Halloween is here. This year, I celebrate
the life and and career of artist Basil Gogos who passed away on September 13.
“Basil
single-handedly invented the painted monster magazine cover, turning images
coined for exploitation into the finest of fine art - feral poses and bestial,
skeletal faces splashed with all the colors of fright and passion.”
My first Famous Monsters of Filmland was #12, June ’61, the CURSE OF THE
WEREWOLF cover. That issue ignited my passion for classic horror and it was
Gogos’ painting, howling at me from a magazine stand, that alerted me and
invited me in. Growing up, I would spend hours studying his kinetic covers.
Focus up close on details and it was abstract art: A fearless splash of vibrant
colors and bold, energetic strokes. Only when you pulled back and looked at the
whole thing did all the pieces somehow fit together as a recognizable portrait.
But Gogo’s supercharged paintings weren’t mere portraits, they were interpretations. His work captured the
subjects more vividly than any photograph could, and made them come alive.
“Make no
mistake: From Basil Gogos emerged the Aurora models. From Basil Gogos came a
new generation of artists and filmmakers. And from Basil Gogos crackled a
vision that would forever define the icons that the Universal monsters are
today.”
— David Colton,
webmaster at The Classic Horror
Filmboard.
Gogos painted Frankenstein Monsters — and
Bride — to grace a number of covers. Here, at top, is a sombre portrait for FM’s special issue commemorating Boris
Karloff’s death in 1969. Below is a 1971 polychromatic rendition of Christopher
Lee’s patchwork Monster from Curse of
Frankenstein.
I met Basil Gogos two years ago at
Monsterpalooza in Burbank. Late one evening, he joined a group of us sitting
with Sara Karloff in a hotel restaurant. He sat right next to me and we shook
hands. I told him I was a fan of his. I refrained from telling him how very
much he meant to me, I could have gone on and on, but I figured it’s something
he’d heard over and over again. It was late, he looked tired, and I just said
“I’m a fan”, he smiled, and that’s all. And it was fine just like that.
