34th World Science Fiction Convention
Still, he gave a generally well-received one immediately following the convention's Hugo Awards ceremony at the nearby Art Deco-inspired Music Hall section of the Kansas City Municipal Auditorium.
Listed in the MidAmeriCon pocket program was "The Star Wars Display" in Muehlebach Towers meeting room 364 (aka The Chapel).
As a part of the studio's promotion of the film, an offset-printed, two-page yellow press release flyer was given away in the display room.
The "electronic tonalities" soundtrack for the classic MGM science fiction film Forbidden Planet was first released in 1976 by Louis and Bebe Barron at MidAmeriCon.
Three separate screenings of Forbidden Planet were held as part of the convention's all 35mm science fiction and fantasy film retrospective.
For MidAmeriCon, science fiction and fantasy author George R. R. Martin, along with his good friend Gardner Dozois, organized the first-ever Hugo Losers Party.
This was for a uniquely themed "dead dog" party: It was to be a gathering spot for all past Hugo losers (and friends and family), set to happen Monday evening after the "official" closing ceremonies for MidAmeriCon that afternoon.
He became the party's undisputed host when he lost in both MidAmeriCon Hugo Awards categories: for the novelette "...and Seven Times Never Kill Man" and the novella The Storms of Windhaven, written with Lisa Tuttle.
Whenever a past or current Hugo loser entered, Martin, standing atop his three-drawer-high room dresser, would take a swig directly from a liquor bottle, and in a loud voice announce, "Looooose," as his other arm, held on high, made a wide, sweeping downward arc, all to the delight of the assembled party goers.
The convention also produced another first: a highly collectible hardcover 172 page program and souvenir book, edited and designed by Tom Reamy.
The book contained articles, essays, an artists' portfolio illustrating scenes from the novels of Guest of Honor Robert A. Heinlein, fiction by Harlan Ellison and Howard Waldrop, as well as convention-related items like guest biographies, detailed film program notes, a membership list, and paid advertising.
As convention members entered the Art Deco opulence of the Music Hall to take their seats, they were greeted by a variety of popular 1930's show tunes playing from the auditorium's speakers.
As the tune ended, the spotlights abruptly stopped, just as The Music Hall's house lights slowly began to come up.
Instead of being made out of finished wood in square or angled stacked shapes, as in the past, all bases were cast from flexible molds using a marbled effect achieved by combining contrasting tinted porcelain powder layers with resin and a hardener.
Each example featured a sculpted, just-hatched dragon (representing the fantasy genre) wrapped half-way around each round 4.5" tall base.
The traditional 13" tall, four-finned Hugo rocket (representing science fiction) was John Millard's newer 1973 design; a dozen examples had been machined from billet aluminum stock and then finished with an overall semi-gloss clear outer coat.
A curved black-and-silver engraved Hugo information plate was affixed by two screws to the front of each base (opposite the wrapped dragon).
