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DECEMBER 1999Ed "Capt Strong" Bryce Posted 12/07/99 The
sad news of the death of Ed Bryce reached the Academy last night from
Jan Merlin. Ed Bryce, who played the Captain of the Polaris
crew, passed away yesterday. Our condolences to the family in their
loss.
Ed Bryce's son Phil, thanked those who have expressed their sorrow at the passing of his father and said he had been in contact with Jan Merlin, Frank Thomas and George Gould's wife. ... and many memories were shared (theirs, of course--I was only a boy) about good days on Space Cadets. My dad was a terrific guy who had an exciting career and a good life, and who faced death with courage and grace that would have made Captain Strong most proud. "Roger Manning's" comment for the site was: Cards my be sent to:
OCTOBER 1999New Space Opera Guns page Posted 10/27/99Gene Metcalf has added new pages to his excellent Toy Ray Gun Website. He has documented many of the space guns from the 1950's TV shows with pictures and commentary. Gene also mentions that he has received help from one our fellow crew mates, Cadet Chuck Lassen. Good Job Gene! Check out the new pages at http://www.toyraygun.com for some fun and excellent information on a main stay of Space Opera ... the Ray Gun!!!
NEW RAY GUN BOOK!! In addition to Toy Ray Gun's new revised
look ... a new book on ray guns by Gene will be available soon. Published
by Fotofolio, Raygun will be available at all major booksellers in
the first week of November, 1999. To place an advance order for the
book call 800-955-3686. Just click on the banner on the
raygun site for more information.Posted 10/22/99Dale Ames reports that Wade Williams is moving forward with plans to issue video tapes of the Rod Brown and Flash Gordon TV series. This is a much needed project since few if any episodes are available to fans. Your support of the project is needed so Write Wade Williams and let him know you support the project. Also needed are pictures from the shows that could be used in the project. Wade's address is:Wade Williams Productions 13001 Wornall Road Kansas City, Mo 64145 For more information check out issue # 34 of Dale's Galaxy Patrol Newsletter. If you don't have a subscription.. contact Dale at gp@telegram.infi.net for information on how to get a subscription. Thanks go to both Dale Ames and Terry Harms for working with Wade on this project. Spaceman's Luck. Posted 10/21/99 Space
Ranger Mike Elmo is designing another 50's style space jacket
and needs your help. Check out the his draft design and give him some
input on the emblem and layout. Ok fellow cadets let Mike hear from
you. CLICK
here to see layout.SEPTEMBER 1999Posted 9/21/99From Dale Ames:SMOKING ROCKETS!!!!!! Herb Deeks Models 1516 E. SANTA ANA ST. ANAHEIM , CA. 92805 has just issued a notice that the TERRA 5-A SPACE PATROL ROCKET SHIP can now be purchased. Be the First Kid IN Your Block to own this fine kit and install your own Terra 5 on the take off pad and fly into outer space with Commander Buzz Corry and Cadet Happy . By the outer ring of Saturn this is great news for all Space Cadets . We have waited to many years for this Large Scale Model . Over 18" long --yes over 18" long, room to fit your friends on board when you blast off on a thrilling adventure in outer space. Terra 5 comes with stand and is designed from "Official Space Patrol Plans" located at Terra City HQ in the office of Major Robertson. Kit is only $69.95 + $5 P/H and a box top (ok box top is my idea but mail a box top just as if you are still a kid) . Remember this kit is for Space Patroller only and this information must not fail into the hands of the evil Prince Bacaratti . I wish to thank all Galaxy Patrollers and Solar Guard Space Cadets who worked with Herb on this fine Space Ship After you purchase you kit would you please contact me with your comments on the Terra 5 Model Kit.---- Galaxy Patroller Dale L. Ames
NOTE from the Academy. Special thanks go to Cadet Jack McKirgan who helped Herb with some of the early design work. Also a picture of the prototype TERRA V can been seen on the Monster Rally page. None other than Ed Kemmer, Commander Corry, is holding the Terra V model..... Check it out here. Posted 9/17/99From David Baumann:"... a team of three people (of whom I am one) is writing a new series. It is in the style of the old Dig Allen series (1959-1962). If you want to know more, everything we can tell you, right up to the minute, will be found at the Starman web site athttp://www.smart1.net/scooper/dfoster.html " Sounds good to me!!! Cadets are urged to check out the site. Spaceman's luck to David Baumann, Jon Cooper, Mike Dodd.... Cadet Ed Posted 9/2/99FROM Jeff Berkwits:Just thought you might enjoy seeing the new review in Science Fiction Weekly (posted yesterday, 8/23/99) of Englewood Entertainment's Space Patrol release "The Giants of Pluto No. 3." Classic Science Fiction Reviews Englewood has already got another one on tap (at least according to their Web site), and I hope to have the chance to cover that one too - if I do, I'll definitely let you know! Thanks Jeff for the heads up. Sorry I didn't get this posted sooner. The Academy has been a little busy for the past few weeks. There is a second video from Englewood, "Amazons of Cydonia", which contain shows broadcast on the USA network's late night show in the mid 1980's. You can also order the new video's from amazon.com for $16.00. Also, Bruce David at swapsale.com has some excellent early Space Patrol copies of out of copyright kinescopes never released to the public. The first of a series of 12 tapes includes three very early Kit Corry episodes and sell for $12 each. I have viewed the first two tapes in the series and they are well done at an excellent price. Check Bruce's site at http://www.swapsale.com/videopage.htm. XV/2 Orbit Jet Model From Gary Rocchio: The Rocky Jones Space Ranger XV/2 Orbit Jet is now shipping
from Sci-Fi Matters! It is indeed a fine looking ship. Check out Gary's site for other SF related models. AUGUST 1999Posted 8/25/99The loss of George Gould effects us all. A real pioneer in early special effects for LIVE television. By all accounts of those who knew him personally, he was an encourager. If you would like to send your regrets and to encourage his family during their grief.... cards may be sent to: Mrs. George Gould Posted 8/24/99Sad news has once again reached the Academy. The innovative producer of Tom Corbett and other early Space Opera shows has passed away. Jan Merlin reports the following:George Gould, our television director and dearest friend to all our crew and all who met or knew him, passed away today..after a long battle with colon cancer. May the stars accept him, for all our futures were enhanced by his presence. Roger Manning was better because of him. Jan Merlin Posted 8/18/99Cadet Chuck Lassen has added more pictures of Frankie Thomas to his website at Space Academy South. You can see them at http://www.mindspring.com/~cadet_chuck/update.htmlCadet Dick Dyszel (creature feature) will be hosting a New Year's Eve party on Channel 20 in the Washington DC area. See his website for more information. Good to see you back on TV Dick. I will be up watching. Cadet Ed Posted 8/11/99Fellow Cadet Dick Dyszel (AKA Gore De Vol) has an interesting story about the famous Ralston Rocket:I met Cadets Chuck and Mike at Monster Rally '99 and after much conversation about both Space Patrol and Rocky Jones, decided to muddy the water a bit concerning the Ralston Rocket. I specifically remember the Ralston Rocket touring Chicago in the early 50's. I really wanted to win it! However, several years later either the same rocket or one very similar was in a Chicago neighborhood parade, but this time it had Rocky Jones' picture on it and the sponsor was Silvercup bread. After looking at the photos on the website, I'm not sure it was the same rocket. I have a short movie clip of the ship in question and will try and find and post it. Thanks Dick for the heads up on yet another strange twist of fate for the touring rocket. Dick has his own website (Creature Features) where you can follow his work as a "Creature Feature" host and DJ. We look forward to the pictures of the Ralston Rocket in it's alternate role as a Rocky Jones spacecraft.
We have heard from Ward about his work in tracking down the Ralston Rocket in the late 1970's: Sorry for the delay in getting back to you--several years, now. I just saw some of the speculations about what happened to the Ralston Rocket on your website. I can bring everyone up to date, but I'm going to need to dig up my notes. I'll write a story about it when I get a few spare minutes. I never owned the rocket--I just tracked it down in 1979, and shortly thereafter. I was surprised to see how well the pictures came out of me climbing around the rocket in my Space Patrol flight suit (taken in October, 1979), after I located it in Quincy, Illinois. Also, was surprised to see the "Space Cadet March" piano arrangement which my piano teacher Mrs. Noland did. It's the only thing I can still play. Thanks Ward, it's good to hear from you again. We all look forward to hearing the "Rest of the Story" from someone who has seen and touched the famous rocket. The pictures of Ward and the Ralston Rocket can be seen on the Ralston Rocket search page. JULY 1999Posted 7/14/99Correction: Jan's books GUNBEARER and BROCADE are available via Amazon.com. For a short time it appeared that they would not be supplied, but the supply lines are reinstated.Posted 7/14/99From Jeff Berkwits:Image Entertainment Signs Output Agreement with Corinth Films to Release Titles from the Wade Williams Collection on DVD
65 Camp-Classics from Director Ed Wood, Jr. to be released, including Plan Nine From Outer Space Image Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:DISK), one of the leading licensees
and distributors of optical disc programming (DVD and laserdisc)
in North America, today announced the signing of an exclusive output
agreement with Corinth Films, Inc. to release at least 40 titles
from the Wade Williams Collection on DVD. Jeff's email also included two website to check out for more information: Thanks for the heads up Jeff. Now I will HAVE to get a DVD player!!!
Posted 7/14/99Jonathan Cooper's interest in the early Dig Allen Space Explorer series has led to a new project that encourages new stories in the tradition of the series books of the 50's. Jonathan has a site for the Dig Allen series and responded to my question about new Dig Allen stories:"...in reference to 'possible new Dig Allen titles', check out this site: http://www.smart1.net/scooper/titles.htm for a complete listing of the 22 new 'Dig Allen' titles that we're hoping to write (the first one is already well into production). We wanted to use Dig Allen, but unfortunately Golden Press said no, so we thought up a new universe that's very similar to Dig's. Also, you might want to checkout the Open Syndicate page, which gives details on how we hope to write and distribute them: http://www.mv.com/ipusers/nautilus/syndicate.html Hopefully before long we'll have a stack of new volumes, every bit as good and rewarding as the old ones." An excellent idea. Check out the syndicate and see if this is a project you would be interested in. Spaceman's Luck Jonathan.
JUNE 1999Posted 6/28/99From Dale Ames:The Friday issue of The N.Y. Daily News on page 44 is a article on Captain Video by Kevin Butler "Saluting Captain Video" a story on the 50 anniversary of this series. Copy can be obtained from Daily New or from libraries.Thanks Dale for the tip. Now, fellow cadets can help Dale out. Due to an experience we all have with computers... Dale lost his hard drive and email addresses. He would like to rebuild his address book, so drop him a line with your email by either clicking on his name above or sending an email to Dale at:gp@telegram.infi.net Posted 6/28/99Swap Sale now has 11videos ( a total of 43 episodes! ) of Space Patrol for sale. Plus Bruce has both Al Hodge and Richard Coogan Captain Videos available on tape and a number of Tom Corbett videos as well. The site also has a varity of Space Patrol, Tom Corbett and Captain Video toys and comics for sale. Drop by http://www.swapsale.com and tell them Cadet Ed sent you.Posted 6/27/99From Dennis CaroThought you might be interested in the following. http://www.peanutpress.com, browse, science fiction - The first 7 books of the G & D series are available for the PalmPilot. It won't be as good as the actual books, but this may be what tips me over to buying one of the toys. Thanks Dennis for the lead. Now you can take your electronic TC book with you!! I checked with Boondock Books and Peanut Press is licensed to produce the books. I too would like a nice toy like the Palm Pilots. Posted 6/27/99From Fellow Cadet Lou RuganiIn regard to the Tom Corbett March and Song: I think this is really Henry "Hank" Sylvern, who did lots of radio/tv/film music. He wrote the TCSC March, and did Arthur Godfrey's live music. You'll see his name on children's records. He was a keyboard man. Thanks Lou for reminding us that there were a number of people behind the childhood memories. I believe Mitch Miller was also noted on some of the children's Records.Mitch is remembered from the 60's TV shows that he appeared on and had. Posted 6/17/99Ed Kemmer will be attending Monster Rally 99 in Arlington, Va August 6th - 8th 1999. From Convention organizer Gary Svehla:Ed will be participating in our OPENING CEREMONY, he will participate in our AWARDS PROGRAM Saturday night introducing someone who will induct one of the greats into the Hall of Fame, and he will participate in the 1950s Science Fiction panel discussion, along with other guests Yvette Vickers, Rex Reason, Coleen Gray, etc. We will keep Ed busy. Check out Ed Kemmer's home page for details as we receive them.
Posted 6/16/99It appears that there was a good gathering of fans at WONDERFEST. There are 5 pages of photos from the event held earlier this month in Louisville, KY. There is a models page with a nice looking Robby the Robot. Check it out on Bob's web site .Thanks to Bob's webmaster, Joyce Meyer for helping us find the Monster Rally site on the web.Posted 6/16/99Cadet Jeff Berkwits has a review on the ScFi Weekly site that has a slight connection to Tom Corbett. Check it out at the Classic Science Fiction Reviews section.
Posted 6/14/99Yes, the old TC emblem may be in space soon. Cadet Chuck Lassen reports that one of the new TC insignia's may be worn into space via the Space Shuttle . More on this later as it develops. If you haven't seen one of these insignia's check out Chuck's ad in the FOR SALE section of the Solar Guard.
MAY 1999 May
30, 1999Paul S. Newman,author of the Tom Corbett Newspaper Strip and Dell Comics has died. It is with a great deal of sorrow that we have to announce the loss of Paul. He passed away this morning. Please check his webpage for more information. Posted 5/18/99Jan Merlin has published a second book GUNBEARER and his first novel, BROCADE has been reissued. Go to the new book page "Solar Guard Library" by clicking on the Book Update icon for more information about his new book.APRIL 1999Posted 4/30/99The following information was received from Bob Burns website:There is a rumor making the rounds that goes roughly like this: Bob Burns has sold part of his collection and he is selling offmore--SUPPOSEDLY because of financial and or health reasons--depending whereyou hear it. *FACT: Bob has NOT SOLD ANY PART
of his collection. He's not a dealer;he's a collector and archivist. This is straight from Bob. Believe it. Toss this "fish in the pond" andlet it spread some truth. :) What is not a rumor is Bob's upcoming book "Bob's Basement" Let's hope there are some early space heroes lurking in the basement. Posted 4/26/99From Dale Ames:I spoke to Herb Deeks and he has the Terra 5 mole completed ( I have seen pictures of the mole of Terra 5 and it is beautiful and approx. 18” long) . Herb feels that Terra 5 is silver in color ---is this correct???? And also Herb needs help on the correct color of the decals to put on the outside hull. Also what type of lettering to use ---slanted or what???? He said something about a picture of showing a red interior of the cockpit---can you help --- can you help (my idea) of any way to make a decal showing the crew in the window ---maybe bad idea because of small scale.--- Please contact Herb as soon as possible by
mail and phone (714-7747326) with words and pictures on what is
needed to complete the outside of Terra 5 Hull with proper lettering
and decals. Hope to hear from you that you have contacted Herb Posted 4/23/99The Solar Guard Academy and Roaring Rockets websites received the Kogar Award from Bob Burns, Science Fiction Archivist and Researcher. Bob appears in SciFi Buzz segments on the SciFi Network and has had a long and interesting Hollywood career. Our thanks to Bob and to Joyce Meyer, Bob's Web Architect, for the award and kind words. A special thanks to Space Ranger Mike Elmo for nominating the sites for the awards.Visit Bob's site at: http://mycottage.com/bobburns/ Drop by Bob's site for an eye feast of SF movie collectibles and information on current projects. A new Book by Bob and John Michlig is in the works. Stay tuned to the Cadet News page for updates. Posted 4/20/99From Mike Elmo:Just talked to John at Masterpiece Models ( http://www.masterpiecemodels.com ) and he said he hopes torelease the kits for the XV2 and 3 around May 27th. Scifimatters (http://www.Scifimatters.com) and C & S Hobbies CO ( http://www.CSHobbies.com), will be the first to carry the kits, I'll keep you allup on any other developments. Thanks Mike for the updates. There seems to be a number of new "space opera" type of spaceships models coming out now. Check the resource page for other links. March 1999Book and Article Information Posted 3/23/99From: Jeff BerkwitsShort Mention of 1950's Space Opera In Cinescape Insider: Just wanted to let folks know that the new issue of Cinescape Insider, whichshould go on sale April 6 at most newsstands, will include a short sidebar onpage 29 featuring quotes and photos from Frankie Thomas, Jan Merlin and EdKemmer. Titled 'Retro Rockets,' the piece asks each of these pioneeringspacemen what they thought of Star Wars when it first came out in 1977vis-à-vis their own outer space TV adventures. Hope you folks enjoy it -there'll be more to come in other publications soon! From: Cindy Peery Captain Video DuMont Book Update: Was just browsing thru the great pictures from the film festival and ranacross the question about the Captain Video Book (I was a BIG fan of thatshow!). Checked Barnes and Noble's web site. They have the book listed inhardback for $22.95 with a 3-5 week delivery. The book was published inOct. of 1992 by Loosenstrife Press, Incorporated and is 288 pages. Spaceman's luck in finding it. Happy Trails too - Cindy P. S. The Fourth Williamsburg film festival will be held at the Holiday InnPatriot on Feb. 24-26, 2000. Mark you calendar now!
Land In Williamsburg Posted 3/16/99Cadets Jack McKirgan, Chuck Lassen, Mike Elmo and Ed Pippin attended the Williamsburg Film Festival in February. A good time was had by all and the visit with Jan and Barbara Merlin was better than any of the Cadets imagained. Follow the events starting with the Williamsburg introduction page. Thanks Jan, it was great!!Posted 3/16/99Dale Ames requested help in the December 1997 Cadet News in locating "The Captain Video Book: The Du Mont Television Station Network Story "Author: Neil Sullivan Publish By: Loosestrife Press ( 1992 ) After more than a year, a fellow cadet has some answers. From
Clarke Ingram , the following
information was forwarded to the Academy:
Radio Shows on the Internet Posted 3/16/99Randy Collins’ Site of the Week has added a Space Patrol radio show to this weeks lineup. Aside from the great show, the commercials have information on the NAME THE PLANET contest, Space Coins from Weather Bird Shoes and those great pitches about Wheat Chex's. It's interesting to hear that the "fathers of the kids" were taking turns in driving the Terra IV around for others to see.The next two week's of Tom Corbett shows are Part I & II of Pursuit of Danger. Thanks Randy for providing these shows for our listening pleasure. February 1999Posted 2/9/99The following from Jean-Noel: A quick note about the Sleeping Beauty video that contains the documentary with Ed Kemmer: This video is a Disney "limited edition" and just went off-sale a month ago. It happens to be a collector's item for that reason. The video tape sales places I called in L.A. told me it was hard to find, but I finally found a collector who told me to try Target, K-Mart or Costco because they often buy big inventories and would still have it. Target had plenty of copies. Evidently in a few years, the price on these limited Disney videos can go as high as several hundred dollars - not a bad investment right now at $20. There's a booklet that comes with the tape that has a photo of Ed in it - again no credit. This stems from a discussion on Rory Coker's Roaring Rockets site about Ed's part in modeling for the animated film. A fact that will be added to his Web Page on the Hall of Fame page. Sounds like this video is a must have for Space Opera fans. Posted 2/9/99Two fellow Cadets have forwarded information on errors they found on the site, which will be corrected asap :-) From: And from the Space Patrol site: From: Thanks to Joe and Jim for keeping us honest. This is the type of work we need to keep the information correct. The internet allows for a much faster response than a published book. In the published format, the error could be passed on for many years. Keep up the good work. Any other errors found on the site..... please feel free to contact the Academy.
Posted 2/7/99Cadets who like the adventures of Tom Corbett need to check out Jonathan Cooper's Site for Dig Allen Space Explorers. Who is Dig Allen and what is his relationship to the 1950's Space Opera heroes? The adventures are set in the 22nd century and follow the adventures of a three-man team of teenage space explorers. Sound familiar? There are six books in the series published by Golden Press. The series first appeared in 1959 and ran to 1962. The connection to Tom Corbett, other than a three man crew, is the author Joseph Greene. Mr Greene has contributed to the development of the Tom Corbett and is one of the early juvenile SF authors. A letter to Jonathan from Joseph Greene Son, Paul, gives additional insight in the relationship he had with Tom Corbett Jonathan needs help with some research and he would like any information on the publishing history of the series. All six of the books were issued in the Golden Press hard cover edition. He needs help in determining if the all six of the books were re-issued in paperback format. Check your stock and see if you can help him out. Drop by his site or email him if you can help. The Rocket eBook That Is Posted 2/2/99This press release just in: Boston, MA (February 2, 1999) Electronic publisher, Boondock Books announced today that it will re-issue the Tom Corbett, Space Cadet book series as electronic books for the Rocket eBookÔ from NuvoMedia. Also to be released will be The Survivalist science fiction series by Jerry Ahern. Boondock Books will initiate its Rocket eBook publishing program with seven titles from the Tom Corbett series in February and March along with between 10 and 15 of the Survivalist books. The remaining Survivalist titles will be released over the following three months. "The Tom Corbett TV series is one of the icons of the Fifties. Almost everyone who grew up during that era was a Tom Corbett fan. If you check out Ebay today, there’s a tremendous business in selling Tom Corbett "artifacts", commented. Segroves. "The series was based on the best selling book Space Cadet by Robert A. Heinlein and several of the plotlines of the books appear to be loosely based on books Heinlein had published." For the whole story and press release go to: Roaring Rockets.. its good to see the old series back in "print". I know Boondock Books would like feedback on their efforts to bring back some of the classic series books. Drop them a line at webmaster@boondockbooks.com . You can also post your comments on the Solar Guard Bulletin Board. January 1999'ORBIT JET' MODEL Posted 1/29/99Space Ranger Mike Elmo has commissioned a professional model building firm to construct a beautiful model of Rocky Jones's Spaceship- the XV2 Orbit Jet. The ship is 24 inches tall, 3 inches round and made of aluminum, the body was turned on a leathe and the fins were cast from an aluminum alloy resin, very strong and heat resistant. The XV2 is about 6 pounds and quite strudy. You can see Mike's model on http://www.masterpiecemodels.com in the bottom left hand side of the opening page. Mike has promoised pictures of the model for the site. We look forward to seeing and posting them. A Rocky Jones Page is in the works, so all of you Space Rangers stand by and send in any and all ideas to the Academy. Posted 1/14/99The Tom Corbett series books will be available as electronic novels from the internet soon. Boondock books will have the eight Grosset & Dunlap books online for downloading. They will be $4.95 each and require a reader (which is free) for viewing. We don’t know if there are illustrations with the books but it may be worthwhile for those who would like to read missing books in the series to check them out. As of 1/14/99, the promotional page was up and downloading the novels may be available soon. The Tom Corbett Page is located at http://www.boondockbooks.com/tom.htm and information on the readers is located at http://www.boondockbooks.com/book.htm. Stay tuned for more updates.
Posted 1/14/99Don’t forget to drop by Randy Collins’ Site of the Week and listen to a Tom Corbett radio show in Real Audio format. This week is Part II Revolt On Prison Rock. Randy plans to have the whole series and maybe some Space Patrol radio shows as well. Soooo tune that dial to http://members.tripod.com/~RLC1/oldtimeradio.html and listen to Tom, Roger and Astro as they blasted off into Space in 1952!!! Updates on which shows are playing may be found on the Tom Corbett Home Page of the Solar Guard.
AT THE WILLIAMSBURG FILM posted 1/14/99Don’t Forget.... Jan Merlin will be appearing in Williamsburg, VA February 25th - 27th 1999. See the announcement page at Jan's page for the details. There will be several cadets there who will be remembering and viewing some of the old video’s. You never know, Jan may join us. Email the Academy if you need further information.
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