George Kuchar died a couple of days ago. He was one of my favorite artists; I’ll miss him.
I had the pleasure of appearing in a couple of his “pictures” (he always called them “pictures”). George always had so much fun when he was shooting; it was a delight just to see him work, improvising, laughing, getting excited about the next shot.
It’s hard to believe I won’t hear that remarkable Bronx voice on the answering machine anymore.
Here’s a typical hand-lettered Kuchar VHS, for one of the ones I was in. “Tales of the Twilight Typist” featured his visits with sculptor Mimi Gross, novelist and UFO writer Whitley Strieber, and me. For my section, he and John Keel visited my studio, and met my two ventriloquist’s dummies.
And the accompanying note:
And a typical Kuchar Christmas card…
(Posted by Doug Skinner)
5 responses so far ↓
1 Lisa // Sep 9, 2011 at 7:20 am
Thanks for posting this, Doug.
2 elena // Sep 9, 2011 at 9:21 pm
So sorry to hear this Doug, my thoughts are with you.
3 Doug // Sep 9, 2011 at 11:01 pm
Thanks… I’ll post more about George in the next few days.
4 Gail // Sep 9, 2011 at 11:39 pm
what a nice card…I’m so SAD.
5 Winston // Oct 8, 2011 at 12:48 am
I just got back from the Walter Reade Theater, where they showed two of George’s last pictures, In the Lingo of the Lost and Empire of Evil. Before they came on, there was a clip of George introducing them, shot in the hospice. He said the first was a comedy and the second was a tragedy, but somehow I found myself laughing harder and more often during the tragedy than the comedy. Maybe that’s what he intended.
I looked around in the theater to see if you were there, Doug. From our brief encounter in Jalopy a couple of weeks ago, I know that George’s death hit you hard. I had known that you knew him well but I hadn’t realized before now just how close your relationship was. It’s a sad event, especially coming so soon after the loss of John K. Mr. Ullage, you’re in my thoughts. Keep that crazy flag flying.