http://www.theofantastique.com A meeting place for myth, imagination, and mystery in pop culture. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:25:38 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 http://www.theofantastique.com/2008/02/21/ben-chapmans-passing-the-loss-of-the-man-behind-an-iconic-cinema-creature/ http://www.theofantastique.com/2008/02/21/ben-chapmans-passing-the-loss-of-the-man-behind-an-iconic-cinema-creature/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:48:00 +0000 admin http://theofantastique.wordpress.com/2008/02/21/ben-chapmans-passing-the-loss-of-the-man-behind-an-iconic-cinema-creature/ I received an email announcement from Rue Morgue Radio announcing that Ben Chapman, the actor who played the Creature from the Black Lagoon in the land-based scenes from the film, passed away this morning. As I have mentioned previously, this film was the first horror film I saw as a young boy that both frightened me and filled me with a sense of awe as it touched my imagination. The Creature, in part through Chapman’s work, helped shape my lifelong passion for the fantastic and the horrific. I attempted to contact Chapman last year through his website for a possible interview and I received a response from his agent notifying me that Chapman was leaving the hospital in his home in Hawaii only to relocate to the mainland for recovery. Unfortunately, I will not have an opportunity to chat with Chapman, but his legacy lives on in this classic film and in the imaginations of countless people impacted by this iconic Creature through the decades.

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