MEARS Goes Underground To Meet a Real Life Mole Man … by Troy R. Kinunen

Going direct to the source for authentic & unique autographs, MEARS recently conducted a private signing with stuntman and actor Bob Herron, the last living Mole Man. Born on September 23rd, 1924 in Los Angeles, CA, the 5’10” stuntman had a lengthy career and doubled for Hollywood legends Tony Curtis, Pernell Roberts, Robert Conrad, Ross Martin, and Ernest Borgnine.

A Navy boxing champ, the rough and tough Herron began his career in Hollywood by wrangling horses that were rented to the studios. Searching for a pay increase, Bob made the transition to stuntman in 1950. His first movie was “Rocky Mountain” which starred Erroll Flynn. He played both an Indian and a Calvary man and was shot off his horse many times during the filming in Gallup, NM.

Unlike today, Herron worked with no safety equipment or modern air bags. His falls were broken by empty boxes covered by a canvas sheet.

The 1950s were the Golden Age of Science Fiction movies, and “The Mole People (1956)” is a cult classic. The Mole People was directed by Virgil W. Vogel and written by Laszlo Gorog and starred John Agar, Cynthia Patrick, and Hugh Beaumont who played a party of archaeologists who discover the remnants of a mutant five-millennia-old Sumerian civilization living beneath a glacier atop a mountain in Mesopotamia. Although actors Agar, Patrick, and Beaumont (Ward from Leave It To Beaver Fame) received top billing, the real stars for the film were the Mole People, the race of enslaved Molemen that were controlled by the Sumerians priests.

On December 16th, 2014, MEARS contracted with legendary actor / stuntman for a very limited private autograph signing. Bob Herron had the distinction of playing one of the Mole men in the film. Per our research, he is the last surviving Mole Man to star in the film. For the signing, Mr. Herron signed two different custom 16×20 photos and a limited edition trading card sized image. Each item was signed in near mint blue sharpie marker. As an added bonus, Bob Herron stamped the movie style photo with his official Mole man stamp. After completing the signing, Mr. Herron asked for us to double check each autograph. Much like the perfection needed to complete the perfect fall, Mr. Herron insisted that each signature was perfect, and he volunteered to resign any items that were not to our satisfaction. None were needed to be replaced.

The Mole People is a really good movie that captures the essence of the era. We thank Mr. Herron for sharing his time and to provide all of his fans with authentic autographs from this classic film. Questions and comments may be direct to troy@mearsonline.com . To check out our site, please go to www.mearsonlineauctions.com

MEARS Goes Underground To Meet a Real Life Mole Man … by Troy R. Kinunen

Going direct to the source for authentic & unique autographs, MEARS recently conducted a private signing with stuntman and actor Bob Herron, the last living Mole Man. Born on September 23rd, 1924 in Los Angeles, CA, the 5’10” stuntman had a lengthy career and doubled for Hollywood legends Tony Curtis, Pernell Roberts, Robert Conrad, Ross Martin, and Ernest Borgnine.

A Navy boxing champ, the rough and tough Herron began his career in Hollywood by wrangling horses that were rented to the studios. Searching for a pay increase, Bob made the transition to stuntman in 1950. His first movie was “Rocky Mountain” which starred Erroll Flynn. He played both an Indian and a Calvary man and was shot off his horse many times during the filming in Gallup, NM.

Unlike today, Herron worked with no safety equipment or modern air bags. His falls were broken by empty boxes covered by a canvas sheet.

The 1950s were the Golden Age of Science Fiction movies, and “The Mole People (1956)” is a cult classic. The Mole People was directed by Virgil W. Vogel and written by Laszlo Gorog and starred John Agar, Cynthia Patrick, and Hugh Beaumont who played a party of archaeologists who discover the remnants of a mutant five-millennia-old Sumerian civilization living beneath a glacier atop a mountain in Mesopotamia. Although actors Agar, Patrick, and Beaumont (Ward from Leave It To Beaver Fame) received top billing, the real stars for the film were the Mole People, the race of enslaved Molemen that were controlled by the Sumerians priests.

On December 16th, 2014, MEARS contracted with legendary actor / stuntman for a very limited private autograph signing. Bob Herron had the distinction of playing one of the Mole men in the film. Per our research, he is the last surviving Mole Man to star in the film. For the signing, Mr. Herron signed two different custom 16×20 photos and a limited edition trading card sized image. Each item was signed in near mint blue sharpie marker. As an added bonus, Bob Herron stamped the movie style photo with his official Mole man stamp. After completing the signing, Mr. Herron asked for us to double check each autograph. Much like the perfection needed to complete the perfect fall, Mr. Herron insisted that each signature was perfect, and he volunteered to resign any items that were not to our satisfaction. None were needed to be replaced.

The Mole People is a really good movie that captures the essence of the era. We thank Mr. Herron for sharing his time and to provide all of his fans with authentic autographs from this classic film. Questions and comments may be direct to troy@mearsonline.com . To check out our site, please go to www.mearsonlineauctions.com

Autographs Wanted for Consignment to MEARS Auctions. Please contact Troy R. Kinunen at (414) 828-9990 or email troy@mearsonline.com 

Easily the sexiest woman ever to live with a Caveman (my fiancé excluded), MEARS was happy to announce the successful completion of our private signing with Planet of the Apes star Linda Harrison. To promote the MEARS Toy division, Linda Harrison was a featured signer at the MEARS Toy booth at the Chicago Toy Show in St. Charles, IL. 

On Sunday, October 27th, 2013, Linda Harrison signed 180 (6 different exclusive poses) limited edition Black & White 16×20 photos. Each print was hand developed, and is the finest image offered to feature Linda as Nova, the iconic beauty from Planet of the Apes which costarred Charlton Heston.

Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des Singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Maurice Evans, Kim Hunter, James Whitmore, James Daly, and Linda Harrison. It was the first in a series of five films made between 1968 and 1973, all produced by Arthur P. Jacobs and released by 20th Century Fox.

The film tells the story of an astronaut crew who crash-land on a strange planet in the distant future. Although the planet appears desolate at first, the surviving crew members stumble upon a society in which apes have evolved into creatures with human-like intelligence and speech. The apes have assumed the role of the dominant species and humans are mute creatures wearing animal skins.

The film was released on February 8, 1968, in the United States and was a commercial success, earning a lifetime domestic gross of $32, 589, 624. The film was groundbreaking for its prosthetic makeup techniques by artist John Chambers, and was well received by critics and audiences, launching a film franchise, including four sequels, as well as a short-lived television show, animated series, comic books, and various merchandising. In particular, Roddy McDowall had a long-running relationship with the Apes series, appearing in four of the original five films (absent, apart from a brief voiceover, from the second film of the series, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, in which he was replaced by David Watson in the role of Cornelius), and also in the television series.

Linda Harrison was born on July 26, 1945 in Berlin, MD. A born beauty, Linda won the 1956 Delaware Ms. Chicken Contest, in support of a local restaurant. In 1965 she won the Miss Maryland Beauty Pageant, which earned her a trip to California for the Miss America pageant, where she finished first runner up. Shortly after, she entered acting, and soon landed the role of Nova.

Linda was a fan favorite at the Toy Show, happily signing autographs and posing for pictures for all that attended. To commemorate her career, MEARS had Linda sign 100 index cards and 180 of the limited edition oversized photos to be sold at a later date.

Autographs Wanted for Consignment to MEARS Auctions. Please contact Troy R. Kinunen at (414) 828-9990 or email troy@mearsonline.com 

Easily the sexiest woman ever to live with a Caveman (my fiancé excluded), MEARS was happy to announce the successful completion of our private signing with Planet of the Apes star Linda Harrison. To promote the MEARS Toy division, Linda Harrison was a featured signer at the MEARS Toy booth at the Chicago Toy Show in St. Charles, IL. 

On Sunday, October 27th, 2013, Linda Harrison signed 180 (6 different exclusive poses) limited edition Black & White 16×20 photos. Each print was hand developed, and is the finest image offered to feature Linda as Nova, the iconic beauty from Planet of the Apes which costarred Charlton Heston.

Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des Singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Maurice Evans, Kim Hunter, James Whitmore, James Daly, and Linda Harrison. It was the first in a series of five films made between 1968 and 1973, all produced by Arthur P. Jacobs and released by 20th Century Fox.

The film tells the story of an astronaut crew who crash-land on a strange planet in the distant future. Although the planet appears desolate at first, the surviving crew members stumble upon a society in which apes have evolved into creatures with human-like intelligence and speech. The apes have assumed the role of the dominant species and humans are mute creatures wearing animal skins.

The film was released on February 8, 1968, in the United States and was a commercial success, earning a lifetime domestic gross of $32, 589, 624. The film was groundbreaking for its prosthetic makeup techniques by artist John Chambers, and was well received by critics and audiences, launching a film franchise, including four sequels, as well as a short-lived television show, animated series, comic books, and various merchandising. In particular, Roddy McDowall had a long-running relationship with the Apes series, appearing in four of the original five films (absent, apart from a brief voiceover, from the second film of the series, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, in which he was replaced by David Watson in the role of Cornelius), and also in the television series.

Linda Harrison was born on July 26, 1945 in Berlin, MD. A born beauty, Linda won the 1956 Delaware Ms. Chicken Contest, in support of a local restaurant. In 1965 she won the Miss Maryland Beauty Pageant, which earned her a trip to California for the Miss America pageant, where she finished first runner up. Shortly after, she entered acting, and soon landed the role of Nova.

Linda was a fan favorite at the Toy Show, happily signing autographs and posing for pictures for all that attended. To commemorate her career, MEARS had Linda sign 100 index cards and 180 of the limited edition oversized photos to be sold at a later date.

Autographs Wanted for Consignment to MEARS Auctions. Please contact Troy R. Kinunen at (414) 828-9990 or email troy@mearsonline.com 

Born in Arkansas in 1926, Julia Adams starred as Kay Lawrence in her most memorable movie, “The Creature from the Black Lagoon”. Kay continued a long career in acting and appeared both on screen and TV. Her career had her star with Angela Lansbury, James Stewart, Andy Griffith, and Elvis Pressley.

Now celebrating the 60^th Anniversary of the release of “The Creature from the Black Lagoon”, MEARS president Troy R. Kinunen conducted a private signing on February 18th, 2014 at the home of Julie Adams.

Julie Adams signed 100 exclusive 16×20 B&W photos that were hand printed from the original negative. In addition, she signed 100 custom “Creature” trading cards. Both featured her as Kay Lawrence in her famous white swimsuit. 

Autographs Wanted for Consignment to MEARS Auctions. Please contact Troy R. Kinunen at (414) 828-9990 or email troy@mearsonline.com 

Born in Arkansas in 1926, Julia Adams starred as Kay Lawrence in her most memorable movie, “The Creature from the Black Lagoon”. Kay continued a long career in acting and appeared both on screen and TV. Her career had her star with Angela Lansbury, James Stewart, Andy Griffith, and Elvis Pressley.

Now celebrating the 60^th Anniversary of the release of “The Creature from the Black Lagoon”, MEARS president Troy R. Kinunen conducted a private signing on February 18th, 2014 at the home of Julie Adams.

Julie Adams signed 100 exclusive 16×20 B&W photos that were hand printed from the original negative. In addition, she signed 100 custom “Creature” trading cards. Both featured her as Kay Lawrence in her famous white swimsuit. 

Autographs Wanted for Consignment to MEARS Auctions

Starting in 2013, MEARS Auctions has begun to expand its Americana and Pop Culture division. We are in the beginning stages of opening a vintage military auction, and are planning on our 6th Pop Culture auction this year. To support this growing effort, I have conducted private autograph signings with many legends of TV and Movie. Stars we contracted with to date include Linda Harrison (Nova) “Planet of the Apes”, Richard Kiel (Jaws) “James Bond”, Barbara Eden “I Dream of Jeannie”, Entire 1974 Cast of “The Land of the Lost” (Wesley Eure, Kathy Coleman, Philip Paley, Spencer Milligan) Dan Haggerty “Grizzly Adams”, Baron Von Raschke “AWA Wrestling Legend”, Julie Adams “Creature from the Black Lagoon”, and several others. Additional signings are scheduled for the remainder of the year.

With the 7th installment of Star Wars scheduled to be released, I concluded that the cast of the original 1977 Star Wars franchise would make for great autograph guests. To date, I have contracted with Kenny Baker (R2D2) “Star Wars”, Anthony Forest “Storm Trooper and Victim of the Jedi Mind Trick”, and Laurie Goode “Storm Trooper – A New Hope”.

While doing my research to contact the actors, I found that most of the bit actors had very interesting background stories. We all remember Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, but 100’s of other talented actors provided memorable performances while bringing the galactic cast to life. One of my more memorable signings took place with Laurie Goode.

Goode played both a storm trooper, fictional soldiers from George Lucas’ Star Wars universe and a Saurin, the reptilian like creatures that were a Trandoshan subspecies who hailed from the planet Durkteel and appeared in the Cantina scene.

Star Wars fans are fanatical when it comes to the characters that appeared in the movie. Several unscrupulous actors over the years have tried to portray themselves as supporting actors in an attempt to appear and profit on the organized Star Wars autograph show circuit.

Actor Laurie Goode also came under attack several years ago. His name was not listed in the credits as a Saurin, or in the known surviving costume identification documents which listed actors which matched actors and wardrobe.In his own defense. Goode offered the following explanation, which has been collaborated in recent years. Goode stated… 

“These people appear to not understand the business. I was first a storm trooper, replacing the now deceased Peter Dukes. That was the first week of filming, so I just put on the costume that had Peter Duke’s name on. So my name would not have been shown on the costume listings for that week. The second week, I took this girl’s place in the cantina, so my name will not appear on the costume listings the second week. Why my name appears as a storm trooper, is because I went back on the film as one, in my own name, a few weeks later, 12/13 May 1976. Tell these people, they need to check the financial records, that must be archived somewhere, and my name will appear as someone who was paid on the dates the Cantina shots were filmed. I have them in my diary of that year, and they would match the filming schedules.

Anyhow, I remember other major things that occurred whilst filming the cantina sequence, but you’ll always get someone making accusations. I guess I could try and obtain the details myself, prove them wrong, and end up taken advantage of my disadvantage! I know Barbie Denham went out as Saurin, and I wanted to have a word with her about that, just to make sure she had her character right, but I’ve lost her phone number. Anyhow, she was definitely there.”

Goode recalled how he was both a storm trooper and a Saurin, and documented the fact how both costumes were worn by other actors during the filming. I found this quite interesting as the practice, albeit quite practical, is similar to how baseball uniforms were recycled for traded players, spring training call-ups, and minor league issue.

My dealings with him were pleasant. He was the consummate professional; making sure that all of my items were properly signed with special attention being given to make sure the proper pen was used. He struck me as a perfectionist.

The Cantina scene which featured Goode as a Saurin was one of the most memorable of the movie. This was the location where Hans Solo was confronted by Greedo, and had to shoot him from a strategically placed blaster that was hidden under the table. The Saurin character was a patron in the bar. Goode also filmed several scenes as a Storm trooper. For this signing, Laurie Goode signed:

(50) Laurie Goode Index Cards with Storm Trooper inscription

(50) Laurie Goode Index Cards with Saurin inscription

(214) Vintage Star Wars Cards

Each item was carefully signed in blue sharpie or white pen where applicable. When the items were returned from England, I was happy to report each were unsmudged and in near mint condition. I want to thank Laurie for participating in this private signing. Stay tuned for future reports from around the Galaxy.

Article by Troy R. Kinunen (414) 828-9990 or email troy@mearsonline.com

Autographs Wanted for Consignment to MEARS Auctions

Starting in 2013, MEARS Auctions has begun to expand its Americana and Pop Culture division. We are in the beginning stages of opening a vintage military auction, and are planning on our 6th Pop Culture auction this year. To support this growing effort, I have conducted private autograph signings with many legends of TV and Movie. Stars we contracted with to date include Linda Harrison (Nova) “Planet of the Apes”, Richard Kiel (Jaws) “James Bond”, Barbara Eden “I Dream of Jeannie”, Entire 1974 Cast of “The Land of the Lost” (Wesley Eure, Kathy Coleman, Philip Paley, Spencer Milligan) Dan Haggerty “Grizzly Adams”, Baron Von Raschke “AWA Wrestling Legend”, Julie Adams “Creature from the Black Lagoon”, and several others. Additional signings are scheduled for the remainder of the year.

With the 7th installment of Star Wars scheduled to be released, I concluded that the cast of the original 1977 Star Wars franchise would make for great autograph guests. To date, I have contracted with Kenny Baker (R2D2) “Star Wars”, Anthony Forest “Storm Trooper and Victim of the Jedi Mind Trick”, and Laurie Goode “Storm Trooper – A New Hope”.

While doing my research to contact the actors, I found that most of the bit actors had very interesting background stories. We all remember Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, but 100’s of other talented actors provided memorable performances while bringing the galactic cast to life. One of my more memorable signings took place with Laurie Goode.

Goode played both a storm trooper, fictional soldiers from George Lucas’ Star Wars universe and a Saurin, the reptilian like creatures that were a Trandoshan subspecies who hailed from the planet Durkteel and appeared in the Cantina scene.

Star Wars fans are fanatical when it comes to the characters that appeared in the movie. Several unscrupulous actors over the years have tried to portray themselves as supporting actors in an attempt to appear and profit on the organized Star Wars autograph show circuit.

Actor Laurie Goode also came under attack several years ago. His name was not listed in the credits as a Saurin, or in the known surviving costume identification documents which listed actors which matched actors and wardrobe.In his own defense. Goode offered the following explanation, which has been collaborated in recent years. Goode stated… 

“These people appear to not understand the business. I was first a storm trooper, replacing the now deceased Peter Dukes. That was the first week of filming, so I just put on the costume that had Peter Duke’s name on. So my name would not have been shown on the costume listings for that week. The second week, I took this girl’s place in the cantina, so my name will not appear on the costume listings the second week. Why my name appears as a storm trooper, is because I went back on the film as one, in my own name, a few weeks later, 12/13 May 1976. Tell these people, they need to check the financial records, that must be archived somewhere, and my name will appear as someone who was paid on the dates the Cantina shots were filmed. I have them in my diary of that year, and they would match the filming schedules.

Anyhow, I remember other major things that occurred whilst filming the cantina sequence, but you’ll always get someone making accusations. I guess I could try and obtain the details myself, prove them wrong, and end up taken advantage of my disadvantage! I know Barbie Denham went out as Saurin, and I wanted to have a word with her about that, just to make sure she had her character right, but I’ve lost her phone number. Anyhow, she was definitely there.”

Goode recalled how he was both a storm trooper and a Saurin, and documented the fact how both costumes were worn by other actors during the filming. I found this quite interesting as the practice, albeit quite practical, is similar to how baseball uniforms were recycled for traded players, spring training call-ups, and minor league issue.

My dealings with him were pleasant. He was the consummate professional; making sure that all of my items were properly signed with special attention being given to make sure the proper pen was used. He struck me as a perfectionist.

The Cantina scene which featured Goode as a Saurin was one of the most memorable of the movie. This was the location where Hans Solo was confronted by Greedo, and had to shoot him from a strategically placed blaster that was hidden under the table. The Saurin character was a patron in the bar. Goode also filmed several scenes as a Storm trooper. For this signing, Laurie Goode signed:

(50) Laurie Goode Index Cards with Storm Trooper inscription

(50) Laurie Goode Index Cards with Saurin inscription

(214) Vintage Star Wars Cards

Each item was carefully signed in blue sharpie or white pen where applicable. When the items were returned from England, I was happy to report each were unsmudged and in near mint condition. I want to thank Laurie for participating in this private signing. Stay tuned for future reports from around the Galaxy.

Article by Troy R. Kinunen (414) 828-9990 or email troy@mearsonline.com