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‘A worker hoses down debris as the demolition of the 2,000-seat Church of All Nations auditorium continues at the former Holy Land Experience theme park near the Mall of Millenia in Orlando, Thursday, June 8, 2023. The park closed permanently in August 2021 with plans for the 15-acre site to be developed into a new, 19,600-square-foot emergency room complex by AdventHealth of Altamonte Springs.’

 

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‘One of Singapore’s most iconic structures is about to be demolished, never to be seen again. At 37 metres tall, Sentosa Merlion towers over all the other 6 Merlion statues in Singapore. Ever since its ‘birth’ in 1995, this giant being has courageously braved the Singapore heat for over 24 years. Never failing to shoot out lasers from its eyes every night, this majestic statue has delighted Singaporeans and tourists alike during its nightly laser shows. Due to the size of Sentosa Merlion, there are currently no plans for relocation. The Merlion has been slated to be demolished on 20 October.’

 

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‘A mid-April blaze demolished the Victorian-era mansion that served as the Haunted Monster Museum as well as the centerpiece of a bizzaro place called Dinosaur World where dinos would gobble Union soldiers and where brave visitors could also hunt Bigfoot with a “redneck.”‘

 

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‘Hard Rock International plans to build a Guitar Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, and that means something has to go.’

 

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‘World’s smallest Target store in Marathon, Texas, has been demolished. The Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson told the property owner that the structure had become unstable and so the decided to tear it down before someone got hurt.’

 

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‘From 1976 until 2001, Mystery Fun House was a second-tier tourist attraction that operated in the I-Drive corridor in Orlando. It was an old-school fun house, with mirror mazes and creepy dungeon rooms and monsters and magic shows, and it was wildly popular with families in the 1970s and ’80s. Today, it’s a vacation lot full of garbage.’

 

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‘A Kansas water park operator says Verruckt, the world’s tallest waterslide, will be demolished following the death by beheading of a state lawmaker’s 10-year-old son on the ride in August. Verruckt is German for “insane.” Rafts on the ride made a 17-story drop at speeds of up to 70 mph.’

 

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‘Chinese police have destroyed an army of fake terracotta warriors in northern China at a copycat resort near the mausoleum housing the ancient sculptures depicting the armies of Qinshihuang, China’s first emperor. Authorities in Xi’an in Shaanxi Province raided a fake resort in Lintong, where the real terracotta warriors are also located, and destroyed over 40 copycat sculptures.

‘The fake statues were found at the Suyuanqinhuangling resort, which covers over 600 square metres. Unlicensed guides and taxi drivers working on commission would lure unsuspecting tourists to the site, “confusing visitors and damaging tourism in the district,” a local official told Xinhua. They also found fake terracotta figures for sale around the site, including life-size figures of David Beckham in imperial armour.’

 

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Ozark Wildcat (Celebration City, NC)

 

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A mother and her eight-year-old daughter were killed in Georgia Saturday when workers blew up a towering Soviet war memorial. The demolition, to make way for a new parliament building, has already been condemned by Georgia’s opposition and by Russia, which fought a brief war with Georgia last year. The victims were killed by lumps of concrete sent hurtling into the courtyard of their home in the country’s second city of Kutaisi, local media said. Reports said four other people were in a serious condition in hospital.

 

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Until the late 19th century, New Zealand’s Pink and White Terraces along Lake Rotomahana on the North Island, attracted tourists from around the world interested in seeing the beautiful natural formations created by a large geothermal system. They were known worldwide as the Eighth Wonder of the Natural World. But the eruption of Mt Tarawera on 10 June 1886 buried the terraces in sediment and caused the lake basin to enlarge, engulfing the land where the terraces stood.

 

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Cinderella’s Castle (Ellicott City, MD)

 

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May 17, 2014: ‘The Big Coffee Mug was either demolished or carted away around this date. Everything that once stood on the lot is gone, down to bare earth. We have no further information at this time. This huge travel-style coffee mug, perhaps large enough for two to three people to enjoy a hot java bath at the same time, served as the sign for a small drive-up establishment. The sign was also a fountain, spewing thick, dark brown colored water from the spout on its lid (when it was working).’

 

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Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment building (Milwaukee, WI)

 

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‘LeBron James has demolished a $37million Los Angeles mansion and started work on building his dream home. Built in the 1930s, the four-bedroom compound spanned across a 2.5-acre land with a view of both Beverly Hills and the Pacific Ocean. It came with eight bathrooms, two detached guesthouses, seven fireplaces, a tennis court, a movie theater, a swimming pool, and a pool house. A hedged-lined driveway led to a large motor court approaching the Mediterranean-style abode.’

 

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’18 year old Jesus statue was demolished at Kolar District in Karnataka, India. A 20 feet tall Jesus Statue at Kolar District was demolished. The administration demolished the statue at 3 am on Tuesday.’

 

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On September 12, 2012 at 7am, one of Cedar Point’s (former) tallest rides, “Space Spiral” was demolished in order to help make room for a new roller coaster called Gatekeeper. Gatekeeper was at that time the tallest, fastest, and longest Wing Coaster ever built. The new coaster also featured the world’s tallest inversion at 170 feet in the air.

 

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The Lego house built by Top Gear presenter James May has been demolished. May built the house using 3.3million plastic bricks and it had a working toilet, hot shower and a ‘very uncomfortable’ bed. But after no one agreed to take the toy house off his hands a demolition team was called in to knock the colourful bricks off its timber frame with mallets. Plans for Legoland to move it to their theme park fell through because transport costs were too high and despite a final Facebook appeal for someone to take it, no-one came forward.

 

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Twin Tee-Pees Pancake House (Seattle)
Opened 1937, Demolished 2002

 

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Twister: Ride It Out (Universal Studios, FL)
Just as its namesake, the news surrounding the closure of Twister hit as fast as a tornado, without any warning. There were the jokes when Jimmy Fallon made his first visit to Universal Orlando with the Tonight Show, that he was getting a ride and it was replacing Twister. But he’s a comedian, so it was taken with a grain of salt. Yet it was Jimmy himself who dished out the news, with confirmation shortly there after on the Universal Orlando Blog, that he in fact was getting his own attraction. It’s left more than a few heads scratching.

 

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Xanadu House of the Future (Kissimmee, FL)
Throughout the 1980s, tourists flocked to the Xanadu House, a futuristic home in Kissimmee, Florida. This domestic pleasure dome was made of polyurethane and filled with “friendly computer servants.” A large plastic balloon was sprayed with layers of expanding foam, which would harden and form the shell. The rooms were run by Commodore computers, which managed everything from spa temperature to home security – a robot voice would warn if trespassers had wandered into your turnip of a home. At its peak, the Kissimmee Xanadu House brought in a 1000 guests a day. What ever happened to Xanadu House? It closed in the mid-90s due to dwindling interests in the building technology, became infested with mold over the course of a decade or so, and was torn down in 2005.

 

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Amazonia (Great Yarmouth, UK)

 

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The Pacific Undersea Gardens, a floating tourist attraction on Victoria, BC’s, Inner Harbour was closed in the fall of 2013 and towed to Point Hope Shipyard where it was eventually demolished in 2014. The attraction, owned by the Oak Bay Marine Group, had been open for 50 years, first in Oak Bay and then on the Inner Harbour.

 

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‘5Pointz was an outdoor art exhibit space at 45–46 Davis Street in Long Island, New York City, where colorful murals were exhibited on the exterior walls of an old warehouse, drawn by artists from the world over. The graffiti space was curated by Jonathan Cohen, a graffiti artist going under the moniker of “Meres”, who billed the exhibit as “the world’s premier graffiti mecca”. Indeed, as its reputation as an epicenter of the graffiti scene grew, the industrial complex began to draw aerosol artists from across the world. Even the elusive British street artist Banksy got into the act. The high visibility of the building from the New York City Subway’s IRT Flushing Line attracted a large number of visitors, including prominent artists, musicians, filmmakers, photographers, and entire tour buses full of admirers soaking in the more than 1,500 murals. 5Pointz doesn’t exist anymore. It was demolished in 2014 after its owner decided to make better use of the neglected property and build a condominium complex instead.’

 

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1232-4 Druid Hill Avenue (Baltimore)

 

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‘The fifth and final season of The Bates Motel, the A&E adaptation of the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho wrapped up filming earlier this month, so the replica Bates Motel and the menacing house that loomed above it were both torn down.’

 

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Phantasmagoria (Bell’s Amusement Park, OK)
Opened: July 1973
Demolished: June 19, 2007
Number of levels: 2
Duration: approx. 5 minutes
All of the ‘bang doors’ close solely by the power of gravity.
There are nearly as many smoke detectors as there are spooks in the ride. Not one fire occurred in the ride’s history.
Items commonly discarded in ride: Stuffed animals, hats, litter, cigarette butts, ladies undergarment, feminine products, condom wrappers
Means of mischief: Getting out of car (most common), making out, occasional stink bombs.
Number of tricks: 23

APPENDIX B: List of tricks

1. The spinning eyes (exterior)
2. The lunging dog (exterior)
3. Three ascending bang doors with circular cuts (originally diminishing squares)
4. Guard dog sign/barking audio
5. Dip #1
6. Grim Reaper (originally hung above the dip in the long corridor)
7. Skeleton in the graveyard
8. Singing skulls
9. Buzzard in the nest
10. The psychedelic room (aka tinfoil room aka strobe room )
11. Skull faced “lady of the night”
12. The witches head
13. Dip #2
14. Collapsing mine shaft (aka Falling Timbers)
15. The Skull Pond with rattling floorboards
16. Cloaked skeleton lady in front of shingles
17. The giant rat
18. Rotating naked/bikini woman
19. Skeleton in the noose
20. The bus (formerly the tilted room where water ran uphill)
21. The mirrored hallway
22. The spinning tunnel
23. The bat cave with water curtain

 

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Splendid China (Kissimmee, FL)
The park was owned by the Chinese government and controversial from the day it opened until the day it closed in 2003. Now, ten years later, the remains of Splendid China, located at Formosa Gardens Blvd. and Funie Steed Rd., are about to disappear forever. Mickey Grossman, of Pro Demo, said all of it will go during a four-week feast of destruction.

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‘The Lakeville Haunted House closed three years ago and now the town has torn it down. Town Meeting voters have OKed the movement of $50,000 of free cash to do it. Michael Nogueira, a volunteer at the haunted house for more than 15 years, talked with us about the decrepit Lakeville structure. “They couldn’t get anybody to take it over,” he said. “There were two sets of directors over the 27 years. The first set burned out and the new directors took over. When they burned out, they weren’t able to put together a set third set of directors, so it all fell apart.”‘

 

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Ghost representation of Manor Heath Mansion in Halifax, Canada, built by carpet magnate John Crossley in 1852. Sadly it was demolished in 1958.

 

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Chute Out (Six Flags, TX)

 

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The Cockenzie Power Station’s (in East Lothian, Scotland) 487 feet (149 meters) tall iconic chimneys were demolished on Saturday by placing dozens of explosives into holes on the sides of chimneys so that they collapsed exactly into each other.

 

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Following the opening of the Jaws ride at Universal Studios Orlando on June 7, 1990, it experienced extensive and persistent breakdowns as a result of the elaborate special effects involved, as did fellow original rides Kongfrontation and Earthquake: The Big One. However, while Universal was able to eventually contain the technical bugs in the Kong and Earthquake rides at “utmost consistency”, the effects in the Jaws ride constantly refused to work at all, resulting in the ride having to be evacuated almost daily. Following the Summer opening of the park, Universal temporarily shut down the ride in August 1990, and sued Ride & Show Engineering, Inc. for failing to properly design the ride. Throughout 1991 and early 1992, Universal attempted to refurbish the effects of the ride for an eventual re-opening, but with no success. Some reports leaked that the high-tech electronics used in the sharks was damaged due to inadequate waterproofing.

Eventually, Universal collaborated with Totally Fun Company, ITEC Entertainment, Intamin and Oceaneering International, who together installed an entirely new ride system and special effects to create an almost entirely new version of the ride. Some of the changes, which resulted in a re-design of the ride, included the replacement of two major ride scenes; the first being where Jaws bit onto the tour boat and turned it by 180-degrees (which was replaced with a Gas dock explosion scene); and the second being the finale, which was originally loosely based on the first Jaws where the skipper shot a grenade into the shark’s mouth causing it to explode underwater (which was replaced by a finale loosely based on the ending for Jaws 2 where the shark was electrocuted after biting onto an underwater cable attached to a high-voltage barge). Oceaneering provided the animatronic shark for the redesigned ride, their first theme park-based project. The ride was then officially re-opened by Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary and Steven Spielberg in Spring of 1993.

Following the hurricanes that struck Central Florida in 2004, Universal was forced to temporarily close the ride in January 2005 due to the rising cost of petroleum, which was used to fuel the numerous pyrotechnical effects throughout the attraction as well as the tour boats. The ride finally reopened in December 2005, but was listed as “seasonal” and only open on busier days. This lasted until February 2007 when the ride was finally opened full-time again after numerous guest complaints. During the 2005 closure, several renovations were made to the ride. The attraction was further refurbished every year from 2008 – December 2, 2011 when Universal Orlando Resort announced that the Jaws attraction would close permanently on January 2, 2012 to make room for the second phase of The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter.

 

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Dudley Hippodrome (Dudley, UK)

 

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The Gu Tian (Fujian, China)
The cement ship was built during the 1970s when there was a lack of steel in China as a cheap solution during the ‘cultural revolution’. It was launched to herald in a new age where China had mastery of the seas. But after her first voyage in 1974, Communist officials realised it cost far too much to power a concrete ship through the waters, and she was driven ashore and grounded. The 345ft long, 48ft wide, 26ft 7in high Gu Tian became a squat for locals and a minor tourist attraction and spent 40 years beached on the bank of the Mingjiang River. It was also used as a training base for Fujian Ship Communications Vocational College. It has previously been ruled too expensive to destroy but since the land was bought by a re-development scheme, the process began to dismantle it to build a block of flats.

 

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‘Few people have seen it with their own eyes but the legend of Little Venice lives on through nuggets of evidence and word of mouth passed down the generations since the brief existence of the canal attraction beneath what is now Queens Market from 1902 to 1905.

‘Contemporary newspaper reports and adverts described it as a “faithful reproduction in miniature of Venice” including “real gondolas” among leading Edwardian attractions including 40 “modern” shops, ballroom dancing, varieties, an orchestra, ice cream-making and a roof garden.

‘A fire in 1907, in which the glass dome roof of Queens Palace collapsed, is said to have cut off the underground attraction which was then abandoned and forgotten in subsequent decades. The lack of hard evidence over Little Venice’s existence has raised doubt over whether it ever existed to begin with. It was not included in the original blueprint for Queens Market and photographic evidence is limited to a single old black-and-white print.’

 

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50 Years Ago, Donald Trump’s Father Demolished Coney Island’s Beloved Steeplechase Park.

 

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Airstream Ranch (Tampa, FL)

 

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The giant statue representing the late Gilbert Bourdin, founder of the Triumphant Vajra cult of Mandarom, collapses after demolition workers set off explosives at the base of the 110-foot structure in Castellane, southern France, September 6, 2001. French authorities said the monument to Bourdin, the focal point of the sect’s “holy city of Mandarom” in the hills above Castellane, was built in 1990 without permission.

 

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‘The early Miracle Strip along Panama City Beach was, and is, traditionally known for its outlandish attractions designed to entertain visitors to the Florida Gulf Coast. One such attraction was Jungle Land. Originally begun as housing for a roadside zoo attraction in the mid-1960s, the oversized artificial volcano reflected the whimsical architecture of reinforced stucco and concrete that was beginning to dot the coast.

‘Owner Val Valentine hired young women dressed (more or less) in full “Jungle Jane” gear to serve as tour guides leading visitors on a “dangerous” (again, more or less) tour through a winding cave to the center of the structure. Along the way, people could peek through holes in the cavern’s walls to get a glimpse of the “lava” bubbling at the core. Valentine also had the volcano fully stocked with smoke pots to emit smoke and flame from the opening which could be seen from quite a distance. Wild animals were kept at the center of Jungle Land and were trained by his “cave girls” to put on various performances for the tourists.

‘Jungle Land closed in the late 1970s. Alvin’s Island, a chain of stores selling souvenirs, beachwear, and other related items, took over in 1981 and named the place “Alvin’s Magic Mountain Mall”. In 2018, the store closed after damage from Hurricane Michael. It was demolished in 2020.’

 

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‘TIL was a waterpark attraction in Japan that consisted of over 50 interwoven slides that was completely destroyed in the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995.’

 

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‘The attraction Solido opened in 1993 and had been a symbol for the French theme park Futuroscope ever since. The building was composed of a sphere 33m in diameter, divided symmetrically by a long black crest. It housed a hemispherical screen 27m in diameter which occupied half of the interior surface. The Solido was renowned throughout the world because it was the only room in the world that offered double 3D projection. Each film was projected at 18m on the screen and a relief effect was rendered using liquid crystal glasses.’

 

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‘Fantasy Island says it is looking at the damage and re-evaluating plans for the Killer Villa Halloween attraction after a devastating fire. Fire crews were called to Fantasy Island in Ingoldmells at 12.24am on Thursday after a spent firework from an evening display set the wooden building and its contents ablaze. The resort had been hoping to stage Killer Villa as part of the ghoulish attractions at ‘Fear Island’ for Halloween. We asked Fantasy Island if the Killer Villa attraction had been damaged and if it would go ahead. A spokesman said: “Look at it, idiot:, pointing at the charred pile where the gothic manor once stood. “Does that look like it’s going ahead?”

 

*

p.s. Hey. ** Charalampos, Hi. Oh, it feels pretty exciting to finally be near the film’s finish line. We started trying to find a way to make it six years ago, so it’s a relief too. We’re hoping to have it absolutely finished and ready to go by the end of the year. Congrats on the publication! Everyone, Pick to click from Charalampos: ‘Very good news from me is that my DRAW OVER PICS series I did earlier this year just found a home in Feral Dove Magazine which made me so happy wooo!’ Looks great at a first glance, man. Love from P-Town. ** Steve Erickson, Thanks! It’d be nice if the ‘Closer’ reprint does well enough that they reissue the whole Cycle, but no plans yet. Everyone, Here’s Mr. Erickson: ‘I’ve had three reviews published this week, on Karen Tongson’s book NORMPORN: QUEER VIEWERS AND THE TV THAT SOOTHES US, on Paul B. Preciado’s film ORLANDO, MY POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY, and on Aesop Rock’s album INTEGRATED TECH SOLUTIONS.’ Christ, you have to nail down your 2023 lists already? Progress … we’re in the finals for a grant that would pay for most of the post work that needs to be done, so we’re hoping to get that. We’re contacting tech people to work with, and we’re starting to lay in Puce Mary’s final score, and we’re about a week from having the final edit. So that’s pretty good. Thank you for asking. ** _Black_Acrylic, It’s … charming. A week or 2 of finger crossing from me should you need it. You definitely sound in writer mode, which is awesome. Way early happy birthday, sir. ** Dominik, Hi!!! Yes, you’ve been here for a while now, so cool. I live close to a bunch of very fancy hotels where super wealthy and famous celebrities stay, so maybe I’ll go hang out in their lobbies and hope my ghost realises there are far more lucrative people available for them to haunt. French bureaucracy is world famous for its hellishness. Ha ha, I’m sure listening to ‘Baby Shark’ for all eternity is a much better option. Love making the shop keepers not look at me with daggers in their eyes when I hold out handfuls of loose change to pay them, G. ** Bzzt, Thanks, man. You and your piece convinced me to get the Valerie Werder book, and it’s wending its way to me now. Thanks! What are your potential projects, if you want to say? Me? I’m in the middle of tying to put together a book of short fiction that’s been waysided by the film work. Zac’s and my next project is an audio novel, sort of a radio play-like novel, sound only. It’s all written, so we hope to start working on that as soon as the film’s finished. And we’re just starting to bat around ideas for a new film. Awesome day to ya! ** tomk, Hey. Oh, sorry, I’m way behind on my email. I’ll go find it, but yes, definitely very into doing a ‘welcome’ post for your new book. Absolutely! ** l@rsty, Noise! My favorite sound! I’ll be on that ASAP. Everyone, l@rsty and another dude ‘retired to [said dude’s] basement with two samplers and a modular synth and made noise for 2 hours’ and here’s 20 minutes of it for the ears of the discerning among you. A friend saw Devo just the other day and they were almost shockingly still great live. Have fun. ** Bill, Hi. No, I’d never heard of him until I wandered into his story during some online exploration of some sort. Okay, I’ll lift my finger away from the Purchase button re: Christine Lai’s novel, and thank you for that. ** Sarah, Hi. That’s interesting about people getting less emotional about their pets than about themselves. I guess that makes total sense, although people sure do get emotional about their healthy pets at least. Your evil vlogger novel sounds very tempting and intriguing, of course. I hope it pans out, selfishly or not. When I’m writing, it’s definitely more about quantity than quality because I always do a ton of revising and refining and stuff later, so I don’t worry if the first language output is sloppy or uneven anything. It can amazing what you can polish out something that seemed like blah blah when you typed it. I know a little of Babytron and really like it. I don’t know the others by name anyway. Huh, cool, I’ll go make a serious investigation of that gang. Thank you, I need a new exciting bunch of sounds right now. You feeling good, I hope? ** Nick., Hey! Ha ha, peanut butter is weirdly evil. Peanuts, no, but their butter, def. It does sound pretty special with the guy. It sounds like the kind of thing that could achieve a very weird perfection or explode, and either is probably worth it. Pray tell. I do like board games. I did a big blog post about them at some point that I should probably restore. I haven’t actually sat down and played a board game in forever though. In Zac’s and my last film two of the characters briefly play this board game where you or rather your board piece is trapped drifting down a rushing river toward a murderously huge waterfall, and you have to try not to go over it. I can’t remember the name. A bunch of us were playing that during the shooting breaks. That was my last IRL game experience, I think. I used to like the ones where you build some weird machine-like structure during the game, like Mouse Trap is/was a famous one. Does Magic the Gathering count? I have friends who are constantly trying to get me to play with that, and I’m, like, no fucking way. When they talk about playing that, they all sound slightly insane. I ate way too much pasta last night, so whatever you do today, don’t do that. ** Audrey, Hi, Audrey. Wow, cool! Thank you! I’m not sure what the author is going to use as his nom de plume, but his name is Wolfe Margolies. His book will come out next spring. I’ll keep you up on it. USC, ok, so west downtown. Around there? Hm, there’s the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. I tend to go look at art when I have free time. These are probably too ambitious for your time frame and mobility, but The Museum of Jurassic Technology is really weird and poetic and great. I have a thing for the Graveline Tour where they drive you around LA in a converted hearse and show you where all the famous people died. It’s morbid but really fun. On the film, we have about a week of editing left and then maybe a month and half of the technical stuff (VFX, color grading, sound mix & design). The class I’ll be a guest at is called ‘Writing the Impossible’ and it’s at The New Centre for Research & Practice, which I think is in NYC. I’ll let you know about the Miyazaki. I hope life is being your best friend too. Love, Dennis. ** Okay. Today a made a post for you combining two of my favorite things: attractions, many of the theme park variety, and defunct/ demolished things. A potent combo if you’re me, and, maybe even if you’re you or some of you? See you tomorrow.

* (restored)
* all text culled from The Tom Graeff Project Website

 

‘Tom Graeff was born Thomas Lockyear Graeff on September 12, 1929, to George and Grace Graeff in the now-vanished mining town of Ray, Arizona. Before Tom was two years old, he and his parents moved to Los Angeles, where Tom grew up and where his brother James was born. Discovering a love for film at an early age, Tom enrolled in the UCLA Theater Arts program, which allowed him to study filmmaking.

 

 

‘Graeff pledged the Delta Chi fraternity and became a brother. His college career was marked by poor grades and after being put on academic probation several times, he redeemed himself by making a short film about fraternity life entitled Toast to Our Brother.

‘The film starred Graeff and a Paramount ingenue named Judith Ames, and guest-starred the Hollywood actor and comedian Joe E. Brown, a UCLA alumni. Judith Ames, who appeared in When Worlds Collide, later changed her name to Rachel Ames and found success in the role of “Audrey Hardy,” one of the longest-running characters on the popular American soap opera General Hospital. Toast to Our Brother premiered at the Village Theater in Westwood on December 18, 1951 as a benefit for the St. Sophia Building Fund. The film garnered some industry attention and, because of the work Graeff put into it as writer, director, producer, and star, he was allowed to graduate in 1952.

 

Toast to Our Brother – the entirety

 

‘After graduation, Graeff made several attempts to break into the film industry. Inspired by Roger Corman, Graeff decided to work independently. Described by friends and acquaintances as outgoing, energetic, creative, and a born salesman, Graeff landed a job producing and directing a recruiting film for Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California. The resulting 20-minute film, entitled The Orange Coast College Story, was first shown on campus in May of 1954. The film was narrated by actor Vincent Price, who was a friend of the faculty advisor, and starred a young actor named Chuck Roberts, who became romantically involved with Graeff and helped him by working on Graeff’s two feature films.

 

Stills from The Orange Coast College Story

 

‘In the summer of 1954, Graeff began production on his first feature, a fantasy/ comedy entitled The Noble Experiment, to be shot in 35mm and color in Orange County, California, where Graeff was now living with his parents and younger brother. The film was photographed by Austin McKinney, who also shot Toast to Our Brother and who invented the apparatus that allowed the pre-recorded dialogue to be played back on set so the actors could lipsync. This saved on having to rent sound recording equipment or having to post-dub the actors later. McKinney had devised a 16mm version of the device while filming Toast to Our Brother, but now created a 35mm version for Tom’s first feature.

‘The film took a year to complete and premiered at the Lido Theater in Newport Beach, California, on August 2, 1955. Graeff again played the lead in this fantasy that he describes as being “about an amateur biochemist who, successful with a chemical ‘get-along pill’ for his mother-in-law, pours a barrel full of the concoction into the city water supply.” The film was not well received by the local audiences, but remained Graeff’s favorite of his films.

‘Today, no print of this film has been located. You can read Tom’s own description of the plot and themes of the film below. While a fantasy, The Noble Experiment was both autobiographical and eerily prescient about Graeff’s later troubles.

Our protagonist is Ronald, a good natured, very sensitive and imaginative young married man whose only vice is his evening and weekend tinkering with biochemistry experiments in a makeshift lab in his garage (which he sometimes gets so concerned with that he forgets little chores such as pulling weeds and repairing things like the loose and anxious ironing board which, at the slightest provocation, unfolds out of its wall with a bang, followed a moment later by its little sleeve board).

Ronald’s antagonist, a frequent family visitor who becomes the inspiration for his ‘noble experiment’ because of her uninhibited faultfinding with him over his household irresponsibility, is Motherinlaw. Her daughter, Katherine, our hero’s wife, tries valiantly to win her Mother to Ronald by describing, with as much exuberance as she can muster, his latest potion, this time a carrotcolored syrup, which, when taken in proper doses, is supposed to … (well, for the sake of brevity we won’t go into that here).

Already disgruntled over squealing gate hinges, the tall weeds, and then a doorknocker that comes off in her hand, Mother finds the new concoction outrageous, the ultimate in absurdity among Ronald’s timewasting nonsense projects.

That night, after watching TV pill commercials (to lose weight, or gain, or sleep, or keep awake and even one for getting rid of ‘that blue feeling,’ etc., Ronald gets his brainstorm idea: Why not a pill that would change Mother-in-law so drastically that he and she would get along: And that is what he’d call it: the ‘GetAlong’ pill. Why, the implications of worldwide use would be enormous. Imagine. Everyone taking the pills and getting along with everyone else. Think what would happen to crime, and war, and all of man’s inhumanities. This is what the world has been waiting for. If people wouldn’t take the pills, the formula could be vaporized in the air, or put in the reservoirs of drinking water.

Ronald sets to work immediately to come up with such a formula. He sticks at it night and day, with only short naps and snacks in between. After several weeks the project leads him to financial ruin, but he keeps right on.

In writing the script, it seemed reasonable to assume that a man working with diligence, perseverance, and singlemindedness, so unheeding of his ‘financial situation’ or other consequences, and all for an idea which to the runofthemill would seem utterly farfetched, would at some point along the way find himself forcibly removed to an institution for the emotionally disturbed. And so, this is what happens to Ronald. All this work without success, and now he finds himself in Sunnyside Asylum (Mother-in-law knows mental illness when she sees it.)

But, Eureka. An elderly scientist, confined there for years, is able to help Ronald. The old codger had been top man in a biochemical warfare research lab and had been caught putting his own secret ‘getalong’ formula into missile warheads instead of the death chemicals that had been ordered. This unbalanced behavior was enough to have him committed post haste.

But now Ronald has what his formula had lacked, and he escapes in the night with the help of the old fellow who himself chooses to remain.

Home again, Ronald mixes a huge batch of the formula–an eerie, milkypink substance. He prepares to test it on himself, having put a minute amount of it in a cup that he has Katherine take into the kitchen to fill with coffee. But before Katherine knows what has happened, Mother sips from the cup. Katherine knocks it out of her Mother’s hand, and rushes out to tell Ronald what has happened in case an antidote is needed. Mother follows, alarmed and furious with Ronald. But then … there is silence … She blinks her eyes… and then …”Hic… Hic up.” Ronald and Katherine stare, immobile. A gentle smile breaks over Mother’s face. Her eyes twinkle. “Ronald, my son..,” she says, her voice overflowing with warmth and affection.

Katherine is incredulous. “It works.'” Ronald joyously accepts Mother’s offer to help in his plan to get the whole batch into the city dam.

What happens to the little town and to Ronald, the funny things and the notsofunny things, the international reaction, and what the old scientist back at the asylum says about the results are things everyone should find worth pondering.

Ronald, even though he succeeded only in a ‘noble experiment,’ nevertheless had set his heart on a dream of what the world could become.

Will not, someday, everyone catch that same dream?

Would any more than that be needed?

 

The only surviving images from The Noble Experiment

 

‘His hard work paid off, however, when he was hired as an assistant on Roger Corman’s film Not of This Earth in the summer of 1956. To cut costs, Roger Corman regularly used crew members to play small parts in his films. We know that Tom worked as an assistant on Corman’s Not of This Earth. Now it’s been confirmed that the car park attendant in two scenes is Tom.

 

Roger Corman’s Not of This Earth

 

‘The experience working with Roger Corman led directly to Graeff’s writing a heart-felt science-fiction script entitled Killers from Outer Space and, modeling himself after Corman, Graeff set about getting investors, hiring actors, and planning the production. Securing some of the $14,000 budget from actor Gene Sterling, Graeff placed a small ad in The Hollywood Reporter looking for more investors. The ad was answered by British actor Bryan Pearson (billed as Bryan Grant), who put up $5000 in exchange for playing the role of Thor, the evil alien, and casting his wife Ursula Pearson (billed as Ursula Hansen) in the small role of Hilda.

‘Filmed in the fall of 1956, the film changed titles several times before it was eventually released as Teenagers from Outer Space by Warner Brothers in June of 1959. The film, now considered a cult classic, tells the tale of Derek (played by Chuck Roberts, a.k.a David Love) a space alien with a conscience who must save Earth from an invasion of giant flesh-eating monsters. It was shot entirely on location in Hollywood, California. The final title of the film was apparently not Graeff’s choice. The last title he gave to the film before selling it to Warner Brothers was The Boy From Out of This World.

 

Tom Graeff’s Teenagers from Outer Space

 

‘When it was finally released, it appeared as the lower part of a double bill alongside the second Godzilla film, Gigantis the Fire Monster, and was shown almost exclusively at drive-in theaters. Critics were not kind to the film, though Graeff was mentioned in the Los Angeles Times and Variety as a director with talent and a creative approach to a minimal budget. Audiences and theater exhibitors were vocal in their contempt for the film.

‘In the early 1960s, however, the film was sold to television, where it played frequently for the next thirty years and gained a cult following as a supreme example of a film whose intentions far outstripped its budget and for its infamous ray gun that turned living things into instant skeletons, an effect lovingly borrowed by Tim Burton in his film Mars Attacks!.

 

Stills from Teenagers from Outer Space

 

‘In November of 1959, Graeff bought a large advertisement in the Los Angeles Times, announcing that God had spoken to him and wanted him to spread peace and love throughout the world. This was followed by another advertisement announcing that Graeff was now named Jesus Christ II, and would be making an appearance on the steps of a Hollywood church to spread God’s word.

 

 

‘In 1960, Graeff appeared in the Los Angeles County Superior Court to petition for his name change. With vocal opposition by the Christian Defense League, the petition was denied. Later in 1960, Graeff interrupted a church service at the Hollywood Church of Christ, shouting “I’m Jesus Christ II and I’ve got a message. Everyone must listen.” Graeff was arrested and charged with disturbing the peace. This was actually his second arrest for disturbing the peace that year. Earlier he had disrupted a college class and had to be forcibly removed.

 

Tom Graeff leaving the Los Angeles Court House in 1960

 

‘Sentenced to 90 days in jail, Graeff jumped bail and fled first to the Midwest, then farther east until more entanglements with the law and state authorities led to jail time and finally an involuntary stay in a state mental hospital. After a series of electro-shock treatments, he was returned to his parents in California by late 1964.

‘Although Tom seemed to have given up filmmaking for involvement in various social and religious causes while a fugitive, he nonetheless was hired as editor on David L. Hewitt’s ultra low-budget science fiction film Wizard of Mars in 1965.

 

David L. Hewitt’s Wizard of Mars

 

‘By 1968, he had completed a bizarre screenplay entitled alternately Please, Please Turn Me Off, The Immortalizer, and The Fate Worse Than Death. In early 1968, Graeff took out a small ad in Variety, announcing that his screenplay, now entitled Orf, was for sale for the unprecedented sum of $500,000. Gossip columnist Joyce Haber followed up and printed a sarcastic piece in the Los Angeles Times, which reported that Graeff claimed Robert Wise was attached and Carl Reiner was to star. Wise denied any involvement.

‘Graeff, hurt by Haber’s misquotes and nasty attitude, published an apology to Robert Wise in The Hollywood Reporter, accusing Haber of purposefully omitting facts and trying to destroy negotiations to get the script produced. Haber responded in her column by telling everyone in Hollywood of the Jesus Christ II incident ten years earlier.

 

Tom Graeff in the late ’60s

 

‘Tom’s final years were obsessive and energetic. He lived in a beautiful home on Rodgerton in the Hollywood Hills, apparently serving as an assistant/helper to the house’s owner. Tom was vague about how he got his money. He always seemed to have enough to get by, despite never holding down a regular job. He continued to try and interest the Hollywood elite in Orf. He called agents and actors all over the world, asking them to read his script, then following up with them until they said, “No.” And they all said no.

 

 

‘Tom was also running Evolutionary Data Foundation, a mail order business that primarily existed to sell a long-playing record of a lecture he gave at the Metropoloan Community Church. The record’s front cover had a groovy picture of Jesus and the back cover proclaimed “UNABASHED LOVEMAKING and how sexual hypocrisy got started.” The lecture is a wacky, often humor-filled explanation of why man is inherently bisexual, with stops along the way into the theories of Desmond Morris and Richard Leakey. The record was broadcast twice in its entirety on local radio station KPFK-FM in 1969.

 

Cover illustration of Tom Graeff’s LP

 

‘Ironically, the back cover text on the record claimed that one of its uses was to help end the suicides of men with “an inability to cope with the flood of convincing misinformation concerning their homosexual feelings.” Tom talked about committing suicide endlessly to his circle of friends, who laughed him off or became annoyed at what they thought was a way for Tom to get attention and sympathy. Tom swung from manic highs, running around Hollywood trying to promote his projects, to depressed lows when he just sat quietly and said little.

 

The last known photograph of Tom Graeff

 

‘What led to Tom’s suicide? Was it that “inability to cope” with his homosexual feelings? Hearsay evidence points to a very different reason, which may also explain why he moved from Hollywood to a small rented room outside San Diego. Why were many of his papers destroyed after his suicide? And what does Kurt Vonnegut have to do with Tom Graeff? My research continues as I try and track down the facts behind Tom’s last years. It’s a tale of lust, unrequited love, Hollywood studio treachery, the sexual revolution of the late 1960s, big time dreams, and the crazy emotional roller coaster of Tom Graeff’s obsessions.’ — The Tom Graeff Project

 

The sad tale of Filmmaker Tom Graeff

 

 

 

*

p.s. Hey. ** tomk, Hi, tk! Wow, a beautiful Bela Tarr quote. Dude definitely knows about dark areas. Thanks. Your new novel is on its way! That’s a headline! Take care, bud. ** Dominik, Hi!!! Fingers crossed on the grant, thanks. We’re one of five finalists, so there’s a chance at least. Oh, hm, maybe a fan film of ‘Death in Venice’. All kinds of untaken possibilities there. I really have to stop losing my wallet. I swear I must have accidentally picked up a pickpocketing ghost. Did love succeed? Card in hand? Love making that ‘new’ Beatles song which I haven’t heard and have no intention of ever hearing cease being of interest to people who use social media to express their opinions, G. ** scunnard, Hey, Jared. Oh, is your Tanizaki essay readable? Thanks about the Guardian thing. xo. ** Jack Skelley, Hi, Ja … I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a Japanese toilet, but they’re inspiring. Thanks, thanks, thanks. Have fun reading with Exene and Kim, and make sure your memory hangs onto some related anecdotes. xo, me. ** Nick., Maybe it’s just me, but peanut butter is something I’ll start eating and then can’t stop eating until I feel very sick. Hence, my trepidation. Annoyance can be pretty interesting if you can step back and parse the effect. Um, I think my favorite ever concert was Gang of Four in 1979 at this club in LA called The Starwood. It’s the only time in my life that I threw myself around the room in completely uncontrolled, excited abandon. I’m still well! I’m still a well oiled machine-like body. Guessing you are too, although guessing you would phrase your state of wellness differently. ** Bzzt, Hey! It’s true, I haven’t seen or shared words with you in ages. I’m all and only about finishing Zac’s and my new film. We’ve been planning, making, and editing it for well over a year, and I’m looking for the finish line, which is soon. Yeah, I guess The Guardian thing turned out ok. It’s hard for me to tell. Happy to hear about the consistency and the steady job. Those are no small things. You were here? Nice. I was probably locked in an editing room (Zac’s apartment) while you were here anyway. The Hunting and Nature Museum is my favorite thing in Paris. Great, I look forward to reading your interview piece. Thanks, and kudos. Everyone, Bzzt, who’s better known in the real world as the fine writer Quinn Roberts, has interviewed writer Valerie Werder about her debut novel ‘Thieves’ for the always excellent Full Stop Magazine. Find that here. I’ll look for her book, thanks. Cloudy, drizzly by default love back from Paris. ** Sarah, Hey. I really think I need to read ‘Pinocchio’ again now. It sounds custom fit for my needs. Thanks! Yeah, PC has, like, 10 people I’ve never heard of opening for him at the concert. Scary. I haven’t been to a rap show in a really long time. I tend to like the more experimental, wild rap artists, and they don’t seem to get over here very often. PC is playing at this huge venue here, and it takes a lot for me to want to watch something from the nosebleed seats that I can afford, but he’s an obvious exception. Veterinary hospital, that does sound kind of intense, and sweet too, and probably quite depressing often. Glad you’re writing. What are you working on? ** _Black_Acrylic, Cool. Thanks, Ben. ** Gee, Hi. It’s a beauty of a book. Gorgeous prose too. That’s huge about the passport then. Really huge. Wow, amazing. Tokyo! So recommended. And, you know, Paris as well. I’ve never liked looking at photos of myself, I don’t know why. I don’t think that I like knowing what I look like to other people. It makes me feel weird. I should probably write about that or something. ** Nika Mavrody, Hi, Nika! Well, it probably didn’t live up to its name’s charisma if that’s any consolation. ** Tosh Berman, Yep. I guess he was quite the randy perv, or so I’ve read? ** Darbs ❄🕷, Ooh, nice decorations. I think you’re still asleep as I type this, but all powers of mastery to you in a few hours. Did you pass (with flying colors)? Sure, I like aquariums. The one here in Paris is kind of nice. There was a guy who used to comment on the blog who worked there and who got me in for free, but I think he quit. It’s kind of boring, but I do really like octopi. Their intelligence mixed with their goopy appearance is pretty fascinating. What’s your fave? I think if you chloroformed yourself you’d probably pass out with the rag still on your face and maybe die of an overdose or something? I think that is indeed an excellent line, and you should swipe it, yes, I concur. ** Bill, Hi. Ha ha, that was a momentously crosshatched moment in my life right there. ‘Landscapes’, Sebald-like, I think I need to find that. Thanks, man. ** Damien Ark, It reached me. You’re in Iceland? Holyfuck, you’re so lucky if so. Where? Dude, do your best to get out of Reykjavik if you can. That country is just non-stop, jaw-dropping beauty wherever you go. ** Audrey, Hi, Audrey. Yeah, if you snag it and want to pass it along, definitely. Thank you. I think the young writer has a couple of more years left inside. The good thing is that a book of his is being published soon by this wonderful press Infinity Land, so at least he’ll have that to help with the drag of incarceration. Better is definitely better, and here’s to more than that next. LA, my hometown! Enjoy! Where in LA does he live? I’d hoped to be there for Halloween, but the film kept me here. Maybe Xmas. I’m happy you like Pharmakon. I hear you about writing/talking about music, or at least music that really has an impact. I used to write about music for Spin Magazine, and when I actually really liked what I was writing about, it was always ten times harder. This week … try to finish the edit on our film, Zoom with a guy who teaches a class that I’ll be the guest writer at in a couple of weeks, wait anxiously for my replacement bank card, see the new Miyazaki movie, and hopefully some surprises. I hope the same goes for you. Love, me. ** Travis (fka Cal), Thanks, Travis. I havant read ‘The Key.’ I’ll agenda-fy it. I hope your upcoming world and mine are identically glowing twins. ** Right. I always thought the post up there was fun, so I dug way back and pulled it out of moth balls and put it back together for you just in case my thinking that it’s fun will pay off. See you tomorrow.