Vantage Point Interviews x Yahoo Entertainment!

With Robert Axelrod in 2004.

Well, this was unexpected. After more than 20 years, my interview with Lord Zedd voice actor Robert Axelrod finally got picked up by a mainstream news organization! (Though it sort of makes you wonder what's so newsworthy about an interview that old.)

You could imagine my surprise when quotes from the interview ended up in an article on Yahoo Entertainment ... as well as Yahoo Life UK! (Technically, I suppose, the original article was written for Slash Film, and then Yahoo Entertainment picked it up.)

I guess I should note that I originally pitched this interview to a tokusatsu-oriented fanzine editor circa 2003, who immediately rejected the idea. I then took my pitch to John Rocco Roberto, who was editing Kaiju-Fan Online (also cited in the article), who loved the idea and encouraged me to do it. So John got the interview while the aforementioned fanzine editor probably published some article written by a "Monster Boomer" who reminisced about what it was like to watch Destroy All Planets (1968) on a UHF channel back in the '70s.

At any rate, this is all pretty random, but it's a lot of fun seeing some of my old stuff get attention like this so many years after the fact. Hopefully, the next time won't take another 20 years!

Robert Axelrod Passes Away at Age 70

Very sad news was just announced by Robert Axelrod's agent:

Good morning. This is Roberts agent, Kelly. It is with great sadness that I write that Robert passed away yesterday at the age of 70. He was a charismatic soul whose voice created some of the most legendary characters such as Lord Zedd, Wizardmon, Finister and Armadillomon. He will be greatly missed and I take comfort in knowing his memory will on in those he met and inspired.

Most fans in the West certainly recognize Robert as the voice of Lord Zedd and Finster from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, but I know and love his work from a different show.

I first corresponded with Robert back in 1995 when I fan letter I wrote to Saban regarding its recently cancelled Hallo Spencer Show somehow managed to find itself in the hands of some of the show's voice cast. The Hallo Spencer Show was a Muppets-style import from Germany that Saban dubbed into English. It aired in the U.S. from 1993 until 1994, and I'd still probably rank it as my favorite show of all time.

The images above and below this paragraph are some examples of our correspondence. We reconnected via the Internet in 2003, and I was fortunate enough to conduct an interview with him around that time, which can be found here.

I only met Robert once, and that was sometime in the spring of 2004. I drove up to L.A. to spend the day with him. I remember he called a few of his fellow Hallo Spencer cast members, and the only one he was able to get a hold of was Wendee Lee (the voice of twin sisters Mona and Lisa), so I was able to have a brief conversation with her on the phone.

Robert was reviewing local stage plays at the time, so the evening ended when he and I went to see one the plays he was critiquing. The only thing I remember is that the lead actor was playing some film noir-esque detective, and he kept stumbling over his lines. After a while, I just felt bad for the guy.

After the show, I posed for these two photos with Robert. I was always hoping to see him again at some point, and I'm very sorry to learn that I never will. Robert was a true character and a great friend, and the act of kindness he showed a young fan back in 1995 will always be remembered and appreciated.

Rest in peace, Robert.