Russ Meyer

Meyer, Russ Filmmaker Russ Meyer, an American auteur, passed away September 18, 2004, at the age of 82. Mr. Meyer, who had been suffering from dementia for several years, succumbed to complications of pneumonia and died peacefully at his home in the Hollywood Hills. Born on March 21, 1922, in San Leandro, California, he secured his place in cinema history as the pioneer of sexploitation films, such as Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill! (1966), Vixen (1968) and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) . In the 23 films Meyer produced and directed he leaves a visual history of his development as a unique filmmaker and "King of the Nudies", as he was labeled by the press. The son of a policeman and a nurse, Russ first began making films in his teens, after purchasing an 8mm Univex "picture taking machine" with money borrowed from his mother. At 18, while attending Junior College, Russ answered an advertisement inviting young men to train in Hollywood motion picture studios as combat photographers for the U.S. Army Signal Corps. At MGM studios he learned the skills of motion picture photography. Noted cinematographers judged Russ' work as aggressive and defiant. He went on and proved this true by distinguishing himself and shooting some of the most risky and dangerous combat films and newsreels to come out of World War II. After the war Russ worked as a cinematographer for the Southern Pacific Railroad for several years and got a chance to sharpen his skills and talents. His keen vision for artistry also made him a very capable photographer, enabling him to take some of the earliest and best shots of Playboy centerfolds. Working with Hugh Hefner aroused a new interest in Russ, "The Female Nude". This led to his first film (a soft core sex film) "The Immoral Mr. Teas". The film made Russ a healthy profit and led to a string of self-financed films that gradually became more permissive on the screen. This opened the doors to a creative new art form for nudity, which went along with the simplicity movement in the art world at that time; "much skin but no sex". Russ Meyer peaked in 1968-69 with "Vixen", which was one of the top box office hits that year. His films are unique in that they are wonderfully plotted, exquisitely photographed in luscious colors, and never absent over-breasted beautiful women. Russ functioned simultaneously as producer, scriptwriter, director, editor, and cameraman. (Virtually a one-man operation) His talent allowed him to do this single-handedly and still manage to turn out films with the look of expensive big studio productions. His energetic character and endless drive to make films, along with his success in budgeting his films, caught the eye of 20th Century Fox president Richard D. Zanuck. This led to a contract for Russ to direct "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" (1970) written by Roger Ebert. The film's box office success led to another project with Fox, Irving Wallace's "The Seven Minutes" in 1971. Unlike the first project, this film was a flop, and Russ' relationship with the major studio soured. Following this experience Russ went back to his own independent film making and produced more box office hits, "SuperVixen" and "Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens." The demise of the drive-in theaters and the emphasis on hard-core pornography (which Russ never wanted to be a part of) ended his film making career. He died surrounded by his loving friends who will greatly miss his caring and humorous nature. He leaves no survivors. Services will be private.