Irvin Shortess "Shorty" Yeaworth Jr., director of the 1958 cult movie The Blob, died July 19 in a car accident in Jordan, the Associated Press reported. The 78-year-old director and philanthropist was in the country working on the creation of an entertainment complex that will focus on Jordanian history.

Most of you out there wouldn't have known Shorty. It was my privilage to meet him not once, but three times... he was a regular at "Blobfest" at the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville, PA (the same theater featured in the movie... it was filmed in Phoenixville). Calling him a philanthropist is an understatement. He was a man who travelled all over the world, funding good works and doing good deeds, because he firmly believed that doing whatever you could to lift up your fellow man was the purpose of living.

He was also a really nice guy, who took the time to talk to a young, geeky guy who just really thought that scifi movies were cool.

Rest well, Shorty. Ya done good.