Phillip Raymond Ford (born May 31, 1961 in

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...

) is a stage and film producer, director and entertainer who served most of the 1980s as "honorary straight man" in the legendary San Francisco drag troupe Sluts A-Go-Go. He is best known as the producer and director of ''

Vegas in Space ''Vegas in Space'' is a 1991 science fiction/comedy film directed by Phillip R. Ford and starring Doris Fish, Tippi, Miss X, Ramona Fischer, and Lori Naslund. The plot concerns three male space travelers who must become women in order to complete ...

'', the celebrated cult film starring the Sluts A-Go-Go, which created a sensation at the 1992

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

, appeared at festivals worldwide, was broadcast on USA Network's ''Up All Night with Rhonda Shear'' and was featured on ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...

'' and the E! Entertainment Television Network.

Career

With Doris Fish, Miss X and "Tippi", Ford created and appeared onstage with the Sluts A-Go-Go in a string of notorious theatrical nightclub spectacles including ''The Miss Solar System Pageant'' (1984), ''The Happy Hour Show'' (1985), ''Nightclub of the Living Dead'' (1986), ''Box Office Poison'' (1987), ''Sluts A-Go-Go Still Alive!'' (1989) and ''Who Does That Bitch Think She Is?: An All Star Tribute To Doris Fish'' (1990). He directed such stage plays as ''Phillip R. Ford's Dolls'', 1993's sensational send-up of the 1967 film, ''Valley of the Dolls'', starring Connie Champagne at the On-Broadway Theater in San Francisco (for which he directed eight short films), a remarkably dramatic ''

The Bad Seed ''The Bad Seed'' is a 1954 novel by American writer William March, the last of his major works published before his death. Nominated for the 1955 National Book Award for Fiction, ''The Bad Seed'' tells the story of a mother's realization that h ...

'' (1987) at

Theater Rhinoceros Theatre Rhinoceros or Theatre Rhino is a gay and lesbian theatre based in San Francisco. It was founded in the spring of 1977 by Lanny Baugniet (who became the theater's General Manager) and his partner Allan B. Estes, Jr. (who became the theater' ...

and the vivid one-woman tribute, ''Simply Stunning – The Doris Fish Story'' (2002) featuring Arturo Galster, based on the life and work of his mentor and collaborator Doris Fish. As an actor Ford has appeared in San Francisco in the title role in ''Behind the Candelabra – My Life with

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

'' (2002) a play adapted by Jennifer Blowdryer from the memoir of Liberace chauffeur/paramour Scott Thorsen. He also appeared onstage at the Plush Room in ''TenderLoins'' (1994), sang using his own voice as

Mrs. Miller Elva Ruby Miller (October 5, 1907 – July 5, 1997), who recorded under the name "Mrs. Miller", was an American singer who gained some fame in the 1960s, for her series of shrill and off-tempo renditions of popular songs such as "Moon River ...

in The Sick and Twisted Players’ ''The Cool Ones'' (1994) and acted in the universally reviled motion picture ''Virtue'' (1999). Ford began making films at the age of fifteen and his first professional film short, ''Rollercoaster to Hell'' (1982), was featured on KTVU's ''

Creature Features ''Creature Features'' is a generic title for a genre of horror TV format shows broadcast on local American television stations throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The movies broadcast on these shows were generally classic and cult horror ...

''. He has served as a Guest Lecturer in "Contemporary Cinema" at his ''alma mater'',

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

, from which he holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Film Production His writing has been featured in the anthology ''Good Advice for Young Trendy People of All Ages'' (

Manic D Press Manic D Press is an American literary press based in San Francisco, California publishing fiction (novels and short stories), poetry, cultural studies, art, narrative-oriented comix, children's books, and alternative travel trade paperbacks. It was ...

, 2005) and in ''Straight to Hell #65 - The Manhattan Review of Unnatural Acts''.

Sources

"The Strange Case of Vegas in Space: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of a Midnight Movie Masterpiece" article

''New York Times'' review

San Francisco ''Chronicle'' - 'Generosity amid the glitter'

External links

The Making of Vegas in Space

Phillip R. Ford on imdb

''Vegas in Space'' on imdb

Troma Entertainment

''Vegas in Space'' mash-up video (Italy)

Devildead fan site (France)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Phillip R. 1961 births Living people LGBT film directors LGBT theatre directors People from San Rafael, California Film directors from California

Career

See also

Sources

Further reading

External links