Jonathan Haze (born Jack Schachter; April 1, 1929) is an American actor, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

films, especially the 1960

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to disc ...

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, '' The Little Shop of Horrors'', in which he played florist's assistant Seymour Krelborn.

Early years

Haze is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Schachter of the Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Early career

Haze was working at a gas station in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

when he was discovered by Wyott Ordung. Ordung was directing the movie '' Monster from the Ocean Floor'' (1954), which was being produced by Corman, and offered a small part to Haze. Corman, three years Haze's senior, was impressed and cast Haze in many of his films over the next ten years, including '' Apache Woman'' (1955), '' Day the World Ended'' (1955), ''

Gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...

'' (1956), ''

The Oklahoma Woman ''The Oklahoma Woman'' is a 1956 American Western film directed by Roger Corman. Plot The film involves the return of Steve Ward, a former gunslinger recently released from federal prison, to his hometown to claim a ranch he has inherited. Up ...

'' (1956), '' It Conquered the World'' (1956), '' Swamp Women'' (1956), ''

Naked Paradise ''Naked Paradise'' (sometimes credited as ''Thunder Over Hawaii'') is a 1957 drama film directed by Roger Corman. It stars Richard Denning and Beverly Garland. Corman later asked Charles Griffith, who worked on the script, to reuse his screenplay ...

'' (1957), '' Not of This Earth'' (1957), ''

Rock All Night ''Rock All Night'' is a 1957 crime drama film produced and directed by Roger Corman. Distributed by American International Pictures, it is based on a 25-minute television episode of '' The Jane Wyman Show'' from 1955 called "The Little Guy." It s ...

'' (1957), ''

The Viking Women and the Sea Serpent ''The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent'' (also known as ''The Viking Women and the Sea Serpent'') is a 1958 American action-adventure horror film directed by Roger Corman. It stars Abby Dalton, Susa ...

'' (1957), ''

Carnival Rock ''Carnival Rock'' is a 1957 film directed by Roger Corman with musical performances by The Platters, David Houston, Bob Luman and His Shadows, and the Blockbusters. Plot A nightclub owner, Christopher 'Christy' Cristakos, falls in love with the ...

'' (1957), '' The Little Shop of Horrors'' (1960), and ''

The Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

'' (1963). Haze also appeared in non-Corman films, such as ''

Bayou In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...

'' (1957), '' Stakeout on Dope Street'' (1958), '' Ghost of the China Sea'' (1958) and ''

Forbidden Island ''Forbidden Island'' is a 1959 American adventure crime film directed by Charles B. Griffith starring Jon Hall. It was his debut as director, although he had directed second unit on ''Attack of the Crab Monsters''. A young Don Preston from th ...

'' (1959).

Later work

In 1959, Haze guest starred in the episode "Terror Town" of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

'' Cimarron City'', starring George Montgomery.

Dan Duryea Dan Duryea ( , January 23, 1907 – June 7, 1968) was an American actor in film, stage, and television. Known for portraying a vast range of character roles as a villain, he nonetheless had a long career in a wide variety of leading and second ...

who portrayed the mastermind of a criminal enterprise in silver who is the half-brother of Haze's character. Haze later branched into other aspects of film making. He wrote the 1962 science fiction/comedy film '' Invasion of the Star Creatures''. He also worked in production for such films as '' Premature Burial'' (1962), ''

'' (1963), '' Medium Cool'' (1969), ''

Another Nice Mess ''Another Nice Mess'' is a 1972 comedy film written and directed by Bob Einstein and starring Rich Little as Richard Nixon and Herb Voland as Spiro Agnew. Plot The film is presented in the style of a Laurel and Hardy comedy, with Nixon in the ...

'' (1972), and Corman's own '' The Born Losers'' (1967).

Writing

In 1957, Haze sold his first screenplay to Arrarat Productions. ''The Monster of Nicholson Mesa'' was a parody of horror films.

References

External links