Everybody’s talking about the Rondos these days – and when I say “everybody,” I mean really just a few people.  But you have to remember, my world of MonsterKids and Horrorfans is a very small subset of society in general, so while we represent the slimmest sliver of the world’s human population, amongst weirdos we are many.  Given those parameters, I’m being dead sincere if entirely figurative when I say that everyone is talking about the Rondos right now because it is, after all, awards season.  And Rondo is, after all, an award.

A brief history is in order.  The Rondo Classic Horror Award, for excellence in many areas of horror, fantasy and science fiction, is named after Rondo Hatton.  Rondo Hatton (1894-1946) was a real person whose real life misfortune was to be disfigured by acromegaly(from the Greek for “large extremities”), a disorder caused by excessive production of the growth hormone leading to over-growth of muscles, tissues, bone and even organs and resulting in a host of medical problems, most of them life-threatening.  Rondo Hatton’s condition enabled/cursed him to be a horror movie actor, Universal’s “monster without makeup.”  Hatton died prematurely in 1946 at the age of only 51, after appearing in a number of films (HOUSE OF HORRORS, THE BRUTE MAN) that are largely forgettable but for his singularly skulking presence.   On a personal note, I traveled in 1991 to Tampa, Florida, to pay my respects at Hatton’s American Legion gravesite  and I own various Rondo Hatton collectibles, from a badass black tee shirt bearing his likeness to a rubber ink stamp that allows me to press Rondo’s singular silhouette onto the envelopes of holiday cards, letters and utility bills.  Tributes and homages to Rondo Hatton in popular culture include a character in THE ROCKETEER (1991) patterned after him, Gary Lucas’ avant garde jazz composition “Blue Rondo a la Hatton” (a sardonic spin on the classic “Blue Rondo a la Turk”) and Drew Friedman’s Warts and All, which devoted a chapter to a thumbnail (and, it should be said, inaccurate) version of the Rondo Hatton story.  But the biggest honor offered in memory of Hatton has to be the Rondo.  The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards were first presented in 2003.  Overseen by USA Today editor David Colton, the Rondos offer the winners recognition for the value of their work in addition to a very cool sculpture designed and sculpted by artist Kerry Gammill.  The awards have grown in popularity from year to year, with the original tally of 138 votes swelling to 600 in 2004 and t0 1,600 by 2006.  The ballot for 2008 is available from the Official Rondo website.  All voters need do is copy the ballot and e-mail their selections in a wealth of categories (Best Movie, Best Television Presentation, Best Classic DVD, Best Magazine Article, Best Magazine Cover, Best Blog, Writer of the Year, MonsterKid of the year and many more) to David Colton at taraco@aol.com.  It’s that easy.

There are some interesting Rondo nominees this year and I’d be a bad self-promoter if I didn’t point out that a candidate for Best Book is THE BOOK OF LISTS: HORROR(Harper Paperbacks).  I was asked to contribute a list to this collection of horror-themed lists, which put me in the very happy company of the likes of novelists Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, Barry Gifford, Poppy Z. Brite and Jack Ketchum, film directors Eli Roth, Victor Salva, Neil Marshall, Edgar Wright and James Gunn, and sundry personalities from actress and chanteuse Ann Magnuson to the late rocker Johnny Ramone – and many, many more, including my Video Watchdogcolleagues Tim Lucas, Kim Newman and Ramsey Campbell.  It’s an easy-to-pack or carry and impossible-to-put-down compendium of bests, worsts, favorites, most unforgettables, scariest, squishiest – in short, the perfect gift for the Gothic obsessive in your life.  If you liked the book, please give it your vote.  Mind you, a vote for THE BOOK OF LISTS: HORROR doesn’t put a Rondo on my mantle, but editors Del Howison, Scott Bradley and Amy Wallace sure do deserve recognition for putting so much talent together for such a fun cause.

And speaking of Video Watchdog, that venerable monthly is up yet again for “Best Magazine,” an honor it has one many times in the past.  I’ve been a regular contributor to VW for 10 years now and nearly 100 some-odd issues and hundreds upon hundreds of reviews.  (As fate would have it, my first issue as a regular member of the “Kennel” boasted a review of THE BRUTE MAN and a screencap from the film that shows Hatton’s “Creeper” advancing menacingly on Jan Wiley.)  Video Watchdog lost the Rondo last year to Rue Morguedue to publishers Tim and Donna Lucas being busy with their acclaimed Mario Bava biography but they’ve been kicked into high gear ever since and VW‘s consistent level of greatness and consistency certainly deserves recognition.  Give them your vote!

You may remember that back in the spring of 2008 I wrote admiringly, lovingly and perhaps a bit stalker-ish-ly (and I make no apology) about my admiration for the actress Beverly Washburn.  I felt then and feel now that this true veteran of film (THE KILLER THAT STALKED NEW YORK, HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN, SHANE, THE JUGGLER, OLD YELLER) and TV (DRAGNET, THE LONE RANGER, STAR TREK, THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO, GENERAL HOSPITAL) and a recording artist to boot is underrated and not talked about nearly enough as she should be.  Well, somebody must have heard me because the respected genre mag The Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope recently devoted a multi-page spread to a career interview with the actress.  It’s great to hear Beverly reminisce to writer Donald Vaughn about her years as a Hollywood contract player and her experiences working with Lon Chaney, Jr. (who had an interesting nickname for her) on the cult classic SPIDER BABY.  You can read a short excerpt here.  The article is nominated for a Rondo award for “Best Article of 2008″ and I urge you to seek it out and give it your vote.

Finally… a new category this year honors your “Favorite DVD Reviewer” and it’s exclusively a write-in vote.  I don’t know how many DVD reviewers you know, but say if you don’t know any and need to fill that blank with something, you know, you could throw my name in there and I wouldn’t kick.

Obtain your Official Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards ballot here.

Send your completed ballot to taraco@aol.com and include your name for reference (no anonymous ballots!).  Voting ends March 21, 2009.

Everybody talks about the Rondos but if you don’t vote you’re not doing anything about him!