‘I like making people scared’: former child sitcom actor shows Hollywood horror and sci-fi memorabilia from his huge collection in pop-up exhibition
- Icons of Darkness was set up by former Leave it to Beaver sitcom actor Rich Correll from his US$15 million collection of memorabilia
- From Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein costume to Jurassic Park dinosaurs, the pieces are on show at a pop-up before a full-time museum opens in 2022
Hollywood’s next attraction meant to lure millions of annual visitors is a feast of movie monsters and science fiction villains gathered by a former child actor turned director whose collecting hobby escalated to blockbuster proportions.
Rich Correll, who made his bones as a regular on legendary boomer sitcom Leave It To Beaver, has amassed a US$15 million collection of props, costumes and other memorabilia that he has plumbed for Icons of Darkness, a new pop-up attraction at the Hollywood & Highland centre in Los Angeles that he hopes to turn into one of the country’s top-drawing entertainment museums.
Correll’s vision: a destination for horror, sci-fi and fantasy fans on par with the venerated Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for music lovers.
On a recent evening, Correll showed off his collection to visitors with boyish enthusiasm, guffawing when funhouse air blasts startled viewers of Freddy Kruger, Jason Voorhees and figures of other nightmare-inducing creeps clad in their movie-worn costumes.
Among them are the petite black witch’s robes worn by Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz, Lon Chaney’s suit from The Phantom of the Opera and Boris Karloff’s monster costume from Frankenstein.
