Kevin Sean Michaels is an American film director, artist, producer and entertainer.

Biography and career

Michaels is best known as an Art Director for

Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pla ...

as well as directing and producing his own documentaries, ''Vampira: The Movie'' and ''The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels''.

Radio show

In 2015, Michaels began hosting a radio show on Universal Broadcasting Network called "Friend or Foe", where guests included

Weird Al Yankovic Weird derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Wyrd, meaning fate or destiny. In modern English it has acquired the meaning of “strange or uncanny”. It may also refer to: Places * Weird Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. People *"Weird Al" Yankovic (b ...

and others.

Film work

Michaels was Art Director for

for five years, and briefly worked on Troma's '' Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead''. While at Troma, Michaels designed and edited 250 DVD covers, 90% of their DVD titles. Michaels' first documentary was ''Vampira: The Movie'', which profiled

Maila Nurmi Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi (December 11, 1922 – January 10, 2008), known professionally as Maila Nurmi, was an American actress who created the campy 1950s character Vampira. She was raised in Astoria, Oregon, where she worked in tuna and sa ...

, the first

horror host A horror host is a person who acts as the host or presenter of a program where horror films and low-budget B movies are shown on television or the Internet. Usually the host assumes a horror-themed persona, often a campy or humorous one. General ...

. The film featured testimonials by

Sid Haig Sidney Eddie Mosesian (July 14, 1939 – September 21, 2019), known professionally as Sid Haig, was an American actor, film producer, and musician. He was known for his roles in several of Jack Hill's blaxploitation films from the 1970s, as well ...

Julie Strain Julie Ann Strain (February 18, 1962 – January 10, 2021) was an American actress and model. She was chosen by ''Penthouse (magazine), Penthouse'' as Pet of the Month in June 1991 and Pet of the Year in 1993. Her biggest mainstream acting role was ...

Kevin Eastman Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comics artist, comic book artist and writer best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine ...

Forrest Ackerman Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction writer and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror, and fantasy films; a p ...

Debbie Rochon Debbie Ann Rochon (born November 3, 1968) is a Canadian actress and former stage performer, best known for her work in independent horror films and counterculture films. Early life When Rochon was ten years old, her parents were deemed unfi ...

John Zacherle John Zacherle ( ; sometimes credited as John Zacherley; September 26, 1918 – October 27, 2016) was an American television host, radio personality, singer, and voice actor. He was best known for his long career as a television horror host, oft ...

Lloyd Kaufman Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz (producer), Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director ...

Bill Moseley William Moseley (born November 11, 1951) is an American actor, primarily known for his performances in horror films. His best-known roles include Chop Top in ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2'' (1986), Otis B. Driftwood in Rob Zombie's ''Firefly ...

Cassandra Peterson Cassandra Peterson (born September 17, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Peterson gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ-TV in her stage ...

Jami Deadly Jami Deadly (born May 18, 1979 as Jami Edwards) is an American actress, glamour model, singer, burlesque dancer and horror host. Jami grew up in Texas. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Biography Jami Edwards was a nightclub dancer. Along with st ...

Jerry Only Gerald Caiafa Jr. (born April 21, 1959), better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup. Biog ...

and horror historian

David J. Skal David John Skal (born June 21, 1952 in Garfield Heights, Ohio) is an American historian, critic, writer, and on-camera pundit, commentator known for his research and analysis of horror films, horror history and horror culture. Early life Skal s ...

. The score was written and performed by

Ari Lehman Ari Lehman (born May 2, 1965) is an American Music artist (occupation), performing artist, composer, and actor. He is known for playing the child Jason Voorhees in the Paramount horror film ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'', beco ...

, the first Jason Voorhies of

Friday The 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. ...

. Premiering in October 2006, ''Vampira: The Movie'' was released on DVD in September 2007 by

Alpha Video Alpha Video (also known as Alpha Home Entertainment) is an entertainment company, based near Philadelphia, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD. Alpha Video releases approximately 30 ne ...

, and won a Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award in 2008 for Best Independent Production. Michaels' second documentary was ''The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels'' on director

Ted V. Mikels Ted V. Mikels (born Theodore Vincent Mikacevich; April 29, 1929 – October 16, 2016) was an American independent filmmaker primarily of the horror cult film genre. Movies that he both produced and directed include ''Girl in Gold Boots'' (196 ...

, who produced ''The Astro-Zombies'', ''Girl in Gold Boots'', ''The Doll Squad'' and many others. The DVD was released in 2010 by

. Michaels also served as Creative Consultant on Mikels' third installment in his Astro-Zombies series. It was narrated by

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his Cinema of Transgression, transgressive cult films, including ''Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), ''Pink Flamin ...

. Michaels' third documentary was ''Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest'' on actress

Ingrid Pitt Ingrid Pitt (born Ingoushka Petrov; 21 November 193723 November 2010) was a Polish-British actress and writer best known for her work in horror films of the 1970s. Early life Ingoushka Petrov was born in Warsaw, Poland, one of two daughters ...

, who starred in

Where Eagles Dare ''Where Eagles Dare'' is a 1968 war film directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. It follows a joint British-American Special Operations Executive team of paratroopers raiding a castle (shot on lo ...

and numerous productions by

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

. This animated short turned out to be the last project for Pitt, who recorded the narration in May 2010. The animation is by 10-year-old artist Perry Chen, under the guidance of two-time Academy Award nominee

Bill Plympton Bill Plympton (born April 30, 1946) is an American animator, graphic designer, cartoonist, and filmmaker best known for his 1987 Academy Awards-nominated animated short '' Your Face'' and his series of shorts featuring a dog character starting ...

. ''Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest'' made the long-list and qualified for the Academy Award for Short Animated Film in 2011. Michaels produced a documentary starring

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

called ''Beyond The Noise: My Transcendental Meditation Journey'', by young film student Dana Farley, who has severe

dyslexia Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...

and

attention deficit disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise Development ...

. He currently creates music videos and content for Lynch's non-profit organization. In 2010, Michaels was one of 75 international artists and animators who Plympton referred to as "Dog Jammers" for a remake of Plympton's short film called ''Guard Dog Global Jam.'' In 2012, Michaels produced a short animated film called, ''The Namazu'', animated by Dani Bowman, with voices contributed by

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for voicing the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in ''R ...

and Stella Ritter (daughter of

John Ritter Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American actor. Ritter was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is known for playing Jack Tripper on the ...

Biography and career

Radio show

Film work

References

External links