Turkey Day 2021

I seem to say this with every Turkey Day report, but it never ceases to amaze me. This was the 19^th year I’ve held my little annual marathon, which means next year will be two whole decades since I started this maddening excursion. Even more crazy is the amount of people that are anxious to join me on that quest. Granted, since 2019, we’ve had to hold them online, which has been fun, but I have to admit that it is just not the same. I’m really hoping that by next year, we can get back to the in-person marathons, but we’ll just have to see. I know that is going to disappoint some of the people that have been able to partake in the online version, but maybe that just means you should start your own Turkey Day event!

Nonetheless, my first official Turkey Day was in November of 2003, where I was by myself. That’s dedication for you. But that was the last year going solo since the following year the number started to increase until we were hitting close to 15 or more people before the pandemic started. Going online, I think we hit over 25 joining at some point. In May of 2015, we started holding Turkey Day in May, simply because there were just too many turkeys to only hold this even once a year! So, from 2003 when it all started, this was the 26^th Turkey Day Marathon. That . . . is a lot of Turkeys. But it also was a lot of fun as well.

One of the things I posted earlier this month was about what I was thankful for. To have a group of friends, and even some I never have met, join together for these crazy viewing parties is something I am forever grateful for. To those that joined in, even if it was for only one or two films, thank you.

But let’s get the movies!

Horror History: Luciano Pigozzi

Luciano Pigozzi
Born Jan. 10th, 1927 – Died June 14th, 2008

Sometimes referred as the “Italian Peter Lorre”, Pigozzi is more like the Italian Michael Ripper, because if you watch any amount of Italian films, whether it be westerns, horror, giallo, or any type of exploitation films, you will probably see Pigozzi in there somewhere. And like both Ripper and Lorre, he was always entertaining to see on screen.

Appearing in more than 100 films, sometimes billed under the name Alan Collins, one of his first genre roles was in the 1961 film Lycanthropus, which was re-titled under the more exploitive title Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory. But he can also be seen in several of Mario Bava’s films, such as The Whip and the Body (1963), Blood and Black Lace (1964), and Baron Blood (1972), as well as plenty of titles from director Antonio Margheriti, who he was good friends with. He also appeared in some of the more cheesy Italian fare, such as Yor, The Hunter from the Future (1982) and Exterminators of the Year 3000 (1983).

So the next time you’re watching an older Italian film, keep an eye out in the opening credits for Pigozzi (or Collins), or look for that wonderful and easily recognizable face. Then you can impress your fellow movie friends by shouting out “Hey! That’s Luciano Pigozzi!”