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Ron Ormond (born Vittorio Di Naro, August 29, 1910 – May 11, 1981) was an American author,
showman Showman can have a variety of meanings, usually by context and depending on the country. Australia Travelling showmen are people who run amusement and side show equipment at regional shows, state capital shows, events and festivals througho ...
, screenwriter, film producer, and film director of Western, musical, and
exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...
s. Following his survival of a 1968 plane crash, Ormond began making Christian films.


Early life

Ron Ormond was born Vittorio Di Naro, anglicised to Vic Narro. He took his surname from his friend, magician and hypnotist
Ormond McGill Ormond Dale McGill (June 15, 1913 – October 19, 2005) was a stage hypnotist, magician and instructor who was considered to be the "Dean of American Hypnotists". He was also a writer and author of many books including Hypnotism and Mysticism of ...
. Ormond married the
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
singer and dancer June Carr (1912–2006) six weeks after he met her during a run of 1935 stage performances at the Capitol Theater in Portland, Ore. Calling himself "Rahn Ormond," Ormond performed magic and acted as the show's master of ceremonies. They remained married until his death. They became partners in film production and had two sons. The first son, Victor, died of pneumonia, and their second son, Tim, acted in several of their films. June Ormond's father actor, former nightclub owner and
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
comic Cliff Taylor, also appeared in many of the Ormond's films.


Career

Ormond's first film was as an uncredited technical director on ''The Shanghai Cobra'' (1945). Ormond formed Western Adventure Productions, Inc. in 1948 and formed a partnership with
Lash LaRue Alfred "Lash" LaRue (June 15, 1917 – May 21, 1996) was a popular western motion picture star of the 1940s and 1950s. Biography Early life and education Born Alfred LaRue in Gretna, Louisiana in 1917, he was reared in various towns th ...
, writing and producing and eventually directing his films. Western Adventure Productions ceased operating in 1951 after completing eight films, but four more films were made into 1952 using large amounts of footage from the previous films with various names credited for the screenplays such as Ormond's young son Tim and associate producer Ira Webb. Ormond's first credit was 1948's ''Dead Man's Gold''. Ormond made his directing debut in ''King of the Bullwhip'' with La Rue in 1950. Ormond also wrote a series of Westerns starring former
Hopalong Cassidy Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of short stories and novels based on the character. Mulford portrayed the character as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking. He was ...
sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...
s
James Ellison James Ellison may refer to: * James O. Ellison (1929–2014), U.S. federal judge * James T. Ellison (1862–1920s), New York gangster *James Ellison (actor) (1910–1993), American film actor *James Ellison (footballer, born 1901) (1901–1958), En ...
and
Russell Hayden Russell "Lucky" Hayden (born Hayden Michael "Pate" Lucid; June 12, 1912 – June 9, 1981) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his portrayal as Lucky Jenkins in Paramount's popular Hopalong Cassidy film series. Ear ...
and filmed vaudeville acts for a film released by Robert L. Lippert. Western Adventure acquired re-issue rights to a number of
Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, a ...
's
Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...
comedies, and distributed them along with their own productions. As the economics of producing
B picture A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...
Westerns changed in the era of television, Ormond moved into other exploitation genres by forming a company called
Howco Howco Productions later Howco International Pictures, was an American film production and distribution company based in South Carolina, specialising in low budget B pictures designed for double features. In 1951 Joy Newton Houck Sr. (born 10 ...
from the initials of Ormond's collaborators,
drive-in movie A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movi ...
owners J. Francis White and Joy Houck with films such as ''
Mesa of Lost Women ''Mesa of Lost Women'' is a 1953 American low-budget black-and-white science fiction film directed by Herbert Tevos and Ron Ormond from a screenplay by Tevos and Orville H. Hampton who is given on-screen credit only for dialogue supervision. P ...
'', ''Untamed Mistress'', ''Teenage Bride'' (also known as ''Please Don't Touch Me'') and country-music movies such as 1965's ''40 Acre Feud'', featuring country-music stars
George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...
, Bill Anderson and
Skeeter Davis Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick; December 30, 1931September 19, 2004) was an American country music singer and songwriter who sang crossover pop music songs including 1962's " The End of the World". She started out as part of the Davis S ...
, and 1967's ''White Lightnin' Road'', a racetrack melodrama starring country singer and frequent Ormond actor
Earl "Snake" Richards Henry Earl Sinks (January 1, 1940 – May 13, 2017), known professionally as Earl Sinks, was an American singer-songwriter and actor, known by many pseudonyms. He led a prolific musical and acting career from the 1950s to the 1990s before reti ...
. During the 1950s Ormond spent eight months with Ormond McGill in Asia writing the book ''Religious Mysteries of the Orient''/''Into the Strange Unknown'', about
psychic surgery An alleged psychic surgeon at work Psychic surgery is a pseudoscientific medical fraud in which practitioners create the illusion of performing surgery with their bare hands and use sleight of hand, fake blood, and animal parts to convince t ...
. Other books by McGill and Ormond include ''The Master Method of Hypnosis'', ''The Art of Meditation'', and ''The Magical Pendulum of the Orient''.


Later years

In the mid-'60s Ormond produced
roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States. Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (jam ...
on television for
Leo Seltzer Leo A. Seltzer (April 5, 1903 – January 30, 1978) is generally credited as the creator of the sport of roller derby, and was the founder and head of the original Roller Derby league from 1935 until his son Jerry Seltzer took over the business in ...
, with his son Tim as one of the players in the children's version of the sport. Tim loved it. Ron, not so much. At the time, roller derby was big business, at least for Leo Seltzer, a San Fernando Valley businessman. Ormond managed the derby, which held weekly skate-offs at the Olympic auditorium in downtown Los Angeles. Ormond ended up leaving the Derby after telling Seltzer, "I can't work for you and still remain your friend, and I consider you a good friend." After making more
exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...
s such as ''The Monster and the Stripper'' and 1966's ''The Girl from Tobacco Row'', Ormond began making films about Christianity in the 1970s. He had crashed his single-engine airplane into a field near Nashville in 1966 while en route to a screening of ''The Girl from Tobacco Row'', and he seems to have emerged from the accident—he spent months recovering from serious injuries—a Christian. Made with Mississippi evangelist
Estus Pirkle Estus Washington Pirkle (March 12, 1930 – March 3, 2005) was an American Baptist minister, evangelist, and filmmaker. Early life Estus Washington Pirkle was born in Vienna, Georgia on March 12, 1930. He was one of ten children to Grover Wa ...
, ''
If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? ''If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?'' is a 1971 American Christian exploitation film directed by Ron Ormond, featuring Southern Baptist minister Estus Pirkle. Background The film is based on a sermon by Estus W. Pirkle held on January ...
'', '' The Burning Hell'' and ''The Believer's Heaven'' address the second coming of Jesus Christ, communism and American conformism, with Pirkle's preaching the basis of the films.The Believer's Heaven - The Cinema Snob on YouTube
/ref> In 1979 he directed ''39 Stripes'', the tale of a former chain-gang member who converts to Christianity. He also directed 1976's ''The Grim Reaper'', produced by June Ormond, as well as ''Surrender at Navajo Canyon'' for Pete Rice, and a travelogue for John Rice. ''The Second Coming'' was next on the agenda, but Ormond died of cancer before production. The script was written by Tim Ormond, and produced by him and June Ormond. The film is dedicated to the memory of Ron Ormond and John Rice. Biographer
Jimmy McDonough Jimmy McDonough is a biographer and journalist. He is best known for his biographies of Russ Meyer, Andy Milligan, Tammy Wynette, Al Green, and Neil Young. He is noted by critics for his remarkably exhaustive accounts and for his tendency to avoi ...
has been working on a Ormond family biography for years. Film director
Nicolas Winding Refn Nicolas Winding Refn (; born 29 September 1970), also known as Jang, is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for his collaborations with Mads Mikkelsen, Tom Hardy and Ryan Gosling. He gained great success early in ...
is said to be publishing the book in the near future.


References


External links


Ron Ormond at GCDBRon Ormond at IMDBRon Ormond at Turner Classic Movies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ormond, Ron 1910 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American film directors American film producers Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents