Thomas Lockyear Graeff (September 12, 1929 – December 19, 1970) was an American actor,
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, ...
,
producer,
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
,
film editor
Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology.
The film edit ...
and
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
. He is best known for writing, directing, producing and starring in the 1959
B-movie
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 featu ...
''
Teenagers from Outer Space''.
Early life
Graeff was born in
Ray, Arizona, to an engineer father and homemaker mother. When he was a toddler, the family relocated to Los Angeles, where a second son was born. As a teen, Graeff enrolled in the
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
Theater Arts Program, where he studied film making and theater.
Film career
Graeff's first publicly screened film was a 20-minute short about
Delta Chi
Delta Chi () is an international Greek letter collegiate social fraternity formed on October 13, 1890, at Cornell University, initially as a professional fraternity for law students. On April 30, 1922, Delta Chi became a general membership so ...
fraternity life entitled ''Toast to Our Brother'', which starred Graeff, a Paramount ingenue named Judith Ames (later
Rachel Ames
Rachel Kay Foulger (born November 2, 1929), known professionally as Rachel Ames, is an American film and television actress.
The daughter of actors Byron Foulger and Dorothy Adams, she was raised in Portland, Oregon, and Los Angeles, California ...
), and guest-starred comedian
Joe E. Brown
Joseph Evans Brown (July 28, 1891 – July 6, 1973) was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his friendly screen persona, comic timing, and enormous elastic-mouth smile. He was one of the most popular American comedians in the 19 ...
(''
Some Like It Hot
''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitney ...
''), a UCLA alumnus. The film premiered at the
Fox Village Theater in
Westwood Village
Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside region of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Bordering the campus on the south ...
during Graeff's senior year at college.
Graeff's next film was a 16-minute recruiting film for
Orange Coast College
Orange Coast College (OCC) is a public community college in Costa Mesa in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948. It provides Associate of Art and Associate of Science degrees, cer ...
in
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa (; Spanish for " Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John ...
. ''The Orange Coast College Story'' was narrated by
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
, who was a friend of the faculty adviser, and starred a young actor named Chuck Roberts (a.k.a. Charles Robert Kaltenthaler). It premiered on campus in spring of 1954.
Graeff began production on his first feature, ''The Noble Experiment'', in the summer of 1954. The comedy, shot in
Orange County, took a year to complete and premiered in
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws v ...
, in August 1955. Graeff played the lead opposite a local beauty queen. The film was not well received by the audience and was only shown once more, years later. Around this time, Graeff also produced a short art film, ''Island Sunrise'', starring Chuck Roberts.
''Teenagers from Outer Space''
In 1956, Graeff was hired as
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 ...
's assistant on ''
Not of This Earth''. He also played a small role. When filming wrapped, Graeff decided to pen a science-fiction feature of his own and look for funding. Securing a modest budget from actor
Gene Sterling, Graeff placed an ad in ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' looking for more investors. The ad was answered by British actor Bryan Pearson (stage name Bryan Grant), who put up $5,000 in exchange for playing the villain, Thor, and casting his wife Ursula Pearson in a small role.
Filmed entirely on location in Hollywood in the fall of 1956 and winter of 1957, the low-budget film went through several titles before it was released by
Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
in June 1959. Though the film was profitable, Graeff and his investors saw no money from the release. Bryan Pearson eventually sued Graeff to get his original investment back.
''Teenagers'' appeared as the lower part of a double bill alongside ''
Godzilla Raids Again
is a 1955 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Motoyoshi Oda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the second film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. The film stars Hiroshi Koizumi, Setsuko Wak ...
'', released under the title ''Gigantis the Fire Monster'', and was shown largely at
drive-in theater
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 mov ...
s throughout the country. Critics were not kind to the film, though Graeff was applauded in some publications as a director with talent and a creative approach to a minimal budget.
Later years and death
In 1959, Graeff placed an ad in the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' proclaiming that he was to be called
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
II, and that God had shown him truth and love. A second ad appeared on Christmas Day and listed several sermon dates at local churches. That ad was quickly pulled from rotation. The next year, Graeff filed to have his name legally changed to Jesus Christ II. After opposition by the
Christian Defense League, the petition was denied.
After this incident and a subsequent arrest, Graeff vanished from Hollywood, fleeing to the east coast. He returned to Los Angeles in 1964 and worked as an editor on
David L. Hewitt's 1964 ultra low-budget film ''
The Wizard of Mars''. It was his final film credit. In 1968, Graeff took out an ad in ''Variety'', announcing that his screenplay, entitled ''Orf'', was for sale for the unprecedented sum of $500,000. (A Hollywood record had recently been set when a script was sold for $400,000.) After the ad appeared, he was publicly lambasted by ''LA Times'' columnist
Joyce Haber. When Graeff insinuated that a number of high-profile people were attached to the project (including
Robert Wise
Robert Earl Wise (September 10, 1914 – September 14, 2005) was an American film director, producer, and editor. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for his musical films '' West Side Story'' (1961) and ''The Sound of ...
and
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, stand-up comedian, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned seven decades. He was the recipient of many awards and honors, including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, ...
), Haber outed him as "Jesus Christ II", putting the final nail in his career.
Unable to find work, Graeff moved to
La Mesa, California
La Mesa () is a city in San Diego County, located east of Downtown San Diego in Southern California. The population was 61,121 at the 2020 census, up from 57,065 at the 2010 census. Its civic motto is "the Jewel of the Hills."
History
La Me ...
, near San Diego. He committed suicide by
carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide ( chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simp ...
poisoning in his garage on December 19, 1970, at age 41.
Legacy
In a 1993 edition of ''
Scarlet Street
''Scarlet Street'' is a 1945 American film noir directed by Fritz Lang. The screenplay concerns two criminals who take advantage of a middle-aged painter in order to steal his artwork. The film is based on the French novel ''La Chienne'' (literal ...
'' magazine. an article by Richard Valley and Jessie Lilley featured interviews with Bryan and Ursula Pearson, who revealed that Graeff and David Love/Chuck Roberts were romantically involved. For over 25 years, major publications, including
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of f ...
's movie guide, had erroneously written that Love and Graeff were the same person. Shortly after the article appeared, fans dubbed Graeff the gay
Ed Wood
Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker,
actor, and pulp novel author.
In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cl ...
.
The Graeff/Love confusion was the first of many ''Teenagers from Outer Space'' rumors that made their way onto the Internet. For example, sites like IMDB reported as late as 2006 that
Dawn Bender had died from alcohol poisoning, despite the fact that, at present, she is alive and well.
In the early 1960s, ''Teenagers'' was sold to television, where it played frequently for the next thirty years, noted for its infamous raygun that turned living things into instant skeletons, an original effect that showed up again in
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993) ...
's film ''
Mars Attacks!
''Mars Attacks!'' is a 1996 American science fiction comedy film directed by Tim Burton, who also co-produced it with Larry J. Franco. The screenplay by Jonathan Gems was based on the Topps trading card series of the same name. The film feat ...
''. It was featured in the movie-spoofing television series ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000
''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 19 ...
'' (season 4, episode 4), and was included on their Volume 6 DVD box set. The movie was included as an extra on the 2005 PS2 video game ''
Destroy All Humans!
''Destroy All Humans!'' is an open world action-adventure video game franchise that is designed as a parody of Cold War-era alien invasion films. '' Destroy All Humans!'' and ''Destroy All Humans! 2'' are available for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox ...
''
Graeff is also the subject of several media projects, including a biography called ''Smacks of Brilliance'', and a documentary entitled ''The Boy from Out of This World''.
Filmography
References
Further reading
* Johnson, John. ''Cheap Tricks and Class Acts'' (
McFarland & Company
McFarland & Company, Inc., is an American independent book publisher based in Jefferson, North Carolina, that specializes in academic and reference works, as well as general-interest adult nonfiction. Its president is Rhonda Herman. Its former ...
, 1996) (); Part VI, Chapter 26
* Lilley, Jessie and Valley, Richard. ''
Scarlet Street Magazine'', Issue No. 11, Summer 1993
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graeff, Tom
1929 births
1970 deaths
20th-century American male actors
American cinematographers
American film editors
American male film actors
American male screenwriters
People from Pinal County, Arizona
People from Ray, Arizona
Suicides by carbon monoxide poisoning
Suicides in California
UCLA Film School alumni
20th-century American businesspeople
Film directors from Arizona
Screenwriters from Arizona
Film producers from Arizona
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters
1970 suicides