Zombie Mondays
Horror icon Bruce Campbell (the 'Evil Dead' series), who joined the stage with character actor Ted Riami for the final panel discussion at Walker Stalker Boston on August 19th at the Westin Boston Waterfront, could not resist throwing a humorous jab at the Klu Klux Klan -- a reminder, intended or not, of serious events that were transpiring in Boston as free speech came into focus. Irone Singleton, who played T Dog in the earlier seasons of The Walking Dead, conveyed more blatant sentiments when he spoke to an enthusiastic crowd on August 20 -- he expressed that the large number of counter-protesters in the city that day were, in his opinion, proving that love could conquer hate.
Campbell and Riami brought nine audience members up with "hidden talents" for a three-round impromptu talent show (the one below, who did not make the final cut, was not only one pretty zombie but could sing surprisingly well).
Other competitors included a young mother carrying her baby who could sing in Hindi, a pre-natal nurse who could sing opera, a woman that can make owl noises with her hands and a man that is not one of the better stand-up comics...
The winners (it was a tie) were a pre-teen contortionist and a woman that can speak unusually fast.
The first panel speaker on Saturday was Scott Wilson, who acting career spans 50 years and began with films like 'In the Heat of the Night' and 'In Cold Blood.' But he is best known to 'Walking Dead' fans as Hershel. He fondly remembered the climatic battle with the Governor in the show's fourth season (during which Hershel is killed), which he described as 'playing out like an old Western,'and also recalled falling asleep during a particularly dramatic scene while one of his legs (supposedly severed) was tucked through a hole in a bunk.
Another actor from the show, Austin Nichols, spoke later that afternoon. Nichols is known to fans of the show as the detestable character Spencer, who he described as"ambitious" but added that "he ultimately had a good heart." He described his character's brutal death and the hands of arch-villain Negan as cathartic and expressed satisfaction about his scenes in the series 'Bates Motel' as well.
Singleton geeted the crowd during the following morning in a boisterous and engaging manner, He said that because the character T Dog was not in the original 'Walking Dead' comic book, he had latitude in how he could portray the character and chose to imbue some of his personal traits into the character (he admitted to having a troubled past -- he said that he sold drugs, his brother was in jail and he lost his mother to HIV-related complications, drugs and alcohol). He applauded the show for addressing racism, domestic violence and other serious issues.
As an example, he discussed the character's antagonistic relationship with the bigoted Merle Dixon. Michael Rooker, who played Merle on the show, is good friends with Singleton in real life.
Other guests included 'Walking Dead' actors Michael Cudlitz and Karl Makinen. Other actors from the show were down stairs signing autographs.
The panel room also hosted a cosplay contest with an em phasis on 'Walking Dead'
characters, although one competitor chose to cosplay Ash from 'The Evil Dead.'
Even man's best friend got in on the act....
More photos are posted below,
