Obituaries

Steve Irwin Killed

“I have no fear of losing my life. If I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it.” – Steve Irwin Steve Irwin who once devoted time in the hunt for the Thylacine has been killed. Crikey! Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday, September 4, 2006, by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44. Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series [...]

The Silver Bridge: How Many Died?

Mothman mysteriously appeared and for 13 months was seen in a Banshee-like wave of sightings. Then the Silver Bridge fell. Maybe there’s a connection, maybe there isn’t. With all due respect, do you know how many died in that tragedy? Why have my buddies at the Fortean Times forgotten to fact-check this significant detail before publishing a Letter to the Editor about it? Bill Rebsamen’s image of the Mothman created for the cover of my book on the subject. In the new issue of the Fortean Times, # 214, for October 2006, on page 71, in a letter entitled “Silver [...]

Bigfoot Researcher Dies In Tragic Accident

Jason Valenti and Star Sams are well-known Bigfoot researchers in Washington State. Many of us got to meet them for the first time after Jason decided to organize the Sasquatch Research Conference held at Bellingham, Washington, on May 27-29, 2005. The event was successfully hosted by Jason Valenti and Star Sams, along with assistance from Paul Smith and others. I was happy to be one of their guests and speak at the gathering. Sadly, the terrible news has reached Cryptomundo that Jason’s wife, Star, has died in a car crash on August 15, 2006. Our deepest empathy and sympathy to [...]

Przewalski Horses and Almas

Cilka (above) was a beauty. The world’s oldest known Przewalski horse died on August 12, 2006. The mare named Cilka was 34, and she died peacefully at the Prague zoo. Her ancestors lived in the grasslands of central Asia. Indeed, this animal’s legacy was as a member of a group that survived from the Ice Ages, and her hairy appearance showed her links to the Pleistocene. As wire service news of her death mentioned: Only about two dozen of the world’s estimated 2,000 Przewalski horses are over age 30….The Przewalski horse, or Takh, a national symbol in Mongolia, is the [...]

Prehistoric Women’s Abarbanel Dies

Cryptofiction about surviving Neandertals has been around for a long time. One of the writers and producers that made them come alive in 1950 has died in a freak accident caused by the modern world, sadly. Sam X. Abarbanel, who wrote the screenplay and produced the 1950s’ classic Prehistoric Women, has died in a strange incident. Please click the above movie poster for fuller version. Word of the mishap first came from Variety: "Veteran film exec Sam Abarbanel is at Cedars-Sinai following a freak accident in a parking lot where he was pinned against a car. He suffered multiple fractures [...]

Creature Feature Genius Dies

The above creature was last seen on drive-in screens in the film Zontar, the Thing From Venus. Movie producer Edwin Tobolowsky, 86, died on July 29, 2006. He was well-known for his involvement in motion pictures dealing with creatures based very loosely, in some cases, on cryptozoological themes or "cryptozoocinema." Above is the ancient thing from Creature of Destruction. The sci-fi movie concerns a mad stage hypnotist Dr. John Basso who “reverts” his beautiful assistant Doreena into the physical form of a prehistoric sea monster “she was in a past life.” The plot for Curse of the Swamp Creature takes [...]

Dr. Carrington of The Thing Dies

The mad scientist, Dr. Carrington, in the 1951 Howard Hawks’ horror thriller, The Thing, has died. The Los Angeles Times reports that Robert Cornthwaite, 89, “a character actor whose more than 50-year career in theater, films and television included roles in classic thrillers and thrilling classics…died of natural causes Thursday (July 20, 2006) at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills.” The “Thing” turned out to be a creature frozen in a block of ice, and in many ways, foreshadowed the Minnesota Iceman. There are several differences, of course, such as alleged origin and the [...]