Jonathan Haze played florist assistant Seymour Krelborn to Roger Corman in the original film this little shop of horrorsOne of the two dozen films he made with the B-movie legend has died. He is 95 years old.
Haze’s daughter, Rebecca Haze, told the outlet that Haze died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. hollywood reporter.
Haze, a cousin of drummer Buddy Rich, had been a valuable and versatile member of the Corman troupe since 1954, when he fast and Furious and Monster from the bottom of the sea — Until 1967, when he appeared in Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre and served as deputy director born loser.
In one of his more noteworthy turns, Haze played one of three teenagers who stumble across $250,000 worth of heroin and become drug dealers in the Warner Bros. TV series. Dorp Street Surveillance (1958), the first feature film directed by Irving Kershner.
The Pittsburgh native also plays a tainted man in the film. end of the world (1955), an outlaw five guns west (1955), a stupid bartender shooter (1956), a pickpocket swamp woman (1956) – He also trained the actresses how to fight in that film – a Latino soldier it conquered the world (1956), valet working for foreigners Not of this earth (1957) with a diminutive Viking The legendary story of Viking women and their voyages to the waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957).
exist little shop of horrors In “Haze” (1960), which Corman produced and directed, the clumsy Seymour gradually realizes that the sickly houseplant he grows from seeds purchased from a Japanese gardener requires blood and human flesh to survive. (The original title of the film Passionate cannibal.)
In one memorable moment, he pulls a tooth or two from the mouth of mortician Wilbur Force (Jack Nicholson).
“All the interior scenes in the movie were done in two days, like 20 hours a day, and then we went out into the street and shot for three nights with a second unit and a completely different crew. It was crazy, Haze recalled in 2001 that he was paid $400 for the job. “We actually shot in the ghetto, using real homeless people as extras. We paid them 10 cents for each rehearsal.
In a 2011 Tumblr post, Haze was described as “a slight man with boyish good looks who would almost certainly never be a leading man, even in Corman’s universe.” . Instead, he devoted himself to playing a variety of weirdos and losers.
“He maintains an overwhelming enthusiasm for any project he’s working on, and, as it happens, he’s a physical chameleon. His face seems to completely change depending on the outfit he’s wearing, as he changes his posture and He’s almost unrecognizable when it comes to creating a new character on screen.
Jonathan Haze and Dorothy Malone in the 1955 film Five Gun West.
Courtesy of Everett Collection
Jack Aaron Schachter was born in Pittsburgh on April 1, 1929, the son of a jeweler. Josephine Baker served as stage manager for two years.
After a summer playing gigs in Connecticut, Schachter hitchhiked to Los Angeles and got a gas job on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and North Vista Street, where he met Wyot Wyott Ordung, who introduced him to Koeman.
“There is a role for you, a Mexican,” Koeman told him. “But you have to grow a beard. You also have to bring your own costume, perform your own stunts, and you don’t get overtime pay. Do you still want it?
He was promoted as Jack Hayes Monster from the bottom of the sea Then chose Jonathan Haze as his stage name. At the same time, he attracted the attention of the film’s producer, his friend and actor Dick Miller, who later became a frequent co-star.
In an interview for Tom Weaver’s 1998 book, Sci-fi and fantasy movie flashbacksActress Jackie Joseph, who plays saleswoman Audrey in the film small shopsaid Haze “suffered almost all the pressure” during the film’s production.
“I don’t think any of us would have been as successful as he was if he hadn’t been the best at what he did,” she said. “It’s funny to think about ‘professionalism’ when you think about something as silly as this. small shopbut there are definitely professionals on that stage.
(Rick Moranis played Seymour in the 1986 film “Seymour”) small shop Frank Oz directed the remake.
exist apache woman (1955), because it was cheaper for Corman to have actors change costumes rather than bring in new actors, Haze and others played warriors on both sides of the battle. “There was a scene where we were having a huge shootout and we were shooting at Indians and we saw Indians being shot,” he recalled.
Haze’s other works for Corman include The beast with a million eyes (1955), carnival rock (1957), nude paradise (1957), teenage caveman (1958), premature burial (1962), fear (1963) and X: A man with X-ray eyes (1963).
He last shared a project with Corman in 1999, when he had a guest role in the series Phantom Eye.
Haze also wrote the script for the show Invasion of interstellar creatures (1962) and served as production manager for Haskell Wexler’s medium cold (1969) and producer (with Tom Smothers) Another mess (1972). At the time, he was the CEO of a company that created promotional campaigns for products like Kool-Aid and Schlitz Beer.
In addition to Rebecca, survivors include another daughter, Deedee; his grandchildren, Andre, Rocco and Ruby; and his great-grandson, Sonny. He was married to costume designer Roberta Keith, who died in September, from the mid-1960s until their divorce in 1981.
