Burt Topper (July 31, 1928 – April 3, 2007) was an American
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...
and
screenwriter best known for
cult films aimed at teenagers.
Biography
Born in
Coney Island, New York City, Topper moved to Los Angeles at the age of 8, and served in the United States Navy during World War II.
[Staff report (April 4, 2007)]
Burt Topper, 78, filmmaker.
''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' He was working at the Horseshoe Stage in 1954 and wanted to make a movie. He and several friends got together and made ''Hell Squad'' over six months using their own money.
[Brian Albright: ''Wild Beyond Belief!'' (McFarland, 2008) - Interview with Joyce King (pages 134-136)]
Linked 2014-06-18 This was picked up for distribution by
American International Pictures
American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...
and launched his career.
In 1958 AIP announced Topper would make a series of films for them, including ''Tank Destroyers'', ''Last Woman on Earth'', ''Young Warrior'', and ''Yacht Party''. Not all of these were produced, but Topper would be associated with AIP for the rest of his career.
Topper's 1963 film
''War Is Hell'' (which he wrote, produced, directed and played a small role as an army lieutenant) was playing at the
Texas Theatre
The Texas Theatre is a movie theater and Dallas landmark located in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. It gained historical significance on November 22, 1963, as the location of Lee Harvey Oswald's arrest over the suspicion he was the ...
in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
on November 22, 1963.
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963.
Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...
snuck into the theatre and viewed it briefly before being arrested.
He also wrote, produced, directed and narrated fundraising films for the Variety Clubs of America.
In the mid 1960s Topper acted as an in house producer for American International. He left them in 1969 to re-enter independent production but still maintained strong links with AIP. In 1972 he announced he would make 15 live action films worth $10.5 million but this did not eventuate.
Topper died of
heart failure at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...
in Los Angeles. He was survived by his wife Jennifer.
[Staff report, "Burt Topper, 78; directed low-budget movies aimed at teens."](_blank)
''Los Angeles Times'', 6 April 2007 accessed 3 January 2012
Selected filmography
*''
Hell Squad'' (1958) - writer, producer, director
*''
Tank Commandos
''Tank Commando'' is a 1959 American war film produced, directed and written by Burt Topper. American International Pictures released the film as a double feature with '' Operation Dames''.
Premise
During the Italian campaign, the United States ...
'' (1959) - writer, producer, director
*''
Diary of a High School Bride
''Diary of a High School Bride'' is a 1959 film directed by Burt Topper about a 17-year-old high school student who gets married. American International Pictures released the film as a double feature with '' Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow''.
Plot
A 1 ...
'' (1959) - writer, producer, director
*''
The Wild Ride
''The Wild Ride'' is a 1960 American film directed by Harvey Berman and starring Jack Nicholson as a rebellious punk named Johnny, of the Beat generation, who spends his days as an amateur dirt track driver in between partying and troublemakin ...
'' (1960) - story
*''
War Is Hell'' (1963) - writer, producer, director
*''
The Strangler
''The Strangler'' is a 1964 crime thriller, directed by Burt Topper and starring Victor Buono, David McLean, Davey Davison and Ellen Corby, with a screenplay by Bill S. Ballinger. The film was inspired by the Boston Strangler, a serial killer ...
'' (1964) - director
*''
Space Probe Taurus
''Space Probe Taurus'' (a.k.a. ''Space Monster'') is a 1965 low budget black-and-white science fiction/action/drama film from American International Pictures, written and directed by Leonard Katzman, and starring Francine York, James E. Brown, B ...
'' (1965) - producer, second unit director
*''
Fireball 500
''Fireball 500'' is a 1966 stock car racing film, blended with the beach party film genre. A vehicle for stars Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, and Fabian, it was one of a string of similar racing films from the 1960s. Written by William Ashe ...
'' (1966) - co-producer
*''
Thunder Alley'' (1967) - producer
*''
Devil's Angels'' (1967) - producer
*''
Wild in the Streets
''Wild in the Streets'' is a 1968 American comedy-drama film directed by Barry Shear and starring Christopher Jones, Hal Holbrook, and Shelley Winters. Based on the short story "The Day It All Happened, Baby!" by Robert Thom, it was distribu ...
'' (1968) - executive producer
*''
The Devil's 8
''The Devil's 8'' is a 1969 film directed by Burt Topper and starring Christopher George, Fabian, Tom Nardini and Leslie Parrish. It was produced and distributed by American International Pictures.
Plot
Federal agent Ray Faulkner poses as a ro ...
'' (1969) - producer, director
*''The Heart of Variety'' (1969) (documentary) - narrator, writer
*''
The Hard Ride
''The Hard Ride'' is a 1971 action film about a U.S. Marine who promises to take care of a dead friend's motorcycle and is threatened by a rival Motorcycle club, biker gang in the process. The film was written and directed by Burt Topper and star ...
'' (1971) - writer, executive producer, director
*''The Variety Legacy'' (1974) (documentary) - writer, producer, director
*''
Soul Hustler'' (1976) - writer, producer, director
*''
C.H.O.M.P.S.
''C.H.O.M.P.S.'' is a 1979 American comic science fiction family film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and directed by Don Chaffey.
Plot
Brian Foster (Wesley Eure), a young inventor, creates a robotic dog for use as part of a home protecti ...
'' (1979) - co-producer, second unit director
Unmade films
*''Hell's Belles'' (circa 1968) - proposed motorcycle film which Topper was to produce for AIP to be directed by Rod Amateau
*''Hell No We Won't Go'' (circa 1968) - for his own company
*''Hot Rod Inferno'' (circa 1968)
*''Ten Thousand Graves'' (1969) - war comedy for AIP
*''Shake Him Till He Rattles'' (1969)
["MOVIE CALL SHEET: OSCARSSON CAST IN 'VALLEY'" Martin, Betty. ''Los Angeles Times'' 22 July 1969: c12.]
References
External links
*
Obituaryat
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Topper, Burt
1928 births
2007 deaths
Film producers from California
American male screenwriters
People from Coney Island
Film directors from New York City
United States Navy personnel of World War II
Film directors from Los Angeles
Screenwriters from New York (state)
Film producers from New York (state)
Screenwriters from California
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters