Sardi's 2007

The annual Friends of the Phantom luncheon at Sardi’s was held August 4, 2007.
In attendance were legendary Phantom artist Sy Barry, his lovely wife, Simmy, DC Phantom artist Luke McDonnell, Ed Szymanski, Ray Meola, Rob Loeffler, Paul Castiglia, Pete Klaus and Ed Rhoades.

It began with Sy proposing a toast for Phantom creator Lee Falk. While the meal was being prepared, gifts and souvenirs were distributed which included a striking original pencil drawing of the Phantom by Sy for each guest, a print of an action Phantom drawing by Luke, coins, cards, paperweights, badges and a DVD with rare footage including Sy’s trip to Australia, Popeye and the Man Who hated Laughter, and behind the scenes documentaries from the 1996 Paramount Phantom film.

There were poignant as well as humorous moments with discussions ranging from Sy’s reflections on taking over the strip in 1961 to the prospects for the new proposed film ‘The Ghost Who Walks.” A few rare comics emerged during the autograph session, and the picture op session which included the traditional ‘slam evil’ pose with guests and participants brandishing skull rings.

The sincere camaraderie of the event always makes it a special one. Similar events are held in Australia and Sweden by the Lee Falk Bangala Explorers club, but this is the only one of its kind held in the US and it has a rich history at Sardi’s since the days when Lee Falk attended.

In the course of the gathering, Simmy recalled phone conversations with Lee Falk where she remarked that Lee was always friendly and took time to ask about the Barry family. Although Lee and Sy didn’t find the need to discuss the strips very often during Sy’s 33 year tenure on the strip, their highly successful working relationship created an enormous following of fans on a global level where more than 60 million readers followed the stories each day.

Sy talked about his trip to Scandinavia when he and Simmy watched the horror of 9/11 on TV and their subsequent difficulty and concerns in finding a way back home when air flights were suspended. Creating such a detailed strip in a time before computers made things like lettering, correspondence, and reference easier was a demanding task which kept Sy too busy to meet or even know about the millions of fans who appreciated his work. Sy also discussed the work of his predecessors Ray Moore and Wilson McCoy. McCoy’s minimalist work had elegance in telling the stories with simple directness and Moore’s use of shadow and brushwork were classic. However, it was Sy’s early work that captured the imagination of the readers and artists in a new way resulting in his art being copied and swiped… the highest form a flattery one professional artist can give another.

As always, the time went by too quickly with promises by the participants to stay in touch and the hopes that next years meeting will see everyone in good health and spirits.