Jody Samson's Death

RIP!

Damn, I had just noticed your article on the front page and read that he died. He wasnt that old too, first Basil and now Jody, shit...

Well thats another reason why I wished Milius and Cobb worked on new CONAN movies back in 2001-2006 period , becuse they arent gonna live forever...least in real life.

Thats crazy. The Wisconsin State Journal said that the old boy had been dead about a day before anyone found him. Something to the effect of complications from pneumonia.I wonder who will do the new Conan swords?

Yeah, but he only forged them, he didnt design them.

Really? Who did design them? Ron Cobb? Milius?

Albion/Filmswords.com Magazine Volume 1 Number 1 wrote:

"Milius, the writer and director of Conan, and Cobb, the production designer, brought with them Cobb's original drawings of two swords, based on Milius's vision, which were to be prominently featured in the movie. Jody's assignment was to translate those drawings into physical form, and six months later, the Atlantean and the Fathers Sword were created."

It would seem that Tim Hutchausen actually did all the artistic parts (wax carvings, casting, and finishing) with Jody really only working on the blades (most of which were not even steel). Though (IMHO) an average ability artist, I feel he gets way too much credit for his role in the original works. If you reflect on his actual original pieces, few are that exceptional. Repeated themes, asymmetrical angles... not much skill as an artisan. He did do a few pieces that were great, but i think he walked along on a lot of peoples coat tails.


This is, however, just my personal opinion based of a life of observing sword smiths and things Conan. I'm no expert, and it sucks to hear another Conan related person passing on.

I regrettably left out Mako passing on too. Sucks!

^The swords were designed by Ron Cobb, but I have no idea whether or nor he lifted bits and pieces off real historical swords(like he did some historical axes for the Father's inscription )..my view is that he undoubtedly did.

I know that Cobb and Milius watched a huge number of historical swords pics from museum catalogue books, searching for inspiration. And yeah they took the inscription in the fathers' sword from a historical sword used for decapitation, praying for no guilty to the executioner who wielded it. Besides, there is some paralelysm with Templar symbolism in that sword but as far as I know it didn't look like any templar real sword which were simple medieval "cross" ones: http://www.albion-swords.com/images/swords/albion/nextGen/templar01.jpg

Apparently it was hard to find a guy who could really make really good quality steel, and while Milius was looking for one he was told a paranoid tale: apparently there was some kind of "steel wackos" who, since the time they were informed that swords made of real steel were being made for a film, they came into the studio and killed all to steal the swords.

Milius said something like: eeehhhh yeah, thanks, i'll be careful. Noone came to kill them all, finally, though knowing that Milius used to practice with the swords destroying the furniture of his own office, maybe the "steel freaks" would have found their mission a little bit risky

FT is right! Here is the whole story, as told by Ron Cobb to Jim Steranko:

Quote :

RON COBB: One of the guys we had in to bid on making Conan's sword was really wild. He was telling us that there's this group, a cult, that will kill for a real sword. "Indeed," I said, "that's an odd remark. What's the big deal about a real sword?" So, he pointed out, and rightly so, that there aren't many real swords in the world, with fine blades, all sharpened to a razor edge, ones that will hold their edges. They're certainly not being made anymore, except by Wilkinson, who makes ceremonial swords in England. But it's difficult to make a fine sword, so there are fewer and fewer of them.

He claimed there's a group that will kill anyone foolhardy enough to make a real sword, because this group believes that swords contain inscrutable pow­ers. It's a cult, and they worship swords. He warned, "What you'll have to do on the production, if I make you a real sword, is have a guard on the blade, because they'll come in the night, and they'll kill anyone there and..." I had visions of this hooded figure — whooooo! making off with the sword! A stupid movie sword!

And John was going, "Oh really? I've never heard of this group."

"They go anywhere in the world," the swordmaker was going on. "Anywhere they smell a sword, they'll come for it." Ridiculous idea! And we said, "Thank you very much, we'll certainly keep that in mind," and he left.

OoooooooKay......
Something about the fantasy genre that brings out the wackos....

That sounds an awfully lot like the entire premise behind Thulsa Doom and namely the entire "Riders of Doom" thing(including the musical lyrics). At the end of the day, these people are storytellers.