A History of My Halloween Costumes (that I can remember)
Okay, so I'm probably the only one who really cares about this entry. But it's making me all nostalgic and junk.
1978 - ?
1979 - ?
1980 - ?
1981 - Tiger
The same costume both Ilse and Trudy wore as babies before me.
1982/ Pre-Primary 1 - E.T.
A plastic mask and smock deal - I loved ET! Mom also got me a little glowing pen-sized flashlight to use as a "finger."
1983/ Pre-Primary 2 - ?
1984/ Pre-Primary 3 - Upside-Down Man
Mom outdid herself with this costume. Shows on my hands, pants on my arms, shirt on my legs, gloves on my feet… and a paper "head" in my crotch. Mom rocks.
1985/ 1st Grade - Pete Ripken, Jr.
Sure, it doesn’t make sense logically… but damn if I wasn’t cute!
1986/ 2nd Grade - Jaws
Mom made this from a butchered “King Hiss” He-Man mask, a grey sweatshirt with drawn on scales, and a cardboard fin - way to go, Mom!
1987/ 3rd Grade - Madball
I never owned any Madball toys. I think I just liked the way this mask looked aesthetically. Mom got me a ripped blue shirt and some blue glittery make-up for my hands and arms.
1988/4th Grade - Pre-Teen Wolf
That’s right - that was Mom’s official title (as as written on the sign worn round my neck) for this costume. Plastic mask, and wolfy hands, this ended up lookin’ pretty good.
1989/5th Grade - The Fly
I won a prize at school for scariest. A pretty kick-ass mask, inside-out fuzzy black sweatshirt and wings made of clothes hangers and cling wrap!
1990/ 6th Grade - The Noid
The Domino’s Pizza corporate logo. I know, I know. But this just shows my love affiar with stop-motion animation starting early. Again, it was a kick-ass mask and Mom made me a great sweatshirt with a felt Noid “N” logo glued to it. And some big puffy cartoon gloves.
1991/ 7th Grade - Dracula with Sunglasses
I liked this mask a lot. The sunglasses were incorporated as part of it, a reflecting plastic material. A new take on an old costume, plus I dug wearing a cape.
1992/ 8th Grade - Big Eye Man
A crazy mask - sort of an old man, mad scientist type, with eyes bugging out so far, they take up the better portion of the head. A ripped shirt accompanied it.
1993/ 9th Grade - Greg Brady (in school) / Stimpy (trick-or-treating)
The Greg Brady costume was part of a Brady Bunch group costume with Steph Klein, Betsy, and Josh Seipp-Williams. Were there other Brady kids? I don’t remember. For Trick-or-Treating I got a new Stimpy mask and used it with a maroon sweatshirt. Did I use the puffy cartoon gloves with this one too?
1994/ 10th Grade - Pez Dispenser
This time I went all out in making my own Pez Dispenser costume out of foam board. It looked really good, but alas, I wasn’t able to move around very well or sit down at all. But I did have a giant fake candy coming out of the bottom of my neck!
1995/ 11th Grade - Scooby Death a.k.a. Scooby Doom
A Scooby mask and grim reaper robes. I thought it was funny. Sort of a last minute costume, but it was a good time.
1996/ 12th Grade - Orko
Oh man, this one was good. A black turtle-neck stretched over my face, two yellows eyes cut from paper, a witch’s hat spray-painted red, and the Dracula cape inside-out with a big felt “O” on the front. And my old Orko action figure hanging around my neck if someone couldn’t put two and two together.
1997/ Freshman Year NYU - Udder Man
Brad, my roommate, had wanted everyone to get together and make superhero costumes. We went out and bought Tighty-Whiteys and white T-Shirts. I really think mine came out the best. A big udder insignia right in the crotch of the tighty-whiteys! Rubber nipples on my shoulders! Somewhere, there’s a picture of me and Nonnie at the Village Parade with a six foot tall drag queen Xena. I want that picture!
1998/ Sophomore Year NYU - Prom Date
Um, give me a break… I was in the middle of preproduction on my first film! My electric blue prom tuxedo would have to double as a Halloween costume. Mike Gittings took my picture with a girl in a prom dress. We made a good couple - I wonder where she is now?
1999/ Junior Year NYU - Rene Magritte’s Man in Bowler Hat
Okay, perhaps a bit pretentious but I thought it was funny. And at least a cute girl dressed as Brittany Spears knew what I was. Plastic bowler hat with an apple attached with a clothes hanger to the front of it to make the apple appear as if hovering before me. It was hard to see while walking, but I still like this one a lot.
2000/ Senior Year NYU - Batboy from The Weekly World News
Just so y'all know, this was a good six months before Batboy: The Musical was announced in New York. The costume consisted of a massive photocopy-enlarged Batboy face with eye holes poked in it. And then a giant photocopy of the front and back of a Weekly World News worn as a sandwich board. Not only did this costume win second place at a bar (everyone thought it deserved first, but the judge was trying to get in good with Slutty Wonderwoman), but it ended up getting me laid! Neat.
2001 - Family Circus Comic Strip
What’s the scariest thing I could think of? Bill Keane’s comic strip, The Family Circus. Another sandwich board type costume, photocopied to a humongous size, with my head poking out where Dolly’s should have been, it truly was pretty scary.
2002 - Mexican Wrestler going as Eeyore going as a Cowboy
Okay, I’ll admit it - I already had the Mexican wrestling mask and cowboy hat from a trip to Mexico. The Eeyore part of the costume was brand new though. It was made for a three-year-old, but somehow I squeezed into it. My stomach stuck out where the kids feet are supposed to stick out. There were two camps on this one; the people who really liked it and the people who were mortally terrified by it.
2003 - Glo Worm
This year, I thought I’d do one of those old vintage plastic mask n’ smock costumes. Gary Gnu and the Asteroids costume both ended up being beyond my price range, so I went with Glo Worm. I do hope that people remember Glo Worm and squeeze me appropriately (or inappropriately).
1978 - ?
1979 - ?
1980 - ?
1981 - Tiger
The same costume both Ilse and Trudy wore as babies before me.
1982/ Pre-Primary 1 - E.T.
A plastic mask and smock deal - I loved ET! Mom also got me a little glowing pen-sized flashlight to use as a "finger."
1983/ Pre-Primary 2 - ?
1984/ Pre-Primary 3 - Upside-Down Man
Mom outdid herself with this costume. Shows on my hands, pants on my arms, shirt on my legs, gloves on my feet… and a paper "head" in my crotch. Mom rocks.
1985/ 1st Grade - Pete Ripken, Jr.
Sure, it doesn’t make sense logically… but damn if I wasn’t cute!
1986/ 2nd Grade - Jaws
Mom made this from a butchered “King Hiss” He-Man mask, a grey sweatshirt with drawn on scales, and a cardboard fin - way to go, Mom!
1987/ 3rd Grade - Madball
I never owned any Madball toys. I think I just liked the way this mask looked aesthetically. Mom got me a ripped blue shirt and some blue glittery make-up for my hands and arms.
1988/4th Grade - Pre-Teen Wolf
That’s right - that was Mom’s official title (as as written on the sign worn round my neck) for this costume. Plastic mask, and wolfy hands, this ended up lookin’ pretty good.
1989/5th Grade - The Fly
I won a prize at school for scariest. A pretty kick-ass mask, inside-out fuzzy black sweatshirt and wings made of clothes hangers and cling wrap!
1990/ 6th Grade - The Noid
The Domino’s Pizza corporate logo. I know, I know. But this just shows my love affiar with stop-motion animation starting early. Again, it was a kick-ass mask and Mom made me a great sweatshirt with a felt Noid “N” logo glued to it. And some big puffy cartoon gloves.
1991/ 7th Grade - Dracula with Sunglasses
I liked this mask a lot. The sunglasses were incorporated as part of it, a reflecting plastic material. A new take on an old costume, plus I dug wearing a cape.
1992/ 8th Grade - Big Eye Man
A crazy mask - sort of an old man, mad scientist type, with eyes bugging out so far, they take up the better portion of the head. A ripped shirt accompanied it.
1993/ 9th Grade - Greg Brady (in school) / Stimpy (trick-or-treating)
The Greg Brady costume was part of a Brady Bunch group costume with Steph Klein, Betsy, and Josh Seipp-Williams. Were there other Brady kids? I don’t remember. For Trick-or-Treating I got a new Stimpy mask and used it with a maroon sweatshirt. Did I use the puffy cartoon gloves with this one too?
1994/ 10th Grade - Pez Dispenser
This time I went all out in making my own Pez Dispenser costume out of foam board. It looked really good, but alas, I wasn’t able to move around very well or sit down at all. But I did have a giant fake candy coming out of the bottom of my neck!
1995/ 11th Grade - Scooby Death a.k.a. Scooby Doom
A Scooby mask and grim reaper robes. I thought it was funny. Sort of a last minute costume, but it was a good time.
1996/ 12th Grade - Orko
Oh man, this one was good. A black turtle-neck stretched over my face, two yellows eyes cut from paper, a witch’s hat spray-painted red, and the Dracula cape inside-out with a big felt “O” on the front. And my old Orko action figure hanging around my neck if someone couldn’t put two and two together.
1997/ Freshman Year NYU - Udder Man
Brad, my roommate, had wanted everyone to get together and make superhero costumes. We went out and bought Tighty-Whiteys and white T-Shirts. I really think mine came out the best. A big udder insignia right in the crotch of the tighty-whiteys! Rubber nipples on my shoulders! Somewhere, there’s a picture of me and Nonnie at the Village Parade with a six foot tall drag queen Xena. I want that picture!
1998/ Sophomore Year NYU - Prom Date
Um, give me a break… I was in the middle of preproduction on my first film! My electric blue prom tuxedo would have to double as a Halloween costume. Mike Gittings took my picture with a girl in a prom dress. We made a good couple - I wonder where she is now?
1999/ Junior Year NYU - Rene Magritte’s Man in Bowler Hat
Okay, perhaps a bit pretentious but I thought it was funny. And at least a cute girl dressed as Brittany Spears knew what I was. Plastic bowler hat with an apple attached with a clothes hanger to the front of it to make the apple appear as if hovering before me. It was hard to see while walking, but I still like this one a lot.
2000/ Senior Year NYU - Batboy from The Weekly World News
Just so y'all know, this was a good six months before Batboy: The Musical was announced in New York. The costume consisted of a massive photocopy-enlarged Batboy face with eye holes poked in it. And then a giant photocopy of the front and back of a Weekly World News worn as a sandwich board. Not only did this costume win second place at a bar (everyone thought it deserved first, but the judge was trying to get in good with Slutty Wonderwoman), but it ended up getting me laid! Neat.
2001 - Family Circus Comic Strip
What’s the scariest thing I could think of? Bill Keane’s comic strip, The Family Circus. Another sandwich board type costume, photocopied to a humongous size, with my head poking out where Dolly’s should have been, it truly was pretty scary.
2002 - Mexican Wrestler going as Eeyore going as a Cowboy
Okay, I’ll admit it - I already had the Mexican wrestling mask and cowboy hat from a trip to Mexico. The Eeyore part of the costume was brand new though. It was made for a three-year-old, but somehow I squeezed into it. My stomach stuck out where the kids feet are supposed to stick out. There were two camps on this one; the people who really liked it and the people who were mortally terrified by it.
2003 - Glo Worm
This year, I thought I’d do one of those old vintage plastic mask n’ smock costumes. Gary Gnu and the Asteroids costume both ended up being beyond my price range, so I went with Glo Worm. I do hope that people remember Glo Worm and squeeze me appropriately (or inappropriately).