10/10/2024
Today would have been Ed Wood's 100th birthday.
Ed was a filmmaker, writer, and producer who was quite active in the 50s and 60s. His stuff was typically very low-budget, campy, and not commercially successful. He's most known for the 1957 film "Plan 9 from Outer Space"...but the attention for that film didn't come until decades later. He passed away in 1954 at the young age of 54. At that time, he was basically a down-and-out alcoholic who'd been struggling to get by for years. It was a sad end to a guy who had a lot of ups and way downs.
I learned about Ed probably 20 years ago online and have since absorbed everything I could find on him and his eccentric cast of characters (primarily Vampira, The Amazing Criswell and Bela Lugosi).
What stood out to me right away about Ed was that he clearly knew what he wanted to do...work as a writer and director, and make films. Opportunities weren't really coming around so he created his own opportunities. He got very creative and found a way to get movies made with little to no support....because he just loved doing it. Nobody's opinion was going to stop him. Nobody's lack of support was going to stop him. Commercial failure wasn't going to stop him. He just wanted to create, so he created and just kept trucking along.
Nobody wants to pay you to make a movie or hire you to make a movie? Great. Go make one anyway. It can be done. They don't like your ideas and aren't interested? Great. Go make it anyway. That's what he did his entire life. He got every door possible slammed in his face and just kept creating because he loved doing it.
He used a lot of the same people in his projects repeatedly, because he wanted to provide opportunities to his friends, and he wanted them along for the ride.
The fame, money, and recognition never found him during his lifetime. He always struggled and hustled to get by.
None of us would probably be talking about him today if it weren't for one guy's negative opinion of him...which changed the course of history. 2 years after Ed died, his movie "Plan 9 from Outer Space" was listed in some book as being "the worst movie ever made", and they called him the worst director of all time. This of course made people want to see what the fuss was about, and it was through this curiosity that people discovered how loveable this movie was...and it sent people like me down the Ed Wood rabbit hole...launching Ed and his films and writings into "Cult Icon" status.
Undoubtedly a very flawed individual, as most of us are in our own ways, Ed left behind a lot of valuable lessons...some cautionary, and some quite inspiring.
Ed has been a major inspiration to me as a filmmaker and content creator. His work is a reminder that if you want to do something, just start doing it. You don't need anyone's permission or approval to make films. Just use what's available to you and start doing it...and put it out into the world. Someone will find it and enjoy it....maybe today, maybe after you're gone. Who cares, just enjoy the process of making it if that's what makes you happy.
My search for information on Ed's rather bizarre life and work has led me to connect with some truly awesome people who share an appreciation for him.
In the spring of 2024 while visiting Los Angeles, I was able to take a drive past the last apartment building Ed lived in just before he passed away. It's on Yucca Street right in the middle of Hollywood. It was neat to get a little glimpse of his old stomping grounds.
Do yourself a favor, go watch Plan 9 from Outer Space and take a stroll down the Ed Wood rabbit hole. It's a fun one.
Happy birthday, Ed!
