We were first introduced to collector Jeff Thompson through writer-director
Robert Tinnell when Thompson contributed a piece on the passing of producer Dan
Curtis, the driving force behind Dark Shadows. A series of quick email
conversations later, we were pleased to learn Thompson was not only a historian
of such things, but that he was a serious collector in a wide array of niches.
As much as he enjoys writing and talking about the subjects he collects, we
wanted to find out more about how and what he collects.

Scoop: What
was the first thing you remember deciding to collect?
Jeff Thompson: I
have been collecting for almost all of my 47 years. In the mid-1960s, I loved
The Munsters, and I had the Lily Munster hand puppet and the Herman
Munster talking hand puppet. I was seven years old when Batman debuted,
and then my collecting went into high gear.

Scoop: What were the
circumstances?
JT: I remember asking my parents to buy me Batman comic
books, trading cards (both the painting cards and the photograph cards),
coloring books, and the hand puppet. In the 1960s, I also had a hard-plastic
Batman head which fit over my head like a helmet. I had plastic Batman coins,
the Corgi Batmobile, and the model kits of Batman, Superman, Superboy, the
Munsters, John F. Kennedy, and others. (In the 1970s, I built all of the
glow-in-the-dark Aurora monster models. I still have all of them on display, and
I still have almost all of the Batman collectibles.)

Scoop: How long
from that time until you considered yourself a serious collector?
JT: I
read DC, Charlton, Gold Key, and Marvel comics from 1969 to 1979. Buying every
issue of many different titles and maintaining “straight runs” turned me into a
serious collector. In 1974, I began writing for several comic-book fanzines,
including The Heroines Showcase. In 1975, I began writing for several
Dark Shadows fanzines, including The World of Dark Shadows.

Scoop: What was the category you started collecting?
JT: I started
my serious collecting with Batman memorabilia, model kits, and super-hero
comic books. During the 1966-1971 run of Dark Shadows, I collected almost
all of the widely available Dark Shadows memorabilia—all of which I
still own today and display in my Dark Shadows guest bedroom.

Scoop: Has your family been supportive of your collecting? Were any of
them collectors?
JT: My parents, Sonia and E.D. Thompson, always have
been supportive of my collecting, my writing, and all of my creative efforts. My
mother still has her Shirley Temple doll and clothes from the 1930s. My father
still has all of the clarinets and saxophones that he played for many decades.
Today, my mother collects books and spoons, and my father collects hymnals and
Nashville-history materials. (My father is the author of three volumes of
Nashville Nostalgia.) All of my friends and pen pals are very supportive
of my fannish interests. In seventh grade, I met my lifelong friend Martin
McGeachy when I spied him reading Barnabas, Quentin, and the Sea
Ghost. These days, whenever my pen pals clean out their closets, they mail
their old toys, videotapes, magazines, and Quentin post cards to me!

Scoop: How (and when) did you start branching out into other areas,
specifically Dark Shadows?
JT: I saw my first DS episode
when I was home sick from school in the fall of 1967. Soon, I was collecting the
Barnabas Collins Halloween mask, the soundtrack LP, 45 RPM versions of
“Quentin’s Theme,” the two sets of trading cards, the DS View-Master, the
Gold Key comic books, the DS games, the model kits, the Paperback Library
DS novels, and much, much more.

Scoop: How did you
start collecting Planet of the Apes?
JT: I didn’t see the
POTA movies until the early 1970s (in re-releases), but from then on, I

loved POTA. My favorite two movies are, of course, Planet of the Apes
and Escape from the Planet of the Apes. In the mid-1970s, I began
reading Marvel Comics’ POTA magazine, watching the live-action TV series
and the Saturday-morning cartoon series, and collecting Jerry Goldsmith
soundtrack LPs and POTA trading cards. One corner of my upstairs
popular-culture display room (“the playroom”), which adjoins my Psycho
bathroom, is a POTA corner. Another corner displays Batman
memorabilia. Highlander is represented, too, and the Aurora monster
models sit on high shelves.

Scoop: You collector Highlander,
too?
JT: TV’s Highlander (1992-1998) and Highlander: The
Raven (1998-1999) were off the air before I became a fan! In the
fall/winter of 1999/2000, my friend Joshua Vance introduced me to his
great interest, Highlander. He and I watched all of the episodes (and the
theatrical movies) on VHS, and in March 2000 we went to a Highlander
convention in Denver and met TV stars Adrian Paul and Elizabeth Gracen. While we
were in Denver, we also met with my fellow Heroines Showcase writer and
long-time pen pal Scott Gibson, who took Josh and me to Mile High Comics!

Scoop: Somewhere in Time isn’t one of the most common areas to
collect. How did you start with that?
JT: I saw this magnificent
romantic-fantasy film (with exquisite music by John Barry) in the theatre twice
in October of 1980. Somewhere in Time, along with Psycho, Chinatown,
and Matinee, is one of my all-time favorite films. Just as Planet of the
Apes made me a Jerry Goldsmith collector (I have hundreds of Goldsmith LPs
and CDs), John Barry’s music for King Kong and Somewhere in Time
inspired me to collect almost one thousand Barry LPs and CDs. In 1990, I joined
INSITE, the International Network of Somewhere in Time Enthusiasts, and I
wrote several articles for the INSITE journal. In 1996, I began showing
Somewhere in Time (and Chinatown) every semester to my
students at Tennessee State University, where I am an assistant professor of
English and Learning Strategies. My wish is that everyone would watch
Somewhere in Time and fall under its romantic spell.

Scoop:
You also collect comic books, right?
JT: I read comic books regularly
from 1969 to 1979. I still buy a few comic books each year, and I enjoy buying
anthologies of Silver Age stories. In the mid-1980s, I sold most of my comic
books, but I, of course, kept my complete runs of Dark Shadows, Tomb of
Dracula, and Planet of the Apes. In recent years, I have reacquired
all of Jack Kirby’s issues of Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, as well as
various issues of Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane, Master of Kung Fu, Omega
the Unknown, The Sandman (Simon/Kirby), and other favorites.

Scoop: When did you add monster models to your collecting mix?
JT:
In the 1960s, I built all of the super-hero models, many of the TV-character
models, and a few hot rods, with the help of my parents and my aunt Elva
Griffin. In the early 1970s, I myself built the Aurora monster models, the
Barnabas Collins model, and the DS Werewolf model. I still have the
Aurora and DS models—as well as virtually everything I’ve
ever had since the late 1960s—with the exception of the 1960s models,
most of my comic books, and my GI Joes and Captain Actions (all of which I
sold).

Forty years ago, I loved collecting Captain Action, Action Boy,
all of their costumes, their DC comic books, and their headquarters/suitcase.
Fifteen years ago, I began collecting super-hero action figures, especially
Batman-related figures. Many of my figures are loose—my nephews and nieces
Katy, Kevin, Kameron, Kelly, and Kimberly have played with them over the
years—but many more of my action figures are still unopened and hang in
their packages on nails in my two attic rooms.

Scoop: We noticed a
lot of books in your collection, too.
JT: As a reader and a teacher, my
house is brimming with hardback books and paperback books. I collect all kinds
of fiction and non-fiction books. One of the greatest books I’ve ever read is
A Cast of Killers, by Sydney Kirkpatrick (about the unsolved 1922 murder
of director William Desmond Taylor). I specialize in collecting Gothic and
historical novels written by “Marilyn Ross” or “Clarissa Ross,” actually the
Canadian author Dan Ross (1912-1995). I wrote my master’s thesis about the
historical novels of Dan Ross (who also wrote Paperback Library’s Dark
Shadows novels). I knew Dan Ross for the last eleven years of his life, and
I am still friends with his widow Marilyn Ross. Many of my Ross novels are
autographed. I knew Robert Bloch (1917-1994), author of Psycho and The
Kidnapper, for the last four years of his life. Bob Bloch signed quite a few
of his books for me. I also own books autographed by Richard Matheson, Ray
Bradbury, Curt Siodmak, Anne Rice, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Harlan Ellison, Clive
Barker, Patricia N. Elrod, Katherine Ramsland, and R.L. Stine, all of whom I
have met at fan conventions (as well as other authors).

Scoop: From
books, the progression to magazines would seem natural. Do you have many in your
collection?
JT: I have every issue of TV Guide from summer 1979
to fall 2005. I have every single issue of Starlog, Video Watchdog,
Filmfax, Outre, Scarlet Street, Baby Boomer Collectibles, The Legion Outpost,
The Heroines Showcase, The World of Dark Shadows, and many other magazines
and fanzines.

Scoop: We also saw a lot of CDs on your shelves. How
did you get started in that niche?
JT: I have been collecting film-music
LPs (later CDs) since the 1960s (seriously since the 1970s). I have thousands of
movie-music recordings, including dozens by Bernard Herrmann, hundreds by Jerry
Goldsmith, and almost one thousand by John Barry (and other artists performing
John Barry songs). I also enjoy the film music of Max Steiner, David Raksin,
Alex North, Henry Mancini, Robert Cobert, Dave Grusin, Elmer Bernstein, John
Williams, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and many others. As the weekend announcer on
Nashville’s WAMB-AM 1200 from 1981 to 2006, I often presented radio programs
spotlighting one songwriter (e.g. Gershwin, Porter), one film composer (e.g.
Mancini, Barry), many TV theme songs, or all 69+ Academy Award-winning songs, in
order (1934-2000s).

In addition to getting books autographed, I like to
get my soundtrack LP record-album covers autographed by directors, writers, or
actors in those movies. Robert Wise signed a half-dozen soundtracks to his
movies for me. Richard Matheson signed my Somewhere in Time LP, and
Matheson and Joe Dante signed my Twilight Zone The Movie LP. Joan Bennett
signed my Scarlet Street LP, and Charlton Heston signed my album covers
for The Ten Commandments and Planet of the Apes. “These are both
great scores,” Heston observed. Finally, almost all of the “Dark Shadows” stars
have signed 8 X 10 stills and lobby cards for me. I have received celebrity
autographs through the mail, too.

Scoop: Surveying some of the
specialties you’ve listed, it’s pretty clear that you don’t limit yourself to
one category or even one genre. As a collector, what has to appeal to you to
start collecting a category?
JT: I have to love the particular
movie, TV show, writer, subject, celebrity, etc. Whenever I come upon something
I love—be it Batman, Dark Shadows, The Edge of Night,
As the World Turns, Psycho, Chinatown, Tony Bennett,
Shirley Bassey, Michael Feinstein, The Incredibles, Lost, the Alan
Parsons Project, etc.—I want to read, learn, know, collect, and have
everything about it! One of my slogans is “F.I.A.W.O.L. (Fandom Is A
Way Of Life)!”

Scoop: How has your collecting evolved over
time?
JT: As I have grown older and earned more money, I have been able
to afford more and more collectibles, as well as trips to great fan conventions
such as the Dark Shadows Festival, Fanex, World Horror Convention, Dragon Con,
Friends of Old-Time Radio, Famous Monsters of Filmland ’93, Dracula
97: A Centennial Celebration, Monster Rally ’99, Classic Film Fest 2000,
and others. For a decade, I emceed the Dark Shadows Festival, and I have spoken
on panel discussions at almost all of the others. I often travel to fan
conventions and popular-culture conferences with my Tennessee State University
colleague Jonathan Malcolm Lampley, co-author of The Amazing, Colossal Book
of Horror Trivia. (Some of Jonathan’s big interests are DC Comics, Hammer
horror movies, the Rolling Stones, and Tennessee history.)

Scoop:
What are some of the prizes in your collection?
JT: I own an authentic
Buck Rogers Atomic Pistol, the Barnabas Collins Halloween mask, the book
Graven Images autographed by one hundred classic-movie
celebrities, many rare record albums, the Showboat toy, several classic
board games, my typewriter, and my Aurora monster models.

Scoop: Is
there one area you would drift to first and say “I’m a [fill in the blank] collector” before you mentioned everything else?
JT: The obvious
answer is, “I’m a Dark Shadows collector.” Almost every Halloween, my
house, my collections, and I appear in Nashville newspapers or on Nashville TV
newscasts. I am considered an expert on Dark Shadows, vampires, and
horror. However, the correct answer is, “I’m a popular-culture
collector.” In my twenty-one-year teaching career and my graduate-degree
programs, my area of expertise has been twentieth-century literature, film, TV,
and popular culture. In my Tennessee State University classes, I use
movies, TV shows, music, newspapers, magazines, pictures, paintings, websites,
and other multimedia to enliven my students’ study of grammar and writing. They
enjoy seeing such great films as A Patch of Blue, Bonnie and Clyde,
Chinatown, Somewhere in Time, The Piano Lesson, and Always
Outnumbered, Always Outgunned.

Scoop: What advice would you give
to someone just starting out in collecting?
JT: Collect whatever
interests you, whether that is dolls, paintings, costumes, Bibles, trading
cards, sports memorabilia, TV Guides, mugs, Justice League of
America comic books, figurines, spoons, plates, or Frank Sinatra LPs. Don’t
try to collect everything all at once; you have your whole life to seek and find
treasures related to your various fannish interests. Go to every garage sale,
flea market, close-out store, and dollar store that you see! You’ll be amazed by
what old and new treasures you’ll find there!

Scoop: Many of the
collectors we’ve talked with have suggested that while they really do enjoy the
thrill of the chase, tracking down items, they in the end see themselves as
custodians or caretakers of popular-culture history. What’s your own view of
that?
JT: I agree that we collectors are preserving the artifacts of
(often) mid-twentieth-century life, a glorious era which is receding farther and
farther into the past. Everyone who visits my home says that my house is “like a
museum,” but what’s important is that people are visiting the museum and
seeing books, LPs, movie posters, toys, and other treasures from decades
ago. Share your collections with other people—especially much younger people
who may never have seen The Incredible Shrinking Man or My Three
Sons, who may never have heard a Count Basie or Carpenters record, or who
may never have read an Edgar Rice Burroughs or Ray Bradbury book. Even better
than sharing is to give vintage movies, music, games, and books to
friends and family. My nieces and nephews (ages 6-16) have seen The Day the
Earth Stood Still, they’ve listened to the Carpenters, they’ve played
Operation, and they’ve read The Chronicles of Narnia.

Scoop:
Anything else you’d like to add?
JT: I love collecting, and I love
fandom. I have met many great friends, pen pals, and celebrities through my
fannish activities. There’s almost no greater thrill than acquiring something
that’s been on your “want list” for years or decades; meeting someone like
Christopher Lee, Richard Matheson, Coleen Gray, or Jonathan Frid; or sharing
your fannish enthusiasm with family and friends. I have much, much more to find,
collect, save, and share!