Chicago: Eegah!

http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/8/f/2/c/event_254196652.jpegWatch out for snakes, everyone!

One of Richard Keil's many MST3k appearances, but the only one in which we can see his face is coming up in August!

OK, here's the story behind this episode, and I'm sharing it here because it's awesome: Arch Hall, Sr. is a study in crazy awesome. He was a fighter pilot in WWII, whose experiences were ostensibly the subject of the 1961 Robert Mitchum/Jack Webb picture, "The Last Time I Saw Archie." He was a genuine cowboy, having grown up in South Dakota, and was an honorary member of the Sioux nation, speaking Sioux and eventually honored by them in death.

When he came back from the war, he got a job as a stuntman in Hollywood, and racked up quite the IMDB page before starting his own production studio, Fairway Productions. This is where things go from awesome to crazy: he started making B-movies, apparently on purpose. He star in them, along with his son, Arch Hall, Jr., and whoever the hell else he could get, including Marylin Manning, his secretary, who plays Roxy in Eegah, Ray Dennis Steckler, who went on to direct and star in The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (obviously Hall, Sr. had something of a mentor effect on Mr. Steckler), and evidently Richard Keil, whose freakish height pretty much guaranteed him a living in movies as Solarites, pinheads, porcelain alien androids, henchmen with uncomfortable-looking dental work, and incidental characters in Adam Sandler movies.

Arch Hall, Jr. stars in Eegah, and like in many of the movies his father made, he sings and plays the geetar, as it was hoped he would become the next Elvis. That... didn't happen.

Also, Arch, Jr. is now an airline pilot and modestly successful novelist, and reportedly cool with how he was treated on MST3k.

We meet at the Irish American Heritage Center in the Fifth Province, the center’s pub located on the first floor (look for a group of folks wearing name badges). Sometimes there will be an event charging money at the door; that's not us. You're welcome to walk past them and come find us. The evening starts at 6:00p for dinner/drinks in the pub (menu consists of burgers, fish & chips, sandwiches, and Irish fare such as Sheperd's Pie). At around 7:30p, we go to the viewing room to watch the show. For those of you driving, the center offers plenty of free parking in its lot. If you still can't find us, go ahead and call or send me a text message at 815-535-3226 (after 6 PM on the day of only, please; there are several avenues to contact me every other day of the month).

I charge an event fee of $5 to help recoup costs for room rental, A/V equipment, DVDs and a personalized, preprinted name badge. If your guest(s) also would like a personalized preprinted name badge, please put his/her name into the comments section of your RSVP.