This past weekend, my fiancée, Emily, and I attended Horrorhound Weekend, and visited some of my family in Cincinnati, Ohio. An experience took place that I will never forget. I met one of my favorite filmmakers, Tommy Lee Wallace.
For some context, Horrorhound Weekend is a horror film convention that takes place in Cincinnati in March, and Indianapolis in September. I’ve been attending Horrorhound every September in Indianapolis with my brother and a family friend for 6 years now. We spend the weekend meeting celebrities from horror films, getting autographs/pictures, memorabilia, art, etc. Every year is a blast and I always look forward to attending the next year.
Last year, Emily and I decided to attend the March convention while visiting my family in Cincinnati. We thought it would be a fun mini vacation. A few weeks before the trip, the Horrorhound Instagram account announced that Tommy Lee Wallace would be at the convention. My eyes popped out of my head. I couldn’t believe that he would be at the convention, since he hasn’t attended one since I’ve been going. My excitement went through the roof. I called my brother and Emily immediately. They were both really excited for me. I actually have an opportunity to meet one of my favorite filmmakers.
Friday afternoon, we embarked on the three and a half journey to Cincinnati. We only had two bags and my original Halloween III poster for Wallace to sign. The drive wasn’t bad and we arrived at my aunt’s house later that evening.
The next morning, Emily and I were on our way to Horrorhound. When we arrived, the place was packed. Lines and lines of people were waiting outside the convention to get in. The parking lot was full so we had to park on the other side of the street. It was 40ish degrees outside so we were cold. We had to wait outside for about 10 minutes to get inside. Once inside we walk up to the counter and show our tickets. The associate asked if we wanted to upgrade for early passes so we didn’t have to wait outside and we got that without hesitation. We were lucky because we got the last of the early passes. We looked at the brochure of the event and I saw Wallace would be in Hall Room B. We quickly made our way to that hall.
Poor Emily had to run just to catch up to my speed. Up ahead I can see the banner that says Tommy Lee Wallace and the man himself. I had a smile from ear to ear. I couldn’t believe it but it was going to happen. The line to meet him wasn’t that long so we jumped in. We waited for about 10 minutes total. The whole time I kept thinking what to say. I kept telling Emily how excited I was and she was really supportive. We got to the front, I paid the $40 and told the Horrorhound assistance how to spell my name. The person in front just got their picture and left… Now it’s our turn.
Tommy Lee Wallace was right in front of me. He had a huge smile on his face. He said “Hello!”
Wallace had a deep and surfer boyish voice. I introduced myself and my fiancée, Emily.
He smiled and said “Nice to meet you both! When’s the wedding?”
We told him it’s June 10th, 2023.
He congratulated us and said he was getting married this July.
We congratulated him back. I then told him Halloween III is my favorite horror film and that he’s one of my favorite filmmakers and that I’ve seen all his films.
He looked at me surprised and said “Wow that’s awesome. What’s the film you didn’t see?”
I told him “Green Dolphin Beat. I couldn’t find it anywhere.”
He replied “That was a pilot for a show. I can see how that one is hard to find.”
I pulled out the original Halloween III poster and he grabbed an orange marker. He began signing the poster.
I asked if he could sign “It’s almost time.” since that’s one of my favorite lines from the film. He did that with no hesitation.
I said “I have a question for you, what was it like working with Dan O'Herlihy? He’s one of my favorite actors because of Halloween III.”
Wallace thought for a moment and said “He was getting up there by the time we shot the film and he had a lot of monologues to get through but he was a gentleman, a true professional.”
I told him O'Herlihy’s monologue about Halloween is my favorite scene in the film.
He smiled and said that’s a good scene.
I then told Wallace that his direction in Halloween III is superb filmmaking. The scene where Cochran reveals his lair is awesome. The one take shot that swoops throughout the lair is really impressive.
His reaction to that was nothing but surprise and glee. I can tell he doesn’t get that kind of comment often. He smiled from ear to ear and said “That scene took a lot of time to set up. Thank you for that! I’m proud of that shot and I really like that scene too.”
So so cool!
We asked for a picture and he stood up with the same smile. The first picture was with the three of us. After it, he pulled Emily and I in and said “I want to give you guys some marriage advice.” He looked at me and asked, “What do you do when she asks you to do something?”
I jokingly but seriously answered, “Yes dear.”
He replied, “That’s right, and don’t say whaaat?”
I told him “My dad said to clean the bathrooms.”
Wallace laughed at that. He replied “That’s an A plus. I don’t like doing that. I’d rather pay someone.”
We all laughed.
Finally he said, “Last thing, never go to bed angry.”
Great advice. Emily went back to where we were standing and I got my picture with him. Before I went back to Emily I said to Wallace, “I have a film recommendation for you that stars Dan O'Herlihy.”
He looked at me and said, “What’s that?”
“Home Before Dark, 1958, it’s a brilliant drama starring O'Herlihy and Jean Simmons. One of the best films I’ve seen. It’s a hidden gem.”
He replied, “Wow thanks. I’ll check that out. You know Dan was a huge star back in the day.”
I smiled at him and went back to Emily. Before we left I told him I’ve been wanting to meet him for a long time and it was a pleasure.
He smiled and thanked us again. He wished us luck on our marriage and we said the same to him.
We left and I was ecstatic! Tommy Lee Wallace was such a gentleman. He took the time and talked to us for 10 minutes. From our conversation I can tell he’s a humble guy. He cared about what we had to say. I’m so happy I was able to meet him and talk to him. It’s an experience I will never forget.
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