RIP, Dr. Franklin Ruehl

Posing with Dr. Franklin Ruehl after our interview in 2010. Photo courtesy of Franklin Ruehl.

After becoming unresponsive to e-mails and suddenly disappearing from view, it has been confirmed that Dr. Franklin Ruehl, host of Mysteries from Beyond the Other Dominion, has passed away. Several of Dr. Ruehl's Facebook friends have been openly wondering what happened to him, as nobody seemed to know his wherabouts since November of last year. One of the friends stated that he spoke with Dr. Ruehl's apartment building property manager and confirmed his passing.

Since my friend Mike Barnum could not find any information about his passing in the indexes and registries he has access to, I decided to call the apartment management myself, based on the information provided in the Facebook message. The individual I spoke with confirmed that Dr. Ruehl passed away in November (to the best of his recollection) and that it was a natural death.

In the fall of 1993, I discovered Mysteries from Beyond the Other Dominion on the Sci-Fi Channel. What the program lacked in production values, it more than made up for in heart and can-do spirit. The topics were sometimes silly, but Dr. Ruehl always gave them their day in court, and that's what made the show so special. Without Dr. Ruehl, it simply would not have stood out.

By about the summer of 1994, Mysteries was no longer a part of the Sci-Fi Channel lineup, and aside from the tapes I made of the show, it became a pleasant memory. Many years later, I reached out to Dr. Ruehl via e-mail, and he turned out to be very welcoming to his fans. In the fall of 2010, I made an appointment to visit him in Los Angeles, and we recorded a brief video interview. We touched on Mysteries from Beyond the Other Dominion as well as his interest in Japanese monster movies. The interview is below. (As Dr. Ruehl would say, "Roll tape!")

After I moved to Japan, Dr. Ruehl and I remained in contact. I always enjoyed getting a like or a comment on Facebook from him on my various activities. He was a genuine person, and I'll miss him.

If and when more information becomes available, I will share it here.

Rest in peace, Dr. Ruehl. The power of the cosmos will always be with you.

Dr. Ruehl: Man of Mystery

That's a wrap! Dr. Franklin Ruehl and Brett shake hands after completing their interview. Photo courtesy of Dr. Ruehl.

Dr. Franklin Ruehl is a man of many talents, but I've always known him as the host of the late, lamented Mysteries from Beyond the Other Dominion, one of the Sci-Fi Channel's original programs. (This, of course, was well before the era of "SyFy.")

While Dr. Ruehl's Mysteries has been off the national airwaves for several years, fans can follow the good doctor on his YouTube channel. With a little luck, perhaps Dr. Ruehl can entice a cable channel to put him back on the air. (It would sure beat watching whatever the heck the Jersey Shore is up to this week.)

I was fortunate to meet Dr. Ruehl on October 8. He agreed to sit down for an interview, which is presented below.

Here's a gag longtime Mysteries fans would get:



May the power of the cosmos be with you!