The Horror File: Revenge of Cool Hollywood Horror Trivia

One reason silent screen actor Lon Chaney was so successful was because both his parents were unable to hear or speak, his upbringing enhancing the communications talents he'd call on for Phantom of the Opera (1925), Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), and numerous other silents classics.

At the time the movie was filmed, the largest indoor movie set ever constructed was for Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Built inside a 10,000,000 cubic foot hangar in Mobile, Alabama, it measured 450' x 250' and was 90' tall.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1989) established a new record for movie credits when it came out. 743 credits were listed. A far cry from low budget movies which pad their end credits to make their production look bigger than it is. With computer animation needs, it's likely that Roger Rabbit record has been broken numerous times since its release.

Lou Costello was once a boxer. He was the heavyset half of Abbott and Costello in numerous movies, including genre favorites Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1949), Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955), Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible;e Man (1951), and Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953) with Boris Karloff, one of two films they did with Karloff.

Ted Cassidy, who played Lurch in ABC's "The Addams Family" in the early 60's, was cremated after his death and his urn buried in the back yard. But his widow moved and no one knows where his remains are, so some unsuspecting Los Angelino has Lurch buried in his back yard.

If you don't remember Aunt Harriet from the Batman comic books, it's because the producers of ABC's campy hit show "Batman" invented her. They thought they should head off any implications that might be suggested by an all-male household consisting of a millionaire bachelor, his young ward, and butler by introducing a female influence.

Disappointed with the lack of challenge for her "Star Trek" character, Lt. Uhura, Nichelle Nichols had told show creator Gene Roddenberry she was leaving the show. She changed her mind after meeting that weekend with Martin Luther King, Jr., who, upon learning she was leaving, insisted she stay because of the inspiration her presence on the bridge of the Enterprise gave to African-American women.

Filmmakers of the 1950's who ground out one science-fiction or horror drive-in movie after another routinely designed the poster before they did the movie. Look at the monster movie posters of the 1950's and you can see why. The poster was the selling point and usually much more interesting than the movie itself.

Humphrey Bogart's only horror movie came before his career took off, playing Dr. Maurice Xavier in The Return of Dr. X (1939), a role which threatened to typecast him.