Posted by: Loren Coleman on December 10th, 2010
Top Ten Cryptozoology Deaths of 2010
by Loren Coleman, Cryptozoology A to Z.
It is that time of year when we gather our notes on the ones we were sorry to see exit the field of cryptid studies.
The year of 2010 will be recalled as one in which cryptozoology and hominology did not see any major figures die. Truth be told, it was not a year in which we lost a Grover Krantz, a Rene’ Dahinden, a Bernard Heuvelmans, or a Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer. Nevertheless, all deaths are heartfelt, and we pause to remember those who passed away, with respect for them and for all they shared and created.
Interestingly, this year may be remembered more for those who had some effect on the popular cultural aspect of cryptozoology than on the actual fieldwork and research segments of our science. In this regard, for example, Frank Frazetta’s art will be long recalled for reinforcing the vision of Mothman as a giant insect, and Charles B. Pierce will grow more legendary as the total influence of The Legend of Boggy Creek is increasingly realized. It was the kind of year where those who died often made quiet ripples that will wash over the field for decades to come.
Our deepest condolences to the close friends and families of those who are on this list and those who perhaps could have been. We celebrate their efforts beyond this moment.
Ed Ragozzino, 79, the director of the classic film, Sasquatch, the Legend of Bigfoot (1977) died on January 30, 2010, not far from his home in Eugene, in a medical center in Springfield, Oregon. Obit.
Alfred Gregory, just three days shy of 97, mountaineer, explorer, official photographer to the British expedition which made the first ascent of Everest, and a Yeti tracker in 1953, died February 9, 2010, near Melbourne, Australia. Obit.
Charles B. Pierce, 71, independent filmmaker and director of the famed The Legend of Boggy Creek, died March 5, 2010, in Dover, Tennessee. Obit.
The actor Peter Graves, 83, best remembered by cryptozoology fans for his role of narrator and on-camera in-field investigator in the documentary, The Mysterious Monsters (1976), died on March 14, 2010, at his home in Pacific Palisades, California. Obit.
George W. Maugans III, 64, an active member of the Eastern Puma Research group, died May 2, 2010, at his Baltimore-area home. Obit.
Frank Frazetta, 82, artist and illustrator of cryptids, including Mothman, died on May 10, 2010, in Ft. Myers, Florida. Obit.
Roy Pinney, 98, cryptozoologist, herpetologist, professional photographer, writer, journalist, war correspondent, pilot, spelunker, the former president of the New York Herpetological Society, author of The Snake Book, and a good friend of zoologist Ivan T. Sanderson, died August 9, 2010, in Manhattan, New York. Obit.
Erik Knatterud, retired teacher, Norwegian cryptozoologist, Sea Serpent investigator, cryptid artist, and hairy hominoid researcher, died on September 5, 2010, at the age of 66 years old, in Bratlien, Norway. Obit.
Laurelyn Fanshier, Bigfoot researcher and Sasquatch forum moderator, of Tulsa, died on September 22, 2010, in Mannford, Oklahoma. Obit.
Steve “Indy” Pickett, a Bigfooter formerly of Indiana and presently of Ohio, 38, died suddenly on December 13, 2010. Obit.
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013.