It is with a very heavy heart that I share the passing of Todd Stadtman, author of this blog as well as “The Lucha Diaries”. He passed away in Brooklyn, New York on January 9, 2021. We have lost a brilliant mind, a generous and forgiving soul, and someone who produced a staggering amount of creative work that lacked neither quality, nor quantity.
Todd dedicated his encyclopedic knowledge of all movie genres, his dark sense of humor and pure passion for world pop cinema and music to this blog for the last 12 years. His brilliant, maniacal obsessions for Turkish horror films, Egyptian dramas and Filipino superhero movies are captured here forever.
His first blog, “The Lucha Diaries”, was born in late 2006 – the year before we were married. For those of you who thought that a nerd of this proportion had to have been living alone in his mother’s basement surrounded by 10 of his favorite bootlegged Incredible Hulk action figures, you are sadly mistaken. We shared a lovely home together for the last 18 years and there were actually 12 bootleg Hulks.
Having satisfied his appetite for Mexican Luchador films, he began 4DK in February of 2008 to inform his readers where his work was available once he began writing for Teleport City, a site he was honored to be a part of.
Not only did 4DK serve as an outlet to share Todd’s movie reviews and his favorite pop songs of the week, but it also introduced him to a community in which he found his brethren – erudite folk with a wellspring of passion for cult cinema and clever repartee. Below I’ve shared some links to tributes to Todd, by writers far more competent than the person left with the responsibility of submitting the last 4DK post.
https://teleport-city.com/2021/01/19/bahut-yaarana-lagta-hai/
https://hifilmfest.com/present-fears/2021/1/10/goodbye-todd
http://tarstarkas.net/2021/01/remembering-todd-stadtman/
https://culturalgutter.com/2021/01/26/remembering-todd-stadtman/
Given this is Todd’s blog, he should have the last word. So, I will leave you with some lyrics to one of Todd’s songs, “Everything There Is to Have”, from the last band he was in, ZikZak. Not the most recent, not even my favorite song of his, to be honest. But the most appropriate for me right now, as it conveys my grief brought on by the loss of a loved one who left us so much, yet far too soon.
Everything there is to have is had
And
you can’t feel anything but sad
Yet
satisfied somehow
Well,
it might not have been everything that you wanted
But it was everything
© 1999 Bitter Twins Music (BMI)
Sorry for your loss. This site is an excellent resource. I look forward to reading through more of your late husband's work.
ReplyDeleteCondolences. So Sorry. He gave and shared so many unique thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI had heard the news through Greta, but it breaks my heart again to see it here.
ReplyDeleteSo glad I got a chance to know Todd a bit, and do a few of his radio shows with him.
I loved his work. In fact, I just looked up some of his old reviews on Japanese Group Sounds movies here before I ordered some from a shady, grey market vendor. I know he would approve.
--David Smay
I was crushed when I learned of Todd's passing. I have followed his various postings over the years and own a couple of his books as well. I would stop in here from time to time and binge discover all of the great films he would expose me to. He will be greatly missed by me and many others. RIP Todd
ReplyDeleteThis is beyond terrible! I've just learnt about Todd's passing via a post on TarsTarkas.net
ReplyDeleteSo sad!!! I never met Todd, I live on the other side of the world, but we were into the same world-weird films and needless to say we met in Cyberspace. I've taken a break from facebook and the blog world since last year so I hadn't seen this terrible piece of news till just now. I don't know what to say. This is truly awful. We never met in person but it's clear to everyone on this "scene" that he was a wonderful man. He will be sorely missed.
My condolences go out to you (his wife), his family and friends who knew him in real life. RIP Todd. :-(
Jack Jensen
(En Lejemorder Ser Tilbage & Backyard Asia blogs)
Heartbroken to read this. It was thanks to Todd that I discovered the world of Lucha Films. I always wanted to meet him to have him sign my copy of Famous Monsters of Filmland #270. Alas at least we'll have his writings to remember him by.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, is there any way his Lucha Diaries website can be restored? I found out this tragic news because my bookmark for his site (which I hadn't visited in a long while) wasn't working. It seems the blog has been set to private and now I can only access it via the Wayback Machine.
I really hope his reviews won't be lost to the abyss of the interwebs!
Please know that Todd's reviews on 4DK and Lucha Diaries will always be available online.
ReplyDeleteWe are currently updating the new Toddstadtman.com site where the Lucha Diaries will be hosted. Rest assured that restoring the Lucha Diaries is a top priority and we're hoping to push it live by the end of June 2021. Thanks for your patience.
I'm so glad to hear that! Thank you for your work preserving his website. I look forward to referring back to it for years to come.
ReplyDeleteTodd's The Lucha Diaries blog is now live again and can be found here. Enjoy.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.toddstadtman.com/lucha-diaries
Thanks for this. I was not able to open it since last few months 👍👍
DeleteI am very sorry for your loss. Todd seemed like a great person!
ReplyDeleteI found this site while searching out a particular Mex-horror film review. I'm sorry to hear of the reviewer's passing but I'm glad the site still exists as a tribute to his work.
ReplyDeleteI discovered this blog years ago and loved it immediately, like countless other people. I am so sorry to hear of Todd's passing. He educated us all, and perhaps even more importantly, made us laugh as well. This is a great loss, but thankfully his writing remains and will yield still more treasure as the years go by, with every new reading.
ReplyDeleteLike his favorite films, he brought the hidden to light and made us all think differently. I imagine his friends and family will miss him without measure. I hope they know that we will, too.
Thank you Todd. Travel well, sir.
(Martin Billheimer)
I found this blog in 2015 back when I discovered HITLAR (1986).
ReplyDeleteI liked this guy. I liked his weird obsession with third world country B cinema, and I liked his zany sense of humor.
I do not like the idea that he's dead. I do not like that he's been dead for years and I had no idea.
I do not want to believe someone who was outright formative for me, minor though it may be, is gone.
I choose not to believe it. I detest this ****ing reality, and substitute my own.