October Chiller Theater Was A Fun, Frightful Delight
This past weekend in Parsippany, New Jersey, the year’s second installment of Chiller Theater went down. The October 2024 lineup of this bi-annual convention brought out a multitude of guests, as usual, as well as vendors selling T-shirts, DVDs, posters and art, and even live performances by some bands from New Jersey’s well-known metal scene.
This was only our second time attending and from the stories we have heard, the convention has changed greatly over the years. If you’ve attended any time recently, you know the hallways are tightly packed with fans and guests alike trying to weave their way from room to room, on their way to meet their favorite celeb or grab some merch.
We were fortunate to spend some of the convention hanging with our friend and Rankin/Bass historian Rick Goldschmidt in the Copper Room, alongside Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory stars Peter Ostrum (who played Charlie Bucket; he now is a retired veterinarian and lives in upstate New York) and Paris Themmen (who played Mike Tevee and has since been on Jeopardy!), as well as Sixteen Candles actress Liane Curtis. There was a really fun vibe, as fans came strolling through to meet the stars and reconnect with their favorite childhood memories.
And sometimes, when things were a little slower, you experienced fun moments like this:
Who Was There?
The convention played host to a wide variety of guests from all eras of film and TV. The lineup included many stars from classic TV shows, including a mini-Room 222 cast reunion with Karen Valentine and Judy Strangis, and original Facts of Life girls Felice Schachter, Julie Piekarski and Julie Anne Haddock. Fans also got a chance to catch up with Mission: Impossible‘s Barabra Bain, Deidre Hall (Days of Our Lives) and Vicki Lawrence (Mama’s Family). We were lucky enough to chat briefly with Kate Jackson, who of course looked wonderful, and yes, she did wear a mask all weekend (we overheard rumblings about this the packed halls but we didn’t care, we were just happy to meet her!). We also chatted a bit with Karen Valentine, who was delighted to hear that ReMIND readers ask us about her! Marc Price, who played Skippy on Family Ties, gave us his famous look from Trick or Treat (do you remember that movie?). Larry Mathews, who played Ritchie Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show, is hands down the nicest guy, so if you are a fan and ever get a chance to talk to him, it is a must!
Credit: Karen Ruud
On the movie side of things, the convention brought out some big ’80s names, like Molly Ringwald (The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles), John Cusack (Say Anything, Better Off Dead), the cast of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films, and Tom Wilson (Back to the Future). Corey Feldman (along with fellow Lost Boys alum Jamison Newlander, who played the other half of the Frog Brothers) had a very steady line of fans, which at times had a 2-3 hour wait, the entire weekend. And all of this was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the many stars you could meet and greet.
Check out some of the photos and takeaways.
We didn’t get a picture of Academy Award-winning makeup artist VE Neill. But when we asked if she had advice for those wanting to get a start in film makeup, she said makeup school is the only way to go these days. If you are just interested in FX makeup as a hobby, however, she says there are plenty of great tutorials online
Boris Karloff‘s daughter, Sara. She was absolutely delighted to see these issues. Especially when we showed her Frankenstein has an old article from the ’60s we pulled from TV Guide Archives on her father.
Credi: Karen Ruud
Rankin/Bass Historian Rick Goldschmidt
Barbara Bain with Rick Goldschmidt where she told him that she has been directing a play at the Actor’s Studio in West Hollywood about Santa wanting to retire because kids are only interested in cell phones. He said that is ironic since the Rankin/Bass Year Without a Santa Claus Movie is pretty much the same story and is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Photo courtesy Roger P Hoffman
The Frog Brothers, Jamison Newlander and Corey Feldman.
photo courtesy of Brenda Wriedt
Corey Feldman.
Photo courtesy of Toni Ann Gisondi
John Cusack hanging out with the ladies from the Annie reunion: Aileen Quinn, Rosanne Sorrentino and Toni Ann Gisondi
Credit: Karen Ruud
Credit Karen Ruud
Should you go?
Of course, like many fancons, this show is an autograph collector’s dream, and they typically bring in an array of talent built for any fan and budget. We’d totally recommend this show. But just remember to pack your patience and your wallet, because the top stars charge upwards of $100 just for an autograph, and then some for photos and more! But on average, we saw prices to be in the $40-60 range. While most stars are cash only, some are now taking cards.
Tell us, did you go to this one? Dates aren’t announced yet for the next one, but we will post when they are here.