Fred Olen Ray
Encyclopedia
Fred Olen Ray is an American director
, producer
, screenwriter
, actor
, and cinematographer
.
, director
, and screenwriter
of low to medium-budget feature films in many genres, including horror
, science fiction
, action
/adventure
, softcore
sex films and crime dramas. He has also produced a few feature films for a family audience.
In his craft he has used many pseudonyms. They include: Bill Carson, S. Carver, Roger Collins, Peter Daniels, Nicholas Medina, Nick Medina, Sam Newfield, Ed Raymond, Sherman Scott, Peter Stewart, and Freddie Valentine.
Aside from the film industry Fred Olen Ray is also a professional wrestler. His wrestling name is Fabulous Freddie Valentine. He is currently married to Kimberly A. Ray who helps produce many of his films.
, but grew up in Florida
. He claims to have a large family tree and be distantly related to Queen Elizabeth. He began directing and producing films in 1978. Ray directed several films in Florida, including Alien Dead
with film legend Buster Crabbe
, then moved to Southern California
to be close to the film industry.
Many of his early productions appeared at drive-in theater
s and inner-city grindhouse
s, when those outlets for low budget films were still significant. Some of Ray's productions have received theatrical releases. Most of his current output, however, is released directly to DVD
or appears on cable television
channels such as Showtime, Cinemax
, and HBO. Ray has directed over 100 films and is still going strong.
Ray is the head of Retromedia, which releases DVDs of both his own productions and archival films. He has also worked for other well-known independent studios and on a few occasions for major Hollywood studios.
Ray has written The New Poverty Row: Independent Filmmakers as Distributors in 1991.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, and cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
.
Biography
He is the producerFilm producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
of low to medium-budget feature films in many genres, including horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
/adventure
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
, softcore
Softcore
Softcore pornography is a form of filmic or photographic pornography or erotica that is less sexually explicit than hardcore pornography. It is intended to tickle and arouse men and women. Softcore pornography depicts nude and semi-nude performers engaging in casual social nudity or non-graphic...
sex films and crime dramas. He has also produced a few feature films for a family audience.
In his craft he has used many pseudonyms. They include: Bill Carson, S. Carver, Roger Collins, Peter Daniels, Nicholas Medina, Nick Medina, Sam Newfield, Ed Raymond, Sherman Scott, Peter Stewart, and Freddie Valentine.
Aside from the film industry Fred Olen Ray is also a professional wrestler. His wrestling name is Fabulous Freddie Valentine. He is currently married to Kimberly A. Ray who helps produce many of his films.
Film career
Ray was born in OhioOhio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, but grew up in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. He claims to have a large family tree and be distantly related to Queen Elizabeth. He began directing and producing films in 1978. Ray directed several films in Florida, including Alien Dead
Alien Dead
Alien Dead is a 1980 American horror film directed by Fred Olen Ray, and the final screen appearance of Buster Crabbe. Ray co-wrote the script with Martin Nicholas.-Plot:...
with film legend Buster Crabbe
Buster Crabbe
Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe was an American athlete and actor, who starred in a number of popular serials in the 1930s and 1940s.-Birth:...
, then moved to Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
to be close to the film industry.
Many of his early productions appeared at drive-in theater
Drive-in theater
A drive-in theater is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor screen, a projection booth, a concession stand and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars.The screen can be as simple as a...
s and inner-city grindhouse
Grindhouse
A grindhouse is an American term for a theater that mainly shows exploitation films. It is named after the defunct burlesque theaters located on 42nd Street in New York City, where 'bump n' grind' dancing and striptease were featured.- History :...
s, when those outlets for low budget films were still significant. Some of Ray's productions have received theatrical releases. Most of his current output, however, is released directly to DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
or appears on cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
channels such as Showtime, Cinemax
Cinemax
Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...
, and HBO. Ray has directed over 100 films and is still going strong.
Ray is the head of Retromedia, which releases DVDs of both his own productions and archival films. He has also worked for other well-known independent studios and on a few occasions for major Hollywood studios.
Ray has written The New Poverty Row: Independent Filmmakers as Distributors in 1991.
Filmography
- Twilight Vamps
- Bikini Frankenstein (2009)
- The LairThe LairThe Lair is an American gay-themed vampire television series produced by here! in 2007. The first season, consisting of six episodes, wrapped production in January of that year. The first two episodes premiered on June 1, 2007. Season 2, consisting of 9 episodes debuted on September 5, 2008...
(2007) (TV) - The Legend of William Tell (2006)
- Glass Trap (2005)
- Tomb of the WerewolfTomb of the WerewolfTomb of the Werewolf is a 2004 horror film about a man searching for treasure while being followed by a reality show film crew, who encounters a werewolf and a vampire instead...
(2004) (V) - Bikini a Go Go (2004) (V) (as Nicholas Medina)
- aka Curse of the Erotic Tiki (USA: DVD box title)
- The Bikini Escort Company (2004) (as Nicholas Medina)
- aka The Erotic Escort Company (USA: DVD title)
- Genie in a String Bikini (2004) (as Nicholas Medina)
- Haunting Desires (2004) (TV) (as Nicholas Medina)
- Teenage Cavegirl (2004) (as Nicholas Medina)
- Bikini Airways (2003) (as Nicholas Medina)
- Final Examination (2003)
- Southern Discomfort: Wrestling on the Indie Circuit (2002)
- Venomous (2002) (as Ed Raymond)
- 13 Erotic Ghosts (2002) (as Nicholas Medina)
- Emmanuelle 2000 (2001)
- Air Rage (2001)
- Mach 2 (2001)
- ACW Wrestling's Wildest Matches! (2001) (as Sherman Scott)
- Emmanuelle 2001: Emmanuelle's Sensual Pleasures (2001) (as Nicholas Medina)
- Kept (2001)
- Stranded (2001/II)
- Submerged (2000)
- Sideshow (2000)
- Critical Mass (2000) (as Ed Raymond)
- Inviati speciali (2000)
- Invisible Mom II (1999)
- Fugitive Mind (1999)
- The Prophet (1999/I)
- The Kid with X-ray Eyes (1999) (as Sherman Scott)
- Counter Measures (1999)
- a.k.a. Crash Dive 2 (USA)
- Active Stealth (1999)
- Scandal: On the Other Side (1999) (as Nick Medina)
- Mom, Can I Keep Her? (1998)
- Inferno (1998/II)
- a.k.a. Operation Cobra
- Illicit Dreams 2 (1998) (as Roger Collins)
- Billy Frankenstein (1998)
- Dear Santa (1998) (as Peter Stewart)
- Mom's Outta Sight (1998) (as Peter Stewart)
- The Shooter (1997) (as Ed Raymond)
- a.k.a. Desert Shooter (USA)
- Invisible Mom (1997)
- Bikini Hoe-Down (1997) (as Roger Collins)
- Hybrid (1997)
- Invisible Dad (1997)
- Little Miss Magic (1997)
- Masseuse 2 (1997) (as Peter Daniels)
- Maximum Revenge (1997)
- a.k.a. Maximum Security
- Night Shade (1997) (as Nicholas Medina)
- Rapid Assault (1997) (as Sherman Scott)
- Friend of the Family II (1996) (as Nicholas Medina)
- Fugitive Rage (1996)
- a.k.a. Caged Fear (UK)
- Over the Wire (1996) (as Nicholas Medina)
- Masseuse (1996) (as Peter Daniels)
- a.k.a. American Masseuse (UK: video title)
- Droid Gunner (1995)
- a.k.a. Phoenix 2 (UK)
- Bikini Drive-In (1995)
- Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfolds (1995)
- Star Hunter (1995) (as Sam Newfield)
- Inner Sanctum II (1994)
- Possessed by the Night (1994)
- Dinosaur Island (1994)
- Mind Twister (1994)
- Dinosaur Girls (1993)
- Witch Academy (1993)
- a.k.a. Little Devils
- Evil ToonsEvil ToonsEvil Toons is a 1992 live-action/animated Comedy-Horror B-movie directed by Fred Olen Ray.- Plot :A group of teenage girls must spend the night in an old house in order to receive a minor amount of money. On the night of their arrival, a strange man arrives at the house, delivering an old book...
(1992) - Haunting Fear (1991)
- Spirits (1991)
- Inner Sanctum (1991)
- Bad Girls from Mars (1991)
- Scream Queen Hot Tub Party (1991)
- Wizards of the Demon Sword (1991)
- Mob Boss (1990)
- Demon Cop (1990)
- Warlords (1989)
- Terminal Force (1989)
- AlienatorAlienatorAlienator is a 1989 science fiction/action/thriller, directed by filmmaker Fred Olen Ray—the producer, director, and screenwriter of over one hundred low to medium-budget feature films in many genres—and starring Jan-Michael Vincent, star of the CBS television series Airwolf. Alienator is among...
(1989) - Hollywood Chainsaw HookersHollywood Chainsaw HookersHollywood Chainsaw Hookers is a 1988 American comedy horror B-movie directed by Fred Olen Ray, and starring Gunnar Hansen, Linnea Quigley, Jay Richardson and Michelle Bauer.-Plot summary:...
(1988) - Prison Ship (1988)
- Beverly Hills Vamp (1988)
- Commando Squad (1987)
- CycloneCyclone (1987 film)Cyclone is a 1987 science fiction action film about a woman who must keep the ultimate motorcycle from falling into the wrong hands. The film was directed by Fred Olen Ray, and stars Heather Thomas, Jeffrey Combs, and Martin Landau.-Plot:...
(1987) - Deep Space (film)Deep Space (film)Deep Space is a 1988 sci-fi horror film directed by Fred Olen Ray about a monster that terrorizes a town in the United States and the detective who must stop it.-Cast:Charles Napier as Det. Ian McLemoreAnn Turkel as Carla Sandbourn...
(1987) - Evil Spawn (1987)
- Armed Response (1986)
- a.k.a. Jade Jungle
- The Tomb (1986)
- The Phantom Empire (1986)
- Biohazard (1985)
- ScalpsScalpsScalps is a 1983 American horror film directed by Fred Olen Ray that revolves around a vengeful Native American spirit.-Plot:Six college archeology students work on a dig in the California desert, despite the warnings of a professor and the town drunk. When the group digs around in an Indian...
(1983) - Alien DeadAlien DeadAlien Dead is a 1980 American horror film directed by Fred Olen Ray, and the final screen appearance of Buster Crabbe. Ray co-wrote the script with Martin Nicholas.-Plot:...
(1980) - The Brain Leeches (1977)
- Honey BritchesDemented Death Farm MassacreDemented Death Farm Massacre is a 1971 horror film directed by Fred Olen Ray and Donn Davison and features screen legend John Carradine as 'The Judge of Hell', who narrates the story.-Plot:After a group...
(1971) (new footage)