Ed Wood



Born Edward Davis Wood Jr., October 10, 1924, Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S.
Died December 10, 1978 (aged 54), Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names Daniel Davis, Ann Gora, Edward D. Wood Jr., Adkov Telmig
Occupation Filmmaker, author, actor
Years active 1947–1978

Military career United States Marine Corps
Years of service 1942–46
Rank Corporal
Battles/wars Guadalcanal Campaign, Battle of Tarawa

Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and author.

In the 1950s, Wood made a number of low-budget films in the science fiction, comedy, and horror genres, intercutting stock footage. In the 1960s and 1970s, he made sexploitation movies and wrote over 80 pulp crime, horror and sex novels. In 1975, he was awarded a Golden Turkey Award as Worst Director of All Time, renewing public interest in his work. Wood's career and camp approach has earned him and his films a cult following.

Following the publication of Rudolph Grey's 1992 oral biography Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood Jr., the public took a greater interest in Wood, leading up to director Tim Burton's biopic of Wood's life, Ed Wood (1994), a critically acclaimed film starring Johnny Depp as Wood that earned two Academy Awards.
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Career
Main article: 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 In 1948, Wood wrote, produced, directed, and starred in Casual Company, a play derived from his unpublished novel, which was based on his service in the United States Marine Corps.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.

In 1952, Wood was introduced to actor Bela Lugosi by friend and fellow writer-producer Alex Gordon, Wood's roommate at the time, 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, while 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. Lugosi had become dependent on morphine as a way of controlling his debilitating sciatica over the years, and was in a horrendous physical state.

Wood billed himself under a number of different pseudonyms, including Ann Gora (in reference to Angora - his favorite female textile) and Akdov Telmig (The backwards form of his favorite drink, the vodka gimlet).

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