November  2002
By: Ray Dutczak

Hi everyone,
It is a very sad time for all of us here at LIS Memories. On November third, my dear friend Jonathan Harris passed away due to a blood clot that reached his heart. His wife Gertrude was by his side as Jonathan had been recuperating in a local hospital near his Encino home in  for a back injury. He will definitely be missed. Upon Jonathan's passing his wife Gertrude called me the same day to let me know what had happened. I immediately made plans to attend Jonathan's memorial service in LA. The service itself was held at the Westwood Village Memorial Park. And what a beautiful service it was as 150 friends attended. Most of the LIS cast showed up with the exception of Mark Goddard who was back east and Angela Cartwright who  was in Austria. Angela's husband Steve, and children Rebecca and Jesse were there. Francine York, Don Matheson, Deanna Lund and Sheila Allen also attended. I stood in the back of the chapel with Bob and Judy May and June Lockhart as the memorial went on. Kevin Burns and Bill Mumy delivered eulogies which were beautiful and very touching.

At the end of the service, Gertrude and her son Richard greeted many of us. About fifty of us were invited back to Jonathan's house for a brunch. Kevin Burns made sure we all had directions on how to get to there. What a big help Kevin was in taking care of us all. At Jonathan's house we all ate and reminisced about Jonathan. Many stories were told and Bill Mumy and Bob May toasted the "great" one!

As we were having lunch, Kevin Burns came around and gave us all a very special gift. It was Jonathan's biography on VHS that he had just finished editing  for the A&E Biography series. We were all very surprised and Kevin brought a happy moment to the sad occasion. We were all touched by his generosity. I have watched the bio twice already and can say that Kevin did a beautiful job with it. A true tribute to Jonathan! Can't thank Kevin enough for his hard work and devotion to the project.

Speaking of Kevin Burns, my friend sent me an email with an update on the LIS movie project on  11/25. Kevin stated that NBC has declined to pick up the proposed LIS movie script. He stated that budget was a big factor in the decision as they wanted to slash it way down. He also felt the passing of Jonathan may have had something to do with it. However, Kevin has vowed to keep moving forward to try and get some type of LIS project done in the future. Anyone who knows Kevin knows that his projects are done right, or not done at all. All you need to do is look at LIS Forever, Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen, TV Guide Looks At Sci-fi and countless other specials  - they are all winners! We are all behind you Kevin one hundred percent no matter what happens.

The latest issue of the Chiller Theatre magazine #17 has an interview in it which I did with Jonathan Harris this past August while I was out in LA. We chatted for about three hours over lunch. This interview was the last one that Jonathan did and I am very proud of how it turned out. I wish he could have seen it. Kevin Clement and Ted Bohus, Chiller editors, did a beautiful job with the interview adding many never before seen pictures from LIS and other works Jonathan was in. There even is a full color page of Jonathan with the two aliens from the Golden Man which is very cool. Soon, you'll be able to order the magazine directly from the Chiller theatre website at www.chillertheatre.com. You will definitely enjoy the issue.

I will be doing a tribute to my dear friend Jonathan here at LIS Memories very soon. So keep checking back for the updates!

Ray Dutczak
Lost In Space Forever
November 26 2002