The Wizard News

     June 29, 2007

    The Petition List Update 

    Still holding at 25!!!  Only 1,975 to go to reach the minimum.

    Please don't forget that EVERYONE is invited & encouraged to add their name to the Petition List.  Just email The MGT. to have your name added.

 

    Guestbook/Memory Page Update

    While looking through the amazing mountain of fan mail included in the treasures Michael Berk has sent me so far I came across a very lovely letter.  The letter was a fan/congratulatory letter from Robert Shea to David Rappaport written just after The Wizard's premiere.

    For those not familiar with David's early work or the work of Mr. Shea, Robert Shea was a brilliant author & co-author of Illuminatus! with Robert Anton Wilson.  David originated the role of Illuminatus! character Markoff Chaney in the original British stage production, eventually leaving his teaching position to follow the show to London.  After meeting David & seeing his work on stage, Mr. Shea became a life long fan.

    I was so pleased to find the letter because it truly demonstrates the love & respect David garnered from those he knew personally & the public at large.  A love & respect he earned & deserved.  I then found 2 more letters from Mr. Shea & just knew I had to seek permission to add the letters to the site for everyone to read.  Sadly, Robert Shea passed away in 1993, but I was able to contact his son, Mike, & sent him an email asking for permission.

    To my great joy & surprise Mike Shea responded & gave his permission.  Then he honored us all by leaving a message in the Guestbook/Memory Page, which is a tribute to both David Rappaport & his father, Robert Shea.

    I will never be able to thank Mike enough for his gracious generosity.  It is a thrill for me because I was able to reintroduce Mike to The Wizard & bring him some very happy personal memories.

 

    My sincerest thanks, as always, to everyone who has already signed the petition & left a message in the Guestbook/Memory Page.  Every name & message is vitally important.

 

    The Michael Berk Collection

    I am adding treasures to the site as I go, but I'm only going to make formal announcements in the newsletters.  So, you have a choice.  You can either wait for the next newsletter or go on a treasure hunt to see what you can find.  Someday I plan to add a Collection Index treasure map (or cheat sheet, whichever you think sounds more fun).  This week there are new additions & I've had to keep notes to remember what I've added where.  If I forget anything then it will simply be a surprise to us all.

    The Home page is sporting a slightly new look.  There is now an official Wizard logo & I have added a section mentioning the collection.  Soon I also hope to add a really snazzy logo for Wizard of Elm Street that is apart of Michael's treasures.  Even better than the sketch in the Publicity Pictures section.

    There is now a Wizard Trivia page, which is still a diamond in the rough.  At the moment there is only one link to it from the home page (unless you want to get technical & count the link on this page as well).

    The Episode Index now has an additional link which will eventually go to an index for all of the drafts leading up to the series pilot episode.  Currently that link goes to the original story line Small Wonder.

    Check out Simon McKay's & Alex Jagger's pages to see the evolution of their names.  Check out the indexes for Haunting Memories & Nobody's Perfect to see the original episode titles.

El Dorado has 2 additions to the Index.  Check out the Trivia page to learn a thing or two about the show & then be sure to check out the Deleted Scene between Simon & Darcy.

    Are there any new pictures?  Why, yes, as a matter of fact there are 4 new pictures.  The Publicity Pictures section is now home to a series premiere news article from Star Magazine, which includes a picture new to this site, as well as two pictures taken by a fan during a public promotional appearance by David in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

    H.E.N.R.I. VIII is also home to a new picture.  It's an add that was run in The Hollywood Report on March 12, 1987.  Very bittersweet.

    I think that's it for now.  Eventually you will be able to read the actual episode scripts - drafts & finals - but I would like to find a way to encrypt the pages first to protect the work.  I will transcribe as much as possible & work to keep adding memorabilia as quickly as possible.  Please keep in mind that this is a one girl operation & I'm dancing as fast as I can.  I'd rather make sure it's done right than fast.  Your patience will be greatly rewarded, I promise.

 

    The Party

    I must keep you thinking about the 21st Anniversary Party in September.  Send me an email if you are interested in attending or have any questions.  This party is open to everyone including the cast & crew.  This will be just a friendly gathering so no one will be obligated to take pictures or sign autographs & no one will be paid to make an appearance.  I will only post pictures on the site if all persons in the picture give their permission.

    We are still trying to think of something to do for all those who wish to attend, but won't be able to make it.  Something to connect us all on the day in question.  Please let me know if you have any ideas on this front, as well.

    We are also working on starting a fund with The Starlight Foundation in honor of the show.  We would like to have a raffle for some great Wizardly prizes (i.e. a gift certificate to Converse.com to get your own pair of All Stars) with all of the proceeds going directly to The Starlight Foundation.  Those of us putting the party together will not have our names in the drawing, but we will be adding to the donation & personally purchasing most of the prizes.

    You do not have to attend the party to have your name added to the raffle.  Raffle tickets will be sold by The MGT. via PayPal.  The tickets will go for $1 each or 6 for $5.  Your name will be placed on a ticket or tickets (depending upon how many you purchase, of course) & the tickets will be drawn at random by an innocent sucker ~ um, I mean third party.  I will match the donation amount & send the money directly to The Starlight Foundation.  This is one time when I will actually put the amount raised on the Donation Page of the website & list it in the newsletter along with the winners name unless they ask me not to.

    Please email me if you wish to purchase a ticket & I will send you the necessary PayPal info.  I will also start updating the Party page with a list of raffle prizes as soon as possible.

 

    Visitor Counter & Log     

    As of the uploading of this newsletter, the Home Page Visitor Counter has reached 269 new & returning visitors.

    The Visitor Location Log shows new global visitors from Japan & Pakistan.  American visitors have been checking in from South Carolina, Tennessee, New Jersey, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, & Kansas, USA.

    If you want to see something really cool, check out http://images.google.com & search for The Wizard 1986 or the this fan site.  I don't know how that cast picture ended up in the Google Images search engine, but it's the portal bringing most of our global visitors to the site.

 

 ROCK ON WIZ KIDZ!!!

Jessica Markoff Chaney - The MGT.

email: themgt(AT)thewizardtvfansite.com