Still reeling from the loss of gore pioneer Herschell Gordon Lewis last month, fans of low budget horror from the grindhouse / drive-in era have been dealt another blow with the announcement that cult movie maker Ted V. Mikels has passed away.
A man with boundless energy who dedicated his life to filmmaking, Mikels had been aiming to live until 104, but unfortunately has passed away at the age of 87 after battling an illness for the last eight years. Mikels was working on finishing his last film, a sequel to his 1982 movie TEN VIOLENT WOMEN, right up until he became too ill to continue earlier this year. Sadly, he did not manage to complete that movie before his death, a fact that his longtime companion Wendy Altamura is sure has left him "an angry soul".
Mikels' first film was STRIKE ME DEADLY in 1963, and over the course of the last fifty-three years he racked up many, many credits in several different departments. He was an actor, an editor, a composer, a cinematographer, he did stunts, he wrote twenty-one films, he directed twenty-five films, with some of his most popular titles including THE BLACK KLANSMAN, GIRL IN GOLD BOOTS, THE ASTRO-ZOMBIES, THE CORPSE GRINDERS, and BLOOD ORGY OF THE SHE-DEVILS. He produced more, including Bob Clark's CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS.
In addition to making features, Mikels also directed documentaries, commercials, and promotional reels, endeavors that led to collaborations with the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Chris Rock.
Born on April 29, 1929, Mikels passed away on October 16th. He is survived by Altamura, four daughters, two sons, twenty-three grandchildren, and fifty great-grandchildren. A memorial service is expected to be held sometime in the next three weeks.