Donate 'N Download

Didja ever wonder just WHAT an actual Steve Canyon TV script was like? Or exactly WHAT NBC was telling their affiliate stations about the series BEFORE it went on the air? Or what an actual Dean Fredericks autographed picture of Steve Canyon was like?
Well...a few of you have been asking about pictures and scripts and autographs and other cool things...SO...

In an effort to provide something nice as an incentive for helping a little to fund our project...

AND as a grand experiment into uncharted territories...

We have decided to provide downloads of a few things that are (hopefully) of interest to our loyal fans...IN EXCHANGE for a few bucks donated to The Cause. Initially these three items are (as shown above): a reproduction 8X10 autographed photo of star Dean Fredericks (minus the"sample" watermark); a reproduction of the FASCINATING summer 1958 NBC sales brochure (14 pages touting STEVE CANYON facts and fallacies to the network affiliates); and finally a reproduction of the 36 page FULL SCRIPT for OPERATION TOWLINE (the series pilot film) which was written by Joseph Landon, Shelley Colbert and...Milton Caniff! The downloadable versions are all FULL-SIZE reproductions/scans of the original ACTUAL documents. EACH requires a DONATION of $5.00. You can add as few as one or two of these items, or all three to our online shopping cart by using the pulldown menu below, and pay as usual using our Paypal checkout (though you don't need a PayPal account to check out, a major credit card or ATM card will suffice).

After you make your donation we will send you an email (within a short period of time) with a link and password to download these files. Note that the picture is a standard jpeg (3.2 Megabytes in size), and the two documents are standard Adobe PDF format files, the script being 5.7 megabytes and the brochure is 2.4 megs in size.

You can download and print out a copy for your personal use but please don't share these files or links...it kinda defeats the purpose, and despite the urging of others to charge more, we have opted to keep each at an affordable five bucks apiece. If this is successful we may add more scripts and other goodies, but as I said before, this is experimental.

Choose Your Download

NBC Sales Booklet (7/9/1958)Operation Towline (Pilot) Script (1/7/58)Dean Fredericks Photo (with autograph)

We're still working the kinks out of this system, so bear with us...and let us know if there are any questions or difficulties. Now let's give this thing a whirl and see what happens! NOTE that the email with the link(s) are sent out ONE at a time, by hand, by ME...so we will make every endeavor to get 'em out asap...if not sooner!

And understand that if funds weren't desperately needed, we wouldn't be selling off artwork and asking for donations and trying to sell a few more sampler DVDs...and spending so much time to bring in a few bucks...so this isn't frivolous and is in fact very important.

Again we thank all of you for your generous support and loyalty, and can't wait to release all of the shows to DVD later this year.

Our Current eBay Auction

Roll Call!!!

I think it's time we pony up some pictures where credit is due! I know you'd be hard pressed to locate a pic of the regular performers from STEVE CANYON (who were added to the cast mid-season) ANYWHERE ...and not just on the web! So here we go with those that were in 3 episodes or more:

From left to right, Abel Fernandez (Sgt. Featherstone), Jerry Paris (Major "Willie" Williston), and Bob Hoy (Sgt Charlie Berger)...HEY, what ARE those guys lookin' at???

Of course! They're ogling lovely Ingrid Goude ("Ingrid", after she became Steve's Gal Friday)...both shots from the episode THE SEARCH. Abel and Jerry moved over to THE UNTOUCHABLES when Steve Canyon ended...without even skipping a beat!

Speaking of Bob Hoy, we recently made contact with him and we look forward to a full-fledged interview this summer. Here he is (just before whupping serious butt!) in the episode OPERATION BIG THUNDER. Bob has a great website (with lotsa pics and stuff), so drop by and check BobHoy.com out.

This tough hombre is Ted de Corsia as Big Thunder Police Chief Hagedorn...he also wears police blues in the series. From the episode OPERATION BIG THUNDER.

Here's Robert Sampson portraying Big Thunder AFB Tower Operator "Sgt. Walsh"...this guy is in 5 episodes, including this one (where they give his character his name) titled SABOTAGE.

Sid Clute played Crew Chief Sgt. Gerke in the pilot...then they brought him back late in the season (appearing in 4 episodes total). Here he is with hallucinating F-104 pilot Captain Dennis Parker (portrayed by actor Wynn Pearce) in the episode THE KOREAN STORY.

Major Karl Richmond, Big Thunder AFB Flight Surgeon was portrayed by everyone's favorite TV dad William Schallert. Here he is with star Dean Fredericks from the episode THE TRAP. I worked on a project recently with Mr. Schallert..what a GREAT guy!

Coming up in ROLL CALL! Part II...

He was only in two episodes, but they were very memorable. Here's James Drury (later star of The Virginian TV series) as Lt. Richard Muller flanked on left by George Macready (as "Gottfried Muller") and Dean Fredericks on right (while an unknown actor portraying a policeman in the BG looks on). From the episode THE MULLER STORY.

More shots of repeating characters from two episodes or more coming up in part two...ahem...*real soon now*.

I want to add that there'll be another post with some news for those that have asked about ...well, stay tuned and you'll see. So see you in a day or so right here!

WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Please help Support our Restoration Effort by clicking on the DONATE button below (PayPal account not required)

ANY amount, no matter how small is EXTREMELY HELPFUL and MUCH APPRECIATED and makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE! We thank everyone for all of the kindness and support, and it's true that we couldn't continue this unique project without your wonderful support!

or


BUY The Special Edition DVD!
In stock - ready to ship!

We Got 'Em All!!

Since we started this project in 2006 there were two things that were conspicuously missing...the first was a decent-quality copy of the original unaired version of the pilot film, and the second was the 26th filmed episode BLACKMAIL. Well, we are now pleased to announce that these are no longer "missing in action" as we have located them and they are now in-hand and being cleaned up and readied to join all of the other episodes in our archive for release later this year on DVD.

Here is an NBC publicity photo from BLACKMAIL (click photos to enlarge):

#9230-57 Tamara Cooper (Narda Onyx) displays her terror over blackmailer to her husband Lt. Cooper (Bill DuFrene), Police Chief Hagedorn (Ted de Corsia) and Lt. Col. Steve Canyon (Dean Fredericks) in the Steve Canyon episode, "BLACKMAIL". (From official NBC press release)

This unaired version of the pilot is the only episode to feature the distinctive logo from the sunday editions of the Steve Canyon newspaper comic strip. (see frame blowup above). This version also features different beginning and end titles and a full 2 minutes of footage never before seen on television!

This NBC publicity photo is from a shot that is only seen in the unaired pilot! Seen below is the official press release that accompanied this photo:



Here's a frame blowup from the same sequence, featuring (from left to right), Lt. Col. Steve Canyon (Dean Fredericks), Capt. "Bullets" McVay (Dan Barton), RAF Maj. Durkel (Paul Frees) and Maj. "Tex" Berry (Morgan Woodward). What makes this sequence interesting is that this wasn't shot on an airfield, but was in fact shot on the rear-projection "Process-Photography" Stage indoors at the Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California (where the pilot was shot and produced). The actors are standing in front of a translucent screen and the planes and ground-crew are on motion picture film being projected from behind. After the pilot was completed (and the series "sold" to NBC and Chesterfield cigarettes, the sponsor) they moved the production to the more modern Universal International Studios.

The full story of locating the shows and our restoration effort will be told on the full-series STEVE CANYON DVD set coming later this year, so STAY TUNED!

WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Please help Support our Restoration Effort by clicking on the DONATE button below (PayPal account not required)

ANY amount, no matter how small is EXTREMELY HELPFUL and MUCH APPRECIATED and makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE! We thank everyone for all of the kindness and support, and it's true that we couldn't continue this unique project without your wonderful support!

or


BUY The Special Edition DVD!
In stock - ready to ship!

News Of The Canyon

Here are some things you might find of interest:

The current issue of AIR CLASSICS MAGAZINE (Vol.44, No.4 April 2008) not only features Big Steve on the cover but also on a whopping 10 interior pages featuring 22 images (2 in full color) and a lengthy and MOST EXCELLENT article by James H. Farmer, author of AMERICA'S PIONEER ACES (2003), CELLULOID WINGS (1984) and several other GREAT aviation related books. Note that American Movie Classics host Bob Dorian has called Jim "The definitive aviation film historian" and his take on the Steve Canyon TV series is not to be missed. You can find this issue at well-stocked newstands and bookstores such as Barnes & Noble until May 31st, 2008. To subscribe to this fine magazine you can visit Challenge Publications online. Thanks to author James Farmer and Air Classics Editor Michael O'Leary for doing such an amazing job putting this homage to Col. Canyon together!

Dean Fredericks

Dean Fredericks at home practicing his lines with a tape recorder on June 10th 1958. Photo by NBC staff photographer Herb Ball.

On February 19th we finally made contact with Dean Fredericks' family after two years of hopeful concerted effort. They are very excited about our restoration of the Steve Canyon series and are providing photos and other memorabilia for us to utilize as documentary materials for the full-series DVD later this year. Our dream of an in-depth documentary on "mystery man" Dean Fredericks is coming to fruition and he will finally get some of the attention he is due. Stay tuned!

Dean and wife Myda going over lines for STEVE CANYON in their Lancaster California home. Photo by NBC staff photographer Herb Ball.

Were YOU there?

If you were there when Steve Canyon aired originally in 1958/1959 on NBC, or when Steve Canyon Returned on ABC in 1960...AND you have a story to tell, one that YOU think might be of sufficient interest to include on a documentary on our Full-Series DVD later this year, email us at stevecanyon_memories@mac.com and tell us about it. It would help a lot if you have a related picture from either that time or later in life.

We've heard from a number of you that were inspired to become pilots and aerospace engineers and the like, and we want to hear more. We've also heard a few stories about how exciting it was when the shows were on TV, and the helmet and other toys were coming out, and reading the Milton's strips in the papers.

If we use your picture or story or both you will be put on the list to receive a copy of the full box set for free when it is released later this year. If we don't use what you send in we'll still send you something anyway for your trouble...not a DVD box set, but still something swell! We'll contact those whose material we intend to use and send a "release form" to sign and return, allowing us to use it for the DVD. PLEASE NOTE that there will be a provision for those that would like to share their stories yet remain anonymous, and we will guarantee your anonymity (if so desired)...and all entries/communications will be considered private and confidential until YOU give us permission to use it on the DVD.

...and if you are the kid in this photo, we want to hear from you too!

Last Up...

Tomorrow is the big day...March 18 is the release date for the wide retail distribution of the Steve Canyon Special Edition DVD. So those of you who ordered it through Amazon.com, or NetFlix or any number of other outlets, should start seeing them on Tuesday.

We appreciate everyone who has written reviews on Amazon, or just spread the word though their forums, emails and blogs, and we can't thank you enough. I will mention that this DVD is now going into it's second printing (the first being a very limited initial print run) and hopefully they will continue to sell and help fund our efforts.

I want to mention that if you shop on a US Military Base at a PX or BX or other Base Exhange store, you can help us TREMENDOUSLY by letting the store management know about the Steve Canyon Special Edition DVD. Show them your DVD! If enough of you ask for it we might just get them to carry it in ALL of the Base Exchanges and that WOULD BE SOMETHING!!!

I do have a very small number of the color printed Steve Canyon DVD Sell-Sheets that I will gladly mail (one per request until they are gone) if that will help get us on the Base Exchanges. Feel free to print it out yourself if you'd like and show 'em just what they're missing! And be sure to let me know if there's anything else I can do to help you!

Things are definitely heating up, so STAY TUNED 'till our next broadcast!

Steve Canyon Alert!

(click images to enlarge in a new window)Hold on to your ejection seats! Big Thunder Air Force Base is on FULL DVD ALERT!
Here's Milt and Bunny celebrating the wide-retail release of the first authorized Steve Canyon episodes to see the light of day since JFK was in office! Photo taken by Bob Goldwater (NBC) August 11, 1958 in the Caniff home in High Tor New York.
"WOWEE! Look at those DVD's go!" says Lt. Colonel Stevenson Burton Canyon, serial number AO-041044 of the United States Air Force, on assignment for OPERATION ZERO LAUNCH at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Today is the day that our distributor, Tempe Video, officially started taking and filling orders from all of the major retail outlets for our initial STEVE CANYON SPECIAL EDITION DVD! The official "street date" is March 18th, that's the date the retail outlets are allowed to start forking over our DVDs to the paying public.

A few of the places that it will be available for purchase will be MoviesUnlimited.com, Amazon.com, DVDEmpire.com,, DeepDiscount.com, DVDPlanet.com, CCVideo.com, DVDUniverse.com, BestPrices.com, BudPlant.com, Buy.com and for rent on Netflix.com. You can also find it at the Collectible Wizard store on Magnolia in Burbank.

This release will both "test the waters" for the Full DVD Series release (later this year) and also provide MUCH NEEDED FUNDS to help pay for all of the work that is being done to get everything ready.

IF YOU WANT TO HELP it's as simple as writing reviews on either Amazon.com's Steve Canyon DVD listing AND/OR The Internet Movie Database Steve Canyon page to spread the word on JUST HOW COOL it is. You can also request your favorite online or retail outlets to make sure they carry it and are well stocked, "ask for it by name". We appreciate all of the help that has come our way from each and every one of you that have written to us and/or ordered the DVD or cap and we thank you.

Steve Canyon Christmas Episode

Merry Christmas from The Milton Caniff Estate! Enjoy our gift, this clip from the Steve Canyon Christmas episode that hasn't been seen in the US since 1958!

Celia Lovsky and Lillian Adams

Dean Fredericks gets in the spirit


Click on the image to see the clip (Quicktime Required).


Above, from left, Dean Fredericks and friend (Sean McClory). These images are all frame blowups from this episode.



This clip (which features Dean Fredericks, Celia Lovsky, Sean McClory and Barbara Beaird) is a 6 minute 13 second Quicktime mp4 movie clip from the 16th episode, THE GIFT, written by Ray Bradbury and Sidney Carroll and directed by Don Taylor, which aired originally on Saturday December 20th 1958 at 9pm on NBC. It was never repeated in the United States. When ABC aired summer reruns of Steve Canyon in 1960, for some reason this one (and 13 others) never got shown. What you are about to see is the first time in 48 years that any part of this episode has been seen in the United States. The shows were run in Australia twice in 1959 and 1960, on Armed Forces television overseas in 1963 and 1965, and dubbed in Japanese and broadcast by Nagoya TV in Japan in 1963, and possibly 8 episodes were shown in Germany and latin america circa 1959/1960. If you remember seeing STEVE CANYON broadcast at any other time or place since, we'd love to hear from you.



This episode (and all 34 shows of the series) will be included on the full series dvd coming out from The Milton Caniff Estate in the summer of 2008. Enjoy the holidays!

Please help Support our Restoration Effort

(any amount, small or big is helpful and appreciated)
or


BUY The Special Edition DVD!
In stock - ready to ship!

The Girls of Steve Canyon - Part 4

Sylvia LewisThe Hotcha Girl From French Morocco...

We recently had the distinct pleasure of talking with the lovely and talented Sylvia Lewis about her featured role as the beguiling club dancer "Macayo" in the Steve Canyon episode OPERATION B-52.

Click on images to enlarge
Putting on a show...

Sylvia and I share a theory that her character in this episode was named after the famous Macayo Club that used to be in Santa Monica and where Sylvia danced and performed often early in her career. She knew author Charles Beaumont to some extent, and remembers being called in for the part (most likely by casting director Gene Reynolds) WITHOUT any audition, so it is possible...

Making time with Col. Canyon!

We recommend a visit to Sylvia's website at sylvialewis.net for a whole lot of cool pix and clips and info showing highlites of our friend Sylvia's extraordinary career. She was a guest star on many of our favorite shows, including The Beverly Hillbillies, Gomer Pyle USMC, The Dick Van Dyke show, Zorro...and even appeared with Shemp Howard in a famous THREE STOOGES short!

Also note that her episode OPERATION B-52 is one of the 4 on our "sampler" STEVE CANYON SPECIAL EDITION DVD, which is available for purchase below.

Please help Support our Restoration Effort

(any amount, small or big is helpful and appreciated)
or


BUY The Special Edition DVD!
In stock - ready to ship!

The Star Trek/Steve Canyon Connection Part I

(Click on picture to enlarge)Hey! The guy with the hat...he looks kinda familiar...



(Click on picture to enlarge)Wouldja look at that! It's "Bones"! That DeForest Kelley guy from Star Trek! He wuz in a STEVE CANYON?



(Click on picture to enlarge)Now this guy looks familiar too...Tige Andrews, yeah, that's him. Hey wait! Wasn't he a Klingon? The episode with Julie Newmar I think.



(Click on picture to enlarge)Ain't that John Hoyt? Wait! He was the ORIGINAL doctor on Star Trek, Philip Boyce in THE CAGE. Oh holy crap! TWO doctors from Trek (now all we need is that Dr. Piper guy from the other pilot).



(Click on picture to enlarge)Now that's Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver's teacher, Mrs. Landers...Sue Randall I think...I'm pretty sure she wasn't in Star Trek...maybe THE TWILIGHT ZONE though!



(Click on picture to enlarge)Oh now I can't believe this! The Co-Pilot, that's the paranoid guy that thought Spock was a Romulan spy!! Paul Comi, "Lieutenant Stiles" from BALANCE OF TERROR...ok, this is unreal. Too many Star Trek guys in one episode. I gotta take some aspirin...




Click on the image to see the clip (Quicktime Required).


Above, from left, Sue Randall as Sgt. Addie Malone, John Hoyt as Mr. Atterbury, Dean Fredericks as Col. Steve Canyon, Tige Andrews as Sgt. Bagdasarian, and Michael Galloway as Sgt. Kiefer. These images are all frame blowups from this episode.



This clip (which features DeForest Kelley and NOT the scene from this image) is a 30 second Quicktime mp4 movie clip from the 5th episode, OPERATION JETTISON, which aired originally on Saturday October 11th 1958 at 9pm on NBC. It was repeated once by NBC on Tuesday July 28th 1959 at 8pm. When ABC aired summer reruns of Steve Canyon in 1960, for some reason this one (and 13 others) never got shown. What you are about to see is the first time in 48 years that any part of this episode has been seen in the United States. The shows were run in Australia twice in 1959 and 1960, on Armed Forces television overseas in 1963 and 1965, and dubbed in Japanese and broadcast by Nagoya TV in Japan in 1963, but otherwise (as far as we can ascertain) they were never aired anywhere else in the world. If you remember seeing STEVE CANYON broadcast at any other time or place since, we'd love to hear from you.



This episode is a lot of fun, involving a C-130 Hercules flying from Japan to the US that runs into trouble involving engine trouble and priceless cargo. This is another episode that (to me) feels like it could have been a story in the comic strip. Terrific episode!



This restored STEVE CANYON clip is Trademarked and the intellectual property of The Estate of Milton Caniff, and all rights are reserved. Any other use is strictly prohibited.

SUPPORT OUR RESTORATION EFFORT

BUY The Special Edition DVD

Cap also available in black!

Help support The Estate's STEVE CANYON TV Series Restoration Effort! Buy an AUTHORIZED Steve Canyon Special Edition DVD "sampler" or a Commemorative Collector's Edition Embroidered Cap to contribute to the restoration and release on DVD (and international television!) of all 34 classic episodes.

OR, if you don't want or need a hat or DVD, you can still support us by making a donation (ANY AMOUNT) via PayPal (major credit cards accepted). We are trying to fund this ourselves "out of pocket" and your help is GREATLY appreciated. Click on the pictures for more info.

Thank You,
Harry Guyton and John Ellis
The Milton Caniff Estate

Steve Canyon® is a Registered Trademark of the Milton Caniff Estate.
© 2007 Milton Caniff Estate. All rights reserved.

Ye Olde Caniff/Canyon Shoppe

NOTE SPECIAL June online SALE PRICE now only$12.99(all shipping and handling included anywhere in the world! Limited time offer!). DVD's are IN STOCK and ready for IMMEDIATE SHIPMENT via US Postal Service First Class Mail & USPS International First Class Mail! MOST domestic USA orders arrive within 72 hours after you place your order!).

Buy direct from us and support the restoration of the entire series!

We are finally able to offer the "sampler" DVD for purchase internationally!

Steve Canyon Special Edition DVD

OFFICIAL AUTHORIZED RELEASE

NOTE: All purchases are usually shipped within 24 hours AND in the order they are received. There are a limited number of DVDs, so make sure you order yours TODAY!

Cover Art
Inside Art (reversible!)
Disc Art

This DVD contains 4 hand picked episodes not seen in the US in over 45 years! Episodes of this series are so rare they have been highly sought after and prized by film collectors the world over.

FEATURES:

The first OFFICIALLY AUTHORIZED US release of any episodes of this TERRIFIC SERIES since 1960!

Transferred from the original 35mm film broadcast masters!

4 full half hour episodes and more, featuring the famed comic strip hero created by Milton Caniff.

Full Color Printing Inside And Out In An Industry Standard "Crystal Clear" Clamshell Case

Full Color Process Factory Glass-Mastered Disc

136 minutes / Black & White

NTSC Full Screen (1:33:1) 24 Frame Progressive!

Region 0 - Playable In All Regions

Digitally Remastered

Digitally Enhanced Stereo Sound

4 full episodes originally broadcast in 1958 with Original Commercials and Network Promos

EXTRAS:

2007 Series Restoration Promo (19:17) (features extended clips from 6 other episodes, including:
Operation SurvivalThe Trap
Korean Story Operation UFOThe RobberyandOperation Intercept

Stills Gallery (1:00)

Click here for more info.

$14.99 per DVD plus flat rate postage (see below).

NOW ONLY $12.99 PER DVD WITH SHIPPING AND HANDLING INCLUDED ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!!

Click button below to purchase this DVD.

NOTE that you DO NOT need a PayPal account to purchase these items, there is an option to pay with any major credit card!

By purchasing this and/or other items from this site you are helping to fund our restoration of the complete Steve Canyon TV series and we thank you for your support.

Shipping is a flat rate based on how many items you purchase, and all items will be combined within each order and shipped via United States Postal Service (USPS) 1st Class Domestic or International mail (depending on your location). $0.00 for the first item, then $0.00 for each additional item. Some domestic orders may be shipped via USPS Priority mail (at our discretion). Please allow 1 to 2 weeks delivery for DVD. Hats can take up to 4 weeks depending on if we have to reorder them.

Email us at Ye Olde Caniff/Canyon Shoppe if you have any questions. Thanks again for remembering Milton.

Caniff/Canyon Commemorative Hat

HATS SOLD OUT!

Front Embroidery (black hat)Back Embroidery (black hat)

This custom embroidered hat (or cap if you will) was produced by The Milton Caniff Estate for our friends and associates to wear at the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con, to commemorate Milton Caniff's 100th anniversary, and Steve Canyon's 60th. These will only be offered here for a limited time (either until we run our of stock or decide to stop reordering them). They are expensive, well-made caps and (in our humble opinion) are VERY comfortable (and as Maggie Thompson pointed out, "With a REAL sweatband, not a piece of plastic!"). At the moment they only come in this style and color ("G.I" style, "Black") 100% brushed cotton twill, with a velco closure on back, so "one size fits most". These are so expensive to produce, by the way, that it is almost not worth it to sell them at this price...but we like them SO MUCH that we are going to make them available for the time being.

$19.99 per hat plus flat rate postage (see below).

Click button below to purchase.

NOTE that you DO NOT need a PayPal account to purchase these items, there is an option to pay with any major credit card!

By purchasing this and/or other items from this site you are helping to fund our restoration of the complete Steve Canyon TV series and we thank you for your support.

HATS SOLD OUT!

Click button below to view the contents of your shopping cart:

Shipping is a flat rate based on how many items you purchase, and all items will be combined within each order and shipped via United States Postal Service (USPS) 1st Class Domestic or International mail (depending on your location). $5.00 for the first item, then $2.50 for each additional item. Some domestic orders may be shipped via USPS Priority mail (at our discretion). Please allow 1 to 4 weeks delivery for hats, depending on if we have to reorder them. DVDs should only take 1 to 2 weeks tops, as we have a fair amount in stock.

Email us at Ye Olde Caniff/Canyon Shoppe if you have any questions. Thanks again for remembering Milton.

-

Steve Canyon® is a Registered Trademark of the Milton Caniff Estate.
The contents and products herein are Copyright ©1947, 1958, 1959, 1975, 1986, 1987, 2006, 2007 and 2008 by The Milton Caniff Estate.
Steve Canyon® is The Intellectual Property of the Milton Caniff Estate.
All Rights Reserved.

Steve Canyon Special Edition DVD Cover Art

(Click on picture to enlarge)
Here's an advance look at the cover art for the DVD we are releasing at the San Diego Comic-Con next week. The design is a collaboration between Graphic Artist Johann Mitchell and myself. Johann is a superb artist and designer whom I have worked with many times since the mid 1970's, and I highly recommend her if you need a talented artist. She went way above and beyond the call of duty to help me make the delivery deadline on the DVD art and our thanks and appreciation go out to her. Thanks also go out to Laura Lozano for stepping in at the 11th hour to make sure the designs got where they needed to go. Both Laura and Johann have always been there right when I needed them, and stand out as true friends in every sense of the word.

The DVD is at the factory right now and will be arriving here just in time to take to Comic-Con for unveiling. At this time we expect to have it available at the National Cartoonist Society booth. These are true glass-mastered DVD Video disks that are manufactured from raw materials in the factory, with full four color printing inside 'n out and on the disc...none of your "home-brewed DVD's with HP labels and covers" for us...nosiree Bob! The Real Deal. Among its many virtues it has four full half hour episodes from 1958, as follows:

"Operation Zero Launch" - the second episode filmed, and this one has the original sponsors' titles and spot from Chesterfield Cigarettes (Ligett and Meyers). A lot of fun with Marion Ross from Happy Days being a babe. By the way, the Chesterfield tv spot features Dean Fredericks handling the product endorsement!

"Operation B-52" featuring a swell animated spot for Ligett and Meyers L&M cigarettes, this one features Richard Anderson, a script by Charles "Twilight Zone" Beaumont, and terrific direction by Arthur "Love Story" Hiller. Not to be missed.

"Operation Mushroom" - though originally premiered in 1958, this an ABC print from the summer of 1960 and features promos for other vintage ABC shows. One of the most popular episodes, Steve drops the first weapon-class H-Bomb on Eniwetok Island. Tons of cool planes and documentary approach.

"Operation Diplomat" - premiered in 1958, again another ABC print with ABC promos, this episode is (for my money) the one most like the Steve Canyon comic strips of the era. It's great and another one of my favorite episodes.

There is also an image gallery on the disk, and a 19 minute series promo featuring clips from 6 other episodes.

Once we return from Comic-Con, we will offer the DVD here online (for those that couldn't attend the convention). Remember, this is a lead-in for the entire series, and is intended to help us finance the restoration of the rest of the shows. I should also mention that these shows have had their audio and picture elements cleaned up somewhat, but none of the episodes on this set are fully restored.

Don't get me wrong, they look and sound terrific, but there is still a certain amount of dirt specks and such flying around in some sections of these episodes. These shows were hand picked by me as four of the best, representative of what a great series this is. Episodes not seen since their original network runs...and NEVER available as crappy dupes on ebay. The work WILL continue on these and they will be fully cleaned up and "presented for your approval" with the rest of the 34 original episodes, just as soon as we can get 'em out there. That's a promise!

John Ellis
July 17, 2007
Hollywood, CA

P.S. Remember Harry and I will be screening OPERATION INTERCEPT at Comic-Con on Saturday July 28 at 2:30pm in "Room 4". There will also be a followup "autograph" session in the main autograph area from 4:00 to 7:00pm, and we will have the DVD's...and maybe some guests and a few *secret* goodies. We're very excited about the show and we hope to see you there!

San Diego Comic-Con BIG News

I just have time for a brief post concerning Comic-Con. We (The Milton Caniff Estate) will be hosting a panel on Saturday July 28th from 2:30pm to 4:00pm, called REMEMBERING CANIFF/CANYON: 100th/60th (1907/1947-2007).

You'll not only get to meet Harry Guyton (Executor of the Estate and Milton's nephew), R.C.Harvey (author of Meanwhile...A Biography of Milton Caniff), Denis Kitchen (Steve Canyon Magazine publisher), Russ Maheras (Steve Canyon's 50th Anniversary comic strip author/artist), Diana Doalson (Milton Caniff's Grand-Niece who was put in the Canyon strip in 1969 by Milt), and myself (John Ellis, Caniff Estate Representative and Steve Canyon DVD Producer) in a rollicking remembrance of all things Caniff, but you'll also get to witness the first public screening of the restored 1959 NBC Steve Canyon episode "Operation Intercept" in over 40 years. This is arguably the best episode of the series and is not to be missed! Don't take my word for it, just google "Steve Canyon and B-47" and read what Time Magazine and others said about the episode.

We'll screen the show at the beginning of the time slot and will have over an hour to talk about it and anything else that rises to the surface!

It'll all be in Room 4 at 2:30PM.

I know all of that was a mouthful, but I had to get it out on this post while I have a quiet moment, as we are hard at work preparing a surprise for attendees of the convention (and readers of this blog). We are issuing a limited release Special edition featuring 4 excellent episodes of Steve Canyon that haven't been seen in the US since 1960. And a couple of extras...there'll be more info on this before the con.

The reason we are doing this is that we have begun to see the light that there is just WAY too much work yet to be done to see a full release of the series in 2007, and yet we wanted to commemorate the birth of Milton (1907) and of Steve Canyon (1947), and this is the logical way to do that. It will be moderately priced (to make it reasonably affordable) and will also provide us with a "shot in the arm" to help fund the restoral on the rest of the 34 episodes. So far we have been scrimping, saving and selling some original art to fund this project over a period of time, but this will help speed things up. As I have explained to a few people recently, The Estate doesn't have deep pockets, money hasn't "rolled in" since Milton passed away in 1988. This is a seriously expensive process and we don't have a major studio or conglomerate funding us, it's all just Harry and I doing this by our lonesomes.

And also let's not forget that 2008 is the 50th anniversary of the premiere of Steve Canyon on television...! So when you take that fact into account it all begins to make sense. I've been kind of down in the dumps recently over how long the work has been taking, and not wanting to disappoint everyone with news of the delay...but this is just obviously the path we were meant to take.

Harry and I are EXCITED about Comic-Con, and getting to meet everyone that attends...so mark your calendars and gather your questions. And buy R.C. Harveys bio-book "Meanwhile..." on Milt...it's double-plus-good!

Keep tha faith...more news shortly!

John Ellis

The Girls of Steve Canyon - Part 2

#9205-12 - Lt. Col. Steve Canyon (Dean Fredericks) promises Rita Bradshaw (Marion Ross) that her brother's experiment will not be abandoned in the STEVE CANYON episode, "OPERATION ZERO LAUNCH."

Yes, it's THAT Marion Ross, who played Marion