Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention (MANC) 2016

Ian Grieve - talk on American influences on Australian Old Time Radio Production

Late 2015 Dawn and I discussed a trip to Canada in 2016 and I wanted to time it with a visit to the Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention (MANC) held in Baltimore, Maryland U.S.A. around September.  MANC is a Nostalgia Convention which includes Radio, Movie, Television and Pulp.  Timing was tight for us as we had a family commitment in Australia at the beginning of September and Canadian Tours finished late September.  I emailed Martin Grams Jnr, who was the convenor of MANC, as well as being a respected Author and Researcher, to see what the dates would be for MANC 2016 and explained I was planning a visit to Canada.

Martin advised me of the dates, which unfortunately didn't fit our Canadian plans.  Then he dropped a bombshell and asked me to be a Guest Speaker at MANC and do a presentation on Australian Old Time Radio.  WOW!

That blew Canada off the wish list for another year.  We scrambled to find a tour of the U.S that we could fit into the trip and we did.

The Special Guests for MANC 2016 were impressive.  Unfortunately several had to cancel due to work commitments but are scheduled to appear 2017.  Actors Dabney Coleman, Debra Paget and John Amos in particular.

mgram1.wixsite.com/nostalgia-convention/celebrities

---

The Special guests that did appear, included Robert Fuller (Wagon Train, Laramie, Emergency) and Robert Conrad The Wild, Wild West, Black Sheep Squadron, Hawaiian Eye, to name a few  The Robert Conrad fans lined up to speak to him and get autographs and photos for every hour the convention was open.  Robert Conrad missed other commitments just to stay and make sure he met every single one of them.  I think they were all women.  They even had a scheduled meeting of the Robert Conrad fan club organised. 

Keir Dullea, probably best known for the lead in 2001: A Space Odyssey and many other movie and Television appearances, was also a popular guest.  His starring lead was in the Gene Roddenberry series The LIeutenant.  He also appeared in Star Trek, Perry Mason and 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Bond Girls Luciana Paluzzi and Britt Ekland helped balance the sexes along with Kathy Garver who played Cissy Davis on Family Affair and many other television, movie and voice over roles.  She was also one of the first to congratulate me several days later.

Ian Grieve meeting Bernie Kopell

One of the most entertaining guests was Bernie Kopell. Bernie played Dr. Adam Bricker on the long running series, The Love Boat as well as Siegfried on Get Smart.  Bernie had no off switch.  I first saw him in the departure lounge at L.A X. when we were waiting for our flight to Baltimore.  He had the staff in stitches.  He kept that up even on the flight.  I ran in to him a few times during the convention and he kept reminding me how much he enjoyed Australia.  He was close friends with another guest, Kent McCord from Ozzie and Harriet and a favourite show of mine, Adam12, also he was long time friend of Robert Fuller.  When the three of them took centre stage at a table to talk about their careers and tell funny stories about each other, Bernie took over.  It was an hilarious session.

If you are interested in hearing the session, here are the links:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra7X7x7_20U

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbwgHmCE9ao

---

Stuntman Russ McCubbin was there, entertaining people with his stories of being a stunt double for Clint Walker on Cheyanne and then guest appearances on dozens of shows from Laredo, Wild Wild West, Dukes of Hazzard, Knight Rider, A-Team, Sudden Impact, Another 48 Hours and many others.  Jeremy Ambler was there to promote his book and discuss what it is like playing a Walker on The Walking Dead.  Carol Ford was promoting her book Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography.  Mark Redfield was promoting his audio dramas and Rusty Gilligan promoting his comic work for D.C, Marvel, Image and other big name comic book companies. 

Then there were the various seminars which included mine about U.S. influences on Australian Radio Production.  The sellers tables were amazing, something like 300 of them with memorabilia, movies, audio, television and pulps.  I have photos.

As you can see, if you are interested in pulp culture, there is something in it for you.  As far as I am aware, only two Australians have attended these conventions, myself and Peter Tatchell from Melbourne, who has a strong interest in researching Comedy.  Australian fans of Pop Culture should be taking the opportunity and attending such conventions when we visit the U.S.

If you are interested in hearing my talk, here it is in 3 parts:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=f97bO_EphdU    (part 1)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE_gTCRoGl4   (part 2)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIjCrEMYmmM  (part 3)

I did pick up some postcards and advertising for other Festivals and Conventions and I will include them in an article I am writing on the subject.  Keep an eye out for it in the future on this website.

The next blog will also be about my trip to MANC and I will put it up in the very near future.

My thanks to Martin Grams Jnr first for inviting me to MANC, I had a fantastic time.  I also thank Martin for making the audio available on youtube, that I have used in this edition of my blog.

Ian Grieve