I always get sad and sentimental when one of my genre heroes passes away, but this one hits particularly hard.
Words fail me. Only tears will do. Still, a few instant thoughts run through my mind.
Ben was not only a genre icon, but a dear and devoted friend who was sweet, gentle, loving and generous to my entire family. I believe Anita and I were two of the last people to visit his table at Monster Bash last year before he retired to his room for the rest of the weekend. We have great photos of Ben and Ricou with Anita at Wonderfest 2004 when she pregnant with Forrest (he was born two days later), and one of my prized photos shows my beaming self sandwiched in between the two Creatures -- Ben and Ricou -- at Monster Mania later that same year.
I have many warm and often hilarious memories of convention visits and conversations with Ben, but my favorite has to be one that occurred at the Hollywood Collectors Show at the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn. Ben was walking out of one of the front entrance doors as I was walking in. He stopped and embraced me and asked me about Forry and Ray and Anne Hardin and several other mutual friends. Inside, Lou Ferrigno was motioning Ben over to his table and yelling "Benny! Benny! Benny!" Ben looked back at him, smiled, waved, and then leaned over to me and said, "Jesus! I've got to pee like a race horse, and the Incredible Hulk wants to talk!"
That was the same show where Ben walked over to Howard Keel, shook his hand, and said, "Mr. Keel, I'm Ben Chapman. I was the Creature from the Black Lagoon." Keel looked up and said very cheerfully, "How nice for you!" They then went into a warm reminiscence over the old days in Hollywood, when both had very different careers at two very different studios.
Ben was truly a treasure, and one of a kind. He took great ownership of his classic monster role and became the Creature's proud and faithful steward. He's been such a constant and faithful presence on the fan scene that it's hard to believe he could actually be gone.
Aloha, my friend, and rest in peace.
Terry Pace
pillaroffire@bellsouth.net
"They're going to have to think up a lot of new adjectives when I come back!" -- Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) in King Kong (1933)
Words fail me. Only tears will do. Still, a few instant thoughts run through my mind.
Ben was not only a genre icon, but a dear and devoted friend who was sweet, gentle, loving and generous to my entire family. I believe Anita and I were two of the last people to visit his table at Monster Bash last year before he retired to his room for the rest of the weekend. We have great photos of Ben and Ricou with Anita at Wonderfest 2004 when she pregnant with Forrest (he was born two days later), and one of my prized photos shows my beaming self sandwiched in between the two Creatures -- Ben and Ricou -- at Monster Mania later that same year.
I have many warm and often hilarious memories of convention visits and conversations with Ben, but my favorite has to be one that occurred at the Hollywood Collectors Show at the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn. Ben was walking out of one of the front entrance doors as I was walking in. He stopped and embraced me and asked me about Forry and Ray and Anne Hardin and several other mutual friends. Inside, Lou Ferrigno was motioning Ben over to his table and yelling "Benny! Benny! Benny!" Ben looked back at him, smiled, waved, and then leaned over to me and said, "Jesus! I've got to pee like a race horse, and the Incredible Hulk wants to talk!"
That was the same show where Ben walked over to Howard Keel, shook his hand, and said, "Mr. Keel, I'm Ben Chapman. I was the Creature from the Black Lagoon." Keel looked up and said very cheerfully, "How nice for you!" They then went into a warm reminiscence over the old days in Hollywood, when both had very different careers at two very different studios.
Ben was truly a treasure, and one of a kind. He took great ownership of his classic monster role and became the Creature's proud and faithful steward. He's been such a constant and faithful presence on the fan scene that it's hard to believe he could actually be gone.
Aloha, my friend, and rest in peace.
Terry Pace
pillaroffire@bellsouth.net
"They're going to have to think up a lot of new adjectives when I come back!" -- Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) in King Kong (1933)
