Alan Ormsby

Alan Ormsby
BornDecember 14, 1943 (1943-12-14) (age 80)
United States
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter

Alan Ormsby (born December 14, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, make up artist, actor and author.[1]

Career

Ormsby began work in feature films with the Bob Clark-directed Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972), co-writing the script with Clark, providing the make-up effects and starring as the lead, Alan, alongside his then-wife Anya Ormsby.[2] Two years later, Ormsby and Clark re-teamed on Deathdream, directed by Clark and penned by Ormsby.[3] Deranged (1974), a horror film inspired by serial killer Ed Gein, saw Clark producing with Ormsby writing and co-directing the feature (with Jeff Gillen).[4]

In the 1980s, Ormsby continued working as a screenwriter, penning the screenplays for The Little Dragons (1980),[5] My Bodyguard (1980), Paul Schrader's Cat People (1982) and Clark's Porky's II: The Next Day (1983).[6] Ormsby returned to directing with Popcorn (1991), which he'd also written, but left the production early on and was replaced by Porky's actor Mark Herrier.[7] Ormsby's work includes the three "films-within-a-film" in the finished movie.[8] In the early 1990s, he was initially recruited to write the screenplay for a remake of The Mummy for Joe Dante, although it was later re-written by John Sayles.[9] In 1996, he co-wrote The Substitute.[10]

Other works

In addition to his work in film, Ormsby is known for having authored the 1970s special make-up effects book Movie Monsters, as well as creating the doll Hugo: Man of a Thousand Faces,[11] the latter of which was featured in The Pee-wee Herman Show and on Uncle Floyd's variety show.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Alan Ormsby". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2014. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  2. ^ Janisse, Kier-La (2012). House of Psychotic Women. Godalming, Surrey, England: FAB Press. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-903254-69-1.
  3. ^ "Dead-of-Night - Cast, Crew, Director and Awards". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  4. ^ "AFI Catalog - Deranged". American Film Institute. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  5. ^ "The Little Dragons (1980)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  6. ^ "AFI Catalog - Alan Ormsby". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  7. ^ Muir, John Kenneth (2011). Horror Films of the 1990s. McFarland Publishing. pp. 170–172. ISBN 9780786440122.
  8. ^ Vanderbilt, Mike (January 19, 2017). "Long out-of-print horror classic Popcorn comes home in a box this spring". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  9. ^ Squires, John (June 8, 2017). "George Romero and Clive Barker Almost Directed 'The Mummy' Remakes in the 90s". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  10. ^ "The Substitute (1996)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  11. ^ Alan Ormsby and Anya Liffey (2017). A Recollection With Star Anya Liffey and Writer/Makeup Artist Alan Ormsby (Deathdream Blu-ray featurette). West Hollywood: Blue Underground. BLU-BD-8020.