A visit with Bob Burns

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And now for something completely different…

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A few weeks ago I was out in California for a business trip and I was fortunate to be able to visit Bob and Kathy Burns.   I first met Bob out at the Famous Monsters convention in LA in 1995.   Over the years I’ve seen Bob and Kathy at their many visits to Wonderfest.    Bob has the most fantastic collection of science fiction memorabilia in the world.   His collection includes the original King Kong armature from 1933, the George Pal Time Machine from 1960, the creatures from the Star Wars Cantina and so much more.    I snapped a few photos at his place and am sharing them here.    There is also a  picture of me with Bob at Wonderfest in 2005 and me holding the Kong armature at Wonderfest 2006.

Besides being a collector of this stuff, Bob has appeared as Tracy or Kogar the gorilla in many tv shows including The Ghostbusters with Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker.    Bob is also known for his Halloween shows back in the early 80’s where he turned his backyard into spectacular recreations of classic movies like The Time Machine, War of the Worlds, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.    As a film historian, Bob has contributed to many documentaries and DVD commentaries including War of the Worlds and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.    And many fans will recall seeing Bob’s short film Major Mars at Wonderfest.

Be sure to check out the following pages for more about Bob, his career, and his collection.