movies of Studio Ghibli founders Hayao Miyazaki and Issao Takahata. I consider Miyazaki the greatest living director of our times. I also have a huge soft spot for pre-code Hollywood, especially the Horror Movies and Comedies. I deeply love DOCTOR WHO, at least from the Hartnell era up to the end of David Tennant. I can’t wait to see what the returning Russell T Davis has in store for us next year. It really depends on my mood. I deeply love so many different things!

Plan9Crunch: Expound on the reason for the name of the page Noonan's Sci-Fi Fun Club?

West: Richard Noonan was a sweet, elderly man in the previously mentioned Science Fiction Multiverse. He got banned for posting too many “Off Topic” posts, and I led the charge to convince “The Overlord” to re-instate him as a member. He would send me video Christmas Cards of him singing “Amazing Grace” every year. With no near family, he spent his final few days after the heart attack in a hospice. I was text messaging with the kindly lady who sat vigil over him at the moment he died. I want Noonan’s Sci-Fi Fun club to be a tribute to him. (It’s) a place full of compassion, love, and understanding.

Plan9Crunch: It might be interesting to know the advantages and challenges, of following these cult genres living in Japan.

West: Since I am a pre-code Hollywood kind of guy, it hasn’t been too much of a problem. I trust the members to bring me news from the outside world! Here in Japan, we get the Marvel Movies the same date as their American releases, and Netflix and Amazon Prime have me fixed for TREK. I do miss DOCTOR WHO though. The show had a huge following amongst Japanese women for a while, the idea of a handsome foreigner taking you away on a life of travel appeals greatly to them. Sad to say the current Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, destroyed that fantasy. But Japan and the US are the same Blu-Ray region, so I just need to make money and buy American Blu-Rays of DOCTOR WHO and the Classic Horrors and Comedies I miss so! I have many pots on the fire. I’m doing various English lessons, working on starting my own English school, and of course, I want to launch Noonan’s Sci-Fi Fun Club: The Pod Cast! Perhaps then, I can interview you? Thank you so much for this opportunity!

Thank you very much. This was a fascinating interview. You have a unique, creative mind.

An interview with Christopher R. Gauthier, who keeps Bela Lugosi with us

Christopher R. Gauthier, seen above in an artistic license photo with his favorite actor, Bela Lugosi. Christopher runs the A Celebration of the Art and Life of Bela Lugosi Facebook page (here). It's a growing group that consistently provides interesting graphics, observations and information on Lugosi. 

Besides his interest in and contributions on Lugosi's life and career, Christopher also writes poetry on Bela Lugosi. We'll share some on this post but he recently read some poetry on a radio broadcast. (Here at about the 53.44 mark). He is also working on a novel about Lugosi. Christopher was also acknowledged for assistance with research and images in the new BearManor Media Scripts From the Crypt book "Dracula's Daughter."

I enjoyed this interview with Christopher, who has a real passion for the actor so many of us love on the blog.

-- Doug Gibson

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1) When was the first time you saw Bela in a film? Was that when you determined he was a great influence in your life or did it take a while?

GAUTHIER: It is very difficult to say what Lugosi movie I first stumbled upon, I as far back as  I can recollect have been drawn to the mystique of the man. One very vivid memory that I do have, is when I first watched The Body Snatcher and found his role of Joseph to be the most interesting character in the film. To me there had to be something so much more to this actor, I thought to myself, as I watched the film. I was never the same after that. I guess, I was born a Lugosi fan. I read everything I could possibly get my hands on regarding his career and life -- he inspired me to try and pursue a career in acting, and he was my teacher who I learned more from than anyone else in my life then, now and throughout the time I was growing up. He was A major influence on me in every aspect, as well as creatively speaking, I wanted to be just like him. Whenever something terrible goes bad in my life I watch one of his films, and life doesn't seem so bad because he provides me with solace that few others do.

2) What are your favorite Bela films and why?

GAUTHIER:  I adore everything Bela ever was in. It is almost impossible to select which films are my all time favorites because I deeply love them all. The Raven, The Black Cat, White Zombie, Dracula, The Return of The Vampire, Chandu The Magician, Son Of Frankenstein, Broadminded along with Spooks Run Wild, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and Bride Of The Monster stand out as some of my favorites, but as I have said every production he was in is worthwhile and something close (and) deep in my heart.

3) You have a successful Facebook Lugosi page. How does that assist in your study and appreciation of Lugosi and what it is like to interact with Bela fans across the world?

GAUTHIER: My page "A Celebration of The Life and Art of Bela Lugosi" has brought together all loyal Lugosi aficionados from all corners of the globe. We are very different from other groups, we emphasize on the great things he did, as an artist and as a man. We are sophisticated and the page is held very sacred to me, a safe haven for serious Lugosi fans. We also encourage other artists to share their art, whether it be performance, literature or material arts, it is welcomed and valued and always appreciated and respected. It has brought me to encounter and become acquainted with like hearted people who revel in celebration of the great man's life and work.

4) Can you tell us about your novel in progress about Bela?

GAUTHIER: My novel being written to honor Lugosi is a labor of love I have been meticulously crafting with unwavering devotion for a number of years. I believe that at the end of his life he would have really appreciated this type of material I am writing to honor my hero. I am not going to say too much on the subject because it is a work fathomed deep in progress. But it is for Mr. Lugosi and I have the inclination he would be very pleased with it, and even moved. I have been advised to write a screenplay -- but I much prefer to honor him in a novel, as I do not think that there are any such actors that can bring proper justice to emulating the masterful Bela Lugosi.

5) You've had poetry about Bela published. Can you share a little bit with the blog? 

GAUTHIER: I have written several poems for Lugosi, you may read some below. I have had a few Lugosi poems published when I was an adolescent but they are nothing in contrast to what I have written as of these passed few years in accordance to the novel and certain pieces of poetry dedicated to my Hero.

6) What's' it like motivating yourself to write about Bela? AND 7) You have an impressive amount of graphics and other art relating to Bela and his career. You were acknowledge in the recent book on Dracula's Daughter. What are some memories of Bela that you wish were available? I can think of finding a video of a Dracula play.

GAUTHIER:  I am motivated to write  my novel and pay homage to my Patron Saint who has above anyone else, in any force, shape or form, been there for me. He has touched my life beyond what words will ever be properly able to convey. The man has saved my life. I owe whatever success I have now and if any awaits me in the future entirely to him. He is my artistic savior, my creative muse, the source of what dreams are made of, my ultimate Hero, my greatest friend and my surrogate father and the father to all the lost children of the night- He is and always has been my greatest friend. I write because I must, inside the crux of my heart he guides me, and I am just offering my contribution to the world that honors The Great Bela Lugosi. 

8) Do you have a bucket list of Lugosi related goals, travel, conversations with scholars?

GAUTHIER: Imagine what it would have been like to see him on  the stage or to have known him as a friend in person. I wish I could have seen him on stage and that I were alive to help him when the tragic circumstances took the betterment of his life towards the final years. I wish I was alive, affluent and be able to finance any production of his choice. I would have done anything for him. He deserved so much more than what hand of cards he had been dealt by lady fate.

9) Finally, let a novice Lugosi fan know of four essential films and three essential books.

GAUTHIER: For a novice Lugosi fan  I would encourage them to watch The Black Cat, Broadminded, The Raven, Dracula and The Return of The Vampire. As far as books go, I have found that each biographer offers something unique in all books related to Lugosi. But I would recommend Arthur Lennig's The Immortal Count, Robert Cremer's The Man Behind The Cape, The Films Of Bela Lugosi by Richard Bojarski,  Leo Wiltshire's Reign Of The Vampire- A Tribute To The Perseverance of Bela Lugosi and of course, first and foremost anything written by Gary Don Rhodes and Bill Kaffenberger  

Thanks so much, Christopher. We appreciate you sharing your observations with us. Below are a couple of Christopher's poems:

Thank you Bela Lugosi 

Father To All Lost Children Of The Night

The lunar jewel drinks in the turmoil 
Nightmares evolve into mollifying dreamscapes surrealistic beyond rational belief
The old creaky baronial movie house breathes in the crux of its heart a docile sigh of relief 
Your motion pictures of sparkling black and white gold immerse the great looming movie screen, You are my indisputable Hero and friend who sometimes visits my dreams
When such reverential occasion transpires 
To feed the creative fires 
Beneath the moon beams 
Neither foe, nor victim nor vampiric concubines are able to bellow a scream 
The nightmare is no longer a nightmare, but a beautiful dream.
You should have been given so much more 
Than just the Horror genre you bestowed upon the entertainment industry, But yet you have left us with your undying legacy and have achieved perpetual immortality 
And have long become a phantasmagorical Hollywood Legend and forceful source of so much folklore,
Bela you have everlasting legions of fans who truly adore 
Every contribution an artistic actor and humanitarian man you are loved forevermore 
You shield me behind the sanctuary of your sheltering protective vampire cape and offer me solace from the hateful world abroad 
And when you end each performance, I humbly applaud
For there is no greater Actor 
At least that is my opinion and the law within my domain 
If I had not discovered you my life would have never been the same.
The world praises and thanks you for all you have given and done
In the end you have defeated the exploitive traitors and have everlastingly won
A place in the elysian Hollywood constellation of riveting and celebrated luminaries and Stars 
Your pathos is not forgotten but healed have the scars 
You are my deepest friend and ultimate Hero above all
May you continue to live on as your dynasty shall forever enthrall 
Thank you Bela, my Hero and friend for all you have done
Let us watch the lunar jewel vanish and bask in the morning warmth and rise of the sun

---- Christopher R. Gauthier

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Bela, you changed the face of the golden age silver screen
Your memory comes to mind in the cast of the full moon and its radiant beam
Beyond all compare you have captured the heart and imbued us all with mystical intrigue, you are in a class lone to itself in your very own artistic league--
You have helped so many by the brave examples you've set
In another life I feel in my heart we must've met
And knew each other as very close friends
from then to eternity my awe and adulation knows no end.
I wish I could have given you so very much more than what hand of cards you were dealt, you persevered against in the face of adversity and were always humbled without the shadow of a doubt,
For the love your fans expressed to you over the years,
and to all your lost children of the night you wipe away the tears.
What a symbol of hope you are to us all
You lift up the crestfallen when they stumble and fall.
I have known no greater friend throughout the entirety of my life
and on behalf of us all We thank you for all you have done in the howl of the night
Our Hero, Our Friend and Eradicator of woeful doom
You reveal the comfort that is immersed in the gloom-
of things that are macabre and beyond the realms furthermore
You conjure the indisputable magic and open the mystical door
leaving us all wanting your Genius forevermore.
My friend you are with me in these darkened times I am going thru
I know that I can always depend on the nobility that is you.
You will never fully know how much you have touched my life and the cores of my soul, in both your life and in every celluloid role,
May peace forever be present in your family and in the crux of your golden heart
My great friend your legacy will never depart
like The Immortal Count Dracula, you will live forever in the annals of time
And you shall also be remembered for being ever so kind
To all the lonesome lives you have brought solace and touched
You, who have given everything of yourself, so very much
In you I know I have a friend, as in my heart you do in mine.
Take care Bela, my greatest friend
My love for you always is boundless without end.

-- Christopher R. Gauthier