The Crystal Rose (Beauty and the Beast newsletter)

Zine
Title:	The Crystal Rose
Publisher:	The Crystal Rose, a fan club
Editor(s):	JoAnn Grant, Vicki Thomas, Sandy P. Chandler, Sandy C. Chandler
Type:
Date(s):	1990-at least 1994
Frequency:	bi-monthly
Medium:	print
Fandom:	Beauty and the Beast (TV)
Language:	English
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

The Crystal Rose is a Beauty and the Beast (TV) fan club newsletter.

cover of issue #34, Mickey Sayles

It came out every two months.

1991 flyer

a 1993 "updated logo"

It was the winner of a 1991 Crystalline Rose Award for Best Fan Group Publication.

Sister Zine

Some of the fiction in these newsletters was printed in The Crystal Rose Collection.

Disclaimer, a Nod to Third Season Strife, and Censoring That Isn't Censoring

From issue #34:

The Crystal Rose is a non-profit association and is not intended to infringe on the rights of any holders of copyrights or licenses. Contributor's opinions in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the editors or staff. We reserve the right to refuse any correspondence that we feel is not in the spirit of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Our intention is not to censure but to inform and entertain without causing anyone any undo grief. We feel this is the way the "Tunnel World" would exist.

Some History

In 2011, Sandy Shelton Williams wrote about this newsletter's inception in the essay, Back in the Day: Sandy Shelton Williams.

Some excerpts:

In 1987, I was awestruck and completely enchanted by a new tv show called “Beauty and the Beast”. Like most of you, I found myself swept up in the romance and beauty of the show. The tunnel world intrigued me. But all too soon, I was devastated at the way that romance and inspiration was ended.

Back then, very few of us had computers and no one I knew had internet or email. All news of the show was gathered and shared by Nan Dibble’s Helper’s Network Hotline. That was where I heard about a fan group in NC called, “The Crystal Rose”. There was an address and phone number, and so I decided to seek the solace of other fans. I was amazed at how quickly I received a letter from JoAnn Grant (yes, snail mail). The letter was very upbeat and welcoming.

We corresponded a lot and then finally started calling each other. In those days, your phone bill was like making a car payment. They ate up a huge part of your budget. JoAnn wowed me with stories of conventions and thousands of other fans out there like myself. She introduced me to fanzines and pretty soon, I was hooked.

JoAnn had a way of drawing you into things. She and Vicki were starting a newsletter. Yes, an honest to goodness paper newsletter that had to be mailed out by snail mail. Sounds barbaric doesn’t it? Of course, they needed articles and features for the newsletter, so she talked me into reviewing fanzines. That worked for me because I got to read a lot of fanzines in the guise of “reviewing them”. Back then, you either went broke buying fanzines or you and some friends exchanged them. JoAnn dreamed of having a central lending library where fans could borrow the fanzines for the cost of postage. It started out modestly and then grew steadily as both fanzine writers and fans contributed copies.

Some 1993 Comments

On the third anniversary of the newsletter, the editors had a bit of fun with a imagined phone call, a fictional voice-over by Rod Serling, and then a brief thank you:

[phone call transcript snipped]

Suddenly, a voice sounding remarkably like Rod Sterling from The Twilight Zone is heard: ""JoAnn and Vicki, two women fighting a desperate battle to balance marriages, kids, grandkids, jobs, and life in general while pursuing their mutual passion. These two women combined with a frustrated writer and a overly modest artist make up the staff of THE CRYSTAL ROSE. A newsletter, a club, an alliance of friends caught forever in a dream, in a zone known as .. . 'Beauty and the Beast' fandom . Somewhere between reality and the twilight zone.

All kidding aside, JoAnn, Vicki, and Chandler, it's been a wonderfully enlightening three years.

Another thank you from 1993, this one from Vicki and JoAnn:

Thank you, Sandy and Chandler, for this wonderful tribute. We do, at times, feel we ARE in the TWILIGHT ZONE! It has been a wonderful three years and we are looking forward to the next year with great anticipation. You two have spent so many hours helping us to keep this "family" alive and we will forever be grateful. We have come a long way, baby! Our first newsletter was two pages with no art, a few mistakes and bad copies. We had a name change (from THE CRYSAL ROSE to THE CRYSTAL ROSE, our first major mistake) to a newsletter we publish with great pride. Our members continue to participate in the newsletter, making it very personal, homey and friendly.

May we all continue to share the light and love of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST!

Issue 34

The Crystal Rose 34 was published in August 1995 and contains 14 pages.

front cover of issue #34, Mickey Sayles

back cover of issue #34, not credited

The front cover is by Mickey Sayles, the back cover is not credited.

Booster-ism for a miniseries:

REPUBLIC PICTURES ASKS ALL THE FANS TO RESPOND TO A PROPOSAL BY REPUBLIC FOR A TWO NIGHT BEAUTY AND THE BEAST TV MINISERIES FOR 1996-97. REPUBLIC AND RON KOSLOW HAVE CONFIRMED THAT REPUBLIC AND SPELLING ARE CONSIDERING FINANCING THE PROJECT. Robert Sigman, President and CEO of REPUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT, attended the convention and he is asking all the fans of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST to write and tell him if they will support a movie if Linda Hamilton cannot play “Catherine" and they have to recast the role. Thus far, the format for the miniseries will have the first hour reviving Catherine and explaining it, and the second hour will proceed to a story. Catherine will be featured.

Mr. Sigman and Ron Castell Executive Vice are discussing whether to proceed with a Beauty and the Beast tv miniseries and they are requesting that the fans answer the specific question whether or not the fans will support a show if Linda Hamilton cannot be in it. Of everything else involved in the production, that is one factor that is making them hesitate. It is a fair question.

[...]

As far as VIACOM-PARAMOUNT (which owns Spelling and Republic) is concerned, there is no doubt that the mega corporation would like to have its own lucrative miniseries just as FOX has its "Aliens" and as TBS is developing its property, “The Cisco Kid". If not B&B, Paramount has other properties it can move on to for revival.

The ball is in the fan's court. The Hollywood people are expecting a prompt answer. The feedback Mr. Sigman requested about Linda Hamilton is genuinely time sensitive. Please send your letters about your feelings to Mr. Sigman. Republic is guaranteeing your letter will be read. Mr. Sigman has designated his office was the mailing center for your letters.

From an Italian fan, Caterina Cantoine:

My friend (and Club’s artist) Simonetta Pellegrini was very glad for your words about her artworks. She is very grateful to you. We (all the Staff of BATBITFC) are very happy you are in favour of our affiliation. Thank you for your willingness. Of course, this is sort of an “exchange". I'll send you a free issue of our newsletterzine, “Touch of Love". It is a four-monthly and all in Italian language, but we hope you’ll like it. We reprint in Italian language (with permission) some articles and interviews by the B&B UK Chamber and B&B British Fan Club, and also some letters from Chatterbox, but of course we also have our original things: stories, poems, and articles. As you gave permission to reprint anything from your newsletter, so do we.

You can re-print what you prefer from our newsletter TOL, with the only exception of our logo (two hands with rose).

If you don't know anyone who can translate the Italian in to English, please let me know. We’ll translate for you what you want.

We'll report the news of our affiliation to TCR in our TOL 7; it will be ready for next September. If you would like to send us a message for all our members, we’ll appreciate you kindness.

• many con reports and photos for A Distant Shore, see that page
• a flyer for A Kingdom by the Sea
• encouragement to support whatever Robert Sigman (President and CEO of Republic) is cooking up, so that fans can have a Beauty and the Beast miniseries on television
• a letter of thank you from Caterina Cantoine, an Italian fan regarding her club and newsletter
• a review of the movie, "A Mother's Prayer," starring Linda Hamilton

Issue 36

The Crystal Rose 36 was published in November 1995 and contains 12 pages.

front cover of issue #36, Mickey Sayles, portrays Mouse

back cover of issue #36, Amber Shelton

From the editorial:

We are again for the end of another year. Here’s wishing all of your families, from our families, a very blessed Christmas and a fortuitous New Year. This year has been one that has had many blessings for some and heartaches for others. We pray the coming year will be better for all of us, those who have had our share of troubles and those of us who have had a great year. We hope that you have enjoyed this year with us and that you will continue to regard us as you have in the past. We are trying keep the light of our beloved show shining for all of us. We wish you ail the best and hope in the coming year that our movie will get going and that all our wishes about the movie will come true; that we will see our beloved couple together again. We hope to see all of you at The Kingdom By The Sea con.

In this issue you will find an interview with David Greenlee. We tried to make it more than just a Q&A interview, more interesting and still in away David would like. In the near future, we hope to have more from David plus some more personal interviews with the cast members. As always, we are interested in any input to make the newsletter better. Feel free to submit any ideas, art, stories, poems, etc. to JoAnn.

Some info on charities and acon tape:

From DVORA PARIENTE, the total given various charities from A DISTANT SHORE, was approximately $10,000. Dvora also reports that the official video tapes of the 1995 con will be available soon. There are two tapes: the first has highlights of the con. including the surprise appearance by RON PERLMAN with the second being the play. GREAT EXPECTATIONS and highlights of the bus tour taken on Monday. You can order both or either tapes. A single tape is $30, both are $55. Make check or PO payable to: Serendipity Box 9287 Anaheim. CA 92812. Serendipity is the licensed dealer for B&B merchandise.

Another charity plea, giving money to TPTB:

At the July 1995 International "Beauty and the Beast" convention, "A Distant Shore", Edward Albert Fan Club Breakfast, Edward spoke of his heartfelt wish that our group become more than just a fan club. That morning he said: "I would love it if we could find a way of becoming a support system for each other that goes beyond just being fans." That day the "Band of Angels" was born and will hopefully evolve into the support group he envisions.

In the meantime, the purpose of this first mailing is to meet a very specific need. I think we all know how important David Schwartz has been and continues to be to our "Beauty and the Beast" fandom. His contributions are too numerous to mention (not the least of which, however, was getting Ron Perlman to make an appearance at "A Distant Shore"). He is a very special person and a valued member of our "B&B" family.

If you attended the July convention you probably saw David with his girlfriend, Jody. Jody is very supportive of David's involvement with fandom— she even spent her birthday at the con while David worked! After the convention, Jody and David returned to Las Vegas. Then, one evening in mid-August, Jody's apartment completely burned to the ground! One of her neighbors rescued her dog but all her earthly belongings were gone instantly (we're talking clothes, shoes, photos, food, furniture, mementos- EVERYTHING)! To make matters worse, she had NO INSURANCE!

David took her loss very hard, of course because Jody is so very special to him. What we would like to do as the "Band of Angels", in conjunction with fandom in general, is to help Jody as a way of saying "Thank you for all you do for us" to David. We are, therefore, asking that you send a donation of money to a special fund that we've set up for Jody. If each of us contributes just $1, those dollars will add up to a significant sum of money to help Jody replace some of what she's lost. And if you can send more than $1, of course, that will be greatly appreciated as well. And if you want to send card or letters to David or Jody, please send them to us and we'll pass them along.

Since Linda Moore has volunteered to coordinate the activities of the "Band of Angels", please send your cash or checks or cards by December 1 to her (make checks out to Linda C. Moore) [address redacted]. Once we've collected the money, we'll arrange a "special" presentation to Jody on behalf of the Edward Albert Fan Club and "B&B" fandom. Let's unite in spreading our love and giving something back in a caring way by making this a very special Christmas for David and Jody!

• Editorial and Newsy Bits
• The Man Behind the Mouse (A Conversation with David Greenlee), interview conducted by Sandy P. Shelton
• A Kingdom by the Sea Update by Lyn Musacchio
• Once Upon a Christmas Night, fiction by Sandy P. Shelton
• 18 black and white photocopied photos of fans at A Distant Shore
• Christmasfest, poem by Judy Loyd
• Brotherly Love, fiction by Adele Turner
• info from The Official Edward Albert Fan Club, USA, "First Band of Angels: Circle of Love" Project