Donald G. Jackson

American film director
Donald Jackson
Born(1943-04-24)April 24, 1943
Tremont, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedOctober 20, 2003(2003-10-20) (aged 60)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor
SpouseJanet

Donald G. Jackson (April 24, 1943 – October 20, 2003) was an American filmmaker.[1][2]

Biography

Born in Tremont, Mississippi, Jackson grew up in Adrian, Michigan. As an adult he struggled to become a filmmaker for many years while working at an auto factory. Finally, in the mid-1970s he made his first feature film, a horror film parody, The Demon Lover. This film was soon followed by the wrestling film, I Like to Hurt People.[3] These films financed his move to Hollywood, California, where he remained until his death.[4] Jackson is perhaps most well known for creating and directing the cult film, Hell Comes to Frogtown.[5]

Throughout his career Jackson worked with several filmmakers including Roger Corman and James Cameron[6] but it was not until he began a long collaboration with American filmmaker Scott Shaw that the team created a method they called zen filmmaking. Zen filmmaking is a distinct style of filmmaking where no scripts are used in the creation of a film.[7][8] Actors who frequently starred in Jackson's films included Joe Estevez and Robert Z'Dar.

Death

Jackson died of leukemia on October 20, 2003 and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.[9]

Filmography

Documentary films about Donald G. Jackson

  • Demon Lover Diary (1980)
  • Interview: The Documentary (2005)

References

  1. ^ Variety: Donald G. Jackson Multihyphenate, 'Roller Blade' director
  2. ^ Donald G. Jackson Los Angeles Daily News
  3. ^ Donald G. Jackson: The Final Interview
  4. ^ Donald G Jackson, Maverick Filmmaker
  5. ^ Fango Flashback: “HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN” Archived May 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Armour, Adam (2019-04-24). "Legacy of a B-movie artist". The Itawamba County Times. Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  7. ^ Paste Magazine: The Best of the Bad: The 15 Greatest B-Movie Directors
  8. ^ Shaw, Scott. "Donald G. Jackson: The Filmmaking and the Filmmaker". zenfilmmaking.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  9. ^ Donald G. Jackson biography at Find A Grave
  10. ^ Davies, Clive (2015-03-06). Spinegrinder: The Movies Most Critics Won't Write About. SCB Distributors. ISBN 978-1-909394-06-3.
  11. ^ RiffTrax preview clip on official YouTube channel
  12. ^ Rollergator|RiffTrax

External links

  • Donald G. Jackson at IMDb
  • Collection of articles about Donald G. Jackson
  • Donald G. Jackson - The Final Interview
  • RiffTrax treatment of Rollergator on official YouTube channel
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International
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National
  • Spain