Monday, May 14, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
The Theft of Superman, The Man of Steel
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| Mike Meyer in his home. Photo courtesy of Emily Rasinski. |
It all started on September 5, 2011, when Jennifer Mann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the horrible news that spawned an internet sensation. "If Mike Meyer were a character
in one of his favorite comic books, right about now he'd be looking
up to see his red-caped hero swooping down," Mann reported. "It's Meyer's starry-eyed worship of Superman, protector of the
world as it should be, that makes the theft from his home two weeks
ago seem particularly cruel." It seems someone took advantage of the young man by stealing thousands of dollars of Superman merchandise... and comic book fans answered the call.
Mike Meyer, age 48, of Granite City, has been on Social Security for a
mental disability since the age of 23. To supplement that, he has worked
part time at a McDonald's in Collinsville since 1996. He still works there to this day. He lives
alone in a humble, two-bedroom home with his dogs: Krypto and Dyno.
Just about every room is a shrine to his hero.
Meyer was tricked out of about 1,800 of his favorite Superman
comic books, some dating to the 1950s. He also lost many of his
favorite collector's items: lunch boxes, an old-time radio, a
Monopoly game and television set — all Superman-themed. The loot had an estimated value of $4,000 to $5,000. The back bedroom of Meyer's house used to have nearly 100
Superman figurines tacked to the walls. Now, those walls are
bare. Also stolen was Meyer's Captain Action Superman figurine with
costume, a sore point for Meyer because it reminded him of one he
had as a child. "A lot of that was sentimental, and he stole that from me,"
Meyer said. "He invaded my privacy, and he took away my peace of
mind."
Granite City police began investigating.
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| Superman: The Movie |
Meyer bought his first Superman comic book for about 20 cents in 1974. Soon, the then-10-year-old discovered he could also buy back issues. That allowed him to delve into the character's earliest appearances in Action Comics, then follow Superman's evolution through the years, along with a changing lineup of costumed villains. Growing up, Meyer spent all his spare money on comic books.
"I had pretty much every issue of Superman from number 99 to the
present," said Meyer, who kept a hand-sewn Superman costume
hanging on his back door underneath a brown trench coat.
Meyer gets giddy recalling the premiere of the first Christopher
Reeve Superman movie, which his father took him to see on Dec.
15, 1978, at the B.A.C. Cinema in Belleville. His dad died when
Meyer was 20; his mom, three years later.
Chapter One
Meyer said mostly only his friends and family knew of his
collection, but he also made the mistake once of telling someone
less trustworthy: a guy named Gary whom he worked with at the
Hardee's on Madison Avenue in 1991.
Meyer said he ran into Gary recently while at Kyle's Baseball
Cards and Comics in Granite City. Gary asked Meyer whether he still
collected Superman items and asked to see the collection. Meyer
first gave an excuse, but then Gary called him later saying he was
in the neighborhood and hoped to stop by.
"He just kept talking like a salesman," Meyer said. "He wouldn't
take no for an answer."
Meyer said he let Gary into the house that day and gave him a
quick tour. Gary asked to see "my most precious comics," Meyer
said.
The next night, Gary was back again, asking whether Meyer would
let Gary's girlfriend watch some of his Superman movies. Meyer said
while he and the girlfriend watched. Gary disappeared for a
while. Meyer noticed the theft two days later, on the morning of Aug.
24, and called police. All he knew was that Gary had dark hair, a
goatee, was about 35 and drove a silver or gray car. Meyer had taken heart in the fact that he wasn't cleaned out of
his entire collection. Still, he said, "I have moments where I want
to cry."
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| Meyer's Superman lunchbox collection. |
Down in the basement, where much of the collection resided, shelves were lined with Superman action figures and other
trinkets, along with Man of Steel books, insulated coffee mugs, lunch
boxes and puzzles -- even a lava lamp and wastebasket. Meyer's legs prevented him from going down to admire his collection more than once a week, hence why it too two days for him to notice the theft.
He saw Gary as a real-life Lex Luthor, calling him "a no-good
excuse for a human being."
He noted, "That's pretty low if someone steals your stuff." Meyer said a lot of what Gary stole from him was sentimental, “He invaded my privacy, and he took away my peace of mind. “He uses his powers not to benefit himself, but to help others,”
Meyer told the newspaper when speaking about his favorite character, “He’s
the champion of the oppressed.”
Paul Nomad of Idle Hands (an entertaining blog) commented: "If this guy isn't found and Mike doesn't recover his treasures, I'll
send him every Superman I own. Count on it. I'm posting this on my blog
so that if you should hear a follow up on the story that isn't
favorable, please let me know and Mike will get an awesome box for
Christmas."
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| The goodies sent to Meyer from Midtown Comics. |
When the news story went viral, an outpouring of support in the comics community for the Superman fan was larger than anyone could have anticipated. It seemed like everyone who had a blog about Superman got into the act by spreading the word. At Midtown Comics in New York City, the employees were inspired by the “replace-the-collection”
effort suggested by Superman fans on the world wide web and immediately donated $150.00 worth of Superman comics and
merchandise, including a copy of Justice League #1 signed by Jim Lee and
Geoff Johns.
An account was opened on Facebook to alert people in St. Louis to be on the lookout for the stolen Superman merchandise and Keith Howard of Belleville, Illinois, who represented the Superfriends of Metropolis group organized a nationwide effort to replace the stolen items and began collecting donated items from Facebook readers to ensure all donations would be forwarded to victim Mike. Fox News even got into the act by spreading the word.
Meyer received an
all-expenses-paid trip to Cleveland, where Meyer -- decked out in an
early Superman costume -- got a rare tour with fellow Superman
aficionado Keith Howard of the boyhood home of Jerry Siegel, one of the
comic superhero's co-creators.
John Dudas, owner of Carol and John's Comics in the Kamm's Corner
neighborhood, flew Meyer and a friend into Cleveland to see where it all
began. They also flew in Keith Howard of Belleville, Ill. Dudas collected 200 pounds of Superman items that he sent to Meyer
and was ecstatic when Tracey Kirksey of the Siegel and Shuster Society
and the Glenville Development Corp. offered the one present every
Superman fans wants: a private tour of the Siegel house.
Hattie and Jefferson Gray, who own the home where Siegel once lived, were happy for the visit. "We get people driving by here all the time, some even stopping in
and asking if they can see 'the room,' said Jefferson Gray. "But this is
special.
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Hattie
Gray, who owns the house where Superman was created
in the 1930s, shares a moment with Mike Meyer, the Superman
fan whose collection was
stolen. Meyer was flown to
Cleveland for the ultimate treat for a
Superman fan...
a rare visit to the house where the legend began.
|
Meyer even received a phone call from Brandon Routh, who played the Man of Steel in the 2006 movie Superman Returns. Other celebrities, including Tracy Lewis of the Superboy series and Mark Tyler Nobleman, author of Boys of Steel, sent autographed items.
In Meadville, Pennsylvania, midway between Pittsburgh and
Erie, stay-at-home dad Andrew Copp happened upon Meyer's misfortune on Facebook. Copp said he
found the theft appalling, "but I was more touched by everyone giving
back to a total stranger." Determined to help, the Navy veteran
and former electronics worker studying to be a veterinary technician
scoured his attic for Superman comics. Then he decided to part with a
far more personal keepsake: a Superman logo hand-painted by his
8-year-old daughter, and captioned in child's handwriting: "Woosh
Superman!!"
As WBBM Newsradio’s John Cody reports, Keith Howard of downstate
Belleville says he has received contributions from as far away as India
and Paraguay. Artists drew sketches and autographed them for Meyer. Original
Superman artwork from Paraguay was shipped. Fans were buying Superman
items and shipping them directly to Belleville. Meyer received handmade sketches -- some
from Mexico -- to hand-stitched decorative pillows from California bearing
Superman's likeness. A Pennsylvania man even shipped him a mini Superman
pinball machine!
A comic-shop owner in Cincinnati – hometown of Superman creators
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster – arranged for a memorial brick from one of
the creators’ houses with a plaque for Meyer. They even offered to fly
Meyer and a close friend out for a day’s tour of the Superman museums
and tourist sites there.Local comic shops across the country were approached about donating merchandise.
Other fan groups joined with the Superfriends – the
cross-denominational Justice League Avengers of Indiana coordinated
their own drive to gather Superman memorabilia.
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| Superman Returns movie poster |
Being a whole new breed of awesome, the comics community rallied in
support of Meyer after the theft was reported and went out of their way
to help him replace the stolen items, eventually doubling the size of
his original collection. To say there was an outpouring of support in the comics community is an understatement. Supporters can now begin to breathe a sigh of relief as the
process for truth, justice and the American way moved
forward with an arrest and conviction and the recovery of most of Meyer's stolen items. The crook attempted to sell the items for $600 or $800 (depending on which story you read), much less than the real value of the Superman collectibles. Comics Alliance reported the details of the arrest and you can read about it here.
Now that an arrest has been made and the items recovered, Meyer is
paying the kindness forward by donating the excess items to the St.
Louis Children’s Hospital, saying: “I’ve been blessed with a lot of
things, so I wanted to share them.” The large donation reportedly
provided six boxes of Superman items which were made available to the
hospital’s sick and injured kids in the form of bingo prizes.
“When you make somebody happy, it does something for you, too,” Meyer said.
Now, isn't that a happy ending worth reading?
Friday, May 4, 2012
The Cars on CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU?
Since the Car 54, Where Are You? television series is now out on DVD commercially, it seems only fitting to revisit the series through the popular hobby of automobile collecting. At a recent car show (my wife is into cars), we saw a replica of one of the cars from the television series on display. But the owner was trying to pass it off as an original. Little did he know that the biggest tip-off was the color on the outside of the car. Yes, within seconds it was clear that he had a replica.
By way of an explanation, the “Car 54” Toody and Muldoon drove on the series was painted dark red and white to destroy any resemblance to New York’s official dark green and white squad cars. “Cab drivers are always passing by and pointing out the car to their passengers. They tell them it’s a Police Department experiment in color schemes,” recalled Joe E. Ross. “The people in the Bronx are the last of the rugged individualists. They’re interested in what we’re doing, but they are now over-awed.”
The use of automobiles in each episode, naturally, had to be cleared with the manufacturer for trademark legalities. After a number of phone calls and letters exchanged between Arthur Hershkowitz, the Vice President Eupolis Productions, and Byron Avery, Manager of the West Coast promotion office of Chrysler Corporation during the month of May, the Chrysler Corporation drew up a contract (dated June 5, 1961) in agreement with Eupolis Productions, Inc. The contract stated quite clearly that Chrysler would furnish, for approximately one year from the date of delivery, four automobiles for the use of the series. In return, Chrysler received substantial promotion during the closing credits. Hershkowitz also agreed to periodically furnish the automotive corporation with publicity stills showing Chrysler’s cars in use so the corporation could use them for promotional purposes.
Eupolis Productions registered the cars in their name, paying for the costs, and agreed to hold Chrysler harmless from any Federal, State or local excise, sales or use of other taxes which could be levied as a result of the transfer or use of the vehicles. Chrysler was also held harmless for any damage to property or injury to people (including death), arising out of the possession or use of the vehicles. Eupolis also provided, at their expense, insurance coverage. A policy was taken for $50,000/$250,000 bodily injury, $100,000 property damage, and $50 deductible collision insurance. A copy of that insurance policy was forwarded to Chrysler so the corporation could feel assured that they were held free of any liability as a result of the television production.
On June 29, 1961, Arthur Hershkowitz signed the contract and during the first week of July, the following four automobiles were delivered to Eupolis Productions:
1. 1961 Plymouth Belvedere, 4-door sedan Serial # 3211-180010
2. 1961 Plymouth Belvedere, 4-door sedan Serial # 3211-177546
3. 1961 Dodge Dart, 4-door sedan Serial # 5112-176283
4. 1961 Plymouth, 4-door sedan Serial # 3711-180088
Regarding number four above, this was a 9-passenger Sport Suburban used not for on-camera filming, but for the transportation of cast and crew to various locations in New York.
After filming of the first season episodes was completed, the vehicles were returned to Chrysler at a certain dealership in New York City. Since the television program was, by January 1962, renewed for a second season, an amendment for the purpose of deleting the four 1961 Chrysler Corporation vehicles covered in the Letter of Agreement dated June 5, 1961, was drawn up. The amendment, dated Jan. 25, 1962, was approved and accepted by Eupolis Productions, with the same terms as above, with the exception of the vehicles - seven 1962 vehicles were now replacing the four 1961 vehicles. The new replacements were as follows:
1. 1962 Plymouth Belvedere, 4-door sedan Serial # 3226-145398
2. 1962 Plymouth Belvedere, 4-door sedan Serial # 3226-145410
3. 1962 Plymouth Fury, 2-door hardtop Serial # 3326-155476
4. 1962 Plymouth Fury, 4-door station wagon Serial # 3726-154178
5. 1962 Plymouth Fury, 4-door station wagon Serial # 3726-155980
2. 1962 Plymouth Belvedere, 4-door sedan Serial # 3226-145410
3. 1962 Plymouth Fury, 2-door hardtop Serial # 3326-155476
4. 1962 Plymouth Fury, 4-door station wagon Serial # 3726-154178
5. 1962 Plymouth Fury, 4-door station wagon Serial # 3726-155980
6. 1962 Dart 330, 4-door sedan Serial # 5226-156056
7. 1962 Chrysler New Yorker, 4-door station wagon Serial # 8723-152507
7. 1962 Chrysler New Yorker, 4-door station wagon Serial # 8723-152507
If production for the first season was made possible with four vehicles, then it begs the question: “Why three additional vehicles?” The answer was simple. Nat Hiken wanted the 1962 Chrysler New Yorker (No. 7 above) for personal use as a fringe benefit for the hard work that went into the day-to-day production of Car 54. The automobile was under Eupolis Productions’ insurance policy, and had to be returned within a year of the vehicle’s initial delivery. This fringe benefit was carried over for both Joe E. Ross (No. 3) and Fred Gwynne (No. 5), so the actors could commute to work. Car number 6 was issued to Duke Farley, who played Patrolman Reilly on the series - also a fringe benefit.
The first two vehicles (Nos. 1 and 2), the red and white Plymouth Belvederes, were used as background props for all garage scenes, and whenever it was called upon for location shots. These are the very automobiles used as police cars in all of the requisite scenes filmed for the second season episodes. Car number 4 substituted the Sport Suburban used during the first season, so equipment, cast and crew could be transported to locations in New York. A similar agreement between Eupolis Productions and General Motors granted the permission (and furnishings) of a 1962 Chevrolet Sedan to be used as a prowl car for a number of episodes. This fact was disclosed to the West Coast Promotion Manager of Chrysler, who had no objection to the use of a competitor’s product in the episodes. General Motors also supplied a 1962 Greenbriar Convar for J.C. Delaney, set decorator for the series, to be used for productions (though this car never appeared on screen in any of the 60 episodes produced).
In July of 1962, the automobiles were revised again. The two police cars remained on the premises, and Nat Hiken and Duke Farley kept the vehicle used as a fringe benefit. All other cars were turned over to a Plymouth Corporation representative. Joe E. Ross and Fred Gwynne had to relinquish their vehicles, but those were replaced with the following convertibles for the summer months:
Plymouth Fury - white convertible Serial # 3326-216794 (Joe E. Ross)
Plymouth Fury - red convertible Serial # 3326-216940 (Fred Gwynne)
A Plymouth Fury, 4-door station wagon was added to the production, listed among production paperwork as “pick-up car” used to transport cast, crew and equipment to locations in New York City. A Valiant V-200, 4-door station wagon was added to the production, listed among production paperwork as “props car,” also used for transportation of cast, crew and equipment for location shooting. For the first time since the series began production, a third police car was made available (instead of the usual two): a Dart 300, glade green 4-door sedan. Serial numbers for these additional vehicles are listed below:
Plymouth Fury, 4-door station wagon (Pick-Up Car) Serial # 3726-215639
Valiant V-200, 4-door station wagon (Props Car) Serial # 1726-199103
Dart 300, 4-door sedan (Police Car) Serial # 4226-159803
The latest 1963 models from Plymouth were offered to the production crew and delivered on Dec. 27, 1962. According to an amendment dated Jan. 9, 1963, (signed on Jan. 17, 1963, by Howard Epstein, President of Eupolis Productions), the following were the last of the vehicles used for filming the final episodes of the series:
1. Plymouth, 4-door sedan (red & beige) Serial # 3236-111732
2. Plymouth, 4-door sedan (red & white) Serial # 3236-103276
3. Plymouth convertible (light blue) Serial # 3336-129745
4. Plymouth station wagon (light blue) Serial # 3736-130434
5. Plymouth station wagon (medium blue) Serial # 3736-132884
6. Dodge, 4-door sedan (vermillion) Serial # 4132-126551
7. Dodge, 4-door sedan (turquoise) Serial # 4132-127997
8. Dodge station wagon (medium blue) Serial # 4536-129416
9. Chrysler station wagon (oyster white) Serial # 8733-156329
Cars numbered one, two and seven were police cars used for onscreen filming. The convertible was a fringe benefit for actor Joe E. Ross. Car number five was a fringe benefit for Fred Gwynne. Car number nine was a fringe benefit for Nat Hiken, replacing the 1962 New Yorker he had “borrowed” for the past year. Car number four was labeled as the “pick-up car” and number eight was labeled as the “props car.” Car number six was featured on the final few episodes of the second season, as well as the detective’s car.
The License Plate Numbers
For legal purposes, license plate numbers of real vehicles caught on camera were not allowed to be captured on screen, for fear of liability from a non-member of the production. However, Eupolis Productions did arrange with the state of New York to acquire a number of license plates that were authentic, and could be featured on camera. These plates were often reused on multiple cars lent to the production from Plymouth.
The license plate numbers for the two detective cars featured on the series were 3N 1219 and 1C 5907. As for the numerous police cars (1961, 1962 and 1963 models) that appeared on screen for the series, the following license plates were used: 1N 3514, 1C 5908, 4N 9847, 6N 8572, and 1C 5905. (The license plate number 1C 5905 was featured on a Plymouth Belvedere and a Dodge 4-door Sedan, both of which were used as a police car in separate episodes!)
This blog post features excerpts from Car 54, Where Are You? by Martin Grams, available from Bear Manor Media. For more information, visit www.MartinGrams.com.