I was shocked and saddened to hear of the recent passing of Robert
Z’Dar – so he took over the last post in this April 2015 A-Z Blogging
Challenge.
Robert Z’Dar first showed up on my pop culture radar screen when
he played the title role in Maniac Cop. Z’Dar was the hulking Matt Cordell – a
police officer betrayed by his fellow officers and killed – but now back from
the grave for revenge.
After that, I started to notice his unique name whenever it popped up in the credits of another genre movie – and I watched him in several of those, including The Night Stalker (1987), Cherry 2000, and Tango and Cash.
After that, I started to notice his unique name whenever it popped up in the credits of another genre movie – and I watched him in several of those, including The Night Stalker (1987), Cherry 2000, and Tango and Cash.
He returned for two more Maniac Cop sequels in 1990 and 1993 and
both of them were pretty good too.
I reviewed some of his movies back in my old review newsletter M5
– and it was a mix of his then-newest movies and some of his older flicks. I
noticed back then that he had some physical issues that were manifesting visibly
across his career. Apparently Z’Dar suffered from a genetic disorder called "cherubism" that
kept the bones in his lower facial structure growing - and his jawline was visibly larger throughout his career. According to everyone who met him or worked with him his medical issues did not affect his interactions with them – they all say he was wonderful
to be around.
Sadly, during a convention appearance in Florida at the end of
March, Robert Z’Dar suffered a massive cardiac arrest and died shortly
thereafter. You should check out some Robert Z'Dar shows when you can in his memory.
After that sad post, I do want to turn to a happier note - today is my birthday! Huzzah! As I have for the previous four years, I'm ending this whole April 2015 A-Z Blogging Challenge with a couple of video clips to celebrate my natal day.
From the excellent movie The Man from Hong Kong:
And since I'm totally in a 007 mood with Spectre coming in about 200 days - here's the teaser trailer to Licence to Kill (1989)...
Until next post, you Can Poke Me With Some Birthday Cake, Cause I Am Outta Here!