Jon was an early member of the Chesley Donavan Foundation. He branched from it to form a group dedicated to early and "classical" music. They continue to meet, now under the direction of Bonnie Callahan, in various members homes, listen to recorded music of a selected composer and enjoy intelligent conversation. Who will forget the respect Jon taught us for the correct brewing of exotic teas? The many people that he mentored in numerous ways through the years have long respected and appreciated his care.
Jon often played recorder with Mallory & McCall during our Renaissance, Irish and even Pirate incarnations, although he was a rebel, but not a pirate at heart. He helped stage our fantasy wedding in the early 1970s when the very idea was new to us and all our friends. He acted with our Janus Company Radio Theatre on KPFK in Los Angeles as well, on and off for over 14 years. He also wrote an article and did many of the photographs for our book published by Mel Bay, Exploring the Folk Harp. Many of his photos may be found on this website.
Many recall the events he staged for the Mythopoeic Society. When we staged and hosted several of the Witchcraft and Sorcery Magazine Convention's "Queen Witch and King Sorcery" contests in the early '70s, he'd cheerfully hide for hours in his fiberglass coffin, to rise up on cue, terrorizing the hotel management with his smoke effect! If only...
To his amusement, he is probably best known for having created the monster for the D horror flick "The Creeping Terror," a cult classic, we understand soon to be re-released on DVD. He also made several appearances on the old "Steve Allen Show" when it was on Vine Street in Hollywood, usually playing some kind of crazy expert on torture devices.
Jon was a man of multitude talents. His vast creativity, intelligence and most of all, his friendship will be sorely missed.
PS.
As stated previously, we had intended to post some of Jon's remarkable artwork on our site in the near future, but his family, having seen this posting, has written that they would not allow it, no matter who rightfully owned the work, due to legal matters. We are saddened by this decision and to those of you who were looking forward to seeing some of what he had created, we are profoundly sorry. It has been our intention to let more people share his creations, but the legal eagles say no. |
