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'{{short description|American screenwriter, director, producer, actor, author, and film editor}} {{about|the film director|the film about his life|Ed Wood (film)}} {{Other people|Edward Wood}} {{Use American English|date = October 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2012}} {{Infobox person | name = Ed Wood | image = Ed wood glen or glenda CROPPED.jpg | caption = Wood in ''[[Glen or Glenda]]'' (1953) | birth_name = Edward Davis Wood Jr. | birth_date = {{Birth date|1924|10|10|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Poughkeepsie, New York]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1978|12|10|1924|10|10|mf=yes}} | death_place = [[Los Angeles]], California, U.S. | occupation = Filmmaker, author, actor | othername = Daniel Davis<br />Ann Gora<br />Edward D. Wood Jr.<br />Akdov Telmig | years_active = 1947–1978 | spouse = {{marriage|Norma McCarty|1955|1956}} (never annulled)<br />{{marriage|Kathy O'Hara|1959|1978}} }} '''Edward Davis Wood Jr.''' (October 10, 1924&nbsp;– December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several [[B movie|low-budget]] science fiction, crime and horror films, notably ''[[Glen or Glenda]]'' (1953), ''[[Jail Bait (1954 film)|Jail Bait]]'' (1954), ''[[Bride of the Monster]]'' (1955), ''[[Plan 9 from Outer Space]]'' (1959), ''[[Night of the Ghouls]]'' (1959) and ''[[The Sinister Urge (film)|The Sinister Urge]]'' (1960). In the 1960s and 1970s, he moved towards [[sexploitation film|sexploitation]] and [[pornographic film]]s, and wrote over 80 [[pulp magazine|pulp]] crime, horror and sex novels. Notable for their [[Camp (style)|campy]] aesthetics, technical errors, unsophisticated [[special effects]], ill-fitting [[stock footage]], eccentric casts, idiosyncratic stories, and non sequitur dialogue, Wood's films remained largely obscure until he was posthumously awarded a [[The Golden Turkey Awards|Golden Turkey Award]] for Worst Director of All Time in 1980, renewing public interest in his life and work.{{sfn|Craig|2009|p=276}} Following the publication of [[Rudolph Grey]]'s 1992 oral biography ''Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood Jr.'', a biopic of his life, ''[[Ed Wood (film)|Ed Wood]]'' (1994), was directed by [[Tim Burton]]. Starring [[Johnny Depp]] as Wood, the film received critical acclaim and various awards, including two [[Academy Awards]]. ==Early years== Wood's father, Edward Sr., worked for the [[United States Postal Service|U.S. Postal Service]] as a custodian, and his family relocated numerous times around the United States. Eventually, they settled in [[Poughkeepsie, New York]], where Ed Wood Jr. was born in 1924. According to Wood's second wife, Kathy O'Hara, Wood's mother Lillian would dress him in girl's clothing when he was a child because she had always wanted a daughter.{{sfn|Grey|1994|p=16}} For the rest of his life, Wood [[Cross-dressing|crossdressed]], infatuated with the feel of [[Angora wool|angora]] on his skin.{{sfn|Benshoff|1997|p=157}}{{sfn|Weaver|2004|p=358}} During his childhood, Wood was interested in the performing arts and pulp fiction. He collected comics and [[pulp magazine]]s, and adored movies, especially [[Western (genre)|Westerns]], serials, and anything involving the [[occult]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Marija|last=Georgievska|url=https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/03/29/ed-wood-known-as-the-worst-director-of-all-time-is-today-celebrated-by-many-including-the-movie-director-tim-burton/|title=Ed Wood: Known as the “Worst Director of All Time,” is today celebrated by many, including the movie director Tim Burton|website=The Vintage News|date=March 29, 2017|accessdate=May 18, 2020}}</ref> [[Buck Jones]] and [[Bela Lugosi]] were two of his earliest childhood idols. He often skipped school, in favor of watching motion pictures at the local movie theater, where [[film still|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.{{sfn|Grey|1994|p=16}} On his 12th birthday, in 1936, Wood received as a gift his first movie camera, a [[Eastman Kodak|Kodak]] "Cine Special". <ref>Bendix III, Pablo. ''Dreaming In Angora: The Life and Films of Ed Wood''. Lulu Press, 2015.</ref> One of his first pieces of footage, and one that imbued him with pride, showed the airship ''[[LZ 129 Hindenburg|Hindenburg]]'' passing over the [[Hudson River]] at Poughkeepsie, shortly before its [[Hindenburg disaster|disastrous crash]] at [[Lakehurst, New Jersey]]. {{Citation needed|date= January 2020}} One of Wood's first paid jobs was as a cinema usher, and he also sang and played drums in a band. He later fronted a singing quartet called "Eddie Wood's Little Splinters", having learned to play a variety of string instruments. {{Citation needed|date= January 2020}} ===Military service=== In 1942, Wood enlisted in the [[United States Marine Corps]], just months after the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]. Assigned to the 2nd [[Marine defense battalions|Defense Battalions]], he reached the rank of corporal before he was discharged.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dunn|first=Brad|url=https://books.google.lv/books?id=ddKTf8joKAQC&pg=PA170&lpg=PA170&dq=ed+Wood,+pearl+harbor&source=bl&ots=x-Eg9zpTVN&sig=ACfU3U0GLSU1Dvv5HEcRockm-N4BsLR96g&hl=ru&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwish7_m6aPpAhVqoosKHR3wCTEQ6AEwFXoECGEQAQ#v=onepage&q=ed%20Wood,%20pearl%20harbor&f=false|title=When They Were 22: 100 Famous People at the Turning Point in Their Lives|date=2009-01-01|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|isbn=978-0-7407-8681-5|language=en}}</ref> Although Wood reportedly claimed to have faced strenuous combat, including having his front teeth knocked out by a Japanese rifleman, his military records reveal this to be false; apart from recovering bodies on [[Betio]] following the [[Battle of Tarawa]], and experiencing minor Japanese bombing raids on Betio and the [[Ellice Islands]], a recurring [[filariasis]] infection left him performing clerical work for the remainder of his enlistment, and his dental extractions were carried out over several months by Navy dentists, unconnected to any combat.{{sfn|Pontolillo|2017|p=25}}{{sfn|Pontolillo|2017|p=30-37}} Wood later claimed (erroneously or otherwise) that he feared being wounded in battle more than he feared being killed, mainly because he was afraid a [[combat medic]] would discover him wearing a bra and panties under his uniform during the Battle of Tarawa. ==Career== {{main|Ed Wood filmography}} ===Directing and screenwriting=== In 1947, Wood moved to Hollywood, California, where he wrote scripts and directed television pilots, commercials and several forgotten micro-budget westerns with names such as ''[[Crossroads of Laredo]]'' and ''Crossroad Avenger: The Legend of the Tucson Kid''. 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]]. It opened at the Village Playhouse to negative reviews on October 25.{{sfn|Grey|1994|pp=23–24}} In 1952, Wood was introduced to actor [[Bela Lugosi]] by friend and fellow writer-producer [[Alex Gordon (writer-producer)|Alex Gordon]], Wood's roommate at the time, who was later involved in creating [[American International Pictures]]. Lugosi's son, [[Bela G. Lugosi|Bela Lugosi Jr.]], has been among those who felt Wood exploited the senior Lugosi's stardom, taking advantage of the fading actor when he could not refuse any work.<ref>{{cite AV media|people=Thompson, Brett|year=1996 |title=The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood Jr. |medium=Documentary|publisher=Wood-Thomas Pictures}}</ref> However, most documents and interviews with other Wood associates in ''Nightmare of Ecstasy'' suggest that Wood and Lugosi were genuine friends and that Wood helped Lugosi through the worst days of his [[Major depressive disorder|clinical depression]] and [[Substance dependence|drug addiction]]. Lugosi had become dependent on [[morphine]] as a way of controlling his debilitating [[sciatica]] over the years, and was in a poor physical state.<ref name="mentalfloss">{{Cite web|first=Colin|last=Patrick|url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/26050/10-absurd-facts-about-worst-director-all-time|title=10 Absurd Facts About the Worst Director of All Time|date=October 11, 2010|access-date=August 14, 2016}}</ref> Wood billed himself under a number of different pseudonyms, including Ann Gora (in reference to [[Angora wool|Angora]], his favorite female textile) and Akdov Telmig (the backwards form of his favorite drink, the [[Gimlet (cocktail)|vodka gimlet]]).<ref name="mentalfloss"/> ====''Glen or Glenda''==== In 1953, Wood wrote and directed the semi-documentary film ''[[Glen or Glenda]]'' (originally titled ''I Changed My Sex!'') with producer [[George Weiss (producer)|George Weiss]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Rhodes | first = Gary D. | title = Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers | year = 1997 | publisher = [[McFarland (publisher)|McFarland]]| location = Jefferson, North Carolina| isbn = 0-7864-0257-1|pages=141-142 }}</ref> The film starred Wood (under the alias "Daniel Davis"), his girlfriend [[Dolores Fuller]], and Lugosi as the god-like narrator.{{sfn|Benshoff|1997|pp=160-1}} ====''Jail Bait''==== Wood directed and produced a crime film, ''[[Jail Bait (1954 film)|Jail Bait]]'' (1954, originally titled ''The Hidden Face''), along with co-writer Alex Gordon, which starred [[Lyle Talbot]] and [[Steve Reeves]] (in one of his first acting jobs).<ref>{{cite news|first=Adam|last=Newman|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/05/04/muscleman-steve-reeves-dies/4b280cbb-72ea-463b-a06b-ab6a503ea89a/|title=Muscleman Steve Reeves Dies|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|publisher=[[Washington Post Company]]|location=Washington, DC|date=May 4, 2000|accessdate=May 18, 2020}}</ref> Bela Lugosi was supposed to play the lead role of the plastic surgeon, but was busy working on another film project when filming started and had to bow out.<ref>{{cite book|title=Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers|publisher=McFarland|last=Rhodes|first=Gary Don|year=2015|page=225|isbn=0-7864-2765-5|url=https://books.google.de/books?id=eomACgAAQBAJ&pg=PA225#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> ====''Bride of the Monster''==== Wood produced and directed the horror film ''[[Bride of the Monster]]'' (1955, originally titled ''Bride of the Atom''), based on an original story idea by Alex Gordon which he called ''The Atomic Monster''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.autry.com/clubhouse/alex/remembrance.html |title=Alex Gordon |publisher=Autry.com |date= |accessdate=November 9, 2013}}</ref> It starred Bela Lugosi, Swedish wrestler [[Tor Johnson]], and [[Loretta King Hadler|Loretta King]]. ====''Plan 9 from Outer Space''==== In 1956, Wood produced, wrote, and directed the science fiction film ''[[Plan 9 from Outer Space]]'' (originally titled ''Grave Robbers from Outer Space''), which featured Lugosi in a small role (his final film role; Lugosi died during production), Tor Johnson, Vampira ([[Maila Nurmi]]), [[Tom Mason]] (who doubled for Lugosi in most scenes), and [[the Amazing Criswell]] as the film's narrator. ''Plan 9'' premiered (as ''Grave Robbers'') at a very small screening in 1957, was only released theatrically under the title ''Plan Nine from Outer Space'' in 1959, and was finally sold to [[Late night television in the United States|late night television]] in 1961, thereby finding its audience over the years. It became Wood's best-known film and received a [[cult following]] after 1980, when [[Michael Medved]] declared this film "[[List of films considered the worst|the worst film ever made]]" in his book ''[[The Golden Turkey Awards]]''. <ref name=":0" /> ====''The Violent Years''==== In 1956 Wood extended his creative input for the film ''[[The Violent Years]]'' (originally titled ''Teenage Girl Gang'') with director William M. Morgan, starring ''[[Playboy]]'' model [[Jean Moorhead]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Violent Years|url=https://www.americangenrefilm.com/theatrical-film-catalog/the-violent-years/|url-status=live|access-date=2020-06-19|website=publicdomainmovie.net}}</ref> ====''Final Curtain''==== 1957 saw Wood write and direct a pilot for a suspense-horror TV series that ultimately failed to sell. ''Final Curtain'' sees an old and world-weary actor wandering in an empty theatre, imagining ghosts and strange beings haunting the backstage area. The episode has no dialogue, and Dudley Manlove narrates the thoughts of Duke Moore as the actor. Parts of the pilot were recycled for use in ''[[Night Of The Ghouls]]''. 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. 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 (as "Lobo" from ''Bride of the Monster''), Criswell, Duke Moore, and Valda Hansen. <ref>{{Cite web|title=Night of the Ghouls (1959)|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b74cdb8c5|website=BFI|language=en|access-date=2020-05-18}}</ref> The film may have been released marginally in March 1959, and then promptly vanished from sight for a quarter century. For many years, it was thought to be a [[lost film]] but it was rediscovered and finally released on home video in 1984. {{Citation needed|date= January 2020}} (In 1958, Wood also co-wrote the screenplay for ''[[The Bride and the Beast (film)|The Bride and the Beast]]'' (1958), which was directed by Adrian Weiss.) {{Citation needed|date= January 2020}} ====''The Sinister Urge''==== Wood wrote and directed the exploitation film ''[[The Sinister Urge (film)|The Sinister Urge]]'' (1960),<ref name=":0">Craig, Rob (2009), "The Sinister Urge (1960)", Ed Wood, Mad Genius: A Critical Study of the Films, McFarland & Company, {{ISBN|978-0786454235}}</ref> starring Kenne Duncan, Duke Moore, and Carl Anthony. Filmed in just five days, this is the last mainstream film Wood directed, although it has [[grindhouse]] elements. The film contains an "eerily prescient"{{sfn|Craig|2009|p=208}} scene, in which Carl Anthony's character states, "I look at this slush, and I try to remember, at one time, I made good movies". The scenes of teenagers at a pizza place had been shot in 1956 for Wood's unfinished juvenile delinquency film ''Rock and Roll Hell'' (a.k.a. ''Hellborn'') ====''Orgy of the Dead''==== In 1963, Wood wrote the screenplay for ''Shotgun Wedding'' (an exploitation film about hillbillies marrying child brides) and his 1965 transitional film ''[[Orgy of the Dead]]'' (originally titled ''Nudie Ghoulies''), combining the horror and grindhouse skin-flick genres. Wood handled various production details while [[Stephen C. Apostolof]] directed under the pseudonym A. C. Stephen. The film begins with a recreation of the opening scene from the then-unreleased ''Night of the Ghouls''. Criswell, wearing one of Lugosi's old capes, rises from his coffin to deliver an introduction taken almost word-for-word from the previous film. Set in a misty graveyard, the Lord of the Dead (Criswell) and his sexy consort, the Black Ghoul (a Vampira look-alike), preside over a series of macabre performances by topless dancers from beyond the grave (recruited by Wood from local strip clubs). The film also features a Wolf Man and a Mummy. Together, Wood and Apostolof went on to make a string of sexploitation films up to 1977. Wood co-wrote the screenplays and occasionally acted. ''[[Venus Flytrap (film)|Venus Flytrap]]'' (1970) aka ''The Revenge of Dr. X'', a US/Japan [[horror film]], was based on an unproduced Ed Wood screenplay from the 1950s.{{sfn|Weldon|1996|p=464}} ====''Necromania''==== In 1969, Wood appeared in ''The Photographer'' (a.k.a. ''Love Feast'' or ''Pretty Models All in a Row''), the first of two films produced by a Marine buddy, Joseph F. Robertson, portraying a photographer using his position to engage in sexual antics with models. He had a smaller role in Robertson's second film, ''Mrs. Stone's Thing'', as a transvestite who spends his time at a party trying on lingerie in a bedroom. In 1970, Wood made his own pornographic film, ''[[Take It Out in Trade]]''. The following year, he produced, wrote, and directed ''[[Necromania]]'' (sometimes subtitled ''A Tale of Weird Love'') under the pseudonym "Don Miller". The film was an early entry to the new subgenre of hardcore pornographic film. Thought lost for years, it resurfaced in edited form on Mike Vraney's [[Something Weird Video|Something Weird]] imprint in the late 1980s, then was re-released on DVD by Fleshbot Films in 2005. Throughout the 1970s, Wood worked with friend Stephen C. Apostolof, usually co-writing scripts, but also serving as an assistant director and associate producer. (Together they had made Wood's ''[[Orgy of the Dead]]'' in 1965.) His last known on-screen appearance was in Apostolof's ''Fugitive Girls'' (a.k.a. ''Five Loose Women'') in 1974, where he played both a gas station attendant called "Pops" and a sheriff on the women's trail. ===Books and novels=== {{main|Ed Wood bibliography}} 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. Thirty-two stories known to be written by Wood (he sometimes wrote under pseudonyms such as "Ann Gora" and "Dr. T.K. Peters") are collected in ''Blood Splatters Quickly'', published by [[OR Books]] in 2014. 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 ''Nightmare of Ecstasy'', [[Maila Nurmi]] said she declined Wood's offer to do a nude scene sitting in a coffin for the film version of his ''Necromania'', claiming she was recovering from a major stroke at the time.{{sfn|Grey|1994|p=135}} In 1965, Wood wrote the quasi-[[memoir]] ''[[Hollywood Rat Race]]'', which was eventually published in 1998. In it, Wood advises new writers to "just keep on writing. 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 two lived together for a time and Wood cast Fuller in three of his films: ''Glen or Glenda'', ''Jail Bait'', and ''Bride of the Monster''. Fuller later said she initially had no idea that Wood was a [[crossdresser]] and was mortified when she saw Wood dressed as a woman in ''Glen or Glenda''. The couple broke up in 1955 after Wood cast another actress in the lead role of ''Bride of the Monster'' (Wood originally wrote the part for Fuller and reduced her part to a 1-minute cameo) and because of Wood's excessive drinking.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/11/local/la-me-dolores-fuller-20110511|title=Dolores Fuller dies at 88; actress dated director Ed Wood|last=McLellan|first=Dennis|date=May 11, 2011|publisher=latimes.com|accessdate=June 4, 2013}}</ref> While making ''Bride of the Monster'' in late 1955, Wood married Norma McCarty. McCarty appeared as Edie, the airplane stewardess in ''Plan 9 from Outer Space''. They broke up in 1956, and while it has been reported that the marriage was annulled,{{sfn|Grey|1994|p=57}}<ref name="III2015">{{cite book|last=III|first=Pablo Bendix|title=Dreaming In Angora: The Life and Films of Ed Wood|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2IM6CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT5|date=29 May 2015|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-1-329-17663-8|page=5}}</ref> according to film archivist Wade Williams, they neither [[annulment|annulled]] the marriage nor [[divorce]]d.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/norma-mccarty-dead-ed-woods-726040 |title=Actress Norma McCarty, Ed Wood's Wife, Dies at 93 |date=August 18, 2014 |last=Barnes |first=Mike |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |quote=But film archivist Wade Williams, who told ''THR'' that he now owns the copyright to five Wood films, said he had close ties to all three and that McCarty was legally Wood’s wife until the filmmaker's death in December 1978.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/norma-mccarty-dead-1201285478/|title=Norma McCarty, Actress and Wife of Ed Wood, Dies at 93|last=Holman|first=Jordyn|date=August 18, 2014|publisher=variety.com|accessdate=March 3, 2015}}</ref> Wood married his second wife, Kathy O'Hara, in 1959. They remained married until Wood's death in 1978.<ref name="variety">{{cite web|url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117946815?refCatId=1236|work=Variety|date=July 16, 2006|title=Kathy Wood |accessdate=September 25, 2011 }}</ref> Kathy died on June 26, 2006, having never remarried.<ref name="variety"/> ===Cross-dressing=== In Rudolph Grey's 1992 biography ''Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood Jr.'', Wood's wife Kathy recalls that Wood told her that his mother dressed him in girls' clothing as a child.{{sfn|Grey|1994|p=16}} Kathy stated that Wood's transvestism was not a sexual inclination, but rather a neomaternal comfort derived mainly from [[Angora wool|angora]] fabric (angora is featured in many of Wood's films).{{sfn|Grey|1994|p=141}} Even in his later years, Wood was not shy about going out in public dressed in drag as Shirley, his female alter ego (who also appeared in many of his screenplays and stories).{{sfn|Craig|2009|p=108}} In his partly autobiographical film ''[[Glen or Glenda]]'', the heterosexual Wood takes pains to emphasize that a male transvestite is not automatically – or even usually – also a [[homosexual]]. At least one edition of Wood's films on DVD includes a brief silent [[8 mm film|8mm]] [[cine]] clip of Wood in drag. ==Death== By 1978, Wood's depression had worsened, and he and his wife Kathy had both become alcoholics. They were evicted from their Hollywood apartment on Yucca Street on Thursday, December 7, 1978 in total poverty. The couple moved into the North Hollywood apartment of their friend, actor Peter Coe. Wood spent the weekend drinking [[vodka]]. Around noon on Sunday, December 10, Wood felt ill and went to lie down in Coe's bedroom. From the bedroom, he asked Kathy to bring him a drink, which she refused to do. A few minutes later he yelled out, "Kathy, I can't breathe!", a plea Kathy ignored as she later said she was tired of Wood bossing her around. After hearing no movement in the bedroom for 20 minutes, Kathy sent a friend to check on Wood, who discovered him dead from a [[heart attack]]. Kathy later said, "I still remember when I went into that room that afternoon and he was dead, his eyes and mouth were wide open. I'll never forget the look in his eyes. He clutched at the sheets. It looked like he'd seen hell."{{sfn|Ford|1999|p=81}} Wood was [[Cremation|cremated]], and his ashes were scattered at sea.{{sfn|Grey|1994|p=160}} ==Legacy and homages== In 1986 in an essay paying homage to Wood in ''[[Incredibly Strange Films]]'', Jim Morton wrote: "Eccentric and individualistic, Edward D. Wood Jr. was a man born to film. Lesser men, if forced to make movies under the conditions Wood faced, would have thrown up their hands in defeat".{{sfn|Morton|1986|p=158}} In 1994 director [[Tim Burton]] released the biopic ''[[Ed Wood (film)|Ed Wood]]'', starring [[Johnny Depp]] in the title role and [[Martin Landau]], who won an [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi. It also won an [[Academy Award for Best Makeup]] for [[Rick Baker (makeup artist)|Rick Baker]]. [[Conrad Brooks]] appeared in the movie, in a cameo role of Barman, along with [[Gregory Walcott]] as a potential Backer. The film received mass critical acclaim, but did poorly at the box office. It has since developed a [[cult following]]. In 1996 Reverend Steve Galindo of Seminole, Oklahoma, created a legally recognized religion with Wood as its official savior.<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-steve-galindo/ioh-my-godi-god-is-the-pr_b_362417.html | title=Oh My God?: God Is the Producer of Our Lives But We Are the Directors | date=November 18, 2009| publisher=Huffpost Entertainment}}</ref> Founded as a joke, the Church of Ed Wood now boasts more than 3,500 baptized followers. Woodites, as Galindo's followers are called, celebrate "Woodmas" on October 10, which was Wood's birthday. Numerous parties and concerts are held worldwide to celebrate Woodmas. On October 4<ref name="ABOUT MR. LOBO">{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemainsomnia.com/lobo.php |title=ABOUT MR. LOBO |publisher=Cinema Insomnia |accessdate=July 20, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328140056/http://www.cinemainsomnia.com/lobo.php |archivedate=March 28, 2010 }}</ref>–5, 2003,<ref name="Lesson 19: The First Saints of Woodism">{{cite web|url=http://lessons.edwood.org/L19.html |title=Lesson 19: The First Saints of Woodism |author=Reverend Steve Galindo |date=December 23, 2003 |publisher=Church of Ed Wood |accessdate=July 20, 2010}}</ref> [[horror host]] [[Mr. Lobo]] was [[Canonization|canonized]] as the "Patron Saint of late night movie hosts and insomniacs" in the Church of Ed Wood.<ref name="ABOUT MR. LOBO"/><ref name="Lesson 19: The First Saints of Woodism"/> In 1997 the [[University of Southern California]] began holding an annual ''Ed Wood Film Festival'', in which student teams are challenged to write, film, and edit an Ed Wood-inspired short film based on a preassigned theme. Past themes have included ''Rebel Without a Bra'' (2004), ''What's That in Your Pocket?'' (2005), and ''Slippery When Wet'' (2006).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web-app.usc.edu/ws/eo2/calendar/32/event/896828 |archive-url=https://archive.is/20121215104701/http://web-app.usc.edu/ws/eo2/calendar/32/event/896828 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 15, 2012 |title=USC Events Calendar |publisher=Web-app.usc.edu |accessdate=November 9, 2013}}</ref> ==Trivia== From 1993 to 1994, three of Wood's films (''Bride of the Monster'', ''The Violent Years'', and ''The Sinister Urge'') were featured on the television series ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'', which gave those works wider exposure. Producers of ''MST3K'' considered including ''Plan 9'', but found it had too much dialogue for the show's format. In 1998, Wood's previously unfilmed script ''[[I Woke Up Early the Day I Died]]'' was finally produced, starring [[Billy Zane]] and [[Christina Ricci]], with appearances by [[Tippi Hedren]], [[Bud Cort]], [[Sandra Bernhard]], [[Karen Black]], [[John Ritter]] and many others. Outside of a brief New York theatrical engagement, the film did not receive a commercial release in the United States, and was only available on video in Germany due to contractual difficulties. In 2001, horror film director and heavy metal musician [[Rob Zombie]] released ''[[The Sinister Urge (album)|The Sinister Urge]]'', which is titled after [[The Sinister Urge (film)|Wood's film]]. In 2002, American horror-punk supergroup [[Murderdolls]] released the album ''[[Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls]]'', which features the single "Dead in Hollywood" and makes a reference to Wood with the lyrics, "You can knock on Ed Wood, but it won't do you no good/Cause all of my heroes are dead in Hollywood". In 2005, the ''Plan 9'' cast were lampooned in an episode of the television series ''Deadly Cinema''; the following year, clips of this episode were featured in the documentary ''Vampira: The Movie''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vampirathemovie.com/cast.php |title=Cast of Vampira: The Movie |publisher=Vampirathemovie.com |date= |accessdate=November 9, 2013}}</ref> In 2006, ''MST3K'' head writer and host [[Michael J. Nelson]] recorded an audio commentary track for a DVD release of a [[Film colorization|colorized]] version of ''Plan 9 from Outer Space''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/19598/plan-9-from-outer-space-in-color-with-mike-nelson-commentary/ |title=Plan 9 from Outer Space: In Color (with Mike Nelson Commentary) : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video |publisher=Dvdtalk.com |date= |accessdate=November 9, 2013}}</ref> In 2009, Nelson and fellow ''MST3K'' alumni [[Kevin Murphy (actor)|Kevin Murphy]] and [[Bill Corbett]] mocked ''Plan 9'' again in their very first ''RiffTrax Live'' event, coinciding with the film's 50th anniversary. In 2012, director John Johnson announced plans to film a remake of ''Plan 9 From Outer Space'', released straight-to-DVD in 2015. In 2017 ''Dreamer - The Ed Wood Musical'' was produced by award-winning composer Rick Tell. ===Documentaries=== * ''Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The Plan 9 Companion'', was released in 1992. This exhaustive two-hour documentary by Mark Patrick Carducci chronicles the making of ''Plan 9 from Outer Space'' and features interviews with Maila Nurmi (Vampira), Paul Marco, Conrad Brooks, et al. In 2000, Image Entertainment included the documentary on the DVD reissue of ''Plan 9 from Outer Space'' (in a two-disc set with ''[[Robot Monster]]''). * ''The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood Jr.'', written and directed by Brett Thompson, came out in 1995. This documentary - about the life and films of Ed Wood - features interviews with Wood's friends and co-workers and closely resembles Wood's own style, albeit with slightly better miniatures. * Wood was profiled in ''The Incredibly Strange Film Show'', presented by [[Jonathan Ross]]. ==Lost films== Wood's 1972 film ''The Undergraduate'' is considered to be a [[lost film]], as was his 1970 film ''Take It Out in Trade''. An 80-minute print of the latter was discovered and publicly exhibited at Anthology Film Archives in New York City in September 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/film_screenings/calendar?view=list&month=09&year=2014#showing-43174|title=Film Screenings/Film Calendar (September 2014)|publisher=anthologyfilmarchives.org}}</ref><ref name="piepenburg">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/movies/ed-wood-b-movie-king-gets-a-film-retrospective.html?_r=0|title=Wild Rides to Inner Space|last=Piepenburg|first=Erik|date=August 28, 2014|newspaper=nytimes.com|accessdate=March 3, 2015}}</ref> Silent [[outtake]]s from the film were released by [[Something Weird Video]].{{sfn|Craig|2009|p=276}} Wood's 1971 film ''[[Necromania]]'' was also believed lost for years until an edited version resurfaced at a [[Garage sale|yard sale]] in 1992, followed by a complete unedited print in 2001. A complete print of the previously lost Wood pornographic film, ''[[The Young Marrieds (film)|The Young Marrieds]]'', was discovered in 2004. It was released by Alpha Blue Archives in July 2014, as a part of the four-DVD set ''The Lost Sex Films of Ed Wood Jr.''.<ref name="piepenburg"/> ==Collaborations== ===Actors=== {| class="wikitable" |- style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;" ! ! ''[[Glen or Glenda|Glen or<br />Glenda]]'' ! ''[[Crossroad Avenger|Crossroad<br />Avenger]]'' ! ''[[Jail Bait (1954 film)|Jail Bait]]'' ! ''[[Bride of the Monster|Bride of<br />the Monster]]'' ! ''[[Final Curtain (film)|Final<br />Curtain]]'' ! ''[[Plan 9 from Outer Space|Plan 9 from<br />Outer Space]]'' ! ''[[Night of the Ghouls|Night of<br />the Ghouls]]'' ! ''[[The Sinister Urge (film)|The<br />Sinister<br />Urge]]'' ! ''[[Take It Out in Trade|Take It Out<br />in Trade]]'' ! ''[[Crossroads of Laredo|Crossroads of<br />Laredo]]'' !Total |- |[[The Amazing Criswell|Criswell]] | | | | | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | | |2 |- |Carl Anthony | | | | | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | |2 |- |[[Conrad Brooks]] |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | |6 |- |[[Kenne Duncan]] | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | | | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | |3 |- |[[Harvey B. Dunn]] | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | |4 |- |[[Timothy Farrell]] |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | | | | | | |2 |- |[[Dolores Fuller]] |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | | | | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |4 |- |[[Tor Johnson]] | | | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | | |3 |- |[[Tom Keene (actor)|Tom Keene]] | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | | | |2 |- |[[Bela Lugosi]] |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | | | |3 |- |[[Dudley Manlove]] | | | | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | | | |2 |- |[[Paul Marco]] | | | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | | |3 |- |[[Tom Mason]] | | | | | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | | |2 |- |[[Duke Moore]] | | | | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |6 |- |[[Bud Osborne]] | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | | |4 |- |[[Lyle Talbot]] |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | | | |4 |- |Ed Wood |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | | | |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> |<center>{{X mark}}</center> | |6 |} ==See also== * [[List of films considered the worst]] * [[B movie]] * [[Z movie]] *[[John Waters]] *[[William C. Thompson (cinematographer)|William C. Thompson]] was Wood's cinematographer for all but ''[[Take It Out in Trade]]''. *Frank Worth composed music for ''[[Bride of the Monster]]'' and ''[[Plan 9 from Outer Space]]''. ==References== {{Reflist}} * {{cite book |last=Benshoff |first=Harry M. |title=Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film |year=1997 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=0-7190-4473-1}} * {{cite book |last=Craig |first=Rob |title=Ed Wood, Mad Genius: A Critical Study of the Films |year=2009 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=0-7864-5423-7}} * {{cite book |last=Ford |first=Luke |title=A History of X: 100 Years of Sex in Film |year=1999 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=1-61592-631-3}} * {{cite book |editor-last=Gerstner |editor-first=David A. |title=Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer Culture |year=2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-30651-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/routledgeinterna0000unse}} * {{cite book |last=Grey |first=Rudolph |authorlink=Rudolph Grey |title=Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood Jr. |year=1994 |publisher=Feral House |isbn=0-922915-24-5}} * {{cite book |last1=Hoberman |first1=J. |last2=Rosenbaum |first2=Jonathan |title=Midnight Movies |year=2009 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=0-7867-4700-5}} * {{cite book |last=Morton |first=Jim |editor=Juno, Andrea |editor2=[[V. Vale|Vale, V.]] |title=[[Incredibly Strange Films]] |edition=1 |year=1986 |publisher=RE/Search |location=San Francisco, California |isbn=0-940642-09-3}} * {{cite book |last=Pontolillo |first=James |title=The Unknown War of Edward D. Wood, Jr.: 1942 - 1946 |year=2017 |publisher=Self-published |isbn=1-5488-6947-3}} * {{cite book |editor-last=Weaver |editor-first=Tom |title=It Came From Horrorwood: Interviews With Moviemakers In The Science Fiction And Horror Tradition |year=2004 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=0-7864-2069-3}} * {{cite book |last=Weldon |first=Michael |title=The Psychotronic Video Guide |year=1996 |publisher=Titan Books |isbn=1-85286-770-1}} ==Further reading== * {{cite book|last=Conway|first=Rob|title=Ed Wood, Mad Genius: A Critical Study of the Films|year=2009|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-3955-3}} * {{cite book|last=Medved|first=Harry and Michael|title=The Golden Turkey Awards|year=1980|publisher=Perigree Books|isbn=0-399-50463-X}} pp.&nbsp;168, 169, 176–181, 204–208, 211, 217 ==External links== * {{IMDb name|0000248}} * [http://www.edwoodonline.com/thehunt/MAIN.html The Hunt for Edward D. Wood Jr.] Exhaustive guide to Wood's films and their commercial releases. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160205102137/http://badmags.com/bmedwood.html Ed Wood Jr.'s magazine work] (Includes adult images) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110715110501/http://www.postmodernjoan.com/wp02/?p=1315 Ed Wood: A Neighbor on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams] * [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/movies/ed-woods-final-curtain-plays-at-slamdance.html?partner=rss&emc=rss Ed Wood's lost TV pilot, "Final Curtain"] * [http://www.orbooks.com/catalog/blood-splatters-quickly/ Book page for ''Blood Splatthharvers Quickly: The Collected Stories''] * {{Find a Grave|1670}} {{Ed Wood}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Ed}} [[Category:Ed Wood| ]] [[Category:1924 births]] [[Category:1978 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:20th-century American male actors]] [[Category:20th-century American novelists]] [[Category:American film editors]] [[Category:American male dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:American male film actors]] [[Category:American male novelists]] [[Category:American male screenwriters]] [[Category:American male stage actors]] [[Category:American Marine Corps personnel of World War II]] [[Category:American television directors]] [[Category:Film directors from New York (state)]] [[Category:Horror film directors]] [[Category:Male actors from New York (state)]] [[Category:Male-to-female cross-dressers]] [[Category:Military personnel from New York (state)]] [[Category:Novelists from New York (state)]] [[Category:Pseudonymous writers]] [[Category:Pulp fiction writers]] [[Category:Science fiction film directors]] [[Category:Screenwriters from New York (state)]] [[Category:United States Marines]] [[Category:Writers from Poughkeepsie, New York]] [[Category:20th-century American male writers]]'