Being a member of the Scarlet Street family, and because of how welcoming all of the gang down on the Street were to me, I feel like I was 'intimately' close to all! So I have to mention the passing of one of the family members just 2 weeks ago, Arlene Domkowski.
I, of course, 'met' Arlene through Scarlet Street channels and was able to greet her in person, first at Forry Ackerman's Tribute in California, March 2009, and then at the Monster Bash in Pennsylvania during the summer of 2010. In fact she took a pretty decent photo of me there attending the show.
Talk about jumping right into a relationship, Arlene had a room booked for herself, me and my dog(!) at the Bash, which gives you an idea of how two relative strangers could become so easily comfortable with each other so fast. That is another testament to the family that Forry Ackerman originally brought together. It always seemed that if the other person was a fan of Famous Monsters, and Arlene was that too, well then they must be okay!
Arlene loved animals more than anything, however, and was soon to become my dog Pal's forever Auntie Maleva. Arlene's character name was Maleva, which I thought was marvelous.
If I were a betting man, I'm certain I would win by guessing correctly that Arlene did not eat meat. I'm not 100% positive about this, but I think I caught a true reaction of horror from her while at dinner during our stay together, when she believed I was ordering a meat dish.
In any case, it just so happens that myself and my 90 year old mother for the first time went meatless two holiday dinners in a row this year, so it looks like our meatless meals are here to stay, and all the better for everything because of that.
I'll just close by saying that as Arlene Domkowski was a known animal activist, I can't think of anything better to honor her memory with, and so simple to do, as moving towards a plant-based diet. For by our actions which may cause any animal's life to continue in peace, Arlene will live on as well. To love an animal, I think, is the one true way which will keep her light shining brightly.
Much love to you, Arlene, and thanks for some wonderful memories.
*Selling "Dracula" [1931]
*Bela Lugosi (above) and Helen Chandler (below) from "Dracula" [1931]
*Edward Van Sloan and David Manners (below) from "Dracula" [1931]
*Bela Lugosi is "Dracula" [1931]
*Kasey Rogers
*Kasey Rogers
*Kasey Rogers in "Strangers on a Train" [1951]
*Kasey Rogers
*Kasey Rogers with J. Carroll Naish, Edmond O' Brien & Dean Jagger in "Denver and Rio Grande" [1952]
*Kasey Rogers
*Anne Jeffreys (above) and Robert Sterling (below).
*Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling (below).
*Anne Jeffreys (above) and Robert Sterling (below).
*Anne Jeffreys (above) and Robert Sterling and friends (below).
*Leo G. Carroll with Anne Jeffreys (below).
*Leo G. Carroll with the "Topper" cast (below).
*Anne Jeffreys (above) and Robert Sterling (below).
*Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling (below).
*Kathleen Freeman (with Jerry Lewis below).
*Kathleen Freeman supported Jerry Lewis in a few of his movies.
*Kathleen Freeman in "The Nutty Professor" [1963] below.
*Kathleen Freeman was playing the nurse even in "Behind Locked Doors" [1948] shown below.
*Kathleen Freeman (with Jerry Lewis below).
*"Among The Living" [1941]
*"The Uninvited" [1944]
*"The Uninvited" [1944]
*"The Man in Half Moon Street" [1945]
*"The Man in Half Moon Street" [1945]
*"One Body Too Many" [1944]
*"One Body Too Many" [1944]
*"The Unseen" [1945]
*"The Unseen" [1945]
*"Fear in the Night" [1947]
*"Fear in the Night" [1947]
*"Night Has a Thousand Eyes" [1948]
*"Night Has a Thousand Eyes" [1948]
*"Alias Nick Beal" [1949]
*Kasey Rogers
*Kasey Rogers
*"Alias Nick Beal" [1949]
*Kasey Rogers
*Kathleen Freeman. (The caption for the photo below reads: Popular old time radio stars Kathleen Freeman, Jerry Hausner and Ray Erlenborn recall some rare moments in "The Good Old Days of Radio", public television's tribute to radio's 50th birthday.)
* Supplemental images are noted with an (*) asterisk. My intention is to only enhance the reading experience and not take away from the original publication.
This post is dedicated to my dear friend and champion, Arlene Domkowski.
This is a favorite photo of mine that I took while we were all attending The Monster Bash in the summer of 2010. It shows Arlene Domkowski behind Harry Long, which I do not think is inappropriate as Harry was probably Arlene's closest person. In fact, I'll leave this post with a quote from Harry:
"Arlene Domkowski - known to some of you as Melava... my fellow lover of cats and old time horror movies & my housemate for the past 2-3/4 years, passed away today from a brief but serious illness.
'...as the rain enters the soil, the river enters the sea, so tears run to a predestined end. Your suffering is over...'"
No comments:
Post a Comment