Edward Davis Wood Jr

Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978)

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 (1959), Night of the Ghouls (1959) and The Sinister Urge (1960). In the 1960s and 1970s, he moved towards sexploitation and pornographic films, and wrote over 80 pulp crime, horror and sex novels. Notable for their 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 Golden Turkey Award for Worst Director of All Time in 1980, renewing public interest in his life and work. 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 (1994), was directed by Tim Burton. Starring Johnny Depp as Wood, the film received two Academy Awards. In the book Nightmare of Ecstasy, Wood's wife Kathy recalls that Wood told her that his mother dressed him in girls' clothing as a child. Kathy stated that Wood's transvestism was not a sexual inclination, but rather a neomaternal comfort derived mainly from angora fabric (angora is featured in many of Wood's films). Wood also 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 cross-dresser and was mortified when she saw Wood dressed as a woman in Glen or Glenda. During his military service, Wood was afraid of being wounded, and having a medic discover his bras and panties under his uniform.

Wood suffered from depression, which grew worse as he became older and more recluse. He and his wife Kathy both became alcoholics, and Wood spent most of his time drinking towards the end of his life. He died from a heart attack on December 10, 1978, age 54. His body was cremated, and the remains scattered.