The one and only Vanity Rex and I take a few minutes to talk about our upcoming screenings at Kan-Kan Cinema, American Rickshaw (1989) and Hairspray (1988). From weird televangelism to big hair and dancing, these movies have it all!

To celebrate the 80th birthday of our first and definitely one of our favorite guests, the one and only Lloyd Kaufman! Lloyd and I talk about everything from Oliver Stone's politics to a golden encounter with Lawrence Tierney (After it takes us an embarrassingly long time to come up with his name. Thanks, Producer Jason!) There are also tales of Candy Darling, Auteur Theory, and mentions of melon-heavy breasts. We talk about how Troma came to be, former New York Film Commissioner, Pat Kaufman drops in, our old Producer, Jason crawls up from between my legs to say hello, and Lloyd pontificates on VHS marketing, Making Your Own Damn Movie, and how fast food causes property damage.

Happy Birthday, Uncle Lloyd!!!

Find more of Lloyd at http://watch.troma.com/ and be sure to follow him on Instagram @unclelloydkaufman.

Every day after school, I would take my little latchkey self home and immediately turn on the WAVE TV 3 afternoon movie. They were always things that were not meant for mine young eyes, and I was dealt more than a few traumas from them. Easily in my top three was the 1973 made-for-tv film Outrage with Robert Culp. The scene that did me in was when a group of thugs lured Culp's sweet St. Bernard into the street and ran him over. The drive of that car is today's guest! But don't worry, Tom Leopold is an actual dog lover, and he happens to have done a lot more than just harass Robert Culp.

As an actor he started with a Sidney Lumet film, worked with legends like George Burns and Steve Allen, and was almost The Fonz. As a writer he has written some of the most iconic episodes of beloved shows like Seinfeld and Cheers. He has stories for days and he shared many of them. We also talk about the process of writing for a tv show, the difference between a writer's room and flying solo, and what to do when a clown shows up late to the audition.

Find out more about Tom here:

Instagram

See him at his most dastardly here:

Outrage (Yes, it's cued to that scene, so viewer beware.)

Over the years, Bob Blackburn has become one of the de facto curators of the writings of Ed Wood, Jr. To the point that today he is one half of the Ed Wood, Jr. Estate. Starting with a chance meeting of his then neighbor, Kathy Wood (Pictured above with Bob), Bob has collected all things Eddie from books, to short stories, to unproduced screenplays. He even has one of Ed's last angora sweaters. Bob and I talk about his friendship with Kathy, how he began his collection, and, of course, a lot of Ed Wood, Jr.

His new book, Kathy Wood and I: How I Fell Down the Ed Wood, Jr. Angora Rabbit Hole is available wherever books are sold.

See Bob's Show-N-Tell of Eddie memorabilia here.

Find more Bob here:

Kathy Wood and I

Ed Wood, Jr. Facebook Group

If you would prefer to support one of the last truly independent bookstores in Indiana, you can order directly from Irvington Vinyl and Books, or from Bookshop.org which will support the store, as well.

Dana Gould, Fred Olen Ray, and Bob Blackburn join me to talk about one of the most misunderstood and unfairly maligned filmmakers of all time, Edward D. Wood, Jr. in celebration of what would have been Ed's 100th birthday. I could not have gotten a better group of people to talk to about this topic as Bob has compiled books of Ed's essays and short stories and has just released a book about his friendship with Kathy Wood, Ed's widow. Dana Gould has produced Ed's unproduced scripts and has staged readings of Plan 9 From Outer Space every year for some time now. A very young Fred Olen Ray commissioned an original screenplay from Ed when he first came to Hollywood.

Together, we talk about the movies, the writings, and the man, though we occasionally stray a little off topic. Listeners are bound to come away from this one with a completely different view of a man most people only know through the Tim Burton biopic. This episode was a complete joy for me and I think you will all feel the same.

Bob Blackburn runs the Ed Wood, Jr. Facebook group which can be found here. He also just released his memoir, Kathy Wood and I which you can order from one of the best bookstores around, Irvington Vinyl and Books.

Fred Olen Ray's new book, Hellbent for Hollywood: A Director's Journey, can be found here, and he also runs the incredibly deep catalogue of Retromedia.

Dana Gould can be found here where you can not only find merch, but also his fantastic podcast, The Dana Gould Hour. Also, be sure to check out Hangin' with Dr. Z.

A Ben Evans Film is a short movie that my son and I worked on back in 2019. We met and became friends with many of the movie's crew and talent, including one of the directors, James Henry Hall, and the star, Sky Elobar. Tody, James and Sky join me to tell me about their work in trying to make a feture length version of the movie happen.

Based on a story by Josh Malerman (Birdbox), A Ben Evans Film follows an obsessed amateur filmmaker determined to fulfill his cinematic vision, even though his two main stars, his own parents, are now dead. Both horrifying and funny, the short movie brings viewers into the world of Ben's madness.

To contribute, reach out to Anthony DiMaria at, anthony@odd-galaxy.com

See the short:

Vimeo

YouTube

Find out more about James here.

Find out more about Sky here.

Today I get to talk to one of my favorite artists and pop culture\sleaze encyclopedia, Mitch O'Connell. From a very early age, Mitch knew he wanted to be an artist, and his love of watching The Ghoul and Svenghoulie became his muse. From the utterly hilarious to the outright bizarre, if it's kitschy or cult, Mitch is likely going to draw it.

He tells me about being a teenager travelling alone to NYC to schlep his portfolio to comic book publishers, magazines, and anywhere else he thought might need art, all while taking time out to avoid the rats in the movie theaters of Time's Square. He tells me about dropping out of art school, because he had begun working professionally, which was way better. We talk Tor Johnson, John Waters, and the spritual joy and comfort we both find in the cheapest of B-movies. He also tells me about his wonderfully infamous Time's Square billboard mocking the then Presidential candidate Trump.

Find out more about Mitch here:

Mitch O'Connell

Etsy

Threadless

Instagram

You can also hit up my friend Elysia at Irvington Vinyl and Books. She can get you a copy of any of Mitch's books, and you'll be supporting one of the last independent book stores in Indiana.

Part two of my chat with the great Michael J Weldon continues as it left off, with me acting like a complete fanboy, because I totally am! Michael tells me about founding the magazine and running a record store in prime era NYC. He tells me about what types of movies are even too tasteless for him, how watching everything being sent to him eventually became wearing, and the joys of Devo. Getting to finally spend time with him was a true delight.

If you don't have the Psychotronic Video Guide, what are you waiting for? Hit up my friend Elysia at Irvington Vinyl and Books and see if she can scrounge up a used copy for you. Support one of the last independent book stores in Indiana.

Find out more about what Michael is up to, check out his store in Augusta, GA here:

Psychotronic Augusta