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Experience Universal Monster history first-hand!

Universal Studios made its name based on monster films. The man responsible for Universal Studios was Carl Laemmle, the man who brought such classics as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolfman, The Mummy & The Creature From The Black Lagoon, plus all of the sequels and a few other creepy ghoulies to the big screen beginning in 1931. In essence, the undead kept the studio alive.

10 years before Bela Lugosi debuted on the silver screen in his iconic role Carl had asked his brother, mother, sister-in-law and niece, Carla to move from the windy streets of Chicago to the sunny hills of Hollywood. The family literally lived on the lot. Carla was just entering her teen years as she got to see how movie magic worked up close, meeting the stars and would-be stars of the day.  Carla was Growing Up With Monsters (Bear Manor Media).

One of her best friends became Mary Philbin, the beautiful actress who unmasks Lon Chaney as The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera. Young Carla was a featured ballerina in the film.

A year or so later she had the first speaking role in a horror film as “talkies” came into being. She is the nerdish looking girl that gets dumped into Renfield’s lap during the opening scene of the stagecoach ride in Dracula.

But you can read more about Carla’s life in a whimsical poem that she wrote along with Daniel Kinske (not sure if he is related to horror actor Klaus Kinski or not). Growing Up With Monsters is actually a short, but informative and entertaining read as Laemmle rhymes her way through cinematic history, complete with cool drawings by Jack Davis & Hermann Mejia.

The book includes an intro by her friend, the King of Short Stories, Mr. Ray Bradbury. It also includes a few pages of photos, including a shot of her and Lupita Tovar (who played Eva, the character equivalent to Mina Harker, in the Spanish version of Dracula that shot simultaneously). These two ladies are giving Drac a run for his money on immortality as the last two surviving cast members from the films. Tovar is 98 and Laemmle is 100! That’s right, this book was written by an 100-year-old lady of the silver screen and it’s done in a fun fashion.

So if you or someone you know enjoys film history, movie monsters, great illustrations and quick reads, Growing Up With Monsters is probably one of the best gifts for yourself or that special someone who isn’t afraid of the children of the night.

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