Ian Liston as Wes Janson

 
Janson: "You look like some weird cross between a starfighter pilot and a Batravian gumplucker."
Luke Skywalker and the shadows of Mindor

The site for Ian Liston's STAR WARS character - WES JANSON


We regret to announce that Ian Liston has died. He would have wished to acknowledge the work of the Royal Marsden Hospital where he was proud to have taken part in experimental treatments that not only prolonged his life but promise to do the same for many future victims of prostate cancer.

Ian Stuart Liston was born on August 4 1948. He died on October 1 2016, aged 68

May the Force be with him.

Ian Liston is a tireless campaigner on behalf of prostate cancer and various cancer charities 

HERE'S a link to one of his “appearances”
- a presentation to the 18th Annual Scientist<>Survivor Program at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, April 16-20 2016, New Orleans

 

Special thanks to Glen, who created this site as wesjanson.com and maintained it for many years

Here is his original introduction:

WHAT?! A whole website dedicated to a Star Wars minor character?

You betcha!

Wes Janson has to be THE coolest Star Wars character ever to grace the big screen. He's only just equalled by Wedge Antilles and Hobbie. The other two rebellious rogues who survived the Star Wars trilogy and were immortalised by Aaron Allston and Michael A Stackpole in print.

But there's something special about Wes and this site will be the definitive location for everything to do with this illustrious character. As well as information on the man who brought him to life - Ian Liston. Matter of fact, Ian Liston himself got to see this site before I unleashed it on the unsuspecting galaxy and contributed words, thoughts and direction. You'll hear more about Ian and from Ian as this site develops but for now he wanted to make this appeal: "Will the b*****d who stole my copy of 'Wraith Squadron' from my unattended sunbed on a cruise ship whilst we were in Malta please let me have it back as I hadn't finished it!"

actor appearances
"Wes Janson" frequently makes personal appearances at Star Wars events and conventions.  Check out the STAR WARS section at Eric LeBlanc's
SCIFI ACTOR  APPEARANCES site.
Ian Liston also appears as the DR. WHO character Hero - (Ep: The Armageddon Factor
)


A word from Ian...

I can't believe how time is flying by and its remiss of me not to have been more up to date with the site.

It seems like days ago when I was writing about the convention in Devon only to realise that since then I've been to C3 and Japan and loads of conventions in between.

In that time too we've sadly lost some great favourites from the Star Wars Galaxy: Will Hootkins (Jek Porkins: Red Six) was always such a laugh at conventions and he was also a very fine and highly gifted actor and he will be sorely missed.

John Hollis (Lobot) has also left us: John worked in my Hiss & Boo Company in its very early days.

Another big loss has been Michael Sheard. Countless fans have spoken to me at conventions saying how sorry they were to learn of his passing.

It was largely thanks to Michael that I got involved with the Star Wars characters at conventions. I was asked to write an obituary for Michael which I gladly reproduce here:

I last saw him at Celebration III in Indianapolis where he was his usual ebullient self, always ready with a witty remark, the first to indulge in cheerful banter and often (by his own admission!) the last to buy a round at the bar.

It was Michael who first brought me on to the 'convention' circuit when he invited me over to an event on the Isle of Wight about ten years ago. I was very unaware of what was expected of a guest but Michael made me feel very welcome and he soon put me on the right track. That was the first time I experienced one of his famous (to the actors involved, often infamous!) question and answer sessions. I soon learned that Michael asked all the questions …. and usually gave all the answers.

He never missed a chance to attend a convention or event, however big or small, and his famous 'badged blazer' carried his treasured insignia of the many organisations with which had become involved over the years… and in which he maintained a genuine ongoing interest.

Michael was a staunch and fervent advocate for all that was Star Wars. In the many conventions I attended where he was a guest, I never saw him be rude or dismissive to any of the many legions of fans to whom he was a very popular personality. He would always chat with the fans and if he ever tired of their questions, he never showed it.

He will be very sadly missed by so many people he had befriended all over the world as part of the Star Wars circuit.

He was a talented and versatile actor and a 'real pro' of the old school and I shall miss him enormously.

My sympathy and thoughts go out to his beloved wife, Ros, and his family.

May he rest in peace.

On a more cheerful subject, Celebration 3 in Indianapolis in April 2005 was as much fun, if not more so, than Celebration 2. The highlight for me was a very unexpected presentation of an award from The Rebel Legion: see attached pictures. I was very touched by the trouble these guys had all gone to on my behalf and was taken aback by the presentation. The plaque sits proudly in the dining room at home.

News is travelling fast about Celebration 4: … and one of the very first places you would have heard about it would have been on wesjansondotcom@yahoogroups.com thanks to the sharpness of our wonderful editor-in-chief of the group (and wesjanson.co.uk US correspondent) LeAnn LeVeque.

I quote:

Just announced on StarWars.com

To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Gen Con LLC will throw the largest party ever for fans of the saga, taking over the entire Los Angeles Convention Center in May 2007 for  five days filled with live entertainment, celebrities from all six movies, special film and video presentations, an exhibit of movie props and costumes, exclusive merchandise sold at a 24-hour-a-day store, pop culture tributes, immersive events, costume contests, and  scores of additional activities. Star Wars Celebration IV will fill the L.A. Convention Center from Thursday, May 24 to Monday, May 28, 2007. Admission to the first day of the event will be for worldwide members of the Official Star Wars Fan Club, many of whom will help plan and run special programming themselves. The convention will be open to the general public from Friday through Monday, Memorial Day.

Source

Needless to say I hope to be there but it's still a tad too early to know what the guest list will be.

Apart from some fun conventions in Birmingham, Colchester and Swindon - where I proudly received another award for "The Best Crash in Star Wars" from organiser Luke Skywalker. Yes, the guy changed his name! -- www.lukeskywalkers.co.uk

My trip to Japan in February (courtesy of Masahiro Abbey Abe) was hugely enjoyable even if some of the venues were hastily organised. We had a good turnout wherever we went and made many new friends. Not least an Australian actor called Kyle Rowling who was Christopher Lee's sword double and had much to do with various fight sequences.

He was in the company of Gary X from US autograph experts Wattographs. Check out their site at to see a Q & A article they've recently done with me.

The memorable aspects of the Japan trip were a visit to a Kabuki Theatre, a wonderful, memorable trip to Kyoto (as well as Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya with a trip on the Shinkansen (bullet train) … and a hugely enjoyable trip to a Sumo wrestling tournament. What a shame our promoter couldn't find the money to pay our fees … still, a good time was had by all and the hospitality was second to none. Japan is a beautiful country and very well worth a visit.

What's next? Well I'm in the middle of hectic preparations for all the Christmas show which I produce. See www.hissboo.co.uk for details: as you'll see from the site I'm also appearing with my own shows so I'm as busy as I want to be.

Best wishes
Ian
ian@wesjanson.co.uk
June 2006


OLDER NEWS...

Friday 25 March 2005

A word from Ian...

The latest convention I've attended was held on March 13th 2005 at Honiton in Devon, UK, and organised by Exe-Wing Fundraisers in aid of Cancer Research UK. It was one of the best organised events I'd attended and they looked after everyone (most importantly 'The Public') very well indeed.

As well as myself also in attendance were Michael Sheard (Admiral Ozzel), David Prowse (Darth Vader), Oliver Ford Davies (Sio Bibble), Michael Carter (Bib Fortuna), Dermot Crowley (General Crix Madine), Gerald Home (Tessek/Mon Calamari Officer), Hans Jenssen (Cross Section Artist) and Angus Macinnes (Gold Leader). See the photo here.

We had a fund raising dinner on the previous evening and between the two events raised over £6,000 for cancer research. I never win raffles. Ever!.... but luck was with me that night and I won the autographed T shirt in the raffle and we managed to auction it next day for £150 - and someone who missed out offered us £150 to sign another one. It's amazing how generous the fans are. They had a similar event in Honiton last year for Guide Dogs for the Blind and raised enough money to buy and train a dog called 'Lucas'.

I'm getting very excited about Celebration 3 and fly out to Indianapolis on April 19th. It really does look like being one heck of an event and with over 40 guests it will be a collector's dream-fest.

Best wishes
Ian


A message from Wes...

Just to let you know that Indianapolis was AWESOME!

90,000 visitors to the conference over three days and it was hailed as a huge success although it did have its awful moments. Not least the queues. After queuing for up to five hours to get in to C2- the line at one time was over a mile long - Some people were then in line for over seven hours to get autographs. We were swamped and admission to our area was restricted at various times by the Fire Marshalls for safety reasons. I was astonished at the patience of all the fans and they were all, without a single exception, so warm and welcoming. It was fascinating to meet so many from all over the world and I was so grateful to everyone for their kindness, enthusiasm and support. Not least the many volunteers from the Indy Knights and the 501's who made sure we were well looked after.

The Q & A session on the Saturday was a memorable one and I was delighted that LeAnn LeVeque (our www.wesjanson.com US correspondent) got up in front of 2,000 or more people and plugged the web site! Brilliant!!

Needless to say I've got a million and one things to do since I got back a few hours ago but I will post more later in the week and will also be posting pictures to www.wesjanson.com as soon as I can get my head around my new Nikon Coolpix.

Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to come and say hello. I was especially pleased by the popularity of Wes because of the books: there was a lot of Yub Yub talk!

More soon.

Best wishes
Ian


CENSUS: NEW 'RELIGION'

"There are more Jedis than Jews in the UK according to the results of the 2001 Census..."

Our very own Ian Liston was one who put himself down as a Jedi. And considering his involvement in the original trilogy and rising popularity of the character he played in the ongoing adventures in the expanding universe I'd have to say that he'd be in the order of High Priest, or in the very least a Senior Pastor at your local Jedi Temple.

Much the same happened here in Australia, but I wasn't foolish enough to put down 'Jedi'. I take these things seriously. I put down 'Sith' instead.

Glen
The WesJanson.com Webmaster

Website by Laurence Payne