Here is another group of the people who have given us so much enjoyment since the Web became such an important part of our lives, added to the dozens of people profiled in the previous three installments (see below for links). As before, they're listed alphabetically. Since 1998, when I began compiling these brief bios, a few have dropped off the list, but most continue to work diligently on their Web sites.
Stu Kobak, one of those profiled below, said that "'Webmaster' has always sounded like some perverse refugee from The Master and Margarita, the Russian masterpiece." While that's probably true, the term is the only one I know that describes somebody who creates content for a Web site, puts it all together, and gets it online for everybody else to see. "Web designer" is too artsy sounding for me, while "Web geek" doesn't imply as much respect as I believe is due. I'm sure there are plenty of folks at Wired who have been feverishly looking for another term.
If you know of somebody else who you think should be included (even if it's you), please email me with the information. And if you like the sites of the people listed here, just click on their names to send them an email and let them know it. Most of them do this for free, because they love it. That's pretty cool.
Chuck Anderson's Old Corral site is devoted to "those wonderful cowboy heroes, heroines, sidekicks, heavies, and supporting players that rode the silver screen from the 1930s through the early 1950s in B westerns and cowboy cliffhangers." Chuck is a computer consultant who lives in Indiana with his wife of 37 years, and has been writing about serials and B westerns in print publications for twenty years. A few years ago he began to bring his hobby to the web, with the results you see. His enthusiasm is genuine and quite contagious.
Lynn Dougherty lives in New Jersey and works in Philadelphia at The University of the Arts, from which she earned a B.F.A. degree in Painting. She has been online since 1996, and in that time has created a list of her favorite Classic Movies, which also includes a growing collection of tributes to her favorite classic actors, actresses, and directors. Her tributes to Ronald Colman and Cecil B. DeMille among many others show how far her design abilities have come in that time. She says she now spends most of her free time in front of the computer, and has produced some of the best-looking classic tribute sites on the Web, earning her a Best of the Net award from this site.
Denny C. Jackson was born in Kentucky, teaches school in Indiana, loves the Cincinnati Reds, and races hydroplanes in the summer. His taste in actresses is just as eclectic, as demonstrated by the fact that his Denny C. Jackson's Actresses of the Silver Screen site currently features tributes to 107 of these wonderful ladies, listed in no particular order. He's been doing this since 1997, after all, so it's not surprising! Denny also maintains a site devoted to my favorite era, called the Baby Boomer Times era.
MaryAnn Johanson, "girl movie critic," freelance writer, New Yorker, film-school dropout, wannabe screenwriter, and proprietor of The Flick Filosopher, says, "I swear never to refer to a director as a 'lenser,' never to say a writer 'penned' a movie, and never to predict 'Oscar nods' for anyone. And if I ever sound like a hipper-than-thou twit, you have advance permission to smack me." My kinda gal. If you want to know more about her movie site, read her FAQs. You'll thank me. But don't take my word for it. Variety recently called her one of "online's finest" film critics.
New Yorker Stuart J. Kobak is the editor of Films on Disc, a monthly Internet magazine devoted to DVDs. Stu's reviews appeared in a regular LaserViews Magazine column for seven years. His feature and review work appeared in Play Magazine, and he has done video hardware reviews for The Perfect Vision. More importantly, his articles are fun to read, and he has an obvious love for classic movies, as well as for wine and tennis. (His site has not been updated recently; if anybody knows what happened, please drop me a note.)
Silents Are Golden is Tim Lussier's thoroughly entertaining and informative monthly ezine devoted to the silent era. Tim created the site in July, 1998. It's a treasure trove of resources for silent film fans, including a listing of over 750 silent movies on video and where to buy them, as well as hundreds of photos, reviews, and articles. Tim is a former high school English/Journalism teacher and newspaper reporter who now works as a school Public Relations director.
Donna Moore, who likes 70s punk rock but describes herself as "a boring businesswoman," has created Web tributes to Screwball Comedy, Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Myrna Loy, Bette Davis, even Asta! And she's done a pretty good job for someone who claims she's more at home with an Etch-A-Sketch.
Richard L. Rodgers can fairly be described as actor and military hero Audie Murphy's number one fan on the Web. (That's Audie on the left.) His Audie L. Murphy Memorial Web Site is much more than a tribute to the classic actor's film career. For example, he also runs the Audie Murphy Research Foundation and Newsletter, which goes far beyond the world of film. An impressive achievement.
I met Gina Ward, who runs Moviestarmania, when I was in Las Vegas for a national meeting. She lives there with her husband and assorted pets. She works with computers, designs Web sites, is an enthusiastic Cary Grant fan (and a War Bride) and loves to collect movie memorabilia. In addition to Cary, you'll enjoy her tributes to Peter Lawford, Tony Curtis, Myrna Loy, Claudette Colbert, and others.
More Webmasters!
Meet The Webmasters - Part I
Meet The Webmasters - Part II
Meet The Webmasters - Part III
