Ray Dennis Steckler
Encyclopedia
Ray Dennis Steckler also known by the pseudonym Cash Flagg, was an American film 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:...

, 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:...

 and 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...

 best known as the low-budget auteur of such cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...

s as The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies
The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies
-DVD release:The DVD release of Incredibly Strange Creatures features a commentary track by "drive-in movie critic" Joe Bob Briggs.-In popular culture:...

. In addition to Cash Flagg, Steckler was also known by the pseudonyms Sven Christian, Sven Hellstrom, Harry Nixon, Michael J. Rogers, Michel J. Rogers, Wolfgang Schmidt, Cindy Lou Steckler, R.D. Steckler, Ray Steckler, and Cindy Lou Sutters—the last being his "porn name".

Early life and career

Ray Dennis Steckler was born in Reading
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...

, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 where his grandmother, who largely raised him, nurtured his love of movies. At 15, upon receiving an 8mm
8 mm film
8 mm film is a motion picture film format in which the filmstrip is eight millimeters wide. It exists in two main versions: the original standard 8mm film, also known as regular 8 mm or Double 8 mm, and Super 8...

 home movie
Home movies
A home movie is part of the motion picture filmmaking process made by amateurs, often for viewing by family and friends. When the hobby began, home movies were produced on photographic film, but accessibility of video production with video cameras and low cost data storage devices has made the...

 camera from his stepfather, Steckler shot an amateur pirate film with friends. After a stint in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

, where he studied photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

, he spent a year at the Kaufman Astoria Studios
Kaufman Astoria Studios
The Kaufman Astoria Studios is an historic movie studio located in the Astoria section of the New York City borough of Queens.-History:It was originally built by Famous Players-Lasky in 1920 to provide the company with a facility close to the Broadway theater district. Many features and short...

 in Astoria, Queens. In 1959, Steckler and a friend drove to Hollywood, California to enter the film industry.

Steckler worked as a prop
Theatrical property
A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set...

 man before becoming assistant cameraman on the film, The World's Greatest Sinner
The World's Greatest Sinner
The World's Greatest Sinner is a 1962 underground film written, directed and starring the character actor Timothy Carey. The self-financed film tells the story of an average man, Clarence Hilliard , who quits his day job as an insurance salesman and forms a rock band...

, directed by and starring Timothy Carey
Timothy Carey
Timothy Agoglia Carey was an American film and television actor....

. When the initial director of photography was fired, Steckler replaced him.

Continuing to work in cinematography in the Los Angeles area, Steckler acquired a union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 card and established himself at major studios, including Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....

. When he was reportedly fired for almost knocking an A-frame onto Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...

, Steckler turned to the B-movie circuit. Working with Arch Hall Sr.
Arch Hall Sr.
Archibald Williams Hall , better known as Arch Hall Sr., was an American actor, screenwriter, and film producer, best known for making a series of B-movies in the early 1960s which starred his son, Arch Hall, Jr...

's Fairway Pictures, Steckler started as 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...

 and sometimes actor in the vehicles for Hall's son, Arch Hall, Jr.  Steckler made his directorial debut in the Hall vehicle Wild Guitar
Wild Guitar
Wild Guitar is a 1962 musical drama film starring Arch Hall Jr., Arch Hall, Sr. , Ray Dennis Steckler , and Nancy Czar. The movie was directed by Ray Dennis Steckler and was produced by Arch Hall, Sr...

 and co-starred under his onscreen name, Cash Flagg.

The Incredibly Strange Creatures

In 1963 he co-produced his first solo film, The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies
The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies
-DVD release:The DVD release of Incredibly Strange Creatures features a commentary track by "drive-in movie critic" Joe Bob Briggs.-In popular culture:...

!!?, co-starring his then wife, Carolyn Brandt
Carolyn Brandt
Carolyn Brandt is an American actress and dancer. She was the wife of cult film director Ray Dennis Steckler and starred in many of his films, including The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!?, The Thrill Killers, and Rat Pfink a Boo Boo.-External links:*...

. Filmed for a budget of $38,000, the film was photographed by cinematographer Joseph V. Mascelli with then newcomers László Kovács
László Kovács (cinematographer)
László Kovács, A.S.C. was a Hungarian cinematographer who was influential in the development of American New Wave films. Most famous for his award-winning work on Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces, Kovács was the recipient of numerous awards, including three Lifetime Achievement Awards...

 and Vilmos Zsigmond
Vilmos Zsigmond
Vilmos Zsigmond, A.S.C. is a Hungarian-American cinematographer.In 2003, a survey conducted by the International Cinematographers Guild placed Zsigmond among the ten most influential cinematographers in history.-Biography:...

 as camera operators; both men acknowledged the film as their first major career break. Initially distributed on the lower half of a double-bill by Fairway, Steckler took Creatures on the road himself and made it a success under a number of titles, including Diabolical Dr. Voodoo and The Teenage Psycho Meets Bloody Mary. Falling into semi-obscurity past its eccentric title, the film gained notoriety once again in 1997, when it was featured on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....

.

Steckler's next film was his answer to Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...

, entitled The Thrill Killers
The Thrill Killers
The Thrill Killers is a horror/thriller film released in 1964 and directed by low-budget film-maker Ray Dennis Steckler. It stars Cash Flagg and Liz Renay....

, released in 1964. The film marked the first effort between Steckler and Ron Haydock
Ron Haydock
Ron Haydock was an American actor, screenwriter, novelist and rock musician.His band, Ron Haydock & the Boppers, was sometimes compared to Elvis Presley...

, who would be Steckler's creative partner up until the latter's death in the 1970s.

Steckler continued to produce a number of low-budget but fanciful films which soon attained cult status, including Rat Pfink a Boo Boo
Rat Pfink a Boo Boo
Rat Pfink a Boo Boo is a 1966 film directed by Ray Dennis Steckler. Starring Ron Haydock and Carolyn Brandt.Perhaps the most striking feature of the film—beyond the low production values—is a sudden switch in tone and plot that comes roughly forty minutes into the movie...

 (a spoof of Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...

) and Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monsters
Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monsters
Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monsters is a trilogy of short films released in 1965. The films are considered a tribute to the long-running Bowery Boys films from the mid 1940s to late 1950s....

 (an homage to the East Side Kids
East Side Kids
The East Side Kids were characters in a series of films released by Monogram Pictures from 1940 through 1945. Many of them were originally part of The Dead End Kids and The Little Tough Guys, and several of them later became members of The Bowery Boys....

 films). By the late 1960s, he also directed the music video for Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....

's "White Rabbit
White Rabbit (song)
"White Rabbit" is a song from Jefferson Airplane's 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow. It was released as a single and became the band's second top ten success, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100...

", as well as "Open My Eyes" by The Nazz
The Nazz
Nazz was a psychedelic and garage rock band from the 1960s. The band was formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1967 by Todd Rundgren and Carson Van Osten...

.

Steckler's low-budget often meant working for little to nothing, but his comradeship was often reflected in his productions. In his 1969 film Body Fever, Steckler created a bit part for then destitute fellow director Coleman Francis
Coleman Francis
Coleman C. Francis was an American actor, writer, producer, and director perhaps best-known for his film trilogy consisting of The Beast of Yucca Flats , The Skydivers , Red Zone Cuba , all three of which were filmed in the general Yucca Mountain, Nevada area and used preoccupation with light...

, who, by coincidence, also achieved belated fame via Mystery Science Theater 3000. Francis died not long after the making of the film.

Later life and career

With the decline of drive-in horror films of the nature Steckler was producing in the 1960s, and following his divorce from Brandt, with whom he had daughters Linda and Laura, Steckler produced softcore adult films
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...

 during the 1970s and 1980s. Circa 1986, he married his second wife, Katherine, with whom he had daughters Morgan and Bailey.

In the late 1980s, Steckler opened Mascot Video in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

 and sold it in 1995 to local businessman Dan Wayman. Up until his death in 2009, Steckler continued to sell videos of his works via the web, including six volumes of young actresses and dancers in nude auditions for Steckler's camera. Steckler says these auditions were shot in 1991 for The Hollywood Strangler in Las Vegas (a.k.a. Las Vegas Serial Killer), but that film was finished by 1987.

In 2008, Steckler announced production of his new film One More Time, which he described as an "extension" (as opposed to a "sequel") to The Incredibly Strange Creatures,June 2008 Press Release and launched two MySpace pages and a website for casting actresses for his upcoming films. Steckler completed post-production of One More Time shortly before his death. It was filmed on location on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is an oceanfront amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. Founded in 1907, it is California's oldest surviving amusement park and one of the few seaside parks on the West Coast of the United States.- Overview :...

 and Las Vegas on a budget of $3,800 using two Digital 8 cameras. The film was released direct-to-DVD
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...

 via his website in 2009.

Death

Shortly after returning to Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

, Steckler, who had been fighting heart disease for close to ten years, died of cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...

 on January 7, 2009, aged 70. He was buried at the Palm Mortuary and Cemetery, Green Valley in Las Vegas.

Director

  • Wild Guitar
    Wild Guitar
    Wild Guitar is a 1962 musical drama film starring Arch Hall Jr., Arch Hall, Sr. , Ray Dennis Steckler , and Nancy Czar. The movie was directed by Ray Dennis Steckler and was produced by Arch Hall, Sr...

     (1962
    1962 in film
    The year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....

    )
  • Goof on the Loose (1963
    1963 in film
    The year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....

    ) short film
  • The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies
    The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies
    -DVD release:The DVD release of Incredibly Strange Creatures features a commentary track by "drive-in movie critic" Joe Bob Briggs.-In popular culture:...

     (1964
    1964 in film
    The year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....

    )
  • The Thrill Killers
    The Thrill Killers
    The Thrill Killers is a horror/thriller film released in 1964 and directed by low-budget film-maker Ray Dennis Steckler. It stars Cash Flagg and Liz Renay....

     (1964
    1964 in film
    The year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....

    )
  • The Lemon Grove Kids (1965
    1965 in film
    The year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...

    ) segment in film Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monsters
  • Rat Pfink a Boo Boo
    Rat Pfink a Boo Boo
    Rat Pfink a Boo Boo is a 1966 film directed by Ray Dennis Steckler. Starring Ron Haydock and Carolyn Brandt.Perhaps the most striking feature of the film—beyond the low production values—is a sudden switch in tone and plot that comes roughly forty minutes into the movie...

     (1966
    1966 in film
    The year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...

    )
  • Sinthia, the Devil's Doll (1968
    1968 in film
    The year 1968 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 30 - The film The Lion in Winter, starring Katharine Hepburn, debuts.* November 1 - The MPAA's film rating system is introduced.-Top grossing films :- Awards :...

    ) (as Sven Christian)
  • Body Fever (1969
    1969 in film
    The year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980...

    )
  • The Mad Love Life of a Hot Vampire (1971
    1971 in film
    The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...

    ) (as Sven Christian)
  • The Horny Vampire (1971
    1971 in film
    The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...

    )
  • Blood Shack (1971
    1971 in film
    The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...

    ) (as Wolfgang Schmidt)
  • Sexual Satanic Awareness (1972
    1972 in film
    The year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...

    )
  • Triple Play (1974
    1974 in film
    The year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...

    )
  • Sexorcist Devil (1974
    1974 in film
    The year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...

    ) (as Sven Hellstrom)
  • Perverted Passion (1974
    1974 in film
    The year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...

    ) (as Cindy Lou Sutters)
  • Teenage Hustler (1975
    1975 in film
    The year 1975 in film involved some significant events, with Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws topping the box office.-Events:*March 26 - The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London....

    ) (as Harry Nixon)
  • Red Heat (1975
    1975 in film
    The year 1975 in film involved some significant events, with Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws topping the box office.-Events:*March 26 - The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London....

    )
  • Teenage Dessert (1976
    1976 in film
    The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...

    ) (as Cindy Lou Sutters)
  • Sex Rink (1976
    1976 in film
    The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...

    ) (as Cindy Lou Sutters)
  • The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher (1979
    1979 in film
    The year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released....

    ) (as Wolfgang Schmidt)
  • Indian Lady (1981
    1981 in film
    -Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....

    ) (as Cindy Lou Steckler)
  • Black Garters (1981
    1981 in film
    -Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....

    ) (as Cindy Lou Sutters)
  • Debbie Does Las Vegas (1981
    1981 in film
    -Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....

    ) (as Cindy Lou Sutters)
  • Weekend Cowgirls (1983
    1983 in film
    -Events:*February 11 - The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York*May 25 - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the final film in the original Star Wars trilogy, is released. Like the previous films, it goes on to become the top grossing picture of...

    ) (as Cindy Lou Sutters)
  • Plato's Retreat West (1983
    1983 in film
    -Events:*February 11 - The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York*May 25 - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the final film in the original Star Wars trilogy, is released. Like the previous films, it goes on to become the top grossing picture of...

    ) (as Cindy Lou Sutters)
  • Las Vegas Serial Killer (1986
    1986 in film
    -Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....

    )
  • War Cat (1987
    1987 in film
    -Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records....

    ) (uncredited)
  • Summer of Fun (1997
    1997 in film
    -Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...

    )
  • One More Time (2009
    2009 in film
    The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note...

    )

External links

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