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And nobody to pass that book on to after you die?

Nieces and nephews. None close.

Though that particular book probably won’t make it to the next generation. It was attractively bound, but made in that narrow window of time when they didn’t know from high acid paper. One good breeze…

Is that pic from the Laughton version? Pretty good it was.

I took the nick ‘QuasiModo’ mostly because I’m a bit hard of hearing…I don’t have a hump yet though.

I discovered wonderful books on the bookshelves from both my parents and grandparents…I wasn’t given them or told to read them- I just stumbled across Treasure Island, The Count of Monte Cristo, Tom Swift, Penrod, Pecks Bad Boy, Tristram Shandy, and others. It was an education for me.

Warning: if you have seen only the cartoon version and feel like reading the book, be aware that Victor Hugo was made of sterner stuff than the Disney boys and saw no reason to give his characters a happy ending.

http://lileks.com/institute/comicsins/covers/classics/18.html

Yes, that’s Laughton. “Sanctuary! Sanctuary!” Maureen O’Hara as Esmerelda. Phoebus was played by some forgettable pretty-boy.

Yes, the Laughton version was splendid. He was a kiddy fiddler, tho. I read Elsa Lanchester’s autobiography (she was married to him).

I dunno, David Gillies — eternally intertwined bones is a kind of a happy ending, no?

Yes, Charles Laughton, one of the great character actors. The composition of that shot is amazing.

If I recall correctly from my misspent youth reading Famous Monsters of Filmland, Lon Chaney Sr. was the first to play Quasimodo in the silent days. I’ve seen the Anthony Quinn version. Quinn was the actor the Aurora Corp. people used for the model kit’s box art (http://www.jeffs60s.com/stories/monstermodels.html). The figure itself looked more like Laughton, though.

Oh, man — I had at least one of the Aurora models. Creature from the Deep Lagoon, I think. Possibly Frankenstein also.

Might’ve been my big brother’s.

Always liked Lanchester, wonderful Bride for Frankie. Even better as an old lady (Bell, Book and Candle).

OMG. Charles Laughton was a kiddy fiddler?

Comment from S. Weasel
Time: April 16, 2015, 6:33 pm

Might’ve been my big brother’s.
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Oh, I had the whole range, from the Wolf Man up to and including King Kong and Godzilla. Taught me a lot about painting and patiently assembling things. I wish I hadn’t painted them all in gloss paints. Imagine the neat effect if you painted the Wolf Man’s fur, which was textured, with a dark undercoat, then overlaid it with matte greyish-brown!

I later moved on to model cars, then sailing ships, and finally a tank or two. The latter would have been even better if I’d bought an airbrush to do the camouflage effects.

but it was going to die with me

Amazing when you thing how many of these little stories there are in the History of Man….