For those of us who grew up, pretty much from the 1950s to the 1990s, Newspapers carried ads for movies, and listings for the theaters and drive-ins that were playing those pictures. I used to love poring through the movies section of the Boston Globe to see what was playing because my parents and I went to the Cinema or Drive-In once or twice a week! And in those days, movie posters (which is now basically a lost art) were scaled down to smaller versions to fit as ads in the papers. Having been...
Oct 09, 2021•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 64
In April, I had the good fortune to attend the APRIL GHOULS DRIVE-IN MONSTER-RAMA at The Riverside Drive In Theatre in Vandergrift, PA. The theme was 80s Horror Films with such movies as: SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE, SLEEPAWAY CAMP, PIECES, EDGE OF THE AXE, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, THE HOWLING, HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH and MAUSOLEUM. The guys who run it, George and Gene put together a show like this every April and September at the Riverside Drive-In, and this past September of 2021 ...
Oct 01, 2021•39 min•Ep. 63
As we often like to discuss things that have gone away from our pop culture, some things haven't gone away. Things like breakfast cereals and collectibles are still in full force. Back in the day, Saturday mornings used to be special because before we had 24 hour cartoon channels, we could only get our new cartoons on Saturday mornings on one of the 3 networks that we had. With the advent of cable and satellite TV, cartoons, and even early morning comedies or scary films would be shown all over ...
Sep 24, 2021•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 62
We had Then Is Now's first LIVE VIDEO on Thursday, September 16th, 2021. We streamed live on Facebook and YouTube, although two minutes into it, the Facebook stream cut out, but there was no indication of this! Zoom acted as if the stream was working fine, so we just plugged on with it. We are presenting it here for you in audio form, for your convenience, and to get this information out to as many people as possible! We hope you get a chance to listen, then click on the links that we talked abo...
Sep 18, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 61
One of the best representatives of the American family in the 1950s was the Cleaver household, as portrayed on the iconic and classic television series, Leave It to Beaver. The Cleavers exemplified the idealized suburban family of the mid-20th century. The show, which ran from 1957 to 1963, was about an inquisitive and often naïve boy, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver, and his adventures at home, school, and around his suburban neighborhood. The show also starred Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont a...
Sep 12, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 60
Horror has been with us since the dawn of mankind in various forms over the years, and while horror movies have been with us since the early 1900s, horror books have been around far longer. Still going strong today is the horror novel market and new authors and books are appearing almost daily in all of the online and brick and mortar bookstores. Joining me on the show today is author James Harberson, whose book, A Disgusting Supermarket of Death , collects hard-boiled shorts about satanic Chris...
Aug 27, 2021•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 59
Former child star, the iconic and legendary Johnny Whitaker joins us today! One of my childhood idols, Johnny is most well known for the classic TV shows, Family Affair and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. Johnny has had a fascinating journey in life, and he shares it all with us including details on the shows he worked on, a heartbreaking loss, a journey to “the dark side” (as he puts it), and his incredible work helping those in need, among other things! Join us for this amazing interview, and re...
Aug 13, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 58
Welcome to our first, Special Mini-Episode! Recently, Haven Podcasts had the good fortune to be able to sponsor “The Lost Year: A Festival of Short Films”, which showcased the works of actor/director Kris Salvi. The event took place at the Elm Draughthouse Cinema in Millbury, MA on August 7th, 2021. Kris made all the films in 2020, and he and pretty much all of the cast and crew were there including Gabrielle Rosson, Justin Thibault, and Then Is Now frequent guest co-host, Chris Esper! We've got...
Aug 11, 2021•32 min•Ep. 57
General Hospital is an amazing daytime drama, or soap opera, that has been on the air since April 1st, 1963. The originality, creativity, and sheer entertainment of this show has helped it to survive over the decades, constantly re-inventing itself to stay relevant. GH pioneered action and adventure on daytime television in the early 1980s, and continues to thrill today! On this episode, we have a special crossover with Pier 54 – A General Hospital Fan Podcast! Hosts Amanda and Shannon join me a...
Aug 06, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 56
The star of the original Night of the Living Dead, Judith O'Dea, joins us today as we dive into her career! The film, of course, is the first of the modern zombie films, in which zombies are the dead who return to life as flesh eating ghouls. Judith has become an iconic figure and a living legend, having played the character, Barbara, in the film, and will be honored for generations to come! But Judith is more than just an actress from Night of the Living Dead! She has continued to act after the...
Jul 30, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 55
Here on Then Is Now, we strive to discuss pop culture of the past (THEN) and how it relates to the present (NOW). Today's episode is the perfect example of that! On September 8, 1974, daredevil Evel Knievel attempted to leap the mile-wide chasm of the Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls, Idaho, on his specially engineered rocket motorcycle. His parachute malfunctioned and opened on take-off, causing the rocket to float to the bottom of the canyon, landing on the riverbank directly below his launch ...
Jul 22, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 54
While soap operas are dwindling, they haven't fully disappeared from our collective zeitgeist, and the ones that are surviving are definitely thriving in the pop culture. On today's show, we have a guest who is more than just a soap actor. He's a writer, producer and motivational speaker and has dabbled in so many facets of the entertainment industry that you will be surprised to learn what he's been up to! The awesome Sean Kanan joins the show and we discuss his career, his time on General Hosp...
Jul 16, 2021•58 min•Ep. 53
My special guest on this episode is the amazing podcaster Rod Barnett host of both the Naschycast and The Bloody Pit. We actually recorded this in January, and due to a technical issue with one of the files, it took me until this week to finally get rid of most of the static in Rod's voice, and made it fine for listening. And that's important because you're going to want to listen to this episode: we have ventured into a genre that many of you, dear listeners, have most likely not heard of, Poli...
Jul 09, 2021•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 52
Dedee Pfeiffer is an incredible actress who has been in movies and TV shows since 1985. She's been in a bunch of horror movies, played Cybill Shepherd's daughter on the sitcom, Cybill, and is currently starring in the ABC hit show, Big Sky. She has proven her worth in Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy and Drama. A versatile talent, she has bridged film and TV from The Midnight Hour, Vamp, and Falling Down (with Michael Douglas), to Friends, Seinfeld and Supernatural; Young people recognize her from her rec...
Jun 26, 2021•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 51
Then Is Now turns 50! Episode 50, that is! On today's show we are doing a wrap-up of the Abominable Dr Phibes 50th Anniversary Celebration and to that end we have special returning guests William and Damon Goldstein, as well as new guest, Peter Fuller from the Vincent Price Legacy UK! We also have some other guests who show up including Daniel Crowther from the Lions of Legend Podcast, and Then Is Now recurring guest co-host, Spency Domepiece! We discuss not only the success of the Phibes Annive...
Jun 18, 2021•2 hr 3 min•Ep. 50
As we continue to introduce the next generation to all the cool stuff they may have missed out on, there are many Directors, Writers, Actors and Actresses, that people should know, who have been entertaining us for decades, and still do. One such person is Dee Wallace, who was mom to a generation, an undeniably strong woman in several horrific situations, and someone who not only continues to act, but also shares her loving and healing approach to life with the world. From The Howling to Cujo an...
Jun 03, 2021•43 min•Ep. 49
Rebel Without a Cause (1955), starring the iconic and legendary James Dean, is a classic film that everyone MUST see! Lucas from Denmark returns to the show to help me break down this great piece of cinema. We had fun previously exploring American Graffiti, and once again we get a fresh perspective on James Dean's opus, not only because Lucas is from Denmark, but also because he's 19 and we like to get a young person's perspective on pop culture of the past. This film not only continues to hold ...
May 27, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 48
While science fiction has never left our pop culture, there are many science fiction films, TV shows, and books from the past that have not been introduced to the younger generation. There are also plenty of TV Shows of all different genres from the past that need to be re-introduced to today's youth. Luckily, thanks to various DVD makers and streaming apps, shows like ‘How the West Was Won', ‘Bring ‘em Back Alive', ‘Scarecrow and Mrs King' and the Sci-Fi epic, ‘Babylon 5' are finding new life a...
May 20, 2021•2 hr 21 min•Ep. 47
The 50th anniversary of the Horror Classic, The Abominable Dr Phibes is upon us, and so is the Phibes 50th Anniversary Online Celebration! Phibes creator William Goldstein and his son Damon return to the show to discuss the event which is mere days away! So join us on this episode to learn not only how you can participate in the 50th Anniversary Celebration, but also about the expanding Phibesverse as well as the status on the upcoming third film, with Malcolm McDowell attached to star as Dr Phi...
May 12, 2021•48 min•Ep. 46
Arriving this week on VOD and streaming services is the new Thriller called Painkiller, directed by Mark Savage and written by Tom Parnell and Mark Savage. It is a very timely tale about vigilante justice versus the creators and pushers of opiods. In the past, we were always guaranteed a movie in any given year starring one of the great horror icons like Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and dozens of actors who were not afraid to say that they were horror actors. Our guest today is...
May 07, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 45
We've discussed Drive-In Theaters in the past, and while many indoor movie theaters have closed down because of Covid-19, the outdoor Drive-In Theater has not only thrived, but is experiencing a resurgence! This past weekend my wife and I had the good fortune to be able to attend the 2021 April Ghouls Drive-In Monster Rama at the Riverside Drive-In in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. It was 80s weekend and they played four horror movies all night on Friday and four more on Saturday. There were vendors...
May 01, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 44
As we've discussed on the show, comic books and superheroes are a part of our pop culture that have never disappeared from our collective zeitgeist. Batman first appeared in 1939 in Detective Comics, and continues to be hugely popular 81 years later. On January 12th, 1966, the ABC network premiered a TV series that would not only catapult the character of Batman into the mainstream Pop Culture, but also create living legends out of its two stars, Adam West and Burt Ward. Today, we've got a speci...
Apr 17, 2021•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 43
As many listeners already know, we strive on this show to present cool pop culture of the past to a new generation who may have missed out on those things. Comic books have been around for about 90 years, and are still going strong. Most modern audiences are familiar with the Marvel and DC movies that have been popular for the last decade, as well as the various superhero shows on TV and on streaming services. Comic books are one thing that have never left the zeitgeist, and remain a large part ...
Apr 08, 2021•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 42
As we continue to introduce younger listeners to all the cool Pop Culture stuff of the past that they may have missed out on, TV Game Shows are certainly on that list! Game shows from the 60s to the 80s were wildly popular throughout those decades, and viewers of those shows have fond memories of them to this day. The Price is Right, Match Game, Family Feud, Hollywood Squares, Let's Make a Deal, and the $20,000 Dollar Pyramid are just a few shows that are considered classics today, and still pop...
Mar 25, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 41
50 years ago on May 8th, 1971, a movie came out that was not your average horror picture; a blend of horror, humor, and music put together in a way that it seems perfectly natural and yet unlike any movie before it. It's a tale of revenge by a man driven insane because of the death of his wife, and the fantastic and horrific ways in which he exacts his revenge, told in a story that's shrouded somewhat in Dark Comedy. I'm talking of course, about The Abominable Dr. Phibes starring the legendary h...
Mar 20, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 40
It's always fun when you can find a new series of films, or even a genre, that you didn't know existed. I'm sure some of our listeners have heard or even seen exploitation films, but I'll bet a vast majority of you don't know what one is, or you may not even know that you've already seen one! Exploitation is a unique and fascinating genre that pretty much goes back to when film cameras were first invented, and while there are still exploitation films being made today, the general consensus is th...
Mar 14, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 39
On our Dungeons and Dragons episode, we discussed how Role Playing Games never really disappeared from our Pop Culture, and in fact are thriving. The same can be said for Comic Books. While early comics can be traced back to 18th century Japan, comic books as we now know them first truly became popular in the 1930s. The term comic book comes from the fact that newspaper comic strips (also known as funnies) were compiled into books early on. This later changed as the format was used to display al...
Mar 05, 2021•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 38
Since the beginning of Then Is Now, I've been talking about pop culture that is disappearing from our collective consciousness. One of my go to lines has always been that people should know who Fonzie is. Arthur Fonzarelli, aka The Fonze, was a HUGE part of our pop culture for several decades, but if you ask a kid today who Fonzie is, they don't know! And that's very sad. Fonzie was a character on the famous sitcom, Happy Days, and remains as one of the coolest characters on TV. People SHOULD kn...
Feb 27, 2021•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 37
While many Horror movies tend to re-use common tropes and over and over again, there are those rare ones that manage to not only come up with an original idea, but also take those tropes and turn them on their ears. It Follows, a horror movie from 2014, manages to do all that as well as present a multi-layered film that delivers chills and horror with maximum effect. It has been described as not only influenced by John Carpenter's films, but also a kind of mix between the Ring and Nightmare on E...
Feb 19, 2021•59 min•Ep. 36
Happpy Valentines Day 2021, everyone! In this episode, filmmaker Chris Esper and I dive deep into one of our all-time favorite films: Casablanca from 1942! It's not a sappy romance movie, but an incredible tale of a guy who has been trying to shed his past while the Nazis are creeping in, and a woman from his past who comes back into his life, shattering all the emotional barriers he's built up! Casablanca is one of those films that just keeps getting better upon each viewing and you always noti...
Feb 12, 2021•56 min•Ep. 35
