(October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films, notably Glen or Glenda (1953), Jail Bait (1954), Bride of the Monster (1955), Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), Night of the Ghouls (1959) and The Sinister Urge (1960).
He often skipped school, in favor of watching motion pictures at the local movie theater, where stills from that day's film would often be thrown into the trash by theater staff, allowing Wood to salvage the images, and to add to his extensive collection. On his 12th birthday, in 1936, Wood received as a gift his first movie camera, a Kodak "Cine Special".
Subsequently, he formed a quartet called "Eddie Wood's Little Splinters" in which he sang and played multiple stringed instruments. ===Military service=== In 1942, Wood enlisted at age 17 in the United States Marine Corps, just months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Assigned to the 2nd Defense Battalion, he reached the rank of corporal before he was discharged in 1946 at age 21.
In 1948, Wood wrote, produced, directed, and starred in Casual Company, a play derived from his unpublished novel, which was based on his service in the United States Marine Corps.
(October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films, notably Glen or Glenda (1953), Jail Bait (1954), Bride of the Monster (1955), Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), Night of the Ghouls (1959) and The Sinister Urge (1960).
X, a US/Japan [film], was based on an unproduced Ed Wood screenplay from the 1950s. ====Necromania==== In 1969, Wood appeared in The Photographer (a.k.a.
He joined the Hollywood union in 1951, and worked very briefly as a stuntman among other things. In 1952, Wood was introduced to actor Bela Lugosi by friend and fellow writer-producer Alex Gordon, Wood's roommate at the time, who was later involved in creating American International Pictures.
He joined the Hollywood union in 1951, and worked very briefly as a stuntman among other things. In 1952, Wood was introduced to actor Bela Lugosi by friend and fellow writer-producer Alex Gordon, Wood's roommate at the time, who was later involved in creating American International Pictures.
Even if your story gets worse, you'll get better", and also recounts tales of dubious authenticity, such as how he and Bela Lugosi entered the world of nightclub cabaret. ==Personal life== ===Relationships and marriages=== Wood had a long-term relationship with actress and songwriter Dolores Fuller, whom he met in late 1952.
The couple broke up in 1955 after Wood cast another actress for the lead role in Bride of the Monster (Wood originally wrote the part for Fuller but later reduced her part to a brief cameo appearance) and because of Wood's excessive drinking. In 1956, soon after his breakup with Fuller, Wood married actress Norma McCarty.
It starred Bela Lugosi, Swedish wrestler Tor Johnson, and Loretta King. ====The Violent Years==== In 1956 Wood wrote the screenplay (uncredited) for the film The Violent Years (originally titled Teenage Girl Gang), which was directed by William M.
The scenes of the teenagers at the pizzeria had been previously shot in 1956 for Wood's unfinished juvenile delinquency film, Rock and Roll Hell (a.k.a.
The couple broke up in 1955 after Wood cast another actress for the lead role in Bride of the Monster (Wood originally wrote the part for Fuller but later reduced her part to a brief cameo appearance) and because of Wood's excessive drinking. In 1956, soon after his breakup with Fuller, Wood married actress Norma McCarty.
Plan 9 premiered in March of 1957 (as Grave Robbers) at a small screening at the Carlton Theatre in Hollywood, and was later put into general release in July of 1959 under the title Plan Nine from Outer Space.
It became Wood's best-known film and received a cult following after 1980, when Michael Medved declared this film "the worst film ever made" in his book The Golden Turkey Awards. ====Final Curtain==== In 1957 Wood wrote and directed a pilot for a suspense-horror TV series that ultimately failed to sell.
It is widely available online and on disc. ====Night of the Ghouls==== In 1958 Wood wrote, produced, and directed Night of the Ghouls (originally titled Revenge of the Dead), starring Kenne Duncan, Tor Johnson (reprising his role as "Lobo" from Bride of the Monster), Criswell, Duke Moore, and Valda Hansen.
A video producer paid the bill and released the film on videocassette (retitled Night of the Ghouls) in 1984. In 1958 Wood also co-wrote the screenplay for The Bride and the Beast (1958), which was directed by Adrian Weiss.
Plan 9 premiered in March of 1957 (as Grave Robbers) at a small screening at the Carlton Theatre in Hollywood, and was later put into general release in July of 1959 under the title Plan Nine from Outer Space.
The film played at the Vista Theatre in Hollywood in March 1959 as Revenge of the Dead, and then promptly vanished from circulation.
Wood also wrote the screenplay for a 1959 "nudie cutie" film called Revenge of the Virgins, which was directed by Peter Perry Jr. ====The Sinister Urge==== Wood wrote and directed the exploitation film The Sinister Urge (1960), starring Kenne Duncan, Duke Moore, and Carl Anthony.
Wood died soon after this film was made in 1978, at age 54. ===Books and novels=== Beginning in the early 1960s up until his death, Wood wrote at least 80 lurid crime and sex novels in addition to hundreds of short stories and non-fiction pieces for magazines and daily newspapers.
It was finally sold to late night television in 1961, thereby finding its audience over the years.
Hellborn), which Wood never completed. Wood also contributed to the screenplay of the 1961 film Anatomy of a Psycho.
In 1963, Wood wrote the screenplay for Shotgun Wedding (an exploitation film about hillbillies marrying child brides in the Ozarks). ====Orgy of the Dead==== Wood's 1965 transitional film Orgy of the Dead (originally titled Nudie Ghoulies) combined the horror and grindhouse skin-flick genres.
In 1963, Wood wrote the screenplay for Shotgun Wedding (an exploitation film about hillbillies marrying child brides in the Ozarks). ====Orgy of the Dead==== Wood's 1965 transitional film Orgy of the Dead (originally titled Nudie Ghoulies) combined the horror and grindhouse skin-flick genres.
(Together they had made Wood's Orgy of the Dead back in 1965.) Wood's last known on-screen appearance (a dual role) was in Apostolof's 1974 film Fugitive Girls (a.k.a.
Novels include Black Lace Drag (1963) (reissued in 1965 as Killer in Drag), Orgy of the Dead (1965), Devil Girls (1967), Death of a Transvestite (1967), The Sexecutives (1968), The Photographer (1969), Take It Out in Trade (1970), The Only House in Town (1970), Necromania (1971), The Undergraduate (1972), A Study of Fetishes and Fantasies (1973) and Fugitive Girls (1974). In 1965, Wood wrote the quasi-memoir Hollywood Rat Race, which was eventually published in 1998.
X, a US/Japan [film], was based on an unproduced Ed Wood screenplay from the 1950s. ====Necromania==== In 1969, Wood appeared in The Photographer (a.k.a.
Stone's Thing, as a transvestite who spends his time at a party trying on lingerie in a bedroom. In 1970, Wood wrote and directed his own pornographic film, Take It Out in Trade, starring Duke Moore and Nona Carver.
Wood's friends Kenne Duncan and Tor Johnson both passed away during this period. Throughout the 1970s, Wood worked with his friend Stephen C.
Wood played a transvestite named Alecia in the film. In 1971, he produced, wrote and directed Necromania (subtitled A Tale of Weird Love) under the pseudonym "Don Miller".
In the Rudolph Grey biography Nightmare of Ecstasy, Maila Nurmi said she declined Wood's offer to do a nude scene sitting in a coffin for Necromania, claiming she was recovering from a major stroke at the time. From 1971 to 1972, Wood directed an unknown number of short X-Rated films produced by the Swedish Erotica film company.
In the Rudolph Grey biography Nightmare of Ecstasy, Maila Nurmi said she declined Wood's offer to do a nude scene sitting in a coffin for Necromania, claiming she was recovering from a major stroke at the time. From 1971 to 1972, Wood directed an unknown number of short X-Rated films produced by the Swedish Erotica film company.
(Together they had made Wood's Orgy of the Dead back in 1965.) Wood's last known on-screen appearance (a dual role) was in Apostolof's 1974 film Fugitive Girls (a.k.a.
Together, Wood and Apostolof went on to make a string of sexploitation films up to 1977.
(October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films, notably Glen or Glenda (1953), Jail Bait (1954), Bride of the Monster (1955), Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), Night of the Ghouls (1959) and The Sinister Urge (1960).
Five Loose Women), in which he played both a gas station attendant called "Pops" and a sheriff on the fugitive women's trail. Technically, Wood's last acting job was in the 1978 Stephen Apostolof film Hot Ice.
Wood died soon after this film was made in 1978, at age 54. ===Books and novels=== Beginning in the early 1960s up until his death, Wood wrote at least 80 lurid crime and sex novels in addition to hundreds of short stories and non-fiction pieces for magazines and daily newspapers.
It became Wood's best-known film and received a cult following after 1980, when Michael Medved declared this film "the worst film ever made" in his book The Golden Turkey Awards. ====Final Curtain==== In 1957 Wood wrote and directed a pilot for a suspense-horror TV series that ultimately failed to sell.
Thought lost for years, it resurfaced in edited form on Mike Vraney's Something Weird imprint in the late 1980s, and was re-released later on DVD by Fleshbot Films in 2005.
A video producer paid the bill and released the film on videocassette (retitled Night of the Ghouls) in 1984. In 1958 Wood also co-wrote the screenplay for The Bride and the Beast (1958), which was directed by Adrian Weiss.
Kathy died on June 26, 2006, having never remarried. ===Cross-dressing=== In Rudolph Grey's 1992 biography Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D.
Novels include Black Lace Drag (1963) (reissued in 1965 as Killer in Drag), Orgy of the Dead (1965), Devil Girls (1967), Death of a Transvestite (1967), The Sexecutives (1968), The Photographer (1969), Take It Out in Trade (1970), The Only House in Town (1970), Necromania (1971), The Undergraduate (1972), A Study of Fetishes and Fantasies (1973) and Fugitive Girls (1974). In 1965, Wood wrote the quasi-memoir Hollywood Rat Race, which was eventually published in 1998.
Thought lost for years, it resurfaced in edited form on Mike Vraney's Something Weird imprint in the late 1980s, and was re-released later on DVD by Fleshbot Films in 2005.
Kathy died on June 26, 2006, having never remarried. ===Cross-dressing=== In Rudolph Grey's 1992 biography Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D.
A complete copy of the episode was thought forever lost, before an intact print was located circa 2010.
It was remastered and given its first ever cinema showing in February 2012.
Peters") are collected in Blood Splatters Quickly, published by OR Books in 2014.
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