Jon Lackey

To those of you who attended fairs celebrating various eras, like the Renaissance, or perhaps SCA members in the last 30 or more years in the Southern California area, you may well recall the tall, slender, imposing figure of Jon Lackey: musician (recorder and wire strung Irish harp at the faires), artist, sculptor, street theatre and court pageantry innovator, director, photographer and much more. Jon was an early member of the Chesley Donavan Foundation. He branched from it to form a group dedicated to early and "classical" music (from the early '70s or before). This group (now under the guidance of Bonnie Callahan) continues to meet (as of 2012) in various homes, listen to recorded music of a selected composer and enjoy intelligent conversation. Who will forget the respect Jon taught us for the correct brewing of exotic teas? The many people that he mentored in numerous ways through the years have long respected and appreciated his care. Jon often played recorder with performers Mallory & McCall during their Renaissance, Civil War, Irish and even Pirate incarnations. He acted with the "Janus Company Radio Theatre" on KPFK in Los Angeles, on and off, for over 14 years. He also wrote an article and did many of the photographs for M & Mc's book published by Mel Bay, "Exploring the Folk Harp." Many recall the events he staged for the Mythopoeic Society. He was creative and fun and game for the unusual. For example, he'd cheerfully hide for hours in his fiberglass coffin, to rise up on cue. He first appeared out of the casket was, he had said, in a live between-horror-movie show he'd performed in in his youth. To his amusement and bemusement, he is probably best known for having created the monster for the D horror flick "The Creeping Terror," a cult classic, we understand to be re-released on DVD. He also made several appearances on the old "Steve Allen Show" when it was on Vine Street in Hollywood, usually playing some kind of crazy expert on torture devices. Jon was a man of multitude talents. His vast creativity, intelligence and most of all, his friendship will be sorely missed. Jon died of cancer on February 26, 2007. A free spirit who lived out of the mainstream, he refused help until the very end, not really realizing or admitting how sick he was. He died in his sleep.