Memories of Robert E. Howard

This is a interview I shot with Norris Chambers, the last person living, as far as I know, who knew Robert E. Howard. I interviewed him in 2007, as he took a tour of Howard's house for the first time in many many years. His dad and REH's dad were great friends, so Norris spent lots of time in Cross Plains at the Howard House. Robert was older than him, so he and Howard weren't friends nor close, but he is the last person living who spent any sort of time in a personal way with my favorite author. I will include this in some form or fashion in my documentary, but I wanted to share it with my fellow Howard fans before then. Any critiques are appreciated! The tall gentleman in the Tropical shirt is Leo Grin, editor of The Cimmerian, who was gracious enough to let me follow along and record the tour.

copyright 2010 WarriorPhotogProductions

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Robert E. Howard
• REH
• Conan the Barbarian
• Age of Conan
• Cimmeria
• Solomon Kane
• Kull
• Texas Writers
• Texas Authors
• Southwestern writers
• Texas writers
• Cross Plains
• Robert Howard
• Howard
• Norris Chambers

[threeicys]

What a treasure this video is. Personal accounts of history are the best. I am so excited to have found this. Mr. Howard is a fascinating character and you have done a wonderful job capturing a bit of life and bottling it in video form. Kudos

[warriorphotog36]

@threeicys Thanks so much! Just capturing a little bit of what Bob was like made the work on this video all worthwhile. I wish I could have started getting first hand accounts when some of the people who knew Bob really well were still alive. Ah well. At least us Howard fans have this one. Thanks again! Please watch the other informative videos on Howard and his work on this same youtube channel. Would love to hear what you think!

[ManilaSyndicate]

Such a moving and fascinating video, very nice tribute. Thanks for uploading. That's one place on my list of destinations to visit. Is Norris Chambers still alive?

Howard looked like a basically nice man though he did look strange. Physiognomically he did look manic - one can see the edginess the man had even in those old photos.

[warriorphotog36]

Very glad you enjoyed it! I believe Norris is still alive. That was the last time I saw him though. He doesn't get out and about as much as he used to, but he is pretty quick with email. Very technologically savvy. I think he even has a blog.

I think much of Howard's manicness was a pose. All of those pictures are him posing. Nothing taken off the cuff of him in a natural way. He had an image he liked to convey. He was probably bipolar, but that is as "deranged" as he got.

[10542011]

Great video! In 2000, Billie Ruth Loving arranged a guided tour of the house for me. I believe she was a former student of Novalyne Price (Howard's one-time girlfriend) at Cross Plains High. She was also a consultant on the film "The Whole Wide World". She was such a great guide and walked me through every room while telling me story after story about the Howard family and the house. An unforgettable experience. RIP Billie Ruth.

[warriorphotog36]

@10542011

Thanks for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed it. I never got to meet Billie Ruth but I have heard quite a bit about her. Sounds like an amazing lady. Stay tuned - I hope to have some teases for the somewhat finished doc sometime this year!

[fiendman1974]

Amazing!! This goes to show that all of our elders should be treasured for the knowledge and memories they can pass to us.

[jpf6300]

Great stuff, good to see Howard's house and where he worked.

[TheDarkIllumination]

This is truly an amazing video; how incredible it was to find anyone who knew Howard, especially one who had such a close association with him.

You mentioned in a comment that Norris emails and even has a blog, would you happen to know what it is?

[Nirvanarain]

The feast is over and the lamps expire. Robert E Howard, writer.

[ManilaSyndicate]

@warriorphotog36 Thanks for the reply. I came across Norris' site and he has a lot of interesting tales of Howard's time.

[ManilaSyndicate]

@EdMahoney19 True. The great pulp authors contributed a lot to our current culture.

[WASTELANDelf]

Too bad Howard always easily lost his grip on the world

[Marzzhill]

This is awesome! Thanks for sharing it. I've been a huge REH fan since 1981.