A Remembrance by Bob Bloom

John Stingley, one of the founders and organizers of Cinevent, died at his Columbus, Ohio, home Friday morning, Jan. 5. He was 59 years old.

From the first Cinevent in 1969, John, along with Steve Haynes and later Arthur Graves, helped the annual Memorial Day film convention grow from a small gathering to one of the largest of its kind, drawing hundreds of film fans and collectors from all over the world.

In addition to his involvement with Cinevent, John was a founding member (1984) of the Perfect Day Tent - Sons of the Desert (the Columbus chapter of the international Laurel and Hardy organization) and served as its first projectionist.

John was an avid film collector who started with 8mm film, progressing to Super 8mm and 16mm and, as technology progressed, VHS, laser discs and finally DVDs. In the past few years, in fact, John had mostly shunned going to theaters, preferring to wait for a movie to be released on DVD.

He also enjoyed soundtracks and Celtic music.

John's movie tastes were wide ranging, from silent films to the comedy shorts of Charlie Chase, to contemporary horror and science fiction. But his heart belonged to the SF films of the 1950s, the ones he enjoyed going to theater to see when growing up.

And his knowledge of film was formidable. He brain was a database of titles, casts and directors.

John's loss is a devastating blow to his circle of friends, both inside and outside the film community.

He was a tireless worker, who rarely took vacation except for Cinevent. Health problems the last couple of years had hindered his participation at the event. Although he was not able to get around as easily and missed going through the dealers' rooms, he was frequently seen seated at the registration table, renewing acquaintances and discussing films, old and new.

A memorial screening was held Friday evening of Cinevent 2007, where we presented several of John's favorite films.