Rondo Hatton Award Winners

Debi Moore |

Mar 25, 2009

Birds Barbie Wins a Rondo Awards The votes are in (2,933 of them in fact), and the winners of the 7th annual Rondo Hatton Awards have been announced. Apparently the big upset this year came in the Best Model, Toy, or Collectible category, where “The Birds Barbie” beat out her competition. No surprise to me; she’s been kicking butts and taking names since she first got into town! I certainly ordered mine the first chance I had.

And she’s not the only member of her gender who stood out this year: Congrats to Jovanka Vuckovic and her co-writer Scott Gabbey of Rue Morgue, who were awarded Best Article for “Coffin Joe Resurrected,” a look at the legendary Brazilian filmmaker Jose Mojica Marins. Editor-in-Chief Vuckovic has even more to be proud about as Rue also won for Best Magazine overall, Best Magazine Cover (#83, a portrait of Forrest J Ackerman by longtime Famous Monsters artist Basil Gogos), and Best Horror Audio Site (for Rue Morgue Radio).

Here are some of the other highlights ranging from the modern — The Dark Knight was voted Best Film of 2008 and “Doctor Who” favorite television show — to classic horrors from the past:

A new edition of the 1960 film Psycho was voted Best Classic Horror DVD.
A collection of Ray Harryhausen’s 1950s science fiction films, including a colorized Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, was named Best DVD Collection, and the collected episodes of “The Munsters” was the favorite TV collection.
Criterion’s painstaking reconstruction of Carl Dreyer’s atmospheric 1932 chiller, Vampyr, was voted Best Restoration.
Best DVD Extra: “One for the Fire“, a documentary about the making of Night of the Living Dead.
Best DVD Commentary: Makeup master Rick Baker, Bob Burns, Scott Essman, Steve Haberman and Brent Armstrong for The Mummy (1932).
Best Indie: Spine-Tingler: The William Castle Story.
Book of the Year: The Twilight Zone by Martin Grams.

The most emotional moments came when it was announced in an online ceremony that Los Angeles producer Joe Moe (interview) had been named “Monster Kid of the Year” for his long years serving as a friend, adviser, and caregiver for horror and science fiction collector Forry Ackerman. “For his quiet, constant and unwavering stewardship of Forrest J Ackerman’s final decade of life,” the Rondo citation reads, “Joe Moe revealed not only the man behind Mr. Monster, but the grace and strength of the ultimate fan. For being there when we all couldn’t, Joe Moe is Monster Kid of the Year.”

And people say awards shows have no heart! A ceremony will be held at the Wonderfest convention in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 16, 2009. Be sure to visit the official Rondo Awards website for a full list of all the winners.

– Debi Moore

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