Something I posted on the Alpha: 2012 fb Page

[Steve Foster]

This evening, I was moved to post a comment on the ALPHA: 2012 fb convention page in response to the following post:

[i]”THOSE LOST: I think, for me (Paul) what will be the saddest thing is those — both fans and those involved in production of 1999 — who will not be with us at Alpha: 2012. I think one of the presences I will miss most is the amazing Johnny Byrne to whom I became quite close at Breakaway con in 1999 and who, though I wouldn’t realize until long after Breakaway, had a profound impact on my own writing.”[/i]

This is what I wrote:

[i]”Johnny Byrne’s death… beyond sad. he was the heart and soul of ’99 imho. No one spoke with such passion and vision about the series. Thank God Christopher Penfold is still with us. What would be nice to hear about, is an event within the convention schedule wherein people are invited to talk about JUST Johnny, his other work and his work on ’99 as well as any anecdotes about meeting and talking with him at other conventions. It’d be nice if you opened the floor to convention goers & allowed them the opportunity to publically remember him. Better still if it was recorded, better by far if you invited his widow, Sandy, to the convention to talk about her life with Johnny. What a lovely memorial & tribute that would be & how special. If only I could be there… but alas, it’s impossible 🙁 Still, I hope Alpha:2012 is an amazing convention! 🙂 “The Future is (& always shall be) fantastic! Be it the future of Year 1, Year 2 or the future of the Powys Media novels (which I consider canon). Long live SPACE: 1999. RIP the incomparable Johnny Byrne.”[/i]

[Author]

Posts