Schuster Star Trek Conventions/1975 Philadelphia Schuster Star Trek Convention
Star Trek Philadelphia was held August 7-10, 1975 at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, PA.
Guests of Honor
Convention Staff
Al Schuster was the chairperson.
John Townsley was not mentioned.
Peter David was in charge of Press Relations.
Program Book
Tidbits and Anecdotes
The catalog is 11" x 8.5", contains 16 pages of black and white photos and a cartoon story.
Flyers, Badges, and Other Ephemera
from the program book
back cover of the program book
pocket program
sorry for the condition: this was physically glued into a scrapbook.
back of badge
really useful scrapbook page with notes.
scrapbook page showing plastic bag the program and other materials came with.
scrapbook page showing confirmation of ticket purchase.
scrapbook page showing back and front of badge and program book.
poster included in registration packet.
Programming
Links to Photos and Videos
Articles/Further Reading
from the Philadelphia Daily News, July 28, 1975
from the Philadelphia Daily News, August 7, 1975
from the Philadelphia Daily News, August 8, 1975
from the Philadelphia Daily News, August 8, 1975
Philadelphia Bulletin
Philadelphia Bulletin
Philadelphia Bulletin
Con Reports
Although the con officially started on Friday, August 8th at 10:30 A.M. at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel, we started our celebrating early on Thursday by taking George to dinner at the Hawaiian Cottage in Cherry Hill, N.J. The floor show consisted of various authentic Polynesian dances from the South Sea Islands. We all enjoyed the show, especially when the Mistress of Ceremonies picked male members from the audience and attempted to teach them a Hawaiian dance. George's Infamous laugh echoed continuously.On Friday after registering, we took a look around the Dealer's Room. To quote a famous Vulcan "fascinating". The same day we took George sightseeing through historical Philadelphia and almost wore our sneakers out. Boy! were we exhausted, but pleasantly so. We visited several Bicentennial attractions including the Liberty Bell and the Betsy Ross's House. On the way back to the hotel George treated us to Philadelphia soft pretzels. On Friday during his on stage appearance, George spoke extemporaneously, touching on New York's current financial plight, the upcoming Star Trek movie and his recent T.V. appearances in Hawaii 5-0 and Chico and the Man. Saturday George appeared on a crew panel discussion with Jim, Nichelle and Walter and it was good to see the Enterprise crew together once again. On Saturday night we were invited to a party for Nichelle given by Harry Freidenberg. It was attended by George, Nichelle, Walter, Jim and Wende and about 100 adoring fans. We heard a tape interview given by Gene Roddenberry about the forthcoming Star Trek movie and when Gene arrived at the part of the story that made "Uhura" a captain, Nichelle jumped out of her seat and yelled "play that part again" while we applauded our approval. Gene said that "Sulu" would also be a captain. Jim's comical remarks throughout the tape enhanced the festivities. Sunday evening was the costume ball and it was then that Wende took the microphone from Al Schuster and announced that out of the six cons she had attended, the Philadelphia con was the best. Monday at the final "oast" call all the stars were in agreement with Wende and we third the motion.
George as always was well received by his fans and was gracious enough to pose for photos for our Club. We all love you George. HURRY BACK! [1]
My cousin and I were 13 and 14 respectively when we went to this con--our first! Walter was late (and he was the one we wanted to see--he was sooooo cute!) We were up in the balcony, and the floor of the ballroom was packed, and when he arrived the screams of the gathered females was so loud I'm sure they heard it in New Jersey!
My most vivid memory besides that and the dealers room, which was the best thing we had ever seen, was when someone asked Jimmy Doohan if they would be redesigning the Enterprise for the proposed movie and he shouted in his best "horrified" Scotty voice, "WHAT CANYA MEAN??" You might as well have been calling the Enterprise a garbage scow! [2]
The first PISTC was a weekend of high drama. People were expecting greatness from Al Schuster and the gang for this one. Predicted attendance was 1;000; 7000 bought tickets.
Friday morning there was (surprisingly) not much of a lineup at registration. The souvenir bag contained a trivia quiz, free paperback, and schedule along with the program book. The latter will probably be a collector's item because it contains the fourth and final comic strip in the Howski Grafix ST parody.
The film show included such landmarks as "2001" and "Forbidden Planet," both in full cinemascope, as well as episodes, bloopers, and other tidbits. Guesting were Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan, George Takei, and Walter Koenig. George Pace brought his light show and Transporter Room mock-up. On the fan panel were STWer Sara Paul, StW and staffer Sharon Black, ex-STW and staff coordinator Lynn Cohen, staff member Renee Bodner, and all-around fan A.E. LaVelle, in the flesh.
The costume ball was a success. Before it started I headed up to my room to grab a quick shower. In the bathroom I found a green girl. (Mostly she was wearing green skin.) Standing there, mouth slack, I gave this matter much thought. I went back downstairs. The green girl was officially a Rigelian (sic-Orion?) Slave Girl and she won first prize in the Star Trek segment of the ball. A high point was the magic show, including STW and staffer Bryan Toder and three others. Bryan was astounding, only demolishing one trick in the entire performance.
In all it was a fine convention. You could tell because once it was over and the staff collapsed in exhaustion, the word was "See you in New York," meaning Schuster's International Star Trek Convention upcoming (not to be mistaken for The Star Trek Convention, also in NY City). [3]
References
- ^ from At the Helm #1/2
- ^ from fan, Badgersoph, added March 2018
- ^ by Neil H. Harris, from A Piece of the Action #31