In a recent post I talked about how I got to cross off a bucket list item last month when Pip and I attended HorrorHound Weekend in Indianapolis and I got to meet Barry Bostwick. The last line of that particular post I ended like this:
“The weekend didn’t end there… I had another “nightmarish” encounter at the same show. But that will be covered in another post.”
And finally… here’s the other post. If you couldn’t gather by the lead in (and the picture to the right) I had the incredible pleasure of meeting the man behind the Freddy Krueger makeup Mr. Robert Englund! After an incredibly long day waiting in lines, watching panels and taking in the rest of the HorrorHound weekend, we made our way to Robert’s signing room.
Robert seemed to genuinely love interacting with his fans and wasn’t just going through the motions. He took time to speak to each and every person, record voice mail messages, go into his iconic Freddy voice for video clips and personalize each and every autograph he signed. Even after a full day at the show where he was signing, interacting, being on panels and going through photo shoots, Robert STILL had more energy than anyone in the room. It was absolutely a site to be seen.
If you’d like a more full recap of the weekend’s activities, you’ve got TWO versions you can check out from ScareTissue.com: Pip’s Recap or Chewie’s Recap.
As I was sitting in Robert’s signing room I was trying to figure out just what the hell I was going to say when I got to meet this horror icon. Technically, I’d “met” him a few hours earlier when I got my picture taken with him, but that was quite literally about 8 seconds worth of “screen time”. I didn’t want to go with something lame like, “What’s your favorite horror movie?” or “Would you ever want to play Freddy again?” (which would be fucking awesome by the way) so I decided to go with something a little bit outside the box.
One thing that I noticed while walking around the HorrorHound show floor was how many kids were there. Like… young kids. There was one little girl in particular, maybe like 10, dressed head to toe in Freddy Krueger gear. Sweater, hat, glove… the whole nine yards. And while I love this horror genre like no other (hence ScareTissue.com) as a dad I’m just not quite ready to share my love for all things gore with my kids.
When it was my chance to meet the man I took the opportunity to honestly thank him for his work. Whether you like horror or not you really do have to give it to the guy… he’s an AMAZING actor that has a really great body of work (even outside the Nightmare On Elm Street world). I then had a brief conversation about kids and the horror genre, when they should be introduced to it and fandom in general. I can’t quite remember all the details, but it was an amazing couple of minutes where I got to truly interact with Robert and his wife (ironically named Nancy). Mrs. Englund thanked me for not sharing her husband’s films with my boys quite yet and said there would be plenty of time in the future for that. Class act.
Robert – thank you. Not only for an incredible career as an actor, but for being such an awesome guy. Thanks for really enjoying this part of your job and for interacting with your fans on such a personal level. You most certainly are “The Man”. I can honestly say that the experience, celebrity photo op and autograph was absolutely worth every penny.
‘Welcome To Prime Time Bitch!’ ~ Robert Englund
This was an absolutely amazing experience that I’ll never forget. It was certainly a non-traditional Pip/Chewie weekend, but one that I wouldn’t change. The next time we get together Pip and I will return (for possibly the last time???) to take on the Beeramid as WrestleMania XXX will be held April 6th, 2014. Stay tuned!!!
Way cool…
Thanks man… SO much fun. Definitely a bucket list item.