#Robb Weller

[littlequeenies]

May Pang interviewed by Geraldo Rivera and shown in an unknown episode of "Entertaintment This Week" hosted by Robb Weller. Part 1 of 2.

This was also broadcasted on a 1988 TV program called "A Current Affair", episode "John Lennon: The Naked Truth. Part 2" on October 18, 1988.

You can watch it on youtube here.

[70s80sandbeyond]

Robb Weller + Leeza Gibbons, 1988

[theultimatefan]

Zachary Levi, Christopher Lloyd, ‘Star Trek’ Q&As Among Top FAN EXPO Cleveland Programming Panels

From celebrity Q&As to industry, cosplay, gaming, anime and entertaining, informative sessions from all areas of pop culture, FAN EXPO Cleveland presents its collection of nearly 150 programing panels and meetups during the event, Friday through Sunday, March 24-26 at Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland. There’s truly something for every fan and every taste every hour of the show into the evening throughout all three days of the convention, right until Sunday’s 5 p.m. finish.

FAN EXPO Cleveland celebrity guests like Zachary Levi (Shazam!, “Chuck”), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future, “Taxi”), “Star Trek” franchise standouts Ethan Peck and Anson Mount, Carl Weathers (“The Mandalorian,” Rocky), Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Endgame), Peter Weller (RoboCop, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension), Emily Swallow (“The Mandalorian”) and others will conduct interactive sessions with fans, headlining the thorough slate. There are dozens of informative, entertaining panels by superstar creators as well as cosplay, gaming, trivia, film, horror and other pop culture themed sessions.

Fans can review the entire event schedule at fanexpohq.com/fanexpocleveland/schedule. Most panels are free with event admission, and dates/times are subject to change. Just a few of the highlights include:

Friday: • 2:30 p.m., Opening Celebration, Cosplay Corner near entrance • 3 p.m., Animation Celebration, Top 10 Animated Cartoons with Joe Wos, Theater #3, Room #25BC • 4 p.m., Breaking into Comics with Matthew Clark, Chris Ehnot, Martin Pierro and Mike Sangiacomo, Room #22 • 4 p.m., Get Ready for a Fun Time with Kellen Goff, Theater #2, Room #26 • 5 p.m., Let’s Talk Toga! My Hero Academia’s Leah Clark Q&A, Theater #3, Room #25BC • 5 p.m., Exploring Strange New Worlds with Anson Mount and Ethan Peck, Main Theater, Show Floor • 6 p.m., Worse Case Ontario: Meet the Cast of Trailer Park Boys (Mike Smith, John Paul Tremblay, Robb Wells), Show Floor Stage • 6 p.m., Yuyu Hakusho Q&A with Justin Cook, Theater #3, Room #25BC • 8 p.m., Drink & Draw with Joe Wos, Workshop Room, Room #20 Saturday: • 10 a.m., Celebrating 25 Years of Pokemon with Pokemon: The First Movie, Theater #3, Room #25BC • 11 a.m., From Kirk to Kraglin: Spotlight on Sean Gunn, Main Theater, Show Floor • 11 a.m., Movies: Cleveland Takes the Leading Role with the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, Room #24 • Noon, Shouting Shazam! and other Heroic Tales with Zachary Levi and Jack Dylan Grazer, Main Theater, Show Floor • 1 p.m., Autobots Roll Out! With Peter Cullen, Theater #2, Room #26 • 1 p.m., It is a Special Screening. Celebrating “The Office,” Theater #3, Room #25BC • 2 p.m., Let’s Talk Titans! Q&A with Josh Grelle and Trina Nishimura, Theater #2, Room #26 • 2 p.m., This is the Way: Exploring “The Mandalorian” with Emily Swallow, Main Theater, Show Floor • 3 p.m., A Return to “The Office” with Accounting, Supplier Relations and Sales with Leslie David Baker, Kate Flannery and Oscar Nuñez, Main Theater, Show Floor • 3 p.m., Spotlight on Legendary Writer and Editor Jim Shooter, Room #22 • 4 p.m., Babbling Brook: A one-piece Q&A with Ian Sinclair, Theater #3, Room #25BC • 4 p.m., Party Pictionary with Chris Ehnot and Uko Smith, Room #22 • 5 p.m., The Siegel and Shuster Society: Superman and Cleveland, Room #22 • 5:15 p.m., The FAN EXPO Cleveland Cosplay Craftsmanship Cup, Theater #2, Room #26 • 7:30 p.m., Super Saturday Pinball Party, Superelectric Pinball Parlor, 6500 Detroit Ave. • 8 p.m., FAN EXPO Cleveland Official Afterparty, The Velvet Dog, 1280 W. 6th St., Free admission with FAN EXPO Cleveland badge Sunday: • 11 a.m., Great Scott! Meet Christopher Lloyd, Main Theater, Show Floor • Noon, Creators on Superman: Celebrating 86 Years with Matthew Clark, Tom Grummett, Jim Calafiore and Mike Sangiacomo, Room #22 • Noon, Oh Bother! Exploring the Many Voices of Jim Cummings, Room #26 • Noon, Plus Ultra! The “My Hero Academia” Voice Actors Panel with Leah Clark, Justin Cook, Josh Grelle, Trina Nishimura and Ian Sinclair, Main Theater, Show Floor • 2 p.m., Larp Writing 101 with Gisido Larp, Room #24 • 2 p.m, No Rematch: Carl Weathers Spotlight, Main Theater, Show Floor • 3 p.m., All About Honor! Meet Dante Basco, Main Theater, Show Floor • 3 p.m, Too Many to Count! All the Voices of Tara Strong, Theater #2, Room #26

Tickets for FAN EXPO Cleveland are on sale at http://www.fanexpocleveland.com now, including individual single day, 3-day and Ultimate Fan Packages for adults, youths and families. Advance pricing and VIP packages are also available now, with dozens of special benefits including priority entry, limited edition collectibles, exclusive items and much more.

Cleveland is the fifth event on the 2023 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events/.

[the-ram-67]

“Are you married to a slob? Tomorrow at nine!” 

[junker-town]

The first Wave sparked a decades-long cheerleading feud between a man in jorts and a future ‘Extra’ co-host

Learn the story of “Krazy” George Henderson and the birth of the biggest stadium craze of the 1980s.

The first recorded Wave in sports history was led by “Krazy” George Henderson at a Yankees-A’s playoff game on October 15, 1981. Barely two weeks later, on Halloween, a former Washington Huskies cheerleader named Robb Weller returned to his alma mater and led the crowd in the Wave. Weller subsequently claimed to have invented the Wave, and would continue to do so for years.

It seems pretty cut-and-dried that Krazy George beat Weller to the punch here, but remember: There was no internet in 1981. There were only three TV channels. People read newspapers every day. Sixteen days may seem like a lot of time between Henderson’s Wave and Weller’s, but that’s not even enough time to travel from Oakland to Seattle on a donkey, which is how most people traveled back then.

Weller, who would later host “Extra” with Mary Hart (before John Tesh took over), deserves some credit, though: Other Seattle sports teams adopted the Wave, as did several of the Huskies’ visiting opponents, most notably Michigan. The Wave wasn’t born in Seattle, but it spread from there.

And while we’re spreading credit around, the first Wave wasn’t in Seattle OR Oakland, but Edmonton. Krazy George led the first Wave in Edmonton during Wayne Gretzky’s heyday with the Oilers. Alas, there’s no recording of it, so it sits in the historical back seat.

For all of this information and more in narrative moving-picture form, click on the video above. If you found this page because you were trying to Google something else, First Wave was a Canadian sci-fi show at the turn of the century, and 1st Wave was the alternative music scene of the 1980s.

[keithdcourtney]

Top 6 Fingerstyle Guitar Christmas Albums

The classic melodies of Christmas music are just crying out for some acoustic fingerstyle arrangement. So here are six great albums that hit the spot, from fingerstyle greats like Tommy Emmanuel and Lawrence Juber.

The arrangements vary – from full band with Chet Atkins, to the strippped down, grooving acoustic of Adam Rafferty – but the holiday cheer is always on tap.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

1. Christmas With Chet Atkins

One of the most underrated holiday platters of all-time, Christmas with Chet Atkins shows the father of country-rock guitar performing 16 holiday standards in his own incomparable style. Although the uptempo stuff such as “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Winter Wonderland” are excellent readings, it’s in the slower-paced selections that Chet Atkins really shines. His version of “Silver Bells” is, quite simply, one of the best versions of the standard ever, and possibly one of Atkins’ most arresting performances of all-time. Also excellent is the medley of “The Coventry Carol” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman.” Overall, criminally underrated, this disc should be rated up there with such fodder as Charlie Brown Christmas. Gorgeous.

Track list :

Jingle Bell Rock

Winter Wonderland

Jolly Old St. Nicholas

White Christmas

Blue Christmas

Jingle Bells

Silver Bells

The Little Drummer Boy

Medley: The Coventry Carol/God Rest Ye, Merry Gentleme

The First Noel

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

O Come All Ye Faithful

Deck the Halls

Silent Night

Preview Album

2. Christmas Memories by Tommy Emmanuel

Christmas Memories is a new album of holiday music from Tommy Emmanuel, showcasing new arrangements of favourites such as ‘Jingle Bells,’ ‘Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!,’ and ‘White Christmas.’ In addition, the album includes three original tunes that are sure to become instant Christmas classics, including ‘Christmas Time,’ ‘Let’s Make a Christmas Memory’ and ‘Christmas Memories.’ With Emmanuel on guitar and vocals, the album features long-time friend and collaborator John Knowles CGP on guitar, Pat Bergeson on guitar and harmonica, and Annie Sellick on vocals. The album serves as a follow up to 2011’s ‘All I Want For Christmas,’ his first-ever holiday album.

Track list :

Christmas Time

Jingle Bell Rock

Jingle Bells

Artificial Christmas Tree

Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Let’s Make A Christmas Memory

Winter Wonderland

White Christmas

The Christmas Song

Christmas Memories/Waltzing Matilda

Amazing Grace

Preview Album

3. Winter Guitar by Laurence Juber

Track list :

Good King Wenceslaus

The Holly & the Ivy

Angels We Have Heard on High

Peace of the Sky

Away in a Manager

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Jesus Joy of Man’s Desire

The Tea Kettle Waltz

The Bells of Paradise

Prelude & Silent Night

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

In Bittersweet Winter

Preview Album

4. A Christmas Guitar Celebrationby Adam Rafferty

A set of popular Christmas carols and tunes arranged by Adam Rafferty for solo acoustic guitar, recorded with all Adam’s combination of funky grooving guitar, his jazz influence, and bass-over-melody style. Adam claims that he switched from jazz into fingerstyle guitar after hearing Tommy Emmanuel. Seems it was the right step as his popularity has rapidly grown.

Track list :

We Three Kings

What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)

Angels We Have Heard On High

Jingle Bells

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

Deck The Halls

O Come All Ye Faithful

Joy To The World

Hark The Herald Angels Sing

O Come O Come Emmanuel

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

Silent Night

Carol Of the Bells

Little Drummer Boy

Christmas Don’t Be Late (The Chipmunk Song)

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

O Holy Night

We Wish You A Merry Christmas/Auld Lang Syne

Preview Album

5. Christmas Soli by John Fahey

Guitarist John Fahey’s concept of Christmas music was a little different from the norm. The acoustic guitarist’s visionary 1968 set, The New Possibility: John Fahey’s Guitar Soli Christmas Album, was a collection of solo steel-string adaptations of traditional Yuletide melodies (“Joy to the World,” “We Three Kings of Orient Are,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”). It reportedly sold more than 100,000 copies on Fahey’s own Takoma label, tabbing it as his best-selling album, and inspired several more memorable holiday sets from the guitarist.

All four of those brilliant albums are generously represented on Fantasy’s newly compiled Christmas Guitar Soli With John Fahey, a 14-song compilation of highlights from Fahey’s Yuletide catalog. Scheduled for October 29 CD release, the collection provides a soundtrack for the upcoming holiday season and boasts newly created cover art by Tom Weller, who designed the artwork for many of Fahey’s original Takoma albums, that’s done in the “wood print” style of those classic sets.

Track list:

Joy To The World (Instrumental)

Medley: Hark, The Herald Angels Sing / O Come All Ye Faithful (Instrumental)

We Three Kings Of Orient Are (Instrumental)

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Fantasy (Instrumental)

Auld Lang Syne (Instrumental)

Oh Holy Night (Instrumental)

Christmas Medley: Oh, Tannenbaum/Angels We Have Head On High/Jingle Bells (Instrumental)

Carol of the Bells (Instrumental) [feat. Richard Ruskin]

The First Noel

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

Silent Night, Holy Night

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town [feat. Terry Robb]

Medley: Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly/We Wish You A Merry Christmas [feat. Terry Robb]

The Christmas Song [feat. Terry Robb]

Preview Album

6. Majesty & Wonder: An Instrumental Christmas by Phil Keaggy

Phil Keaggy is a giant of a player with a long history, stretching from his 70’s Beatles-influenced singer-songwriter albums to more recent acoustic fingerstyle albums.

This album includes the London Festival Orchestra and serves to put his impeccable playing on display against a background of beautiful orchestral arrangements.

Track list :

What Child Is This?

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring

Good Christian Men Rejoice

Silent Night

Coventry Carol

O Come O Come Emmanuel

For Hearth and Home

Do You Hear What I Hear?

The First Noel

Nativity Suite: Visitation

Nativity Suite: Shepards Song

Nativity Suite: Flight Into Egypt

O Holy Night!

Preview Album

The Spotify Playlist

The post Top 6 Fingerstyle Guitar Christmas Albums appeared first on The Guitar Journal.

[littlequeenies]

May Pang interviewed by Geraldo Rivera and shown in an unknown episode of "Entertaintment This Week" hosted by Robb Weller. Part 2 of 2.

This was also broadcasted on a 1988 TV program called "A Current Affair", episode "John Lennon: The Naked Truth. Part 2" on October 18, 1988.

Last 4 photos from her documentary "The Lost Weekend: A Love Story".

[pardontheglueman]

Marching Through the Streets of Rhydyfelin

A response to The Wales Arts Review’s Roundtable discussion

Pop Music: Searching for the young soul rebels- why has pop given up on politics.

For an unreconstructed Socialist, who is also a passionate believer in the power of protest music, this opening discussion promised to be the ideal way to launch The Wales Arts Review’s much anticipated Millennium Centre symposium. The inclusion of Rhian E Jones (Critic and author of Clampdown: Pop-Cultural Wars on Class and Gender), Richard Parfitt (Songwriter / Former member of 60ft Dolls and senior lecturer in Music and Performing Arts, Bath Spa University) and Gray Taylor (writer and member of Goldie Lookin’ Chain), on a panel to be chaired by our very own Craig Austin, promised a forensic examination of a key cultural question. We seemed in safe hands, what could go wrong?

Perhaps the writing was on the wall, even before the debate began. Following Adrian Masters and Adam Somerset’s warmly received introductory remarks, most of the critics present decided to take up the undoubtedly tempting option of attending the launch of The Wales Arts Review’s excellent ‘Fiction Map Of Wales’ anthology in an adjoining room. It was immediately noticeable how many younger critics had joined the exodus – further proof perhaps of youthful dis-engagement with politics, or pop, or both?  A quick glance around the Victor Salvi Function Room revealed that just three dozen or so hardy souls had remained behind to man the barricades.

I wasn’t altogether surprised. The evening before, I had cast my bread upon the listless waters of the internet, randomly pitching phrases into the all-powerful search engine like ‘Why pop isn’t political anymore?’ or ‘Why isn’t pop angry?’, to be met by and large, with barely a ripple upon the stagnant pond of political discourse. An inexact science for sure, but somewhat discouraging, nevertheless.There was the obligatory rallying call by Billy Bragg, but little else. A piece in Village Voice, from 2006, another American piece ‘Apocalypse Then: Why Rock isn’t angry any more’, dating from 2010, a short analysis by Smashing Pumpkin’s frontman Billy Corgan, headed ‘Billy Corgan thinks rock isn’t reaching teenagers anymore’ and, lastly, a blog by John Robb, ‘Why politics and music don’t mix anymore’, which provided a glimmer of hope, or, at least one heartfelt response to it did -

‘Well maybe some people just aren’t trying

We are

Hack attack

We just put it out today,

Suburban Mousewife

This seemed to warrant investigation. A quick search revealed a promising list of song titles that made explicit the radical, feminist protest music, I could expect to hear – ‘Botox Skin’, ‘Shopping’, ‘Gulags for Slags’, while their handful of youtube videos unveiled an all-girl, multi-racial, five-piece combo, playing a spiky brand of garage rock, behind a lead singer wielding a mean tambourine. It looked and sounded too good to be true, and indeed it was. A quick glance at their facebook page revealed the following message, dated 13th Feb 2013:

‘Big thanks to all you lovely people for your support. The band is on an extended break at the moment.’

An ill omen perhaps? The waste of a bloody excellent band name, certainly.

Suburban Mousewife

Disappointingly, the panel’s discussion never really got past first base, partly as a result of unavoidable time constraints, but mainly because the debate was strangely sidetracked into a cultural cul de sac which, to paraphrase Dylan, might best be termed Stuck inside of Newport, with the Bristol blues again. This amiable detour down memory lane was entertaining enough in its own right, but did little to address the wider political context the panel was supposed to be engaging with. Craig and Rhian tried bravely to steer the discussion away from the confines of South East Wales with a perceptive analysis of Ben Drew’s ‘Ill Manors,’ a genuinely threatening pop-protest song. Unfortunately, the forum never quite re-focused itself on the central proposition.

Incredibly, the whole debate passed by without any reference to the current political landscape. For the best part of twenty years, the mainstream political parties have been busy stealing each other’s clothes, cross-dressing their way to the mythical centre ground of British Politics. The Tories actually went into the last General Election with a manifesto commitment to ring-fence spending on the NHS, something which Labour, its creator and proud champion, steadfastly refused to do. Furthermore, the coalition between Britain’s then most right-wing and left-wing mainstream parties, desperately cobbled together after the last election, has increasingly served to apply a brake to radical dissent. It’s in this context of unprincipled allegiances and bipartisan accommodations, that the weak-kneed response of today’s musicians can best be understood. Equally, the genuine prospect of this now fragile consensus being smashed apart at the next election by UKIP, and how this just might kick-start a slumbering protest movement into action, went altogether unexplored. It’s entirely possible that the resurrection of Rock against Racism, (the historical significance of which was barely mentioned), may now be more than this 52 yr old pop fan’s ultimate fantasy. In a fevered post-election climate, where the race card will not only be played, but undoubtedly dealt from the bottom of the pack too, an imaginative grassroots resistance could take many forms. Rap against Racism, anyone?

Similarly, Two–Tone, another protest movement with its roots in the politics of race, was never mentioned at all, despite it arguably producing the greatest pop protest song of all time – The Special’s number 1 hit,’ Ghost Town’. Indeed, UB40, a band on the fringes of Two-Tone, charted regularly at the time, with the most radical sequence of songs ever to infiltrate the playlists of mainstream radio. Between March 1980 and August 1981 the band scored five top twenty hits with songs about Third world starvation; ‘Food For Thought’, Racism in America; ‘King’, Nuclear war; ‘Earth Dies Screaming’, Atheism; ‘Don’t Let It Pass You By’, and Mass Unemployment; ‘One In Ten’.

Plausible reasons for the decline of political pop were flagged up, but not followed up, (the immediacy of the internet as a first preference for those with a personal manifesto, and conventional record company insouciance, being amongst the most convincing explanations.)  At the same time, rather too much of the discussion was given over to boxing Ed Sheeran about the ears, not that he didn’t deserve it following his cringe-worthy attempts to gladhand David Cameron at a recent gig. Even here, though, the chance was missed to broaden the discussion, by asking tough questions about why the recent folk revival was so insipid and non-political in nature.

Even where the discussion briefly came to life - every one of the panelists made perceptive comments about the impact of Brit Pop, and particularly the best song to come out of it, Pulp’s ‘Common People’- the theme could not be sustained. In all fairness, I should acknowledge here, the herculean nature of this particular task. It was a time after all, when Tony Blair was ruthlessly triangulating dissident opinion out of existence, constructing New Labour’s big tent, in which there was room for everyone, except Socialists of course. This was an age when there wasn’t any politics in politics, never mind in popular music.

Pop Music may be a young person’s game, but in the year when Pete Seeger passed away, where was the discussion about the role of the elder statesman in popular culture? Billy Bragg, our Seeger, justly escapes censure, but with Springsteen and Young still energetically campaigning in the USA, what do we make of Weller and Costello’s extended leave of absence from the front?

Admittedly, not everything could have been covered in the allotted 50 minutes, though it was clearly a mistake to guillotine the Q&A at the end, where some of these issues might have been taken up. The critic who ignored Craig’s genuine apology, and rattled off her question about the dominance of ex-public school pupils in today’s chart, caused quite a stir. I too, would have liked the chance to ask whether anybody had actually heard of Suburban Mousewife, and if not, whose fault would that have been - the band’s, the mediums or ourselves (in our guise as both critic and consumer)?  Or, I might have posited my pet theory that The Mighty Sparrow’s 1983 Soca classic, ‘Capitalism Gone Mad’, a diatribe about the cost of living crisis in Trinidad, if re-released now, in an age of economic meltdown, might just be the spark that ignites a world-wide revolution. The first verse alone, is enough to persuade me to get the red flag down from the attic, dust it off and start waving it about the streets of Rhydyfelin-

‘You got to be a millionaire or some kind of petit-bourgeoisie

Any time you’re living here in this country

You got to be in skulduggery, or making money illicitly

To live like somebody in this country

It’s outrageous and insane, them crazy prices in the Port Of Spain

And like the merchants going out dey brain

And the working man, like he only toiling in vain.’

The Mighty Sparrow - Champion of the Oppressed

Finally, though the panel saw little cause for optimism, the radicalisation of Scottish Youth in the referendum campaign has apparently made little impression on our guests, there is every prospect of a generational re-engagement with politics. The next election could be something of a watershed for Wales. A crass marriage of convenience between UKIP and the Tories could see things turn ugly very quickly. The cheap shot mantra “English votes for English laws”, has the potential to disseminate the seeds of division throughout the UK, which in all probability, will be seriously destabilised by massive constitutional change and the endless re-packaging of austerity. More positively though, a space seems to be opening up on the left, that an enlightened Green Party are well positioned to occupy.

England might be on the verge of electing the most right-wing Government in its history, at the exact same time that the people of Scotland are voting into office its most left-wing Parliament. Trapped in the vacuum, between two opposing philosophies, Wales will have to forge a new identity for itself. The conditions will then exist for freshly radicalised, free-thinking artists, to do the same.  

[theultimatefan]

‘My Hero Academia,’ ‘My Little Pony,’ ‘Avatar,’ More Voice Actors Add Depth To FAN EXPO Cleveland

The Voice Actors section of the celebrity area at FAN EXPO Cleveland rounds out nicely with 13 stars representing anime, animation and gaming at the event, set for March 24-26 at Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland. “My Hero Academia” leads the anime roster with five standouts, including Leah Clark, Justin Cook, Ian Sinclair, Josh Grelle and Trina Nishimura along with Dameon Clarke (“Dragon Ball Z”). Animation guests Peter Cullen (“Transformers”), Dan Gilvezan (“Transformers”), Tara Strong (“My Little Pony”), Dante Basco (“Avatar: The Last Airbender”), Nolan North (“Rick and Morty”) and Jim Cummings (“Winnie The Pooh”)plus the gaming world’s Kellen Goff (“Five Nights at Freddy’s”) complete today’s additions.

In addition to their work on “My Hero Academia,” Clark (“Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid,” “Fairy Tail”), Cook (“Dragon Ball Z,” “Yu Yu Hakusho”), Sinclair (“Dragon Ball Z,” “Golden Kamuy”), Grelle (“Date a Live,” “Attack on Titan”) and Nishimura (“Attack on Titan,” “Monster Hunter Stories: Ride On” have all voiced characters on scores of other anime and other projects. Clarke (“Borderlands video game), Strong (“Teen Titans Go!,” “DC Super Hero Girls”), Basco (voice, “Star Wars Rebels,” non-animated, Hook), North (“Blaze and the Monster Machine,” “Young Justice”), Cummings (“Curious George,” “Mickey Mouse’s Mixed-Up Adventures”) and Goff (“JoJo's Bizarre Adventure,” also “My Hero Academia”) each have prolific careers in many films, shows and games.

The 13 voices complement a solid FAN EXPO Cleveland celebrity lineup that includes Zachary Levi (SHAZAM!, “Chuck”), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future, “Taxi”),“Star Trek” franchise standouts Ethan Peck and Anson Mount, Carl Weathers (“The Mandalorian,” Rocky), Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Endgame), Peter Weller (RoboCop, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension), Emily Swallow (“The Mandalorian”); Jack Dylan Grazer (Shazam, It); “The Office” trio of Kate Flannery, Oscar Nuñez and Leslie David Baker and the stars of “Trailer Park Boys” Mike Smith, John Paul Tremblay and Robb Wells.

Tickets for FAN EXPO Cleveland are on sale at http://www.fanexpocleveland.com now, including individual single day, 3-day and Ultimate Fan Packages for adults, youths and families. Advance pricing and VIP packages are also available now, with dozens of special benefits including priority entry, limited edition collectibles, exclusive items and much more.

Cleveland is the fifth event on the 2023 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events/.

[theultimatefan]

Legends Shooter, Grummett, ‘Starman’ Artist Harris Among Top FAN EXPO Cleveland Creators March 24-26

Artist Alley at FAN EXPO Cleveland will be brimming with talent with today’s announcement of the leading creators attending the event, March 24-26 at Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland. Along with legends like Jim Shooter (Marvel Comics editor-in-chief, founder of Valiant, Defiant and Broadway Comics) and Tom Grummett (artist, “Superman,” “Teen Titans”) and standouts Tony Harris (“Starman,” “Star Wars) and Agnes Garbowska (“DC Super Hero Girls”, “My Little Pony”), fans can meet some of the most talented and influential comics artists and writers across a wide variety of titles and genres all weekend, as well as participate in Q&A’s, interactive demonstration sessions, autographs, commission opportunities and more, making the experience a can’t-miss for comics lovers.

Comics and pop culture fans will notice a strong selection of “Superman” creators as well as themed “Man of Steel” programming, as Cleveland is acknowledged as the “Birthplace of Superman.”

Other special guests attending include John Delaney (“Simpsons,” “Futurama”), Matthew Clark (“Superman,” “Wonder Woman”), Val Mayerik (“Howard the Duck” co-creator), Jim Calafiore (“Exiles,” “Justice League”), Matt Horak (“Spider-Man/Deadpool”), Thom Zahler (“My Little Pony,” “Love and Capes”) and Joe Wos (“WosToons”).

FAN EXPO Cleveland’s deep Artist Alley will also feature Bill Anderson, Jeff Brennan (“The Big Bang Theory,” “Heavy Metal” magazine), Ryan Drost (“Stealth Hammer”), Martin Dunn (Universal Pictures, IDW Publishing), Chris Ehnot (“Half-Elf Ranger,” “Tywin’s Fate”), Ryan Finlay (freelance hand-drawn artist), Michael Gustovich (“Justice Machine,” “Warp!”), Daimon Hampton (UX designer and illustrator), Gus Mauk (“Shi No Kage,” “GI Joe”), Mostafa Moussa (“Batman,” “The Flash”), Ian Chase Nichols (“The Tick,” “Ninja Turtles”), Martin Pierro (“Arthur: The Legend Continues,” “Deep Space Tragedy”), Uko Smith (“FX The Lost Land”), Mark Swan (“A Goofy Movie,” “Monsters on the Run”), Michael Watson (Freestyle Komics), Ken Wheaton (“Futurama,” “I Dream of Jeannie”) and more. The full list is available at https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpocleveland/comic-creators/.

The outstanding creators roster complements the standout FAN EXPO Cleveland celebrity lineup, which includes Christina Ricci (“Wednesday,” Casper), Emily Swallow (“The Mandalorian,” “Supernatural”), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future, “Taxi”), Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Endgame), Carl Weathers (“The Mandalorian,” Rocky), Peter Weller (RoboCop, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension), “Star Trek” franchise stalwarts Ethan Peck and Anson Mount, “The Office” trio of Kate Flannery, Oscar Nuñez and Leslie David Baker and the stars of “Trailer Park Boys” Mike Smith, John Paul Tremblay and Robb Wells.

Tickets for FAN EXPO Cleveland are on sale at http://www.fanexpocleveland.com now, including individual single day, 3-day and Ultimate Fan Packages for adults, youths and families. Advance pricing and VIP packages are also available now, with dozens of special benefits including priority entry, limited edition collectibles, exclusive items and much more.

Cleveland is the fifth event on the 2023 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events/.

ABOUT FAN EXPO HQ FAN EXPO HQ is the largest comic con producer in the world. Collectively it hosts nearly 1 million fans annually at FAN EXPO Portland, FAN EXPO New Orleans, FAN EXPO Vancouver™, Toronto Comicon, FAN EXPO Cleveland, MEGACON Orlando, Calgary Comics & Entertainment Expo, FAN EXPO Philadelphia, FAN EXPO Dallas™, FAN EXPO Denver, FAN EXPO Boston™, FAN EXPO Chicago, FAN EXPO Canada™, Edmonton Comics & Entertainment Expo, Dallas FAN FESTIVAL, and FAN EXPO San Francisco. The latest schedule of events is available on the Website, along with up-to-date ticket information. Discover. Celebrate. Belong.

(cover image: Jim Shooter, credit: Gage Skidmore)

[theultimatefan]

FAN EXPO Cleveland Celebrity Roster Adds Sean Gunn, Carl Weathers, Peter Weller, March 24-26

The FAN EXPO Cleveland celebrity roster, off to a solid start with several major announcements earlier this month, got another big boost today with the addition of three stars from hugely popular franchises from the past five decades up to the present day. Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Endgame), Carl Weathers (“The Mandalorian,” Rocky) and Peter Weller (RoboCop, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension) join a stellar lineup for the event, set for March 24-26 at Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland.

Sean Gunn played “Kraglin” in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and its sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) as well as providing the physical performance via motion capture for “Rocket Raccoon” in both films plus Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder. He also portrayed “Kirk Gleason” throughout the seven-year run of “Gilmore Girls” among his 60+ acting credits.

Carl Weathers, who portrays “Greef Karga” in “The Mandalorian,” first gained acclaim for his role as boxer “Apollo Creed” in the first four Rocky films (1976–85). The former pro football player also has had memorable roles as “George Dillon” in Predator (1987), the title role in Action Jackson (1988), and “Combat Carl” in the Toy Story franchise. Weathers will be joined at FAN EXPO Cleveland by fellow “Mandalorian” standout Emily Swallow, announced last month in the first set of guests.

Accomplished actor, director, voice over artist and occasional professor Peter Weller’s amazing career has taken him from the mean streets of old Detroit to the final frontier of space. He has appeared in more than 50 films and television series, notably in the title role in 1987’s RoboCop and its sequel RoboCop 2 and as the title character in the quirky 1984 sci-fi cult film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.

The three join an already impressive roster that includes Swallow, Christina Ricci (“Wednesday,” Casper), Vincent D'Onofrio (“Daredevil,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”), “Star Trek” franchise standouts Ethan Peck and Anson Mount, “The Office” trio of Kate Flannery, Oscar Nuñez and Leslie David Baker and the stars of “Trailer Park Boys” Mike Smith, John Paul Tremblay and Robb Wells at FAN EXPO Cleveland.

Tickets for FAN EXPO Cleveland are on sale at http://www.fanexpocleveland.com now, including individual single day, 3-day and Ultimate Fan Packages for adults, youths and families. Advance pricing and VIP packages are also available now, with dozens of special benefits including priority entry, limited edition collectibles, exclusive items and much more.

Cleveland is the fifth event on the 2023 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events/.

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You're Never Too Old!

This local variety special from 1979 was made by ABC affiliate WLS Chicago. Starring Lisa Hartman with AM Chicago anchors Robb Weller and Ann Ryerson, the guests are Dr. Hook, Jay Johnson (with his dummy “Squeaky”), The Chicago Honey Bears, and The Great America Singers.