Today’s guest is Bob Blackburn – he’s the son of the famous sportscaster by the same name, Bob Blackburn, who was the play-by-play voice of the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA and was inducted into the Sports Halls of Fame in both Oregon and Washington. Bob, the son, also has a background in radio, but the reason I’m talking to him today is the book he just released: KATHY WOOD & I – HOW I FELL DOWN THE ED WOOD JR. ANGORA RABBIT HOLE. Bob, you see, is the custodian of the estate of the independent filmmaker Ed Wood – the legendary, famous or infamous director, writer and producer of films like PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, GLEN OR GLENDA and BRIDE OF THE MONSTER, which are sometimes called cult classics, sometimes called “the worst movies of all time”, but in both cases are appreciated and celebrated for offering a kind of cinema that’s wonderfully different and unique. Bob became friends with Ed Wood’s widow, Kathy Wood, and in his book, he paints a vivid picture of a very unusual friendship and talks a lot about Ed Wood’s work and his legacy. In our interview, Bob discusses the legacy of Ed Wood, his friendship with Kathy, the Tim Burton biopic starring Johnny Depp which came out in 1994, and much more.
My interview with Bob Blackburn was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, check out episode #74, which features an in-depth discussion of Burton’s ED WOOD and the Ed Wood movies.
If you enjoy my interviews here on Talking Pictures, please consider heading over to patreon.com/TalkingPicturesPodcast to support the production of new episodes.
So without any further ado, here’s Bob Blackburn!
The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.
Photos courtesy of Bob Blackburn
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent
