Roger Corman, the writer and director who helped turn out such low-budget classics as Little Shop of Horrors and gave many of Hollywood’s most famous actors and directors early breaks, has died aged 98.
Corman died on Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, California, his daughter Catherine Corman said on Saturday in a statement.
“He was generous, open-hearted and kind to all those who knew him,” the statement said. “When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, ‘I was a film-maker, just that.’”
Across a career spanning more than 60 years, Corman developed a cheap and cheerful style that led some to refer to him as the “king of the B-movies”. His films were notable for their low-budget special effects and attention-grabbing titles such as She Gods of Shark Reef (1958) and Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957). Yet he also played a significant role in developing the talents of a number of acclaimed directors, including James Cameron and Martin Scorsese, and launching the careers of actors such as Peter Fonda, Robert De Niro and Sandra Bullock.
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
His films were notable for their low-budget special effects and attention-grabbing titles such as She Gods of Shark Reef (1958) and Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957).
Yet he also played a significant role in developing the talents of a number of acclaimed directors, including James Cameron and Martin Scorsese, and launching the careers of actors such as Peter Fonda, Robert De Niro and Sandra Bullock.
Originally Corman looked set to follow in his father’s footsteps, receiving a degree in industrial engineering from Stanford University.
After working his way up to the role of story reader, Corman left Fox when he didn’t receive credit for an idea for the Gregory Peck western The Gunfighter.
He produced Boxcar Bertha, an early-70s Bonnie and Clyde-style exploitation film directed by Martin Scorsese, who was a year away from releasing career breakthrough Mean Streets.
Perhaps most fittingly, he appeared in a self-referential role in Scream 3 as a studio executive for Stab 3, a film-within-a-film clearly nodding to the low-budget shockers that had long been Corman’s stock in trade.
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