This past weekend, I headed up to the biannual Cleveland Cinema Wasteland horror convention where one of the featured guests was none other than legendary horror actor, Tom Atkins.
Atkins, who starred in such horror classics as The Fog, Escape From New York, Night of the Creeps, Creepshow, and most famously, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, had his table set up, ready to sign autographs and chat with fans.
I was excited to meet him, and when I had my chance, I knew exactly what I wanted to him to sign...
I pulled out my copy of Death Waltz Records' Halloween III: Season of the Witch vinyl soundtrack and requested a very specific line from the film, to which he laughingly obliged...
While he was signing the insert poster and taking the above photo, we had a quick second to chat about acting, horror films and the city of Pittsburgh, where he still resides today. I was very happy to hear stories about his favorite Carpenter film, The Fog, as well as how proud he was of his work in Halloween III. It's nice to see that the film, universally panned after it's non-Michael Myers release back in 1983 finally get its due and become an immensely popular cult classic today.
Tom Atkins was by far the nicest and most approachable horror actor that I have met. And the passion that he still has for his work made for an incredible experience for me. If you haven't, find a convention that he will be attending and make time to go meet him. You won't regret it.
