Edward D. Wood Jr.

Edward Davis Wood Jr October 10 1924 December 10 1978 better known as Ed Wood was an American screenwriter director producer actor author and editor who often performed many of these functions simultaneously In the 1950s Wood made a number of cheap genre films now enjoyed for their technical errors unsophisticated special effects large amounts of illfitting stock footage idiosyncratic dialogue eccentric casts and outlandish plot elements although his flair for showmanship gave his projects at least a modicum of critical success Woods popularity waned soon after his biggest name star Béla Lugosi died He was able to salvage a saleable feature from Lugosis last moments on film but his career declined thereafter Toward the end of his life Wood made pornographic movies and wrote pulp crime horror and sex novels His infamy began two years after his death when he was awarded a Golden Turkey Award as Worst Director of All Time1 The lack of filmmaking ability in his work has earned Wood and his films a considerable cult following Following the publication of Rudolph Greys biography Nightmare of Ecstasy The Life and Art of Edward D Wood Jr 1992 Woods life and work have undergone a public rehabilitation of sorts with new light shed on his evident zeal and honest love of movies and movie production Tim Burtons biopic of the directors life Ed Wood earned two Academy Awards Description above from the Wikipedia article Ed Wood licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia