Friends of the Phantom Dinner Sa

Friends of the Phantom Dinner Sardi's 2006

	June 2, 2006 Sardi’s Restaurant in Manhattan The annual Friends of the Phantom dinner included esteemed guests internationally famous artist, Sy Barry, his wife Simmy, his son David and grandson Jake, Frew Publications editor, writer, and sometimes cover artist, Jim Shepherd and his wife Judith. Also in attendance Phantom fan and collector extraordinaire Pete Klaus, comic author Paul Castiglia, Postmaster Robert Loeffler, Ed Szymanski, Paul Whittle and his daughter Jenna, and Ed Rhoades.
	Some unexpected changes in schedules prevented expected guests Luke McDonnell (DC Phantom artist) and Moonstone cover artist, Doug Klauba from attending, but each artist sent a specially made graphic to be used on the souvenir card and buttons created by Pamela Gesbeck. These were contained in a special box made of folded purple paper with a striking design. (Sadly for fans, none of these items were mass-produced and were limited to those in attendance and the artists who created the work for them.)
	The camaraderie was remarkable and before the meal, Sy presented everyone with a beautiful piece of original art created just for the occasion. Then he made a heartfelt poignant toast in honor of the 70th year of the Phantom thanking Ray Moore and Lee Falk for their creation. Paul Whittle who made the trip from Atlanta Georgia brought gifts for everyone. I hadn’t realized it was just 8 days short of the 10th anniversary of the Paramount Phantom film. Paul gave everyone unopened gummy candy, Finish Collector Cards and tattoos that were used for promoting the movie when it came out. He also gave each person a vintage Frew comic, and a rare Phantom 2040 toy.
	A handful of autographs were signed and Sy discussed his strategies for doing layouts for the newspaper strip. He entertained with anecdotes about working on the strip and talked about Ben Oda, the early letterer on the strip. (Oda was a fine artist who did watercolors and backgrounds for Disney films like Pinocchio.) He also explained the conventions of setting up sequences and mentioned his old friend, the late Frank Giacoia. Jim, who was suffering from a case of hay fever, talked about choices of stories for future Frews and the artists and writers who created the stories.
	A heavy rainstorm couldn’t dampen the spirit and enthusiasm of the guests who parted with the thought of looking forward to next year’s dinner.