FEEL THE BERN

RIP to Bernie Casey, passed on at 78. The San Francisco 49er and L.A. Ram turned actor in 1969 with Guns of the Magnificent Seven, and racked up credits in high-profile stuff like Brian's Song, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Sharky's Machine, Never Say Never Again, the Revenge of the Nerds flicks and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, as well as Charles Burnett's neglected 1994 The Glass Shield. But he also did some cool scary flicks; he wore Stan Winston's makeup rather elegantly as the studly lead Gargoyle in 1972's Gargoyles...

...though his voice was needlessly dubbed by the Outer Limits "Control Voice" Vic Perrin. Casey also played both title roles in...

Monster-of-the-Week: ...Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde, a hilarious "blaxploitation" shocker of 1976...

The murderous, pasty-complexioned half of that title combo is this week's honoree:

RAINSPOUT MAN

This Saturday on MeTV, the redoubtable Svengoolie presents a childhood fave of mine, the 1972 TV movie Gargoyles, about living versions of the creepy creatures represented in cathedral architecture menacing researcher Cornel Wilde and his fabulous daughter Jennifer Salt in a remote New Mexico desert community. Bernie Casey plays the leader of the Gargoyles, and Grayson Hall of Dark Shadows and the young Scott Glenn are also in it. If you've never seen it, and if, like me, this sort of thing constitutes an exciting Saturday night for you, I recommend.

So...

Monster-of-the-Week: ...let's acknowledge this guy...

...one of the title characters, designed by the late great Stan Winston.