The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels
Meet independent grind-house movie maverick Ted V. Mikels, who is
celebrating his 60th anniversary making movies-- wowing audiences with
his own special brand of guts, gore, violence, and dark humor.
Mikels came from the small town of Bend, Oregon to Hollywood to make movies.
From the grisly "The Corpse Grinders," early slasher "The
Astro-Zombies," to the far-out "Girl in Gold Boots" (which was featured
on The Mystery Science Theater 3000) and countless others, Mikels for
tells his story for the first time in "The Wild World of Ted V.
Mikels" by award-winning documentarian Kevin Sean Michaels, who
brought you "Vampira: The Movie."
Ted V. Mikels is a pioneer. In the 1970's, the concept of "The Doll
Squad" was stolen by television mogul Aaron Spelling for his own
Charlie's Angels series (even down to using the character name
Sabrina) and more recently inspired Quentin Tarantino for the
turtle-necked look for the DiVA girls in "Kill Bill." Ted shares
stories of the William Castle-esque movie premieres that included
nurses and ambulances on hand at the theaters to assist
"scared-to-death" moviegoers. Plus, he reveals never-before-heard
details of his private life in the sprawling Sparr Castle in
California with a harem of women called Castle Ladies!
Original cast members Tura Satana (Russ Meyer's "Faster, Pussycat!
Kill! Kill!" "The Astro-Zombies"), Shanti ("Corpse Grinders II"),
Francine York ("The Doll Squad") and Lila Zaborin ("Blood Orgy of the
She Devils") recount their memories of working with Mikels, a director
who had no cinematic limits.
Leading the tour is the one-and-only John Waters, who is famous for
directing "Pink Flamingos," "Cecil B. Demented" and "Hairspray." Get
ready for a wild ride.