The 14th GraniteCon took place once again at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire on Sept. 17 and 18.
Author Stacey Longo.
The Joker.
Artist Karen Gosselin and her daughter.
Emmet Brickowoski.
Author David Price.
Deadpool and friend.
Zoom and Felicity Smoak.
Joker and Harley Quinn.
Artist Alex Saviuk.
Skully Kouture.
Actor James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel) at his Q & A session.
Musicians Mark Lindsay and Susan Cowsill.
Author Stacey Longo and Matt Herring speaking about writing.
Actress Dina Meyer (Starship Troopers).
Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys) at his Q & A session.
Actor Burt Reynolds (Smokey and the Bandit).
Lee Meriwether (Batman, Star Trek, All My Children).
Author Stacey Longo.
Cosplayer R.W. Martin.
Michael Beck (The Warriors).
Cosplay at Super Megafest.
Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Andromeda).
Thor.
Corbin Bernsen (Major League, Star Trek: TNG).
The Walking Dead’s Negan.
Casper Van Dien (Starship Troopers).
Illustrator Karen Gosselin.
The Connecticut Visitors.
Ric Flair (WWE).
The Disney Princesses.
Peter Mayhew. (Star Wars).
Gary Sohmers of Northeast Comic Con.
William Zabka (The Karate Kid).
The 2015 Fall edition of Super Megafest happened over the weekend and it was a great two days with celebrities, authors, artists, vendors and cosplay. Here are the pictures from the convention.
Actor John Schneider (The Dukes of Hazzard).
Author Stacey Longo.
Actress Catherine Bach (The Dukes of Hazzard).
Daisy Duke.
Actor Tom Wopat (The Dukes of Hazzard).
Hellgirl.![Actress Judith Hoag (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [1990]).](https://jasonharrispromotions.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2015-11-21-12-13-29.jpg)
Actress Judith Hoag (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [1990]).
Ram-man and Orko.![Actors Leif Tilden and Michelan Sisti (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [1990]).](https://jasonharrispromotions.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2015-11-21-12-06-03.jpg)
Actors Leif Tilden and Michelan Sisti (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [1990]).
Artist Hannibal King.
Heat Miser and Snow Miser.
Actress Addy Miller (The Walking Dead).
Wolverine.
Actress/Model Kristanna Loken.
Actor Bruce Boxleitner (Tron).
Ash.
Actress Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek).
Artist Steve Lavigne.
Crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Actor Michael Biehn (The Terminator).
Cosplayer Chelsea Von Chastity.
Actor Ricky Whittle (The 100).
Author Byron Turner.
Former NBA Player Dennis Rodman.
Actor Kevin McNally (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl).
Actresses Natalie Skyy (Sons of Anarchy) and Arryn Zech (Red vs. Blue).
Authors Matt Herring and Stacey Longo at their The Art of Genre Writing panel.
A alien has burst onto the convention scene.
Playboy model Valerie Cormier.
Wolverine.
Artist Joe St. Pierre.
Musician/actor Peter Tork.
Author Matt Herring at his Dr. Who 101 panel.
Sesame Street puppeteer Caroll Spinney.
Musician/author Bobby Hart.
Mortal Kombat.
Actor Michael Winslow and myself.
Courtesy of Ken Reid’s Tumblr page.
Q: In 2003, you decided to try your hand at stand-up. What was the impetuous behind that decision?
A: I had been in bands from 1996-1999 or so, I am in no way shape or form a musician, but always wanted to perform. Once the band broke up and I had no musicians to ride the coattails of I thought stand up was my only route. I always liked comedy and watched tons of stand up, so i gave it a go.
Q: How many stand-up engagements do you perform in a year?
A: I average about 2 a week so 100-150 a year is probably about the normal.
Q: Do you have any engagements coming up? If yes, where and when?
A: I’ve taken the rest of 2015 off for the most part for a much needed breather, but I’m still doing the podcast weekly and will be back to frequent shows in 2016. My updated schedule is always at ikenreid.com
Q: When did the idea for your podcast, TV Guidance Counselor, come about?
A: Friend and fellow comic Sean Sullivan basically told me that I have all these TV Guides, when people come over my house we often will flip through them and discuss old shows, why not just do that as a podcast? I wanted to do a podcast for a long time but didn’t have a great idea that would be different from the usual two comics just chatting format, until Sean threw that at me. I also do almost no pop culture stuff in my stand up, despite that occupying a huge part of my brain, so it was a great excuse to exercise a lot of that stuff.
Q: When did you start collecting TV Guides?
A: As early as I can remember. There are photos of me at age 2 with a TV Guide in my hand.
Q: What issue made you want to collect TV Guides?
A: Not sure if it’s a specific issue really . I like having the little digest sized time machine on hand.
Q: Are you still collecting?
A: Not new issues, but if I see some old ones I don’t have, I grab them.
Q: What were some of your favorite shows growing up?
A: Just the Ten of Us is a lifelong favorite, Newhart, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, The Adventures of Pete and Pete. The Facts of Life. Weirdly I’ve been lucky enough to have people who’ve been on all those shows guest on my podcast.
Q: What are some of your favorite shows now?
A: Weirdly I don’t watch too much new stuff. I like The Flash, and I still watch Supernatural. Fringe was the only show I watched weekly as it came out and LOVED in the last few years. I think it is the best sci-fi show of all time.
Q: Who are some of the people you would like to have on your podcast?
A: I do have some dream guests. Paul “Pee Wee Herman” Reubens, Cassanda “Elvira” Peterson, John Larroquette, John Waters.
Q: You will be at Super Megafest in November and the Pop Culture Expo in December, are these the first conventions you have been a guest at?
A: Weirdly no. Gary at North East Comic Con has had me do live TV Guidance Counselors at the last few. I always have a good time. Last year, I did the stand up show at Super Megafest, which was also fun.
Q: What drew you to being a guest at a convention?
A: They asked, and I’m almost always there anyway, so it’s a win-win.
Q: Are there any comedians you looked up to growing up?
A: Dana Gould was my absolute #1 for sure. I was also always a huge Bob Newhart fan.
Q: Who are some comedians today that you would suggest people go see?
A: Hmm….I’d still go with Dana Gould.
Q: Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to become a comedian?
A: Don’t do it! But if you must be prepared to be terrible for at least two years even if you think you are. Don’t do it with a goal in mind, just do it to enjoy doing it and you’ll be fine.
If you are free this weekend, go to Super Megafest to hear Ken and to meet a lot of celebrities. Find out more information here.
Welcome to the second entry of pictures taken at this year’s Rhode Island Comic Con.
Actor Travis Wester (Euro Trip).
Swamp Thing and Poison Ivy.
The Honkytonk Man.
Wendy Darling and Matt Murdock.
Actor Tom Wright (All My Children).
Princess Leia.
Author Stacey Longo.
The Stay Puft Marshmellow Man.
Lori Petty (Tank Girl).
Disgust, Fear, Anger, Joy, and Sadness with a convention attendee.
Ace Ventura dancing with a fan.
Actor Dean Cain (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman).
The Walking Dead panel.
The Scarecrow.
Actor Seth Gilliam (The Walking Dead).
Ant-man.
The Baroness.
Actress Margot Kidder (Superman).
R2-Q5
R2-D2.
Wrestler Sean Waltman.
Me with Orlando Jones (Sleepy Hollow).
Actor Mitch Pileggi (The X-Files).
Baymax.
Ted “The Millionaire Dollar Man” DiBiase.
Actress Terry Farrell (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Hellraiser III).
Achmed the Dead Terrorist.
Author Stacey Longo.
Immortan Joe.
The Faces of Star Trek panel (from Left to right): Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Terry Farrell, and moderator Clare Kramer.
Bill and Ted.
Actor Ron Perlman (Hellboy).
Mario and Tonto with a Rhode Island Comic Con volunteer photo-bombing in the background.
Actor Scott Wilson (The Walking Dead).
The Wolves.
Actress Jodi Lyn O’Keefe (Prison Break).
The Wolf and Red Riding Hood.
Actress Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie).
Spock.
Actor Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead, Guardians of the Galaxy).
Ash.
Actor Michael Wright (V).
The Connecticut Visitors.
Actor Lorenzo Lamas (Sharknado 3, Renegade)
Johnny 5 and Ben Jahveri.
Actor A.J. Buckley (CSI: NY).Another entry of pictures from Rhode Island Comic Con 2015 will be coming in the next couple of days.
Lou Ferrigno. Photo by Jason Harris.
Lou Ferrigno, the original Incredible Hulk, is in town for the fourth Rhode Island Comic Con, which starts this afternoon and runs until Sunday, November 8. We sat down at the Dunkin Donuts Center to talk about bodybuilding, the Incredible Hulk, and being the personal trainer for Michael Jackson.
Ferrigno discovered weight training 52 years ago at the age of 12, he said.
“When I was a kid, I was really skinny. I was just obsessed with power. I wanted to be powerful. I discovered weight training and I knew it would make me feel good about myself.”
Ferrigno wanted to be a hero like Hercules. He would watch old Hercules movies, then want to be a modern day gladiator or some other heroic character from the movies or comic books.
“I would fantasize about being the Hulk because of the way I was built.”
One day, he received a phone call about auditioning for the role, which at the time was being played by Richard Kiel. Kiel played the character of Jaws in two James Bond movies. The reason behind the switch was because director Kenneth Johnson’s son was on set one day and said Kiel didn’t look like the Hulk in the comic books, Ferrigno said. They contacted hundreds of people, including him, to audition.
“They called me, I went down for the screen test and immediately they hired me. And the next day, I was filming. In 48 hours, I went from bodybuilding to show business.”
Everything he did for the role came naturally to him, Ferrigno said.
“When I did the pilot, I used a lot of the animalistic behavior the way the character should be.”
One of his favorite moments on The Incredible Hulk was meeting Cary Grant, who came to the set with his nephew to get a picture taken with him.
“I was excited because he was one of the top movie stars in the world. That was one of my exciting moments because of the fact I was well respected.”
Ferrigno enjoyed working with Bill Bixby, who he considered “a very talented actor.” He was a fan of Bixby’s television shows The Courtship of Eddie’s Father and The Magician.
“I learned a lot from him. He was an icon. I was excited to learn from him and watch him.”
Ferrigno’s portrayal of the Incredible Hulk ended in 1990 with television movie, The Death of the Incredible Hulk, but he has continued with the character by voicing him in the UPN cartoon and in the current Marvel movies that started with The Incredible Hulk in 2008. The job was given to him after the director heard him say “Hulk crash” and “Hulk smash” at New York Comic Con seven to nine years ago, he said.
In the last few years, Ferrigno has been on Celebrity Apprentice and in an episode of Star Trek Continues.
“It was great because you’re on a show with a bunch of egos, celebrities,” Ferrigno said about Celebrity Apprentice. “I’m glad I raised 100,000 for my charity [the Muscular Dystrophy Association]. It taught me what it’s like to be with other celebrities. It was fun, but the hardest thing was no one wanted to be fired so you’re forced to look at other people’s faults. That was tough.”
Ferrigno did mention that “Donald Trump is a loose cannon.”
“I was very tense because you’re in the boardroom three times a week. You have to be careful how you conduct yourself. So with me, they were afraid of me, because when we were in the boardroom I just spoke my mind.”
Ferrigno has always been a fan of the original Star Trek so he was happy to play slave trader Zaminhon on Star Trek Continues when Vic Mignogna asked him. He wasn’t happy with the makeup, which took five hours to apply, he said.
“I knew I wanted to play [the character] because it was against type. I enjoyed playing that character.”
His upcoming movie Instant Death will be released next April. You will see him do things in the movie that audiences have never seen him do before, he said.
“I would say it’s my best work ever.”
Along with his acting, he continues giving advice about being a person’s own personal trainer at his website here or being a personal trainer to stars like Chuck Norris and Mickey Rourke. He was also Michael Jackson’s personal trainer for 20 years, which came about because he was a good friend of Jackson’s doctor.
“He learned a lot from me and I learned a lot from him,” Ferrigno said about Jackson.
You can meet Ferrigno at Rhode Island Comic Con this weekend. Find out more about the convention here.
Harley Quinn and the Joker.
Author Stacey Longo.
Aquawoman.
Bonnie Piesse (Star Wars: Episode II and III).
Jack Skellington.
Marty McFly and Doc Brown.
Xena: Warrior Princess.
Artist Paul Castiglia.
The Joker.
Harley Quinn.
Jim Martin (The Great Space Coaster).
Saratoga Budo.
Rika Muranaka.
Artist Dan Nakrosis.
Freddy Krueger.
Wrestler Curt Hawkins.
Michael and Diego Mongue, the creators of Awesome Robot.
The Silence.
Actor John Amplas (Creepshow).
Actor Sherman Howard (Day of the Dead).
Lydia Deetz and Betelgeuse.
Actress Erika Ervin (American Horror Story).
Authors Adam Cesare (right) and Matt Serafini (left).
Actress Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp).
Actor Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects).
Actor Bill Johnson (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2).
Lou C. Fher a.k.a. the Devil.
Actor William Sanderson (True Blood).
Actress Naomi Grossman (American Horror Story).
Authors on the Writer’s Studio panel (from left to right): Joe Knetter, Stacey Longo, K.H. Vaugn and Jack Ketchum.
Actor Tobin Bell (Saw).
Jim Dyer of Fenham Publishing.
Actress/model Sarah Michelle (left) and a convention-goer.
Author Rob Smales holding the new anthology, Insanity Tales II from Books & Boos’ Press.
Smales has two stories in Insanity Tales II: The Sense of Fear.
Jason Harris Promotions 