Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award is an award presented annually by the Classic Horror Film Board to honor the top works in horror

Horror fiction

Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...

in film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

, television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

, home video

Home video

Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...

, and publishing

Publishing

Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...

The award

Unlike most awards, such as the Oscars

Academy Awards

An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...

and the Grammys

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

, the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards are voted on by the general public instead of members of a presenting Academy. The award is designed to recognize research, scholarship and creativity in keeping classic horror, science fiction and fantasy alive and thriving. There are also special awards for lifetime achievement, noted as the Monster Kid Hall of Fame.

The physical award is a representation of character actor Rondo Hatton

Rondo Hatton

Rondo Hatton was an American actor who had a brief, but prolific career playing thuggish bit parts in many Hollywood B-movies. He was known for his brutish facial features which were the result of acromegaly, a disorder of the pituitary gland.-Biography:Hatton was born Rondo K...

, and is based on the bust of The Creeper, portrayed by Hatton in the 1946 film House of Horrors
House of Horrors
House of Horrors was a low-budget horror film released by Universal Pictures, starring Rondo Hatton as a madman, named "The Creeper." It was also known as Murder Mansion and in the United Kingdom as Joan Medford is Missing.-Plot:...

, released by Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures

-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...

. The bust was sculpted by artist Kerry Gammill

Kerry Gammill

Kerry Gammill is an American artist who has worked in the fields of comic books, special effects, storyboards, and character designs.-Early life:...

and cast by artist T. M. Lindsey.

The awards were first presented in 2003. All votes are calculated through e-mail, and are overseen by David Colton. The location of the first ceremony was at the Old Dark Clubhouse hotel room at the Monster Bash convention in Pittsburgh, PA. The very first recipient of the award was Bob Burns

Bob Burns

Bob Burns was an American radio and film comedian during the 1930s and 1940s. Burns, who early in his career was billed as Robert Burns, coined the word bazooka.-Early years:...

. The award ceremony is currently held at the Wonderfest convention in Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

.

The 2008 ceremony introduced a new category in the form of Best Horror Host

Horror host

Horror hosts are a particular type of television presenter, often tasked with presenting low-grade films to television audiences. This tradition is primarily American, though there have been a few international hosts over the years.-Film Packages:...

. The award is given in honor of Maila Nurmi

Maila Nurmi

Maila Nurmi was a Finnish-American actress who created the campy 1950s characterVampira. She portrayed Vampira as TV's first horror host and in the Ed Wood cult film Plan 9 from Outer Space...

(Vampira), as well as living horror host John Zacherle

John Zacherle

John Zacherle is an American television host, radio personality and voice actor known for his long career as a television horror host broadcasting horror movies in Philadelphia and New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. Best known for his character "Roland/Zacherley," he also did voice work for...

(Zacherley).

In the media

The Rondo awards continue to grow every year adding new voters, as well as new categories. Harry Knowles

Harry Knowles

Harry Knowles is known for his website called Ain't It Cool News. Knowles is a member of the Austin Film Critics Association.-Biography:...

of Ain't It Cool News

Ain't It Cool News

Ain't It Cool News is a website founded and run by Harry Knowles, dedicated to news, rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic-book and action genres...

said, "if I could win any award ever, it would be a RONDO." Magazines like Starlog
Starlog
Starlog was a monthly science-fiction film magazine published by Starlog Group Inc. The magazine was created by publishers Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs. O'Quinn was the magazine's editor while Jacobs ran the business side of things, dealing with typesetters, engravers and printers. They got...

, Fangoria
Fangoria
Fangoria is an American magazine devoted to horror and exploitation films, which has a number of associated brands:* Fangoria Comics* Fangoria Films* Fangoria RadioFangoria may also refer to:* Fangoria , a Spanish electro pop band...

and Video Watchdog
Video Watchdog
Video Watchdog is a bimonthly, digest size film magazine started in 1990 by publisher/editor Tim Lucas and his wife, art director and co-publisher Donna Lucas....

cover the awards on a yearly basis, solidifying the award's notability among classic horror enthusiasts.

External links

Official website
http://www.tmlindsey.com/rondos.htm

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

The award

In the media

Award categories

External links