The crowd was packed at the Howard Theatre last Saturday. On Jan. 22, “Rondo and Bob” premiered at the Howard Theatre in downtown Taylor.
Admission was free, although people were asked to bring a food donation that will go to Shepherd’s Heart Food Pantry & Community Ministries in Taylor.
“Rondo and Bob” is a documentary from local filmmaker Joe O’Connell. The film is about about Robert A. “Bob” Burns and Rondo Hatton.
Burns is a horror film art director known for the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “The Hills Have Eyes,” “Re-Animator,” and “The Howling.” While attending the University of Texas, he edited the “Texas Ranger” humor magazine and discovered Rondo Hatton. Hatton was a former sports reporter who contracted acromegaly, a condition that caused his face, hands and feet to grow out of proportion to the rest of his body. Together, they went to Hollywood.
Much of “Rondo and Bob” was shot in Taylor.
“I had an advantage because I lived there for so long that I knew what the riches were of Taylor,” said O’Connell. “There’s all kind of great locations that really worked well for us, so I just want to say thanks to Taylor for helping us out.”
