To me, The Shining is the greatest horror movie of all time. No, I haven't read the book. But the creepy, foreboding atmosphere created by Stanley Kubrick has never been duplicated since on the silver screen, in my opinion.
More than 40 years later, The Shining is still regarded as a groundbreaking film. Obviously Jack Nicholson (Jack Torrance) is the one true Hollywood legend whose autograph has always been sought after.
Shelley Duvall, who is well known to have been traumatized by Kubrick and/or Nicholson, was the second biggest star and has done many signings, although she's reportedly in very poor health.
Danny Lloyd, after starring as Danny Torrance, soon decided acting wasn't for him and grew up to become a biology professor living a quiet life far away from the bright lights of show business. He only recently started doing convention signing appearances (AutographsForSale.com has a Danny Lloyd signed Shining movie poster and signed Room 237 key fob for sale).
Then there's Lia Beldam. Who? She was the gorgeous Swiss model that Kubrick hired to appear nude in the infamous and terrifying Room 237 bathroom scene. She didn't speak a word but her short time on the screen is as memorable as any. I recently was saddened to learn that Beldam passed away August 2021 at the age of 77. Somehow this sad news never reached me until just now.
Lia signed several Room 237 replica key fobs for me at a 2019 convention via a helper, which may have been her first signing (or at least the first in a long time) and I sold them all quickly. So in July 2020, during the height of the pandemic, I managed to found Lia's contact information and arranged to pay her to sign another small quantity of key fobs.
At first she misread my e-mail thinking I wanted her to sign them for free. Once I assured her I was going to pay her and cover the return shipping, she was pleased and was as nice as could be. She even wished me happy birthday after we completed the transaction.
While I'm obviously glad to have gotten her autographs twice indirectly before she passed, I'm sorry I never got to meet her in person as I know it would have been great to chat with her about her small but unforgettable role in The Shining.
