Category Archives: Actors

JAMES DARREN

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James Darren in The Time Tunnel

The incredibly sad news that we have heard in the past few hours is that James Darren, star of Irwin Allen’s The Time Tunnel, passed away on Monday September 2nd, 2024, at the age of 88. James not only starred in The Time Tunnel, but also guest starred in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and appeared in the presentation reel for The Man from the 25th Century and in the 1971 television movie, City Beneath the Sea.

Hollywood Reporter

Variety

AP News

Daily Mail

People

Chicago Sun Times

CNN

RTE

The Statesman

James Darren in The Time Tunnel episode The Day the Sky Fell In

James Darren in The Time Tunnel episode The Day the Sky Fell In

James Darren in the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea episode The Mechanical Man

James Darren in the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea episode The Mechanical Man

James Darren in City Beneath the Sea

James Darren in City Beneath the Sea

James Darren in The Man from the 25th Century

James Darren in The Man from the 25th Century

MARK GODDARD

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Mark Goddard - Lost in Space

It has been with great sadness that we learned on Friday evening of the passing of Lost in Space star Mark Goddard on 10th October via Bill Mumy on Facebook. Mark and his work have been a feature in our lives for as long as we can remember. Our thoughts tonight are with Mark Goddard’s family and friends including all of the Lost in Space cast who formed lifelong friendships with Mark after working on the show.

Embed from Getty Images

The photo above shows Mark Goddard with his fellow Lost in Space cast mates at the 24th January 2015 Hollywood Show in Los Angeles. Below is a photo we took of two Don Wests in 1998 after the movie premiere in LA.

Two Don Wests at the 1998 Lost in Space Premiere Party - Matt LeBlanc and Mark Goddard

Hollywood Reporter

Variety

New York Times

LAND OF THE GIANTS COLLECTION PRESS RELEASE

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Carmody McKnight Estate Winery Announces
Land of the Giants Collection

Land of the Giants Launch Party set for August 26
at Le Vigne Winery in Paso Robles

The Land of the Giants Wine Collection

(Paso Robles, CA)–Carmody McKnight Estate Winery has announced the release of their new Land of the Giants collection.  The initial release includes the 2019 Estate Colossal Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2019 Estate Colossal Cuvee. A five-course dinner created by Le Vigne Executive Chef Walter Filippini celebrating the release is scheduled for August 26 in Paso Robles.

Originating from Carmody McKnight’s legendary volcanic West Paso Robles vineyard, the special series of Bordeaux varietal wines are hand-crafted by Winemaker Anthony Gallegos.  Gallegos continues the Carmody McKnight tradition of long barrel aging with minimal intervention. The 2019 Estate Colossal Cabernet and Cuvee both show off the incredible vintage of the nutrient rich volcanic West Paso Robles vineyard. These are serious complex, fruit-forward, giant Bordeaux wines to be enjoyed now and for decades.  The Colossal Cuvee blends Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Star of the cult science fiction TV series, Land of the Giants, Gary Carmody Conway is, along with his wife, former Miss America Marian McKnight Conway, the proprietor of Carmody McKnight Estate Winery.  The Irwin Allen (Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) series is one of the most popular TV series on a worldwide basis ever, airing on hundreds of stations internationally.

Attending the dinner and available to mingle with guests are original cast members Gary Conway (Captain Steve Burton), Heather Young (Betty Hamilton) and Stefan Arngrim (Barry Lockridge).

Land of the Giants Cabernet Sauvignon

The Land of the Giants Cabernet Sauvignon will be paired with the second course of Red Wine Cavatelli with Pancetta & Asiago.  The Colossal Cuvee is featured in the third course alongside Captain Burton’s Braised Bison Short Ribs.

Also poured at the launch dinner alongside the first course of Betty’s Beet Carpaccio with Balsamic Glaze and Fried Capers will be Carmody McKnight’s 2019 Forever Miss America Cabernet Franc.  From the sale of every bottle from the Forever Miss America collection, the winery bestows a gift to the Forever Miss America Scholarship Fund.  This fund has provided decades of commitment to the economic and social advancement of all women through education opportunities and career resourcing.

The dinner opens and closes with courses paired with wines made by the Conway’s daughter Kathleen.  Little People Appetizers will be served with K Estate Sparkling, and the dessert, Very Barry Semifreddo, is matched with her K Estate Port.

The Land of the Giants wine collection labels are designed by renowned comic book artist John Peter Britton who specializes in producing artwork for fantasy and science fiction genre television.  They depict Gary Conway’s character, Captain Steve Burton, being held captive in the hand of a giant.

The Land of the Giants release dinner will be held on Saturday, August 26, 2023, at Le Vigne winery located at 5115 Buena Vista Drive, Paso Robles, California, 93446.  The dinner begins at 6:30 pm and tickets are $132 per person, including tax and gratuity.  To purchase tickets, please go here.

COLOSSAL WINE RELEASE MENU

Welcome Reception 6:30 pm

Little People Appetizers
Wine Pairing: Kathleen Conway’s K Estate Sparkling 

First Course

Betty’s Beet Carpaccio with Tuscan Volcanic EVOO, Balsamic Glaze and Fried Capers
Wine Pairing: 2019 Carmody McKnight Estate Forever Miss America Cabernet Franc

Second Course
Red Wine Cavatelli with Pancetta & Asiago
Wine Pairing: 2019 Estate Colossal Cabernet Sauvignon

Third Course
Captain Burton’s Braised Bison Short Ribs Accompanied By Creamy Potatoes and Rustic, Caramelized Carrots
Wine Pairing: 2019 Estate Colossal Cuvee 

Fourth Course
Very Barry Semifreddo
Wine Pairing: Kathleen Conway’s K Estate Port 

RESERVE HERE

About Carmody McKnight Estate Winery

Established in 1968 by former Miss America Marian McKnight Conway and actor/artist Gary Conway, Paso Robles-based Carmody McKnight is credited for pioneering the West Paso Robles AVA – Adelaida subdistrict now recognized as a premium viticultural region for Bordeaux and other noble varietals. Located seven miles from the Pacific Ocean and climatically protected by the Santa Lucia Mountains, the legendary estate vineyard, with its three volcanoes, possesses the rarest of viticulturally rich soils making it the epitome of sustainability. The region is also known for its perfect Mediterranean temperature range and climate conditions. Carmody McKnight produces award-winning, limited release Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc varietal wines.  Allocation list members enjoy exclusive access to limited release collector series wines including Land of the Giants and Forever Miss America wines that support women’s educational scholarships. 

The Big Sur by Gary Conway

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Among his many talents, Gary Conway is a superb artist and you can find many of his art pieces on Gary’s website. Below is a piece of art that Gary has shared with us from his latest Big Sur collection.

Gary Conway art from the Big Sur Recollections Collection

Below are links to PDFs that Gary has sent us to showcase some of his art. Feel free to download the PDFs and enjoy Gary’s stunning artwork. To see more of his work, take a trip to Gary Conway’s Website.

Gary Conway’s forty-year dream-journey gazing out upon the mesmerizing mountains of the Santa Lucias.

The Big Sur Collection One

When I first discovered the Big Sur region of Paso Robles in a crash landing it was soon realized that no place on earth possesses these purest and cleanest of colors and haunting hues surrounding the sharpest of horizons. Painting this phenomenon was inevitable – an artist’s paradise! Van Gogh would have truly lost his mind here!
Gary Conway

The Big Sur Collection Two

A trip to the cosmos by way of Big Sur.

The Big Sur Recollections – Current Works

Ever since I started painting at a very early age, I thought of art as more than the pursuit of the exquisite. Art is also a statement of societal values drawing on the power of nature’s beauty that ensures us a sense of life’s purpose.
Gary Conway

The Big Sur Recollections

Gary Conway Trip to the Cosmos

Gary Wright – Day Helmsman in The Poseidon Adventure

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Gary Wright as the Day Helmsman in The Poseidon Adventure

After years of painstaking research (and yet more pain when a Columbo end credit mis-named him as “Jimmy Pelham”) we have finally managed to identify and verify the actor playing the Day Helmsman in The Poseidon Adventure. His name is Gary Wright and we’re spending a lot of time trying to find out more about him. Identifying uncredited cast in the Irwin Allen shows and movies is an immense task and with the help of a team of fellow fans we’re managing to identify more and more. It takes watching a lot of other movies and shows to find out actor names.

Gary Wright as Mr Wright in Columbo episode Now You See Him

On this occasion (after the Columbo “Dead Weight” end credit debacle) we have finally worked out Gary Wright’s name from the only other verifiable end credit there is for him (the movie Foxy Brown with Antonio Fargas) and a little Columbo clue. Perhaps appropriate as this has taken so much detective work. The clue comes from the Columbo episode “Now You See Him” starring the wonderful Jack Cassidy as illusionist The Great Santini. In the episode, Santini actually calls Gary Wright “Mr Wright”. Normally we wouldn’t think anything of that, but in the episode another Irwin Allen actor, Mike Lally, is given the character name “Michael Lally”.

Gary Wright as a Police Officer in the movie Foxy Brown

For completeness, here is Gary Wright’s end credit in Foxy Brown. Note that Don Gazzaniga (giant in the Land of the Giants episode Weird World) also appears in the movie.

Gary Wright end credit as a Police Officer in the movie Foxy Brown

Gary Wright also appears very briefly as an engineer in The Towering Inferno.

Gary Wright in the Towering Inferno

We’ve developed a deep affection for Gary as we search out more and more credits for him (so far all in the early to mid 70s). One of the funniest is a little known uncredited appearance in a movie called Get to Know Your Rabbit where Gary causes havoc around star Tom Smothers whilst being chased and caught. Have never seen our helmsman move so fast. Normally he is standing very still.

Gary Wright in Get to Know Your Rabbit

Our deep appreciation goes to everyone sending in names for background characters who don’t normally get named and credited in productions. These characters, plus stunt people and production crew are the unsung heroes of the Irwin Allen productions and we want them to be recognised for their work and to be remembered. Special thanks go to Phil Arnold and Woody Anders for their recent input in trying to get to these long searched for names. This is going to be an endless task as there are still so many more people we have yet to identify.

David Hedison

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David Hedison - Star of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

It is hard to find the words and is with deep shock that we have to bring you the very sad news that actor and star of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, David Hedison, passed away on Thursday 18th July 2019 at the age of 92. This news is heartbreaking for all his family, friends, and his legion of longtime fans around the world. David gave so much pleasure to so many people through his work in the field of entertainment and his career continued with a wealth of public appearances at conventions and signings. So many of our visitors and members have had the opportunity to meet and chat with David. In our small corner of the entertainment universe, the Irwin Allen world, David is fondly and lovingly remembered for his role of Captain Crane in the hugely popular sci-fi series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Voyage in peace, our beloved Captain Crane.

Here are just some of the tributes and obituaries paying homage to David Hedison:

BBC Tribute

Variety

Hollywood Reporter

USA Today

Deadline Obituary

Daily Star

Mirror

In Loving Memory – Deanna Lund, Our Valerie in Giantland

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Deanna Lund - Our Valerie in Giantland

It is heartbreaking to have to write the following words and to let you know that on Friday 22nd June 2018, our dear and beautiful friend Deanna Lund passed away. Our hearts go out to all her family and friends at this very sad time. We have promised that we will help to preserve her legacy through her website and beyond and friends and fans around the world are welcome to contribute through the Irwin Allen News Network (IANN) site.

The Land of the Giants cast have all been like family for everyone who has travelled in time with them over the past 50 years. In this 50th Anniversary year of Land of the Giants, this is an even greater loss as we all try to commemorate the show which brought us this inspiring actress, Deanna Lund.

Deanna’s long term fan organisation Friends of Deanna Lund, run by Dr. Fred Eichelman, has prepared a special obituary in Deanna’s memory for her website.

Deanna Lund Obituary

Robert Dowdell

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Robert Dowdell as Lt. Commander Chip Morton in the classic TV series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

A very, very sad start to the new year with the passing on Tuesday 23rd January 2018 of one of the most popular stars of Irwin Allen’s television productions, Robert Dowdell, who was best known for his role of Lt. Commander Chip Morton in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Much loved around the globe, Chip was often the straight guy to several other comedic characters in the show, and he played the role superbly. Irwin Allen also featured Robert in two of his made for television movies, City Beneath the Sea (1971) and Outrage (1986). He will be sorely missed by his legion of fans and will live on through his work and the love that engendered. Our thoughts at this time are with all of his family, friends, and fans.

Facebook notice from Robert’s cousin