Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards

The Rondo Awards began in 2002, after members of the online Classic Horror Film Board, moderated by journalist David Colton, became aware of a growing body of under-recognized journalism covering the horror genre.^[2] The awards took their name from the character actor Rondo Hatton, a cult-classic figure in low-budget horror films.

Comic book artist and illustrator Kerry Gammill designed the sculpt for the award, a bust of Hatton's character from the movie House of Horrors (1946).^[4]

The initial year attracted 168 voters. The following year brought 600, and the third year 2,000. As of 2018, the number of voters is generally between 3,000 and 3,700.^{[5][self-published source?]} Co-founder Colton presents the awards annually at the fantasy/horror convention WonderFest.^[6][7]

As Colton describes, "We don't have Best Actor, we don't have Best Actress, we don't even have Best Director. It's more about the magazines and the books and the independent films and the documentaries.... It's a little highbrow in that way."^[8]

Entertainment Weekly likened The Rondo Award to a "horror Oscar".^[9] The Award is a "coveted" prize in the horror community.^[10] One PBS station wrote,

Every year, as the Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award spotlights shine on the brightest in their respective fields, the Rondo Awards honor achievements in the darker corners of entertainment, the world of classic horror movies. People working for monster magazines, spooky DVD releases and scary movie soundtracks are the types who win the internationally-known Rondo Award.^[11]

Horror magazines and websites, including Dread Central, regularly report on the nominations and awards lists.^[12]

The awards have been mentioned in such outlets as The Hollywood Reporter,^[13] The Austin Chronicle,^[14] Famous Monsters of Filmland,^[15] Movieweb,^[16] MeTV,^[17] the UK's Horror Channel,^[18] and the Tampa Bay Times,^[4] as well as scholarly journals including Psychology and Education,^[19] and textbooks including Recovering 1940s Horror Cinema: Traces of a Lost Decade.^[20]

In their second year, the Rondo Classic Horror Film Awards created the Monster Kid Hall of Fame, with four to nine, but generally six, living or dead inductees. Also created was another honorary award, Monster Kid of the Year, given to individuals with some important achievement in the field that year.