Albert Victor Adamson Jr. (July 25, 1929 – June 21, 1995) was an American

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

known as a prolific director of

B-grade A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

horror and

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

s throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The son of silent film stars

Victor Adamson Albert Victor Adamson (January 4, 1890 – November 9, 1972) was a New Zealand director, producer, screenwriter, and actor most famous for directing and starring in B and Z grade westerns in the early days of motion pictures. Adamson often ...

and Dolores Booth, Adamson began his career in the film industry at a young age and began directing in the early 1960s, helming a total of 33 feature films.McCarty, John (1995). ''The Sleaze Merchants''. St. Martin's Griffin Press. . Page 91Sherman, Sam (2001). ''Blood of Ghastly Horror'' (DVD liner notes). Troma Entertainment. #9026. Many of his films, such as ''

Psycho A-Go-Go ''Psycho A-Go-Go'' (also known as ''Echo of Terror'') is a 1965 crime thriller directed by Al Adamson, starring Roy Morton and distributed by Hemisphere Pictures. The film was originally a straight action thriller, about a psychotic jewel thief wh ...

'', ''

Blood of Ghastly Horror ''Blood of Ghastly Horror'' is a 1971 horror film directed by Al Adamson and starring John Carradine, Tommy Kirk, Kent Taylor, and Regina Carrol. Plot Dr. Howard Vanard (John Carradine) implants a strange electronic component into the brain of ...

,'' and '' Dracula vs. Frankenstein,'' went on to gain

cult status A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

. He cast his wife, actress and singer Regina Carrol, in many of his films. Adamson retired from filmmaking in the early 1980s to pursue a career in

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

. In 1995, he was murdered by a live-in contractor whom he had hired to work on his house, and he was subsequently buried beneath his floor. Adamson's death and the subsequent trial led to renewed publicity, and was the subject of several

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

television documentaries.

Early life

Albert Victor Adamson Jr. was born in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

. His father was silent-film star and producer

, and his mother was actress Dolores Booth. Adamson was involved in the film industry from an early age, appearing in the 1935 film ''

Desert Mesa ''Desert Mesa'' is a seriously low-budget American B-movie Western directed by Victor Adamson Albert Victor Adamson (January 4, 1890 – November 9, 1972) was a New Zealand director, producer, screenwriter, and actor most famous for dire ...

'', directed by his father.

Film career

After assisting his father in making the 1961 western ''Halfway to Hell'', where he served as an uncredited co-director,Ray, Fred Olen (1991). ''The New Poverty Row''. McFarland and Co. Inc. . Page 105 Adamson decided to work in the motion-picture industry himself full time. His father introduced him to a young aspiring film distributor named Sam Sherman in September 1962, and they worked together on various film projects during the 1960s. In 1969, Adamson and Sherman founded Independent-International Pictures (in partnership with Dan Kennis), which became the distributor for the many movies he directed, such as ''

'', ''

Satan's Sadists ''Satan's Sadists'' is a 1969 American outlaw biker film directed by Al Adamson and starring Russ Tamblyn. Plot The plot centers around an outlaw motorcycle gang called the "Satans", who roam the deserts of the American Southwest. The gang's leade ...

'' and '' Dracula vs. Frankenstein''. Adamson and Sherman were early collaborators of cinematographers

Vilmos Zsigmond Vilmos Zsigmond ASC (; June 16, 1930 – January 1, 2016) was a Hungarian-American cinematographer. His work in cinematography helped shape the look of American movies in the 1970s, making him one of the leading figures in the American New Wa ...

and László Kovács, who would later find widespread mainstream success and acclaim as figureheads of the

New Hollywood The New Hollywood, also known as American New Wave or Hollywood Renaissance, was a movement in American film history from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when a new generation of young filmmakers came to prominence. They influenced the types o ...

film movement. Adamson and Sherman hired Zsigmond, whom they nicknamed "Ziggy", because the young filmmaker owned his own equipment, including an 35mm Arriflex film camera and a

Techniscope Techniscope or 2-perf is a 35 mm motion picture camera film format introduced by Technicolor Italia in 1960. The Techniscope format uses a two film-perforation negative pulldown per frame, instead of the standard four-perforation frame us ...

lens, which he carried around in a van. Zsigmond had an arrangement with his close friend Kovács where the two would recommend each other to directors, both claiming the other was the superior cinematographer. Their collaboration continued until 1971, when Zsigmond was nominated for a

BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography This is a list of winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography, which is presented to cinematographers, given out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts since 1963. Winners and nominees 1960s ; Best Cinematography ...

for Robert Altman's '' McCabe & Mrs. Miller''. Victor Adamson also introduced Sam Sherman to producer Irwin Pizor, and Pizor, in turn, introduced Sherman to

Kane W. Lynn Kane W. Lynn (1919–1975) was an American film producer who made a number of movies in the Philippines with producer Irwin Pizor and Filipino director Eddie Romero as Hemisphere Pictures, or the ''House of Horror'' as they often referred to them ...

and

Eddie Romero Edgar Sinco Romero, (July 7, 1924 – May 28, 2013), commonly known as Eddie Romero, was a Filipino film director, film producer and screenwriter. Early life Romero was born on July 7, 1924. His father was José E. Romero, the first Philippi ...

of ''Hemisphere Pictures'', and working together over the years, they all achieved successful careers in film production and distribution. Al Adamson developed a repertory company as the years rolled on, with a lot of the same actors turning up repeatedly in his films, such as

Scott Brady Scott Brady (born Gerard Kenneth Tierney; September 13, 1924 – April 16, 1985) was an American film and television actor best known for his roles in Western films and as a ubiquitous television presence. He played the title role in the televi ...

Kent Taylor Kent Taylor (born Louis William Weiss; May 11, 1907 – April 11, 1987) was an American actor of film and television. Taylor appeared in more than 110 films, the bulk of them B-movies in the 1930s and 1940s, although he also had roles in more pr ...

Robert Dix Robert Warren Brimmer (May 8, 1935 – August 6, 2018), known professionally as Robert Dix, was an American film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1954 and 1974. Biographic data Dix was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actor R ...

John Cardos John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

Gary Kent Gary Kent (born June 7, 1933) is an American film director, actor, and stuntperson notable for his appearances in various independent, grindhouse and exploitation films. A native of Washington, Kent studied at the University of Washington before ...

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later Jo ...

, and

Russ Tamblyn Russell Irving Tamblyn, also known as Rusty Tamblyn (born December 30, 1934) is an American film and television actor and dancer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tamblyn trained as a gymnast in his youth. He began his career as a child actor f ...

, among others. When a friend in the business sold Sherman the rights to an unfinished Filipino horror movie, he let Adamson shoot additional footage which was inserted into the film and starred Robert Dix, Vicki Volante, and John Carradine to pad out the running time. The film was re-titled ''Horror of the Blood Monsters'', and noted comic book artist

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...

designed a lurid poster for it, which helped sell the film to drive-in theaters. Since the original film was in black-and-white, Adamson had the whole film tinted in various colors and advertised the film as being made in a new process called ''Spectrum X''.McCarty, John (1995). ''The Sleaze Merchants''. St. Martin's Griffin Press. . Page 93 Sherman also hired artist Gray Morrow to design a number of their horror film posters, all of which were very graphic and "over the top". Adamson even created a western-horror hybrid film with his ''Five Bloody Graves'' (1969), which starred Robert Dix, John Carradine and Scott Brady, and inserted a number of ultra-violent scenes (savage Indian attacks, rapes, shootings and torture) into what would have just been a mediocre western, and even included narration scenes, with actor Gene Raymond playing "Death".McCarty, John (1995). ''The Sleaze Merchants''. St. Martin's Griffin Press. . Page 96 Adamson even filmed some of his movies at the ''Spahn Ranch'' in California (the adopted home of the notorious Charles Manson cult) such as ''

The Female Bunch ''The Female Bunch'' is a 1969 action film directed by Al Adamson, and starring Russ Tamblyn and Lon Chaney Jr. (in his final feature film). The plot centered on a group of violent, man-hating female criminals who cause trouble around the Mexica ...

'' (1969) and ''

Angels' Wild Women ''Angels' Wild Women'' (originally titled ''Screaming Angels'') is a 1972 biker film written and directed by cult director Al Adamson. Preceded by '' Satan's Sadists'' (1969) and '' Hell's Bloody Devils'' (1970), it is the last in a trio of (unrel ...

'' (1972).

Later career

In 1975, with the biker film genre fizzling out, Sam Sherman talked Adamson into directing some softcore porn films to cash in on the then-popular stewardess film craze, ''The Naughty Stewardesses'', followed by ''

Blazing Stewardesses ''Blazing Stewardesses'' is a 1975 American sex comedy film directed by Al Adamson. Its title derives from the 1975 film ''The Naughty Stewardesses'' and the 1974 film '' Blazing Saddles''. Producer Sam Sherman intended the film to be a fond thr ...

'' the same year. They hired old-time western stars Bob Livingston and

Don "Red" Barry Donald Barry de Acosta (January 11, 1912 – July 17, 1980), also known as Red Barry and Milton Poimboeuf, was an American film and television actor. He was nicknamed "Red" after appearing as the first Red Ryder in the highly successful 19 ...

to star. Material was written for the

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

, but they had to pass due to poor health. Adamson considered their 1974 film ''Girls For Rent'' (a.k.a. ''

I Spit on Your Corpse ''I Spit on Your Corpse'', also known as ''Fatal Pursuit'' and ''Girls for Rent'', is a 1974 American crime film directed by cult director Al Adamson. Originally released on October 13, 1974, the film has been distributed on DVD by Troma Entertai ...

'') a low point in their association, featuring porn actress

Georgina Spelvin Shelley Bob Graham (born March 1, 1936), known professionally as Georgina Spelvin, is a former American actress and pornographic performer who is best known as the star of the classic 1973 pornographic film ''The Devil in Miss Jones'', released ...

raping, and then killing, a mentally disabled man in one scene. ''Jessie's Girls'' was Adamson's take on the then-successful Raquel Welch film ''Hannie Caulder''. His last major film was the 1978 film ''Nurse Sherri'', a horror film about a nurse who is possessed by the ghost of a woman who died during a surgical procedure, and is driven to avenge the dead woman by killing all of the doctors who were involved in her death. Adamson largely retired from filmmaking in the early 1980s, focusing with his wife on a career in

. Adamson continued to write scripts however, including one whose premise involved a man being murdered and buried beneath his own house over a financial dispute. This very scenario would be eerily reflected in his own death years later.

Personal life

Adamson's wife, the actress Regina Carrol, performed in many of his films. She met him in 1969 when he was casting ''

'', in which she starred, and they were married in 1972. Adamson said Regina was a waitress in a cafe at which he was having lunch, and hearing he was a movie director, she spilled a cup of coffee in his lap to get his attention. She died in 1992 from cancer at age 49. Adamson had spent several years trying desperately to save her from the disease, to no avail. He himself was murdered three years after his wife died.

Murder

Adamson was reported missing in 1995. Five weeks later, after law enforcement officials discovered his remains beneath the concrete and tile-covered floor where his hot tub once sat at his home in

Indio, California Indio (Spanish language, Spanish for "Indian") is a city in Riverside County, California, Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, Califo ...

, his live-in contractor Fred Fulford was arrested at the Coral Reef Hotel in

Saint Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

. Adamson had hired Fulford to repair his house, which he intended to flip. He had given Fulford a

credit card A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...

to use to purchase supplies, which Fulford quickly overspent and abused. Adamson had several confrontations with Fulford, the last of which ended violently in Adamson's death. Fulford subsequently buried his body and covered it with concrete and tile. Adamson's housekeeper became suspicious over his disappearance and the removal of the hot tub, which led investigators to Fulford and Adamson's body. Fulford was charged with and convicted of murder, and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Regular Adamson actor and stuntman Gary Kent testified in the trial as the last person to speak to the director prior to the murder. The case of Al Adamson's murder is documented in the

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Ameri ...

television series' ''

Forensic Detectives Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and crimina ...

'' (ep. "Buried Secrets"), ''

The New Detectives ''The New Detectives: Case Studies in Forensic Science'' (or simply ''The New Detectives'', formally "Forensic Detectives") is a documentary true crime television show that aired two to three different cases in forensic science per episode from ...

'' (season 07, episode 11), and ''A Stranger in My Home'' (season 02, episode 06, "Death's Final Cut"). ''Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson'', a full-length documentary released by

Severin Films Severin Films is an American film production and distribution company known for restoring and releasing cult films on DVD and Blu-ray. History The label was created in 2006 in Los Angeles, and other offices were founded in New York City and Lond ...

, covers the entirety of Adamson's life, film career, and untimely death. The documentary is included in Severin's blu-ray boxed set career retrospective of Adamson's work. Adamson was cremated and his ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1935) actor in a film from his father Denver Dixon. * ''Mormon Conquest'' (1939) actor in another, lost, film from his father * ''Half Way to Hell'' (1960) co-direction with his father, also actor * ''

'' (1965) later reworked into ''The Fiend with the Electronic Brain''Ray, Fred Olen (1991). ''The New Poverty Row''. McFarland and Co. Inc. . Page 66 * '' Blood of Dracula's Castle'' (1967)O'Neill, James (1994). ''Terror on Tape''. Billboard Books. . Page 39McCarty, John (1995). ''The Sleaze Merchants''. St. Martin's Griffin Press. . Page 103 * ''Lash of Lust'' (1968/72) (Lost Film, direction under alias name George Sheaffer) * ''

The Fiend with the Electronic Brain ''The Fiend with the Electronic Brain'' was a 1969 low-budget science fiction film directed by Al Adamson and starring John Carradine. In 1971, this film was re-edited, with newly filmed footage added, into a very different version that was re-re ...

'' (1969)Weldon, Michael (1983). ''The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film''. Ballantine Books. . Page 73 later reworked into ''

'' * ''

'' (1969) a.k.a. ''A Time To Run'' * ''

Five Bloody Graves ''Five Bloody Graves'' is an American western film directed by Al Adamson and starring Robert Dix, Scott Brady, Jim Davis, John Carradine, Paula Raymond. Fruita, Utah was used as a setting for the film. Cast *Robert Dix as Ben Thompson *Scott Br ...

'' (1969) * ''

'' (1969) * ''Doomsday Voyage'' (1969/72) producer only * ''

Hell's Bloody Devils ''Hell's Bloody Devils'' (also known as ''The Fakers'' and ''Operation M'') is a 1970 American film directed by Al Adamson and written by Jerry Evans. Plot FBI agent Mark Adams (John Gabriel) poses as a member of a Las Vegas crime syndicate in ord ...

'' (1970) * ''Horror of the Blood Monsters'' (1970) a.k.a. ''Vampire Men of the Lost Planet'' * '' Dracula vs. Frankenstein'' (1971) * ''

Brain of Blood ''Brain of Blood'' (also known as ''The Creature's Revenge'', ''The Oozing Skull'', and ''The Undying Brain'') is a 1971 American horror film directed by Al Adamson and starring Grant Williams, Kent Taylor and Reed Hadley. Angelo Rossitto and Jo ...

'' (1971) * ''

'' (1972) a.k.a. ''Screaming Angels''McCarty, John (1995). ''The Sleaze Merchants''. St. Martin's Griffin Press. . Page 98 * ''Hammer'' (1972) producer only * ''Cry Rape'' (1973) (TV movie, producer only) * ''The Naughty Stewardesses'' (1973) * ''

Dynamite Brothers ''Dynamite Brothers'', also known by its alternate title ''East Meets Watts'', is a 1974 martial arts and blaxploitation film. It was filmed on location in Watts, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. It stars football-hero-turned-actor Timothy Bro ...

'' (1974) a.k.a. ''Stud Brown'' * ''

'' (1974) originally released as ''Girls for Rent'' * ''Jessie's Girls'' (1975) * ''

'' (1975) * ''Females for Hire'' (1976) - edited reissure of 1969 German film '' On the Reeperbahn at Half Past Midnight'' * ''

Black Heat Black Heat was a 1970s funk band founded by King Raymond Green and discovered by Phillip Guilbeau. Their albums include ''Black Heat (album), Black Heat'' (with guest artist David "Fathead" Newman), ''No Time to Burn, No Time To Burn'' and ''Keep o ...

'' (1976) a.k.a. ''Girls' Hotel'' * ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...

'' (1977) - edited reissue of 1965 German film ''Onkel Tom's Hütte'' * ''Nurses for Sale'' (1977) - edited reissue of 1971 German film ''Captain Roughneck from St. Pauli'' * ''

Black Samurai ''Black Samurai'' is a 1977 American blaxploitation martial arts spy action adventure film directed by Al Adamson Albert Victor Adamson Jr. (July 25, 1929 – June 21, 1995) was an American filmmaker and actor known as a prolific director of ...

'' (1977) * ''Cinderella 2000'' (1977) * ''

Death Dimension ''Death Dimension'' (also known as ''Death Dimensions'', ''Freeze Bomb'', ''Icy Death'', ''The Kill Factor'', and ''Black Eliminator'') is a 1978 United States, American B-movie, B-list action thriller and martial arts film by Al Adamson starring ...

'' (1978) a.k.a. ''The Kill Factor'' or ''Death Dogs'' * ''Sunset Cove'' (1978) * ''

Nurse Sherri ''Nurse Sherri'' is a 1977 American supernatural horror film directed by Al Adamson and starring Jill Jacobson, Geoffrey Land, and Marilyn Joi. Produced and distributed by Independent-International Pictures, the film's plot follows a nurse who be ...

'' (1978) * ''Bedroom Stewardesses'' (1978) - edited reissue of 1968 German film ''

The Doctor of St. Pauli ''The Doctor of St. Pauli'' (german: Der Arzt von St. Pauli) is a 1968 West German crime film directed by Rolf Olsen and starring Curd Jürgens, Horst Naumann, and Christiane Rücker. Plot In St Pauli, the red light district of Hamburg ...

'' * ''Chuck Connors Great Western Theatre'' (1980/82) TV Series * '' Doctor Dracula'' (1980/83) - edited reissue of 1974 film ''Lucifer's Women'' * ''

Carnival Magic ''Carnival Magic'' is a which entered service on 1 May 2011. The ship was named and christened in Venice by her godmother Lindsey Wilkerson, a former patient and current researcher at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. ''Carnival Magic'' ...

'' (1983) * ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

'' (1983) * ''Beyond This Earth'' (1992-1994) segment director (unreleased film) * ''From Other Worlds'' (1992-1994) segment director (unreleased film, sequel from ''Beyond This Earth'') * ''The Happy Hobo - Presentation Reel'' (1994/2020) (short, last film direction) * ''Al Adamson - Drive in Monster'' (1995) (short documentary portrait with last interview)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, Al American murder victims 1929 births 1995 deaths People murdered in California Horror film directors People from Hollywood, Los Angeles People from Indio, California Film directors from Los Angeles 1995 murders in the United States