Schuster Star Trek Conventions/1978 Atlanta Schuster Star Trek Convention
| Star Trek Convention | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Star Trek Atlanta |
| Dates: | June 30-July 2, 1978 |
| Frequency: | |
| Location: | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Type: | for-profit |
| Focus: | Star Trek |
| Organization: | Tristar Industries |
| Founder: | Al Schuster, John Townsley |
| Founding Date: | |
| URL: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Star Trek Atlanta was held June 30-July 2, 1978.
Guests of Honor
William Shatner, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Sondra Marshak, Myrna Culbreath, Richard K. Preston, and Anna Tornheim Hassan (Marshak's mother).
Heash was the Master of Ceremonies.
Convention Staff
Tidbits and Anecdotes
Some guaranteed sales for William Shatner: "To prevent overcrowding, William Shatner will Autograph only copies of his record album, "William Shatner Live."
The Program Book
Flyers, Badges, and Other Ephemera
Programming
- Space Traders Room
- Starfleet Academy
- Science Fiction Games
- Computer Games
- the Star Trek Bloopers were shown
- "Space... The American Dream" by Richard Preston
- Sondra Marshak, Myrna Culbreath, and Anna Tornheim Hassan (Marshak's mother) present excerpts from Shatner: Where No Man and "Mr. Spock's Guide to the Planet Vulcan"
- "Science Fiction Games" by Lou Zocchi
- "Star Trek Musicfest" by Amy Harlib and Roberta Rogow
- "The Challenge for Space" by Richard Preston
- "Harry Mudd's Old Time Medicine Show"
- "Star Trek Trivia Slide Show"
- "Making the Star Trek Dream Come True" by Richard Preston
- "Star Trek: The New Movie" by Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath
- Industrialization of Space" by Richard Preston
Links to Photos and Videos
A Massive Fandom Rift
See Interstat #10, #11, #12, as well as the editorial by Rebecca Hoffman in Southern Star #5.
"Whales Weep Not"
A fan reported that William Shatner had preformed a recitation of D.H. Lawrence's poem, "Whales Weep Not":
It was a moving piece that arrested everyone's attention and held it through the entire recitation. Shatner combined the sound of whales with the words of the poem and as the whale noises got louder, Shatner's voice rose until the effect was deafening. Before he started to read, Shatner told the story of a whale who had been murdered for sport, and his voice broke. The man truly feels for these creatures and hopefully, again for our sakes, he is concerned about other animals. [1]
Con Reports
Atlanta was in a word, marvelous...the hotel was a gorgeous delight, four good restaurants, and the con ran like clockwork, beginning registration promptly at nine a.m. Friday: (I went to a room party/collating session the night before, always enjoy that too) -- At ten a.m. the dealer's room opened and the programming began (running continuously from ten a.m. to well after midnight). Sweet Jim Doohan led off Friday, walking between each two rows of his audience, letting everybody take all the pictures they wanted (and posing happily with his arms around whoever wished it), telling us what he knew of the movie... he is the only one who will drop into his ST character part and answer questions as Scotty cheerfully, at the drop of a hat, so to speak. He followed the platform program with autographing... He had brought his cute young wife and dear baby boy, Eric, with him, and they stayed on in the hotel the whole weekend. We saw them in restaurants, elevators, halls, and they posed willingly and happily everywhere.
Friday night, Roberta Rogow and Amy Harlib dld their first filksing/Vulcan dance routine, and the con-offered sf game programs, a space-program show, along with thre e episodes and films...
Saturday morning a group of us conspired to hold seats in the room where Bill Shatner would appear; we seated at 2:30 and by 2:30 (Bill-time), the room held between 15000-2000 people, and then Bill arrived every thing looked just right, enthusiasm, spirit, great physical beauty. The grace of a panther as he sure-footedly (without looking) kept dropping off the low platform as he talked, and trailing his mike cord, would walk over to the far sides of the room to give the other poor folks a chance at pix and questions. When he finished his talk (one hour) instead of being hurried out of the room by security, he just sat down behind the same table Jim and Walter had used, to sign autographs. And then stood for the whole session on Sunday too) so the folks In the picture-taklng line coming in could see him over the autographees. Nice.
Sunday at 2:30, he had a tape of "Song of the Humpbacked Whale" put on, and did the lovely, haunting poetry of D.H, Lawrence about whales. I sat there still as a mouse on the front row, hoping my full eyes would not brim over and call attention to myself and/or break his concentration -- such an experience. After his hour was up, and he was offered the opportunity to quit and to autograph, he was surprised the time had passed so quickly, and went on and did some more.
So on to autonraph time, and me in line-with my record... and me and my 50 photos, and more good talks with friends, and the K/S room-party Saturday night, and the lovely bloopers Mel's room, and... [2]