Father of the Blob: The Making of a Monster Smash and Other Hollywood Tales by Jack H. Harris

Author:Jack H. Harris [Harris, Jack H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TVGuestpert Publishing
Published: 2015-04-13T04:30:00+00:00

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Jack H. Harris official publicity shot for Universal Pictures 4D Man and Dinosaurus, 1970.

On March 7, 1959, I opened the front door of my home in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania to find four feet of snow, which prevented me from going to the subterranean garage to get my car. There had been a crippling blizzard the night before, the severity of which was a total surprise. We eventually had no power and impassable streets, plus the California-style patio cover we had so carefully and expensively installed, was caved in like a demolition ball had landed on it. The street workers came through, eventually, with snow moving equipment and we were ferried to the home of my sister, Mitzie, who lived in a nearby neighborhood that was not affected as severely as we were. We camped out with Mitzie, her husband, and their four children.

We had a great time. I loved the kids and they loved Uncle Jack. My own teenaged kids could think of a dozen things they’d rather do than share such a crowded house.

The weather let up, the streets were usable, and power was restored. I sat down with Muriel and told her, “This is our last winter of glorious weather in Philadelphia. We’re moving to sunny California as soon as it is practical.”

Five foot tall ball of fire, Lynda, was deeply involved in her high school activities, couldn’t imagine anything worse than having to move to the west coast at this stage of her life. Lynda and I talked it over. I told her we’d be making movies and be in the center of the industry that I’d spent my life in from a distance. Now we’d be in the thick of it. She was a ham, just like me, and quickly saw the merit in a change of venue.

Anthony, now a strapping 6’3” fifteen-year-old, had become an expert guitarist with a following of six students, including two adults, which he was teaching. He became morose and seriously depressed. It was rare to get a smile out of him. Muriel didn’t like show business and didn’t want to be taken to Hollywoodland, away from all of her friends and associates. She had become an interior designer and relished her resources and her clients.

I was adamant and had a great ally in my darling daughter. We overwhelmed the opposition. Now my lifelong dream of living in the heart of Hollywood with my own production company already established could be realized. As prophetic as Pete Smith was in 1940, Hollywood didn’t send for me. It sort of forced me to go there, and at least it was on my own terms.

In early April 1959, I did some traveling to other parts of the U.S. to help promote the current distribution of 4D MAN. I wound up in Los Angeles and about a month later, I was joined there by Muriel, Anthony, and Lynda on what we called an exploratory trip. We were ensconced in the Presidential Suite of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

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