A NEW INTERVIEW IN THE POINTER MAGAZINE! New Details on Linda Hardisty!

I'm pleased to report that my interview with Mike Worley on his relationship with Ultra Seven guest star Linda Hardisty has been translated into Japanese and published in Yasushi Shiroi's 25th anniversary edition of his Pointer magazine. Shiroi-san is the world's number-one Ultra Seven fan, and his replica Pointer (seen in the photo below) is a sight to see. Hard to believe it's not the same car used in the series!

Yasushi Shiroi and his Pointer. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I must give Shiroi-san a lot of credit for his excellent editing skills. In the past, I've dealt with a few others whose abilities in that department were sorely lacking, I'm afraid. Here, however, my interview looks great, and I doubt anyone could have done a better job. A big thanks to Shiroi-san for all his help!

INTERVIEW ON LINDA HARDISTY! Vantage Point Interviews Returns!

Author Mike Worley's favorite picture of Linda Hardisty. Photo courtesy of Mike Worley.

Vantage Point Interviews is back with a conversation with mystery writer Mike Worley, who was close to the late Ultra Seven (1967-68) actress Linda Hardisty for many years. Due to the young age at which Ms. Hardisty passed away, Ultra Seven fans have known very little about her life. The interview with Mike Worley begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together for us.

Please read and enjoy the interview, and don't forget to comment!

TERRY FARNSWORTH INTERVIEW! The Ultra Seven Actor Speaks for the First Time!

Terry Farnsworth, Shoji Nakayama, Linda Hardisty, and Yoshio Tsuchiya watch Ultra Seven duke it out with King Joe. Photo courtesy of Terry Farnsworth. Ultra Seven © 1967-68, Tsuburaya Productions.

In episodes 14 and 15 of Ultra Seven (1967-68), Terry Farnsworth guest-stars as Melvin Webb, a mysterious Secret Service agent. Mr. Farnsworth's appearance on the show is remembered fondly by Ultra Seven fans in Japan, but very little information was available about him or his acting career. Until now.

Once again, Vantage Point Interviews has the scoop with many never-before-seen photos from the set of Ultra Seven and The Green Slime (1968). You won't find this stuff anywhere else, so stop by Vantage Point Interviews and read all about it!

TOKUSATSU HIHO! The New Edition Features Scoops Galore!

The second volume of Tokusatsu Hiho (a so-called "mook" published by Yosensha) has just been released in Japan, and it is replete with fascinating material. Everything from the new Gamera film to a feature on SFX director Teruyoshi Nakano is included here. There are even exclusive photos from the elusive Fearful Attack of the Flying Saucers (1956), written and directed by Shinichi Sekizawa, and starring Tadao Takashima. Can't find those anywhere else!

I must say that it was a true honor for me to be credited in Tokusatsu Hiho for the feature on the late Linda Hardisty (Ultra Seven, The Green Slime), which was written by Taketo Tomoi. A photo of my credit (written in katakana) is below.

To order your copy, follow this link. 

Celebrating the Life of Linda Hardisty with Yuriko Hishimi

A photo of Linda Hardisty (1947-1986) is situated between two Kobe Port Tower candles at Asian Taipei in honor of her memory. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight I was part of an incredibly special dinner at Asian Taipei, the restaurant owned by actress Yuriko Hishimi (Ultra Seven, Godzilla vs. Gigan) in Chofu, Tokyo. Hishimi-san organized the dinner for those who helped in the search to locate Linda Hardisty. As I wrote about on this blog, Hishimi-san was very interested to reunite with her former Ultra Seven colleague. Unfortunately, Ms. Hardisty passed away almost three decades ago of natural causes.

Yours truly sat next to Yuriko Hishimi during the celebratory dinner at Asian Taipei.

Although we met under sad circumstances, many laughs were had throughout the evening, which lasted nearly four hours. Hishimi-san was very friendly and open with her thoughts and memories, and while she regaled us with stories and answered her questions, we dined on her restaurant's trademark Indian food.

Posing with Hishimi-san and a photo of the late Linda Hardisty.

It's been a long time since I last met Hishimi-san, so it was very enjoyable to catch up with her again. She thanked me for my role in finding out what became of the former Ultra Seven guest star, but it was truly a group effort. The fans in Japan did their part, and I had an assist from Mike Barnum and Jacob Dow. We all pulled together and accomplished something significant.

We hope to continue to celebrate the life of Linda Hardisty. Many thanks to Hishimi-san for graciously hosting this private event.

LINDA HARDISTY UPDATE: An Obituary Surfaces

A photo of Linda Hardisty, published in the 1970 yearbook of Boise State College.

Earlier today, I made phone calls to public libraries in Battle Ground, WA, and Boise, ID, in an effort to gather more information about the passing of Linda Hardisty.

As detailed in this blog post, Linda Hardisty spent time in Japan and guested on two episodes of the popular television series Ultra Seven, produced by Tsuburaya Productions. Many Ultra-fans were curious to find out what became of the beautiful young lady who made a splash on the show.

The library in Boise qucikly found and sent me her obituary, which was published in the September 7, 1986, edition of The Idaho Statesman. Given all that we know about Linda's background at this point, it clearly matches the background of the Linda Hardisty pictured above.

If the public library in Washington State sends any relevant information my way, I will update this blog post accordingly.

UPDATE (8/12): I have received a more in-depth obituary published in The Columbian (based in Vancouver, WA) on September 1, 1986.

UPDATE (12/22/2022): After going through some of my old correspondences, I came across my brief notes on my telephone conversation with Linda's last surviving sister in August 2015. During our conversation, she informed me that Linda died of a perforated ulcer. At the time I spoke with her, Linda's sister seemed open to doing an interview, but she ended up changing her mind much later on in the process. Because I was expecting to publish a full interview with her eventually, I never revealed Linda's cause of death. Since that interview will almost certainly never happen, I've decided to share that information here.

A Tribute to Ultra Seven Actress Linda Hardisty, 1947-1986

American actress Linda Hardisty, as she appeared in the popular Japanese TV series Ultra Seven (1967-68). Screen capture by Brian Bankston. 

One of the more elusive American actresses who worked in Japan during the 1960s was Linda Hardisty. Her best known credit in the West was playing one of the nurses in The Green Slime (1968), but in Japan she is rather famous in Ultra Seven fan circles for her role as Dorothy Anderson in episodes 14 and 15 of the celebrated series from Tsuburaya Productions.

For many years, Ultra Seven fans in Japan have been attempting to find Linda in an effort to bring her to Japan to reunite her with the cast of the show and to introduce her to her Japanese fans. In particular, actress Yuriko Hishimi (Ultra Seven's Anne Yuri) expressed interest in seeing her old colleague again. Ultra Seven fan Yasushi Shiroi recruited me to help find her, but it had seemed nearly impossible for a long time.

Earlier today, I received a promising tip that would seem to lead me directly to Ms. Hardisty. After giving it a go on my own, I recruited super sleuth Mike Barnum (a contributor to Scarlet Street and other excellent genre publications) to help in the search. Unfortunately, what Mike was able to find turned out to be the worst possible news.

Linda Lee Hardisty, born on June 5, 1947, in Boise, Idaho, died on August 28, 1986, in Battle Ground, WA. She was 39. In 1970, she earned a Bachelor's degree in English from Boise State College (which is now Boise State University). Thus far, no obituary or cause of death has been uncovered, but we are still searching.

In fact, that remains all that's known about her. If anyone has information that he or she could share, please contact me. Any additions or corrections would be most welcome. If you were related to Linda, please contact me.

Linda died much too young, but her memory lives on with Ultra-fans around the world. RIP, Linda Hardisty.

UPDATE (7/31): Actress Yuriko Hishimi uncovered (or came into possession of) this yearbook photo from Boise State College. It is undoubtedly the same Linda Hardisty who appeared in Ultra Seven.

UPDATE (8/5): This obituary confirms her identity. 

UPDATE (12/22/2022): After going through some of my old correspondences, I came across my brief notes on my telephone conversation with Linda's last surviving sister in August 2015. During our conversation, she informed me that Linda died of a perforated ulcer. At the time I spoke with her, Linda's sister seemed open to doing an interview, but she ended up changing her mind much later on in the process. Because I was expecting to publish a full interview with her eventually, I never revealed Linda's cause of death. Since that interview will almost certainly never happen, I've decided to share that information here.