Memorial Day 2013

While I'm still finishing the last few bits and pieces of Steve Canyon Volume 3, here's some words and images in observance of this year's Memorial Day:

Robert Francis Hoy, United States Marine Corps during WWII. Photo courtesy of Ginny Shook and https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehighchaparral and http://www.bobhoy.com

Bobby Hoy was a great guy, and thanks to his friend Ginny Shook, I had the great pleasure to get to know him the year before he passed away in 2010, and got the opportunity to share him and his great audio commentaries on 5 episodes of Steve Canyon on DVD Volume 2.

Joyce Taylor played Bob Hoy's wife "Betty Berger" in the 20th aired episode of Steve Canyon on NBC,  February 5th 1959

 Bob played Sergeant Pete Berger in three episodes of Steve Canyon...it didn't take much convincing to get him to hang around and contribute comments on two other episodes he wasn't in, but his longtime buddy Abel Fernandez was. In fact Abel welcomed it, understand, as they were like a lifelong comedy team...just listen to them together and you'll see what I mean, Abel the straight man and Bobby zinging. It was a treat to listen to both of them.

Series regulars Abel Fernandez, Jerry Paris and Bob Hoy in a humorous moment in the Steve canyon episode "The Search", the 17th episode aired on NBC, January 15, 1959

These guys were both actors as well as stuntmen...and for many years. Gene Reynolds (casting director on Steve canyon, and later co-creator of TV's M.A.S.H.) told Bobby "You don't need to do a screen test, you're IN...anybody tells you anything different...INCLUDING executive producer Mike Meshekoff...throw the script in their face and tell 'em to talk to ME!" I sure miss Bobby...

Photo of Abel Fernandez taken in the 1970's by Bob Hoy!

Abel Fernandez also served in WWII in the US Army Airborne, as a paratrooper. Both he and Bobby had to learn Japanese too...I know this as they started talking in Japanese at one point (and I think they were making fun of me!).

Polaroid of Abel Fernandez and Bob Hoy that I snapped here in my studio in 2009 (during one of the recording sessions for their commentary tracks for Steve Canyon On TV Volume 2).

Some of you may have noticed that each disc on each volume of Steve Canyon On DVD has an "In Memorium" page...our upcoming Volume 3 Disc 1 is in memory of Robert Francis Hoy 1927 - 2010... 

Abel and Josephine Fernandez circa the 1990's

...and Volume 2 Disc 2 is in memory of Josephine Miller Fernandez 1928 - 2009...

Abel still loves skydiving and even got Josie involved in the 90's (can you believe it?). She was a real trooper who sang like an angel and was as sweet as can be...and she is missed.

Abel Fernandez steps out!

Abel and I attended Walter Grauman's 90th Birthday event at UCLA last year, they showed two films that Wally directed. the original unaired pilot to THE FUGITIVE...and one of his UNTOUCHABLES episodes, "Noise Of Death", which featured Jerry Paris and Abel Fernandez, both of whom had been in episodes of Steve Canyon that he had directed a year earlier!

Abel Fernandez and Walter Grauman reunite at Walter's 90th Birthday event at UCLA, March 23, 2012.
Photo courtesy of Chris Soldo.

It was great getting to listen to their comments and to see them together again after so many years. Walter directed some of the very best Steve Canyon episodes and the series was lucky to have him on board for those seven shows. Only Don Taylor and Lamont Johnson directed more episodes (ten apiece)...and they all contributed to making it the outstanding series that it is!

###

Volume 3 is ALMOST finalized and will be out before you know it, we thank you for your patience and please BE SURE you have subscribed to our blog to see every update, you should use the form BELOW. We thank you for your kind support in this unique restoration project, which has taken longer than anyone would have guessed to complete.

Subscribe to our mailing list

Stay tuned for the next update (very soon!) and and I thank you for your support and patience!

John Ellis
Pacoima, CA

PS - Note that Volume 1 is back in stock and available once again (along with Volume 2 and The Special Edition) from us on Amazon.com, ebay and our store here.  I package and send each order personally and hope you will note our 100% positive feedback on Amazon and ebay. You can also help by clicking the "like" buttons on our 3 amazon listings and by writing a little review if you have time...which we appreciate very much!

What's Cookin'?

Update on Volume 3: 

I'm very excited about the recent work that has been done and that we are almost ready to go to the factory. Two MAJOR issues have been overcome in the last month and I am so relieved to be past them I can't tell you. I also had to take a slight break to work on a project with The National Aviation Hall Of Fame and the USAF Museum this month but am back at the office, fully recovered and nearly finished with V3. I am expecting last-minute materials from Ohio State University and University of Wyoming within the next few days that include portions that I need to finish the revised documentaries...then I'm done with them for Volume 3. 

Steve Canyon Volume 3 main menu page for disc 2 (prior to revisions)...it should say "(Episodes 31-34 PLUS Extras)

With the exception of the unaired pilot bonus episode (which I am finishing now) all of the episodes for Vol 3 have been cleaned and gone over as much as I am capable of at this time...each has an average of 37,000 individual frames that I have had to correct mostly by eye and hand and it's been a real ordeal. Think a bit on that number. Now it's true I was ready to let some of it go in the past but my heart just wasn't really into allowing that to happen, so here we are. Soon there will be a BIG fanfare and post here (and elsewhere on the internet AND in email) announcing that V3 is at the factory, AND THEN when it is HERE and then when we start shipping. Until you see the fanfare it hasn't happened yet, so just be patient a wee bit longer. Check further down this post for a link to some more on Volume 3...and here's some more related news!

###

There have been a number of articles relating to Steve Canyon in magazines lately...here are a few that may be of interest.

On the Newsstands now:

http://www.syfy.com/magazine/

Sci Fi Magazine has a nice article by Jeff Berkwits on both the Terry And The Pirates 1952 TV series and our very own Steve Canyon 1958 show. Thanks a heap Jeff! Their website is at http://www.syfy.com/magazine

http://www.airforcemag.com/

Air Force Magazine April 2013 just hit the newsstands last week has a whopping 8 color pages on the history of Terry And The Pirates, Steve Canyon and Milt Caniff in an excellent article by John T. Correll. If you can't find it on the stands you can also download a digital (Adobe PDF) copy of the whole magazine or just the article on Milt by visiting their website at http://www.airforcemag.com.
Thanks Russ Maheras for providing the copies of Air Forge Magazine!

http://pilotmag.com/

PilotMag #21 (on stands now) has a 1 1/2 page article on us by our Friend Ron Kaplan of the National Aviation Hall Of Fame. This article by Ron (with different photos and in a different layout) originally appeared in Warbird Digest: 

http://www.warbirddigest.com/

Warbird Digest #44 (Sept/Oct 2012) Has Ron's original article (see below). Click to open in a larger easier to read format).

The author Ron Kaplan is ALSO the Director of the REEL FEST Aviation Film Festivals who have plans for presenting these film festivals all around the USA. I've appeared at two of them, the most recent in Dayton Ohio at the US Air Force Museum where we presented a Steve Canyon episode on their 80 foot wide Imax screen!

The Steve Canyon episode OPERATION DIPLOMAT went over well, but the biggest draw was the two screenings of TOP GUN 3D, which were packed (sold out). I enjoyed the film AND getting to meet Top Gun Pilot and Astronaut Capt. Robert "Hoot" Gibson (who is a BIG Steve Canyon fan!).

These are the only two pictures I have (until they send me a set of their pro publicity images from the event)...but here I am in the museum with the large F-14 Tomcat miniature used in the "flat spin" effects in the movie TOP GUN (1986). It took two grueling weeks of intense effort BUT we finally got the kinks worked out of showing Steve Canyon in Imax and are all set for more events like this down the road. A big thank you to Mary Bruggeman of the Air Force Museum Foundation and to Ron Kaplan for having me once again. Thanks also to my friends Hal Bryan, Matt Tauber and Ted Haycraft for your kindness and for being there.

Matt Tauber and John Ellis in March 2009 at the prior REEL FEST.

Speaking of our pal Matt Tauber, the lad has just posted a nice write-up about my appearance at the USAF Museum (which includes a nice bit of info about Steve Canyon On TV Vol. #3), which you can read by clicking HERE! Matt is a real hero in the Milton Caniff world, his blog always has some new bit of business about Terry And The Pirates, or Steve Canyon, or ol' Milt hisself...be sure to sign up and follow his blog, it's always a treat!

Lastly I should also mention that IDW's Library Of American Comics' astounding archive editions reprinting ALL of the Steve Canyon newspaper strips from the beginning (with color sundays like you've never seen 'em (from Milt's original color syndicate proofs!) are up to...ahem...Volume #3 now (I just got mine in the mail...see image above). They are amazingly swell and a big thanks to Dean Mullaney and Bruce Canwell for all the hard work on these...Milt would be very happy and proud!

Signing off for now...and please STAND BY for the big announcement coming up in the next post in May.

John Ellis
Pacoima, CA

P.S. Note that I FINALLY have repaired all of the picture (and other) links on this blog that have been messed up since Apple.com withdrew their web support June 30th 2012. If you've been frustrated by missing pictures and such, have no fear, they are all BACK now! Huzzah! AND if you SHOULD find any that I might have missed, please drop me a line.

Col. Canyon Is Alive And Well!

Undoubtedly Captain Dennis (below) has that "thousand yard stare"

that comes from waiting so long for V3...

Wynn Pearce as USAF Capt. Dennis Parker in the midst of a Korean War Flashback while in the air in his F-104 Starfighter in the Steve canyon episode KOREAN STORY.

Contrary to the beliefs of a few naysayers, doubting Thomases and prophets of doom, The Complete Steve Canyon On TV Volume 3 is alive and well and ALMOST "ready for primetime". 


I really appreciate that most of you have been so eager and interested and passionate, and your communiques have been polite and supportive...that really helps speed the process. I already feel a bit like "the boy who cried wolf" here and am well aware that promised deadlines have flown by.  I resisted the pressure to offer Volume 3 pre-orders for quite a while and finally succumbed to said pressure with much trepidation (even though many fans promised to be patient...and most have done just that). It was probably an error in judgement to even set ANY deadlines on such a comprehensive creative project.

Finishing Volume 3 has been my primary focus for the last six years! I work on it constantly, every day, though sometimes I have to address other matters. Corrections, changes and additions to some of the materials have slowed things down as well. On the other hand recent improvements to my health have sped things up considerably too. I want you all to understand that I also NEED TO BE DONE with it and have it released as soon as possible, so you can bet it will be out the moment it is completely finished...and am shooting for it to be done THIS MONTH.

I will say I am VERY EXCITED with the progress and final work on everything and I know you all will be too. It's really terrific and I am proud of the unique content and the quality of the work on it. Just as soon as I turn it over to the factory I will post an update here AND will send out an email IMMEDIATELY to everyone who has purchased from us that is on our NEW mailing list (via MailChimp)...you can subscribe using the form below.

Sorry the progress of volume 3 has seemed so slow. but it will be out soon and there has never been any doubt (on my end) of that...I would hope that 6 years dedication to this project would be a testament to that fact.

Please understand that for the quality and amount of detailed work it is just taking more time than I ever anticipated.  This is a unique project which I am glad to do by myself, however I am wearing lots of hats.  I have never stopped working to provide the best product possible.  I am sure that many of you have done a creative project, or any project, and had the experience of it taking longer than anticipated.

Don't forget, I have not been hired nor paid by anyone to do this.  This is a labor of love that we have supported with our own money.  There has never been ANY doubt in my mind that it WILL be completed.

I am not the kind of person that does anything half-assed or unfinished.  Those that know me personally will tell you that I have always been fully dedicated to what I do and have no choice but to complete what I do to the best of my abilities.

Subscribe to our mailing list

Stay tuned for the next update (very soon!) and and I thank you for your support and patience!

John Ellis
Pacoima, CA

PS - Note that Volume 1 is back in stock and available once again (along with Volume 2 and The Special Edition) from us on Amazon.com, ebay and our store here.  I package and send each order personally and hope you will note our 100% positive feedback on Amazon and ebay. You can also help by clicking the "like" buttons on our 3 amazon listings and by writing a little review if you have time...which we appreciate very much!

Happy Holidays 2012

From December 25th, Christmas Day, 1947

Milton's words still have profound meaning 65 years later to the day. In light of recent events in our great country, I hope those of you reading this can find some comfort in them and enjoy the holidays.

John Ellis

Harry Guyton

The Milton Caniff Estate

###

Note that although we were not able to make the Christmas 2012 deadline for The Complete Steve Canyon On TV Volume 3 (due to circumstances beyond our control), we anticipate shipping after the holiday postal rush is over. Stay tuned!

Canyon...Heroes...Part II

Another brief post and V3 update!

Dean Fredericks poses in front of the Steve Canyon limestone statue in Idaho Springs during their "Steve Canyon Days" celebration July 1959. The statue was erected in July 1950. It's still there today!

As we approach Christmas and the long awaited release of THE COMPLETE STEVE CANYON ON TV VOLUME 3, I am going to briefly reinstate the offer from this past June that a few of you participated in to give a helping hand to the project.

Dean Fredericks  signs autographs for kids and parents alike in Colorado July 1959. Another rare shot from our huge archive from the TV series and creator Milton Caniff!

A few of you have asked and we have listened!

If you think you have what it takes to be a HERO OF THE CANYON click here to read more about how you can participate and gain a little slice of immortality in the bargain.

###

THE COMPLETE STEVE CANYON ON TV VOLUME #3 is still on course , "in the pipe 5 by 5" for release and shipping for delivery to all pre-orderers before Christmas. ALL pre-orders will receive the special 3 volume slipcase with the DVD, which is our thank you gift to all those who have supported us.

Please note that we are about to raise all of our prices soon, sometime between today and Sunday December 2nd (just as soon as I have the time to change ALL of the listings here on our website). The price change reflects several postal rate increases over the last few years and since we offer free shipping unfortunately it is now necessary. So again, sorry to do this but don't say we didn't warn you.

To visit the pre-order page for Steve Canyon Volume #3 click here.

To visit our store to order our other Steve Canyon DVDs click here.

PLEASE be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our posts by entering your email address on the top right sidebar here, and remember when the activation email comes, to click the link to activate. The only purpose for this is to keep you informed by email whenever there's a new update here, so please use with confidence. 

That's it for now... watch for a new post next week with another update!

John Ellis

Pacoima, California