William Girdler (October 22, 1947 – January 21, 1978) was an American filmmaker. In a span of six years, from 1972 to 1978, he directed nine feature films in such genres as horror and action. Girdler also wrote and produced three of his features, '' Abby'', ''

Sheba, Baby ''Sheba, Baby'' is a 1975 American blaxploitation action film directed by William Girdler and starring Pam Grier and Austin Stoker. Plot Private investigator Sheba Shayne (Grier) returns from Chicago, Illinois to her hometown of Louisville, Ken ...

'' and ''

The Manitou ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''.

Career

Girdler, born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, started Studio One Productions in his early 20s and directed his first feature, a low-budget film entitled ''Asylum of Satan'' which was briefly released to theaters. Girdler's second effort was a slasher thriller entitled ''

Three on a Meathook ''Three on a Meathook'' is a 1972 horror film written and directed by William Girdler and starring Charles Kissinger, James Pickett and Sherry Steiner. The film is loosely based on the crimes committed by Ed Gein. Plot When four girls go on a w ...

''. Both ''Asylum of Satan'' and ''Three on a Meathook'' were filmed in his hometown, and although both films received little notice, they got the attention of

Samuel Z. Arkoff Samuel Zachary Arkoff (June 12, 1918 – September 16, 2001) was an American producer of B movies. Life and career Arkoff was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, to Russian Jewish parents. He was the son of Helen (Lurie) and Louis Arkoff, who ran his ...

and American International Pictures (AIP). Girdler next directed three "

blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president o ...

" films. The first, in 1973, was a long-lost thriller titled ''The Zebra Killer'' starring Austin Stoker. By coincidence, another Louisville native, Rich Miles, appeared in this picture in a small role as the local cop who discovers some of the bodies. Girdler's next feature was an ''Exorcist'' clone titled '' Abby'' with Carol Speed in the lead role and co-starring

William H. Marshall William Horace Marshall (August 19, 1924 – June 11, 2003) was an American actor, director and opera singer. He played the title role in the 1972 blaxploitation classic ''Blacula'' and its sequel ''Scream Blacula Scream'' (1973), and appeared ...

(from ''

Blacula ''Blacula'' is a 1972 American blaxploitation horror film directed by William Crain. It stars William Marshall in the title role about an 18th-century African prince named Mamuwalde, who is turned into a vampire (and later locked in a coffin) b ...

'') and Oscar nominee

Juanita Moore Juanita Moore (October 19, 1914 – January 1, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actress. She was the fifth black actor to be nominated for an Academy Award in any category, and the third in the Supporting Actress category at a ...

. ''Abby'' became Girdler's breakthrough film. The picture opened in 1974 to major box office success, earning nearly $9 million.

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 ...

thought ''Abby'' was too derivative of ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty W ...

'' and the film was suddenly pulled from theaters after two weeks. The last "blaxploitation" film Girdler directed was the Pam Grier vehicle ''

'' and his first effort in the action genre. ''Sheba, Baby'' was another major hit in theaters, even though it is often cited as one of Pam Grier's weaker vehicles when compared to her similarly themed action films '' Coffy'' and '' Foxy Brown''. Girdler was then finished with his contract with Arkoff and AIP. Girdler's sixth feature film was another action-themed film reminiscent of ''The Killer Elite'', starring Leslie Nielsen, in one of his more serious roles as an agent tracked by the government in the political thriller '' Project: Kill'', which was given a limited theatrical release. '' Grizzly'', released in 1976, was Girdler's most financially successful film. A ''Jaws'' clone from start to finish, the film was about an oversized

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

terrorizing a national park. The movie starred Christopher George, Andrew Prine and Richard Jaeckel and went on to become one of the most successful motion pictures of the year, earning an impressive $39 million worldwide. After this triumph, ''Grizzly's'' producer and distributor, Edward L. Montoro and Film Ventures International decided to keep the financial profits. Girdler (and the film's screenwriters/producers Harvey Flaxman and David Sheldon, who also worked with Girdler on previous films) sued Montoro and Film Ventures to have the profits returned. Girdler then directed ''

Day of the Animals ''Day of the Animals'' (re-released as ''Something Is Out There'') is a 1977 American natural horror film directed by William Girdler, based on a story by producer Edward L. Montoro. The film reunited Girdler and Montoro with stars Christopher Ge ...

'', another effort for Montoro which is sometimes cited as a sequel to ''Grizzly''. The film had an all-star cast, including Christopher George, Lynda Day George, Richard Jaeckel, and Leslie Nielsen. It was Girdler's second approach to nature-versus-man films, but was not as successful as ''Grizzly''. ''

'' was the last film directed by Girdler. Based on a best-selling novel by

Graham Masterton Graham Masterton (born 16 January 1946, in Edinburgh) is a British author known primarily for horror fiction. Originally editor of '' Mayfair'' and the British edition of '' Penthouse'', his debut novel, ''The Manitou'', was published in 1976. T ...

, and starring

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

and

Susan Strasberg Susan Elizabeth Strasberg (May 22, 1938 – January 21, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Imagined to be the next Hepburn-type ingenue, she was nominated for a Tony Award at age 18, playing the title role in ''The Diary ...

, ''The Manitou'' was perhaps Girdler's most expensive production. It was acquired by AVCO Embassy Pictures, released in 1978 and was also a major hit in theaters.

Death

He was killed in a helicopter crash in

Manila, Philippines Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

on January 21, 1978, while scouting locations for his 10th film project.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Girdler, William 1947 births 1978 deaths Horror film directors Writers from Louisville, Kentucky Blaxploitation film directors Film directors from Kentucky Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents Accidental deaths in the Philippines Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery