Although its very unlikely that his admittedly cheapncheesy films will ever be acknowledged as true works of cinematic art, directorproducerscreenwriter Al Adamson did nonetheless make a slew of entertainingly trashy lowbudget exploitation features for the drivein market throughout the 60s and 70s. Al was born on July 25, 1929 in Hollywood, California.He was the son of actress Dolores Booth and actordirector Victor Adamson, who appropriately enough specialized in shoddy poverty row 30s Western programmers.Adamsons first foray into filmmaking was helping his father as director and producer on the movie Halfway to Hell. In the mid 60s Al founded the prolific grindhouse outfit IndependentInternational Pictures with producerdistributor Sam Sherman. Adamson cranked out a bunch of flicks in every conceivable genre: scuzzy biker items Satans Sadists, Hells Bloody Devils, Angels Wild Women, gritty Westerns Five Bloody Graves, Jessis Girls, silly softcore comedies The Naughty Stewardesses, Blazing Stewardesses, funky blaxploitation Mean Mother, Black Heat, ridiculous science fiction dross the gloriously ghastly Horror of the Blood Monsters, two Jim Kelly martial arts action outings Black Samurai, Death Dimension, lurid horror fare Dracula Vs. Frankenstein, Brain of Blood, Nurse Sherri, and even a tongueincheek softcore science fiction musical Cinderella 2000. Moreover, Adamson served as a producer for both the exciting Fred Williamson blaxploitation vehicle Hammer and the acclaimed madeforTV drama Cry Rape.The casts of Adamsons movies were made up of oddball, but enthusiastic amateurs and faded name thespians who include Kent Taylor, Russ Tamblyn, Lon Chaney, Jr. and the ubiquitous John Carradine. Al frequently gave his wife Regina Carrol sizable parts in his films. Moreover, Adamson was a mentor for future schlock feature directors Greydon Clark and John Bud Cardos. Al was also instrumental in launching the career of ace cinematographer Gary Graver. In addition, Adamson kept fellow top cinematographers Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond employed in their early salad days. Al Adamsons life came to a brutal and abrupt untimely end at age 66 when he was murdered by livein contractor Fred Fulford on August 2, 1995.

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