August Ragone talks "Star Blazers" on "Captain Cosmic" (1979)

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... I was the "Japanese Film/Godzilla Expert" for horror host Bob Wilkins on both his "Creature Features" and "Captain Cosmic" shows on KTVU-2. Oakland/San Francisco's KTVU was the first station in the U.S. to run "Star Blazers" in the Fall or 1979 on "Captain Cosmic", which helped to fuel the underground anime fandom in the Bay Area, which would explode over the next few years. Now, while we've learned about more accurate and far more detailed data on the "Space Battleship Yamato" phenomenon since this broadcast in 1979, this was the best information I was able to piece together at the time (hey, I was just a kid!). The "Captain Cosmic" segments are preceded by the ending segment of KTVU's "Creature Features" with host John Stanley. Since then, I've gone on to write for a number of magazines, have been interviewed by the BBC, and have spoken on the subject of anime and tokusatsu at conventions, on television and radio, and even at Skywalker Ranch. In 2007, my first book, "Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters" was published by Chronicle Books, the authorized and official biography of the man who created the visual effects for Godzilla and Ultraman. I have also produced Special Features for a number of related DVDs for Generation Kikaida/JN Productions, Image Entertainment, BCI/Eclipse, and Shout! Factory, and currently maintain the blog, "The Good, The Bad, and Godzilla" http://augustragone.blogspot.com This recording was made and preserved by superfan Loren Portillo, who held onto this for decades, and for whom I am indebted.