Hey, THIS Is the Harlan Ellison Photo Source!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

I've just received a phonecall that says that the photo that appears at the beginning of one of my Harlan Ellison posts is appearing on the Good Old Internet as some sort of "Harlan Ellison doing pushups before MadCon" shot. Harlan was not doing pushups, the photo is mine, and if you give three hoots in Hell about accurate reporting, you'll do me a favor if you spread the word. It is precisely and exactly as I reported it on this website. He fell to the floor as a joke to amuse Peter and Kathleen David's daughter Caroline - and, believe me, there was panic amid the several folks who were standing there but not paying attention until he fell. Just as I reported. People who are using the photo (without, by the way, asking me) and saying anything else are, well, not to be commended for their truthiness. I'd appreciate your telling them so.

4 comments:

marcoshark September 29, 2010 at 5:15 PM  

So it begins... somehow, I knew this was going to happen!

Unknown September 29, 2010 at 5:55 PM  

Wow. This is unbelievable.

He did it to make a kid laugh and she did.

Kathleen
aka Caroline's Mommy

Tony Isabella October 2, 2010 at 10:14 AM  

I heard that Harlan threw himself on a grenade to save the convention. I believe this because it's posted on the Internet. Or it is now.

DrBOP October 3, 2010 at 11:06 AM  

I thought it looked a little too much like HE was doing some pushups, ala Jack Palance at the Oscars, to impress the crowd....and I'll bet that HE is having some chuckles over this "controversy". And ANYONE who uses photos without permission, on the net or elsewhere, should be taken out back and shot.
However, there is a somewhat positive spin you can put on this experience : 1) Welcome to the HE legend-dum...you have now most likely secured yourself a place in the HE biographical pantheon that will continue into the far future...either as the person responsible for catching HE in mid-push-up form, OR as the person who took the photo that was mis-captioned numerous times over the next say 2 years until HE travels on to the great beyond ; 2)Leading from this, you most likely will be mentioned in most of his obits as having been somewhat involved in HE's last big kerfuffle ("I am dieing....going to last convention.....etc")in a kerfuffle-filled life ....NOT a bad deal Maggie....MUCH more traffic to the site....and you KNOW HE would appreciate the irony in that ; and 3) That particular picture is one of the quaint/cool/neat/unusual/puzzling shots that don't come up very often, so YOU are the proud cameraman who caught some normal behavior and turned it into a moment in time that will last for whatever is accepted as forever.....yep, YOU, Ms Maggie Thompson are the lens alchemist who will ALWAYS be associated with this picture. NOT a bad legacy I'd say.Be proud woman, BE PROUD!!!
And looking forward to your musings on the whole convention experience as it settles into your essence. Keep on chooglin'!

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