RIP Marty Gear
Posted By Kathleen David on July 19, 2013
What does a vampire call a squad of Cheerleaders?
A Happy Meal! (This will make more sense later.)
Ariel called me yesterday at SDCC. I was sitting with Peter, Blaze James, Claudio and Chondra Sanchez at the outdoor bar at the Marriott. It was both a business meeting and a catch-up with friends. The day was sunny with a breeze so it was very comfortable outside. I heard my phone and pulled it out. I saw it was Ariel.
“Hey kid, what’s up?”
“Are you sitting down?”
“Yep. Here with Blaze, Chondra and Claudio. Why?”
“Marty Gear passed away. I thought you should know from me before you read it somewhere else.”
We talked a bit more and I hung up. I told Peter what had happened. I swear it got a little cloudy at that point.
Marty and I tried to figure out the first time I met him and his wife Bobbi and we couldn’t come up with it. It was at some convention somewhere that’s all we could put together.
Honestly it didn’t matter. Marty and Bobbi made you feel welcome. If you costumed then you were part of their clan.
Marty was known for a lot of different things in costuming. He ran costume calls like a finely oiled machine. He was a great MC. He would dress up as a vampire called Uncle Vlad and would tell the worst vampire jokes and shaggy dog stories on this planet. He took great pride in this.
I worked with Marty as a workmanship judge for many a year. He taught me a lot about how to be a good judge and what he looked for in a costume. His eye for detail was amazing. If something was stated as screen accurate, he would hold them to that. The details from the back were as important as the details to the front.
He was a fun person to talk to. We had many a conversation about all kinds of topics. People would drift in and out of the conversation. It was comfortable to talk to him. We discussed major things in our lives with each other. We told each other theater stories. I taught him a lot about how to put a puppet together.
He was much beloved by many and he will be missed.
We were talking about Shoreleave and getting together to catch up on things. Now I am going knowing that there is going to be a serious Marty sized hole at the convention.
I will miss his quips and advice. Heck I will miss those jokes that made me both laugh and groan at the same time.
What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
Frostbite!
Rest in Peace Marty. I will miss the bad jokes a lot and you even more.
I am grateful that I had Marty Gear in my life.
Comments
Leave a Reply