Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards

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The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award, often called the Rondo Award, is an annual award founded in 2002 that honors journalism, scholarship and film preservation in the horror genre, [1] [2] particularly of classic horror film and their modern-day counterparts.

Contents

Named in honor of actor Rondo Hatton, it originated at the Classic Horror Film Board and subsequently moved to a dedicated website. Nominees are chosen by a committee that takes suggestions on the website, with the awards selected via an open vote by generally thousands of participants. The Rondo Award was created by journalist David Colton and artist/illustrator Kerry Gammill, [3] and since its inception has been coordinated by Colton, who serves as their presenter annually at the fantasy/horror convention WonderFest.

History

The Rondo Awards began in 2002, after members of the online Classic Horror Film Board, moderated by journalist David Colton, became aware of a growing body of under-recognized journalism covering the horror genre. [2] The awards took their name from the character actor Rondo Hatton, a cult-classic figure in low-budget horror films. Noted comic book artist and illustrator Kerry Gammill designed the sculpt for the award, a bust of Hatton's character from the movie House of Horrors (1946). [4]

Comic book artist and illustrator Kerry Gammill designed the sculpt for the award, a bust of Hatton's character from the movie House of Horrors (1946). [4]

The initial year attracted 168 voters. The following year brought 600, and the third year 2,000. As of 2018, the number of voters is generally between 3,000 and 3,700. [5] [ self-published source? ] Co-founder Colton presents the awards annually at the fantasy/horror convention WonderFest. [6] [ non-primary source needed ]

As Colton describes, "We don't have Best Actor, we don't have Best Actress, we don't even have Best Director. It's more about the magazines and the books and the independent films and the documentaries.... It's a little highbrow in that way." [7]

Significance

Entertainment Weekly likened The Rondo Award to a "horror Oscar". [8] The Award is a "coveted" prize in the horror community. [9] One PBS station wrote,

Every year, as the Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award spotlights shine on the brightest in their respective fields, the Rondo Awards honor achievements in the darker corners of entertainment, the world of classic horror movies. People working for monster magazines, spooky DVD releases and scary movie soundtracks are the types who win the internationally-known Rondo Award. [10]

Horror magazines and websites, including Dread Central , regularly report on the nominations and awards lists. [11]

The awards have been mentioned in such outlets as The Hollywood Reporter , [12] The Austin Chronicle , [13] Famous Monsters of Filmland , [14] Movieweb, [15] MeTV, [16] the UK's Horror Channel, [17] and the Tampa Bay Times , [4] as well as scholarly journals including Psychology and Education, [18] textbooks including Recovering 1940s Horror Cinema: Traces of a Lost Decade. [19]

Monster Kid Hall of Fame annual awards

In their second year, the Rondo Classic Horror Film Awards created the Monster Kid Hall of Fame, with four to nine, but generally six, living or dead inductees. Also created was another honorary award, Monster Kid of the Year, given to individuals with some important achievement in the field that year.

2003

Monster Kid of the Year: Arnold Kunert, who successfully campaigned for special effects artist Ray Harryhausen to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame [20]

2004

Monster Kid of the Year: The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra writer, director, and star Larry Blamire [21]

2005

Monster Kid of the Year: Monster Kid Home Movies producer Joe Busam [22]

2006

Monster Kid of the Year: Toy collector Ray Castile [23]

2007

Monster Kid of the Year: Sony Pictures executive Michael Schlesinger [24]

2008

Monster Kid of the Year: Producer and Forrest J Ackerman friend, adviser, and caregiver Joe Moe [25]

2009

Monster Kid of the Year: Monsterpalooza convention organizer Eliot Brodsky [26]

2010

Monster Kids of the Year: Historian and writer Gary Gerani; screenwriter, author, and The Twilight Zone archivist Marc Scott Zicree [27]

2011

Monster Kid of the Year: Vincentennial fan festival organizer Tom Stockman [28]

2012

Monster Kid of the Year: Simon Rowson, for discovering lost footage cut from original release of Hammer Studios' Dracula (1958) [29]

2013

Monster Kid of the Year: Paul Larson, for discovering lost Vincent Price PBS footage [30]

2014

Monster Kid of the Year: Frank J. Dello Stritto, author of memoir I Saw What I Saw When I Saw It [31]

2015

Monster Kid of the Year: Victoria Price, daughter of actor Vincent Price, "for her tireless work preserving her late father's legacy in film." [32]

2016

Monster Kids of the Year: Married couple Don and Vicki Smeraldi, new publishers of Scary Monsters Magazine [33]

2017

Monster Kid of the Year: Cohen Media Group executive Tim Lanza [34]

2018

Monster Kid of the Year: Writer, film critic, TV host and actor John Irving Bloom a.k.a. Joe Bob Briggs [35]

2019

Monster Kid of the Year: Filmmaker Jordan Peele [36]

2020

Monster Kid of the Year: UCLA film archivist Scott MacQueen [37]

2021

Monster Kid of the Year: Monster Channel horror host Evan Davis a.k.a. Halloween Jack [38]

2022

Monster Kid of the Year: Documentarian Antonia Carlotta [39]

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References

  1. Beaver, Jeremiah (June 23, 2019). "Indianapolis Film Historian Awarded for Saving Lost Episode of 'The Outer Limits'" . Retrieved July 21, 2021. WTTV-TV (CBS) Bloomington, Indiana. "Held in Louisville, Kentucky earlier this month, the 'Rondos' continue to honor the best in classic horror research, creativity, and film preservation."
  2. 1 2 Monster Kid Radio Episode #366: "David Colton and the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards". At 24:30.
  3. "Live from Monsterpalooza with Kirk Thatcher & David Colton". April 18, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2021. iHeart Media.
  4. 1 2 3 Guzzo, Paul (October 26, 2017). "Hillsborough High honors courage of horror-star alumnus The Creeper". Tampa Bay Times . Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  5. Monster Kid Radio Episode #366 at 22:33.
  6. "2019-20 Rondo Awards" . Retrieved July 15, 2021. WonderFest/
  7. Monster Kid Radio Episode #366 at 25:34.
  8. Collis, Clark (May 2, 2016). "Killer POV horror podcast team reassembles as Shock Waves". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  9. Knowles, Harry [as "headgeek"] (March 12, 2007). "'Pan's Labyrinth' Wins The Rondo!!! Who Else Has The Coveted Rondo?". Ain't it Cool News .
  10. Larson, Paul (February 17, 2017). "Monster Kid of the Year Walks Among Us!" . Retrieved July 21, 2021. WCFE-TV (Mountain Lake PBS, Plattsburgh, New York)
  11. Millican, Josh (May 4, 2021). "Here Are the 19th Annual Rondo Award Winners!". Dread Central . Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  12. Ritman, Alex (May 21, 2018). "Dark Star Takes Larry Cohen Doc 'King Cohen' for North America (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved July 15, 2021. "King Cohen hails from Rondo Award-winning writer/director [Steve] Mitchell...."
  13. Whittaker, Richard (March 25, 2021). "Rondo and Bob Nominated for ... a Rondo! Austin film doc up for award, and you can vote!". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  14. "Famous Monsters is Honored with 3 Rondo Awards!". Famous Monsters of Filmland . April 15, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  15. Sprague, Mike (December 17, 2018). "Anna and the Apocalypse Merch Collection Unveiled by Cavity Colors". Movieweb . Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  16. MeTV Staff (May 5, 2021). "Svengoolie wins Favorite Horror Host in the 2020 Rondo Awards" . Retrieved July 15, 2021. MeTV
  17. Whittington, James (May 22, 2012). "Acclaimed Karloff Biography Wins Award" . Retrieved July 15, 2021. Horror Channel
  18. Dillon, Cell, Patricia L. Norman and Butsakorn Bunditdumrongkool, Cell (2020). "Edgar Allan Poe and his influence on modern horror movies". Psychology and Education Journal. Vol. 57, no. 9. pp. 1247–1251. ISSN   1553-6939 . Retrieved July 21, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) "The movie [The Raven (2012)] was nominated for 5 awards [including the] Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards...." (Downloadable PDF)
  19. DeGiglio-Bellemare, Mario, and Charlie Ellbé and Kristopher Woofter, eds. (11 December 2014). Recovering 1940s Horror Cinema: Traces of a Lost Decade. Lexington Books. p. 314. ISBN   9781498503808.{{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) ISBN   978-1498503792.
  20. "Second Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards". RondoAward.com. February 13, 2004.
  21. "Here Are the Winners of the Third Annual Rondo Awards". RondoAward.com. February 19, 2005.
  22. "Here Are the Winners of the Fourth Annual Rondo Awards". RondoAward.com. February 19, 2006.
  23. "Winners of the 5th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards (for 2006)". RondoAward.com. March 24, 2007.
  24. "Here's the complete Rondo Winner list for 2007: Nosferatu, Bava and Halloween Take Top Honors in Rondo Awards". Classic Horror Film Board. March 12, 2008.
  25. "Here were the winners of the Seventh Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards". RondoAward.com. 2009.
  26. Colton, David (2010). "Here Are the Winners, All the Nominees and Videos from the Eighth Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards for the Best work of 2009!". RondoAward.com.
  27. Colton, David (March 2011). "Here Were The Winners In The Ninth Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards!". RondoAward.com.
  28. Colton, David (April 2012). "Vincent Price tribute, 'Island of Lost Souls' take top Rondo Award honors". RondoAward.com.
  29. Colton, David (April 2013). "'Cabin in the Woods,' 'Walking Dead' and restored Universal Monster Classics take top Rondo Award honors". RondoAward.com.
  30. Colton, David (March 17, 2014). "Here Are the Winners of Rondo XII". RondoAward.com.
  31. Colton, David (March 2, 2015). "The 13th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Awards". RondoAward.com.
  32. Colton, David (February 17, 2016). "Winners announced in the (Gasp!) 14th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards". RondoAward.com.
  33. Colton, David (February 26, 2017). "Here Are Winners in the (Gasp!) 15th Annual Rondo Awards". RondoAward.com.
  34. Colton, David (2018). "Rondo XVI". RondoAward.com.
  35. Colton, David (February 19, 2019). "Winners of the (Gasp!) 17th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards". RondoAward.com.
  36. Colton, David (April 6, 2020). "Here Are the Winners of the (Gasp!) 18th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards". RondoAward.com.
  37. Colton, David (March 7, 2021). "Rondo 19 Results Are Here". RondoAward.com.
  38. "Here are the Winners of the (Gasp!) 20th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror awards". RondoAward.com. February 22, 2022. Archive link
  39. "Here are the Winners of the (Gasp!) 21st Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror awards". RondoAward.com. May 29, 2023. Archive link