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Actors, artists at expo will revel in their roles
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
NILES
The Eerie Frequency Film, Toy, Comic and Pop Culture Expo will take over the Eastwood Expo Center this weekend, featuring a lineup of sci-fi movie and television actors, professional wrestlers, comic-book artists and more.
The event will be Saturday and Sunday. Although its not the first such convention put together by Valley resident Travis Bowen — he’s been doing it for at least six years — it is the first one to use the Eerie Frequency moniker. Eerie Frequency is the name of Bowen’s production company.
Bowen started doing a Halloween Horror Expo and later the Dark Xmas convention. “Those were all smaller shows, with about an average of 45 to a max of 77 tables,” he said. “This will be the first comic-con type show. It will have more than 130 tables and will completely fill the expo center.”
The show will be appropriate for all ages, he said. In addition to vendors, contests and lectures, there will be prize drawings, live wrestling, a charity auction and a visit from Santa.
Also on hand will be Michael Wilson, a Mahoning County deputy who is known locally for his expertise in cosplay — a hobby in which participants get into the character of superheroes, including dressing the part.
Wilson often hosts cosplay panels at sci-fi conventions, and lectures on how to get involved and also judges costume contests. Already this year he has been invited to conventions in Philadelphia, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Youngstown, New England and Allentown, Pa.
Highlighting the convention celebrity guest list will be Linda Harrison, who played Nova in “Planet of the Apes.” Harrison played alongside Charlton Heston as a native woman in the classic 1968 sci-fi film.
Harrison also has appeared in the television series “Batman” and in the Ron Howard film “Cocoon.” She made a cameo appearance in the 2001 remake of “Planet of the Apes.”
Joining Harrison from the “Apes” movie franchise will be Don Pedro Colley, who played Ongaro in “Beneath The Planet of The Apes.” Colley has appeared in many TV series but is best known as Sheriff Little in seasons three through seven of “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
Also appearing from “The Dukes of Hazzard” is the star of the fifth season, Byron Cherry, who played Coy Duke. His character, along with one named Vance, played cousins of Bo, Luke and Daisy Duke, who stepped in for the original Duke boys while they were away racing in NASCAR. Cherry also was the star of the first season of the animated series “The Dukes.”
Comic-book writer Marc Sumerak, who writes for The Avengers, Spiderman, Iron Man, The X-Men, Wolverine, Teen Titans and Hulk, also will appear at the expo.
Other notable guests include Susie Feldman, who starred along with Corey Feldman and Corey Haim on the TV show “The Two Coreys” and “The Surreal Life”; Chris Hahn, who’s known as the former WWE wrestler Johnny Paradise and star of the Syfy film “Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan”; Gary Jones, director of “Xena: Warrior Princess”; Sonic The Hedgehog comic-book artist Dawn Best; Patrick Burns, co-star of Tru TV’s “Haunting Evidence”; Marley Gibson, author of the Ghost Huntress book series; Jeremy Ambler from “The Walking Dead,” and many others.
Replicas of movie and television vehicles, sponsored by stunt driver and Warren resident Raymond Kohn of the Northeast Ohio Dukes, will be on display. They include K.I.T.T. from “Knight Rider,” and almost the entire line of vehicles from “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
Kohn regularly performs at fairs, and his act includes jumping his vehicle over up to 10 parked cars.
The expo also will offer more than 100 dealer and artist tables offering comic books, toys, sports and nonsports cards, antique toys, jewelry, T-shirts, posters, video games and other gifts and collectibles.