Lou Rusoff (August 3, 1911 – June 29, 1963) was a Canadian-born screenwriter and producer best known for his work with

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

. He was brother-in-law to Sam Arkoff and was the screenwriter for many of

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 first films. He was the father of

Ted Rusoff Ted Rusoff (May 20, 1939 – September 28, 2013) was a Canadian voiceover artist, actor, vocal coach, and translator specializing in the adaptation and translation from and into various languages of synchronized dialogue for the dubbing of fil ...

Career

Rusoff worked as a social worker and wrote for Canadian radio and television before moving to Hollywood in 1950. He wrote for a number of TV programs then started working for AIP and became their most prolific screenwriter, usually writing scripts to match a concept and poster that AIP had come up with. Arkoff later said:

Often, he was working on five or six scripts simultaneously – not only his own but rewriting other people's screenplays when emergencies occurred and the original writers were unavailable. He also eventually produced some of the AIP movies he wrote... More than any other writer, Lou had a real appreciation for what we were trying to do. He understood how to keep costs down by limiting the number of sets and locations. He framed his scripts beautifully into our titles and artwork. And he always kept a sense of humour, which was a real virtue under hectic circumstances.

Writer Mark McGee said "Rusoff's scripts were usually hackneyed and dull but they generally made sense." He worked his way up to vice-president in charge of production. Rusoff died of brain cancer during the editing of his final film, ''

Beach Party ''Beach Party'' is a 1963 American film and the first of seven beach party films from American International Pictures (AIP) aimed at a teen audience.Smith, Gary A. Smith (2009) ''The American International Pictures Video Guide'', McFarland p.2 ...

'' (1963). He was survived by his wife, two sons, a brother and six sisters.

Select Credits

*'' Terry and the Pirates'' (1953) (TV series) *''

Four Star Playhouse ''Four Star Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956. Four Star Playhouse was owned by Four Star International. Its episodes ranged anywhere from surreal mysteries, such as "The Man on the Train", to light comedie ...

'' (TV series) – writer, director *''

The Star and the Story ''The Star and the Story'' is an American television anthology series which aired 1955–1956 in first-run syndication. A filmed half-hour series, episodes were approximately 25 minutes long, excluding commercials. Produced by Four Star Produc ...

'' (TV series) (1955) – writer *'' Apache Woman'' (1955) – writer *'' The Day the World Ended'' (1955) – writer *'' The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues'' (1955) – writer *'' The Oklahoma Woman'' (1955) – writer *''

It Conquered the World ''It Conquered the World'' is an independently made 1956 American black-and-white science fiction film, produced and directed by Roger Corman, starring Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef, Beverly Garland, and Sally Fraser. ''It Conquered the World'' ...

'' (1956) – writer *'' Girls in Prison'' (1956) – writer *'' The She-Creature'' (1956) – writer *'' Runaway Daughters'' (1956) – writer *'' Shake, Rattle & Rock!'' (1956) – writer *'' Flesh and the Spur'' (1957) – additional dialogue *'' Dragstrip Girl'' (1957) – writer *'' Cat Girl'' (1957) – writer, producer *''

Motorcycle Gang An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, ...

'' (1958) – writer *'' Suicide Battalion'' (1958) – writer, producer *'' Hot Rod Gang'' (1958) – writer, producer *'' Submarine Seahawk'' (1958) – writer, executive producer *'' Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow'' (1959) – writer, producer *'' Black Sunday'' (1961) – producer of US version *'' Alakazam the Great'' (1961) – producer of US version *'' Panic in the Year Zero'' (1962) – producer *''Marco Polo'' (1962) – English version supervisor *''

'' (1963) – writer, producer *''

Operation Bikini ''Operation Bikini'', also titled ''The Seafighter'', is a war film released in 1963 by American International Pictures. It was directed by Anthony Carras and starred Tab Hunter, Frankie Avalon and Scott Brady. The casting was aimed to capture a ...

'' (1963) – producer

References

*Arkoff, Samuel Z & Richard Turbo, ''Flying Through Hollywood By the Seat of My Pants'', Birch Lane Press, 1992

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rusoff, Lou 1911 births 1963 deaths American film producers American male screenwriters American television writers Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in California American male television writers 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters Canadian emigrants to the United States