Don Dohler

I just found out that Don Dohler passed away last Saturday. If the name sounds somewhat familiar it's because Dohler was responsible for such films as: The Alien Factor, The Galaxy Invader, Fiend, Nightbeast, and Vampire Sisters. He also published a magazine called Cinemagic which was bought by Starlog Group back in 1979. I was a kid back then who desperately wanted to know more about moviemaking. I would devour each issue when it came, and I even bought two books Dohler put out about Special effects & stop motion photography. This was way before the Internet, and it was comforting to know that others had the same interest as I did.

Dohler's films were done on the cheap, but at that time it was a lot of money. Dohler was fortunate to have some films when the Star Wars craze hit. He sold his films to TV stations who demanded product. His films were a bit on the amateur side, but they were filled with love for the genre. If you want to hear an interesting interview with Don Dohler check this web site at Ourmedia:

http://www.ourmedia.org/node/115251

Dohler had begun to make films again under his new company called Timewarp films. What I liked about Dohler was his can do attitude. He had fun and made some money at it too, but for Dohler it wasn't all about money. Maybe that's why I liked him. I did meet him at a convention in Baltimore and said thanks for Cinemagic. Dohler was responsible for feeding a young mans dream back in the day where he felt he was the only one. It was fun reading his articles over and over again, and then applying them to a short I was doing. I am saddened to hear that he is gone, and yet I'm glad to have seen him & tell him how much he meant to me. God speed Mr. Dohler. You'll be missed.