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Irvin Shortess "Shorty" Yeaworth Jr. (February 14, 1926 – July 19, 2004) was a German-born American film director,
producer, screenwriter and
theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
builder. He began his career singing at age 10 at
KDKA in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. He later became a radio producer. He directed more than 400 films for motivational, educational, and religious purposes, including television specials for
evangelist
Evangelist may refer to:
Religion
* Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels
* Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ
* Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...
Billy Graham
William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...
. As an impresario, he directed the Wayne (Pa.) Concert Series from 1979 to 2003. However, he is best known for directing the classic film ''
The Blob
''The Blob'' is a 1958 American science fiction horror film directed by Irvin Yeaworth, and written by Kay Linaker and Theodore Simonson. It stars Steve McQueen (in his first feature film leading role) and Aneta Corsaut and co-stars Earl Rowe a ...
'' which depicts a growing, devouring alien slime.
[
In the 1970s he began leading American Christians on tours of Israel and Jordan which he continued to do up until his death. While in these countries he designed and produced World's Fair and theme park pavilions for local enterprises.]
He was married to Jean Yeaworth for 59 years,[ who worked on most of his films as music supervisor or writer, and together they had five children. Before he died in a road accident in Amman, he was building a theme park called Jordanian Experience at the Aqaba Gateway in Jordan.
In 2007, The Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania (the filming location of the famous "Running Out" scene in ''The Blob'') honored Irvin Yeaworth and ''The Blob'' by holding a film contest in which amateur film-makers competed for the "Shorty" award, named after Yeaworth's nickname.][
]
Filmography
Director
* ''The Flaming Teen-Age
''The Flaming Teen-Age'' is a 1956 film directed by Irvin Yeaworth. It stars Noel Reyburn and Ethel Barrett.
See also
*List of American films of 1956
A list of American films released in 1956
''Around the World in 80 Days'' won the Academy ...
'' (1956) (also writer and producer)
* ''The Blob
''The Blob'' is a 1958 American science fiction horror film directed by Irvin Yeaworth, and written by Kay Linaker and Theodore Simonson. It stars Steve McQueen (in his first feature film leading role) and Aneta Corsaut and co-stars Earl Rowe a ...
'' (1958)
* ''4D Man
''4D Man'' (also known as ''The Evil Force'' in the UK; reissued as ''Master of Terror'' in the US) is a 1959 independent American science fiction film in color by De Luxe, produced by Jack H. Harris (from his original screenplay), directed by ...
'' (1959) (also producer)
* ''Dinosaurus!
''Dinosaurus!'' is a 1960 science fiction film directed by Irvin Yeaworth and produced by Jack H. Harris.
Plot
The film is about an American engineering team led by Bart (Ward Ramsey) building a harbor on a Caribbean island when they accidentall ...
'' (1960) (also producer)
* '' The Gospel Blimp'' (1967) (also producer)
* '' Way Out'' (1967) (also producer)
References
External links
*
*
1926 births
2004 deaths
Road incident deaths in Jordan
Film directors from Berlin
Film directors from Pennsylvania
German emigrants to the United States
American film producers
American male screenwriters
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters
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