I have .01, at best, to
offer, but I do want to take a moment to pay my respects to Ray
Harryhausen, who died today in London at the age of 92.
Like most fantasy-fueled kids
of bygone eras, in the days before CGI and long before the advent of IMAX and
the like, I saved up my lunch money to go to the movies on Saturdays. I must
have caught revival matinees of Mighty Joe Young, The Valley of Gwangi and the Sinbad
movies dozens of times, and was an established fan by the time Clash of the Titans
was released in 1981. Though it’s not considered his best, I’ll never forget a
single frame of that film. I still love Bebo, Pegasus, Calibos’s romantic,
tragic riddles, Andromeda and Perseus… and of course, The Kraken. Pure
fantasy, pure fun.
When I became the on-camera
reporter and interviewer for the SyFy Channel (actually, I was there when they
were still Sci-Fi!), I was lucky enough to interview Ray Harryhausen a number
of times, and cover some rather spirited panels and Q&As featuring himself
and “the other Ray” (Bradbury, who passed on last year). To be in the presence
of such intelligent, down to earth, and truly legendary figures in the genre is
to be humbled indeed.
Ray Harryhausen was one of
the kindest, most accessible, well-spoken and brilliant people I ever
interviewed. Respect.
-- Staci Layne Wilson
