Ed Wood in Glen or Glenda, 1953
Ed Wood, Jr. — considered one of the worst film directors of all time — was born 96 years ago today.
Wood was screenwriter, director, producer, actor, author and film editor. From the 1950s through the 1970s, he made low-budget genre films. Wood also made pornographic movies and wrote over 80 pulp crime, horror and sex novels.
In 1980, he was posthumously awarded a Golden Turkey Award as Worst Director of All Time. His lack of filmmaking talent and ability has earned Wood and his films a cult following.
Following the publication of Rudolph Grey's biography — Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992) — Wood's life and work have undergone a public rehabilitation of sorts, leading up to director Tim Burton's biopic of Wood's life, Ed Wood (1994), a critically acclaimed film which earned two Academy Awards.
In 1936, Wood received his first movie camera, a Kodak "Cine Special” on his 12th birthday. One of his first pieces of footage was the airship, Hindenburg, passing over the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie, shortly before its famous fiery demise at Lakehurst, New Jersey.
In 1946, Wood joined a carnival. His several missing teeth and disfigured leg (wounds suffered while in military combat) combined with personal fetishes and acting skills made him a perfect candidate for the freak show. Wood played, among others, the geek and the bearded lady.
As the bearded lady, he donned women's clothing and created his own prosthetic breasts. Carnivals would be frequently depicted in Wood's works, most notably the semi-autobiographical novel, Killer in Drag.
In 1947, Wood moved to Hollywood. 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In 1948, Wood wrote, produced, directed and starred in Casual Company, a play from his unpublished novel which was based on his service in the United States Marine Corps.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.
In 1952, Wood was introduced to actor Bela Lugosi by friend and fellow writer-producer Alex Gordon, who went on to help create American International Pictures. Lugosi's son, 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.
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 depression and addiction.
In 1956, Wood produced, wrote and directed the science-fiction film, Plan 9 from Outer Space (originally titled Grave Robbers from Outer Space), which starred Lugosi (in his final film), Tor Johnson, Vampira (Maila Nurmi) Tom Mason (who doubled for Lugosi in several scenes) and Criswell as the narrator. The film was released in 1959.
In 1978, Wood was depressed and had a serious drinking problem. Evicted from his Hollywood apartment on Yucca Street, Wood and his wife, Kathy O'Hara, moved into the North Hollywood apartment of a friend, Peter Coe.
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 vodka, 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 joking and bossing her around. After hearing no movement from 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.”
Apparently, Wood frequently feigned heart attacks and screamed for help as a way of teasing her, and at one point she even shouted at him to shut up. Wood was 54 when he died.
In 1994, director Tim Burton released the biopic, Ed Wood, which starred 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. The film received mass critical acclaim, but did poorly at the box office. It has since developed a cult following.