Here is the biography of Edward D. Wood, Jr.:
Edward D. Wood, Jr. was born on October 10, 1924, in Poughkeepsie, New York. He joined the US Marine Corps in 1943 and was wounded in ferocious combat in the Pacific theater during World War II. After the war, he moved to Los Angeles, where he attempted to break into the film industry. In 1952, he landed the chance to direct a film based on the real-life Christine Jorgensen sex-change story, which became "Glen or Glenda" (1953).
Wood's main problem was that he saw himself as a producer-writer-director, but he was spectacularly incompetent in all three capacities. He was an eccentric, oddball hack who was far more interested in cobbling a film project together than in learning the craft of filmmaking. He was an enthusiastic cross-dresser and had a particular fondness for angora.
Wood's films exhibited illogical continuity, bizarre narratives, and a lack of realism. His magnum opus, "Plan 9 from Outer Space" (1957),features visible wires connected to pie-pan UFOs, actors knocking over cardboard "headstones", and cars changing models and years during chase sequences. The film was widely panned and earned a reputation as one of the worst films ever made.
Despite his incoherent material and microscopic budget, Wood continued to make films, including "Bride of the Monster" (1955) and "Night of the Ghouls" (1959). He also wrote at least 80 lurid crime and sex paperback novels, as well as hundreds of short stories and non-fiction pieces for magazines and daily newspapers.
In the 1970s, Wood directed a number of softcore and hardcore adult porno films under various aliases. His final years were spent largely drunk in his apartment and occasionally being rolled stumbling out of a local liquor store. He died on December 10, 1978, at the age of 54, from a heart attack while drinking in bed.
Despite his poor reputation as a filmmaker, Wood's eccentricity and enthusiasm have made him a cult figure, and his films have gained a new following in recent years.
