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Gary Svehla!!!!!!!!! Geez. Has it been forever, or what? During a fanzine sell-off, Steve D. [East Meadow, NY] mentioned that he had been in touch with you (fairly frequently, I gathered); I asked him to send my regards, etc., and that was about three or four years ago. Maybe more. At any rate, it's great hearing from you and reading your post. I'm tickled that you remember so much. I recall your coming up from Baltimore and visiting with me, Rob and Jeff Brown when I still lived at 39 East Pennywood Avenue in Roosevelt, NY (from whence TERROR originated). My memory is so shot! I might have gone to one convention, or so--- which? No clue. Pathetic. You are correct about The Young Rascals, which is utterly remarkable. The band actually played at a little dive in Roosevelt called The Highway Inn (on Nassau Road). I think it's either closed or has become a quasi-church. Roosevelt is a far cry from what it was in the 60s (e.g. a nice, little hamlet); but that's neither here nor there.

About Rob. That's a sad, sad story, so brace yourself. To the best of my recollection.... Rob left Roosevelt, NY in the late 70s/early 80s and moved to California, initially living with some relatives in Van Nuys. His mom had been visiting them prior to his arrival and was there, simultaneously. He soon moved out and got his own place in Van Nuys. [Arbitrary coincidence: I lived in Van Nuys 1957/58. After my parents' divorce, my mom grabbed lock, stock and barrel and moved us in with her relatives on Colbath Avenue. I mean, you couldn't make this stuff up.] Rob's mom developed lung cancer--- and she never smoked--- which precipitated her return to NY. Not too long after, the entire family relocated to Vermont--- sans Rob. [Footnote: Robs' brother, Larry, died in a motorcycle accident during this period. Not sure where, but the impact on Rob was enormous, especially combined with his mom's illness.] Seems as though Rob and I lost touch for some years after his departure from New York; however, it was renewed in the late 80s via phone calls and what Rob used to call "living letters"--- cassettes of him talking, which I still have. And could Rob talk! It was a gift. And, yes, he was an original, all right. And just brilliant. The three cassettes I have detail, basically, his decline in health. You know, too, that Rob was fairly secretive; he was ill years before he disclosed anything to me. I recall a one-shot meeting we had at some diner in Valley Stream, NY, now that I think about it. Can't be sure of the date, but he returned to Long Island for a visit before going to Vermont for his sister's (Barbara) wedding. Maybe '85? My chronology is a tad rusty. Anyway, he was not well even then, but was elusive about his illness. It wasn't until he started with the "living letters" that the full extent of the horror unfolded.

Basically, he had some form of nasty, progressive leukemia. He must have been on SSI--- although he never disclosed this to me, either--- and some Medicare package because he saw every doctor in the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles. From his description, he was a human guinea pig--- so far, even, that the doctors drilled a hole in his head, put a shunt in and medicated him. As the "disease" progressed, he lost sight in his left eye, walked with a cane, lost weight and, basically, became homebound. Then, suddenly, the communication stopped. I couldn't reach him. Phone disconnected, etc. Letters returned. The next call I did get was from Barbara: Rob was near death in some medical "facility" in Vermont, and she gave me the number. We spoke twice. First call: He told me he was in a wheelchair, coughing up blood, barely lucid. Second call: After a few minutes, he was incoherent, wheezed from the oxygen piped into his nose, and didn't know who I was, where he was, or what was happening. The next call from Barbara came on August 1, 1997: Rob had passed away around 11 p.m. on July 31. I had spoken with him not two days before this. It was a shock, but not unexpected. Still, very, very sad. Rob always thought (and told me) that his "ailment" was brought on by a bout of mononucleosis--- caused by the emotional distress of the nearly combined deaths of his mom and brother.

No, he never married. His interest in all things horror was a constant; but, then, his capacity was so broad that his "interests" encompassed almost everything.

Anecdotally: I asked Barbara for something of Rob's that I could have as a memento. A few weeks later I received a huge box filled with letters from me to him; from Jeff Brown to him, etc. I had no idea that Rob was a pack rat: in the box were about ten pink hall slips--- the kind that a teacher signs allowing the student to go from class to wherever--- from Roosevelt Jr/Sr High School, circa 1965/66. I think the most important items he owned (e.g. monster mags, fanzines, et. al.) were either sold or dumped, or both.

I've probably left lots of odds & ends out. If anything important comes to mind, I'll post same.

I hope what I've written isn't too distressing.

By the way, do you recall seeing the 8mm horror movies Rob and I made in my garage in New York [TERROR OF FRANKENSTEIN, for instance--- which was detailed in the last issue of TERROR]? Thought you might have when you visited us in Roosevelt. Could be wrong. Geez. He was even a good actor. Much better than I was! And we were so young. Seems like eons ago. Well, I still have the films on 8mm, so that's something.

P.S. Congrats on evolving GORE CREATURES into MIDNIGHT MARQUEE. I actually saw one in a Border's in Valencia, California (where I've been sojourning back and forth from NY every six months or so). Amazing genesis.

mmarquee wrote:

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We saw A CLOCKWORK ORANGE together when the film was premiered in New York. Some great times. He would take us out to breakfast to strange little local places but he always made sure they did not sugar down the orange juice. That was one of his quirks. Real orange juice... not watered down or sugared down, as he called it.

This certainly sums it up. I had forgotten.