A group of Shel Dorf’s old friends visited Michael Dorf, Shel’s brother, on Sunday, November 8, 2009, in Los Angeles, California, while Michael was sitting shiva (the traditional Jewish seven days of mourning) for Shel after he had passed away. During the visit, Michael reminisced about his parents, Ben and Sarah Dorf. Fortunately, Michael’s account was recorded and is presented here for your listening pleasure. (Also, a transcript is provided at the end of this post.)
Audio
A group of Shel Dorf’s old friends visited Michael Dorf, Shel’s brother, on Sunday, November 8, 2009, in Los Angeles, California, while Michael was sitting shiva (the traditional Jewish seven days of mourning) for Shel after he had passed away. While there, Richard Alf recounted Shel’s memorable last visit with Bill Liebowitz, the owner of the Golden Apple Comics store in Hollywood. Fortunately, Richard’s account was recorded and is presented here for your listening pleasure.
At the ComicConMemories.com web site, you can listen to audio recordings of many committe members and guest speakers from the first San Diego’s Golden State Comic-Con, which was held August 1st thru 3rd, 1970 in the U.S. Grant Hotel. The list of those recorded includes the following: Shel Dorf, Ken Krueger, Barry Alfonso, Greg Bear, Ray Bradbury, Roger Freedman, Mark Hanerfeld, Earl Kemp, Jack Kirby, Scott Shaw!, and Morrie Turner.
We thought you might enjoy hearing Shel Dorf’s voice as recorded during a December 1970 visit by San Diego fans to Jack Kirby’s house in Thousand Oaks, California (where the Kirby family had bought a house after renting in Irvine). This is just a brief excerpt from the nearly three-and-one-half hours of audio that was recorded that day. In it, Shel and Jack discuss California living.
Picture of Shel Dorf and his brother, Michael Dorf, with Chester Gould in 1949 taken outside the Gould family farmhouse. The picture is accompanied by an audio clip of Michael Dorf telling the story of the Dorf-family visit to see Chester Gould in Woodstock, Illinois. (A transcript of the recording is included.)
We thought you might enjoy hearing a sample of Shel’s voice. The following clip was extracted from a recording of a conversation that took place between Jack Kirby and a group of San Diego fans back in December 1970 at Jack’s house in Thousand Oaks, California. In it, Jack and Shel discuss Jack’s name change and his early attempt at an acting career.
Audio link to recording of Comic-Con 2009 Secret Origins panel with Comic-Con #1 committee members Richard Alf, Barry Alfonso, Greg Bear, Dave Clark, Roger Freedman, Ken Krueger, Bill Lund, Scott Shaw!, and Mike Towry. Includes transcript of Richard’s account of Shel Dorf’s early guidance as Comic-Con founder.
Jack Kirby (left) and Shel Dorf — Nov. 9, 1969