William Brent Girdler was born on October 22, 1947, in Jefferson County, Kentucky. He began his filmmaking career in 1972 with the release of Asylum of Satan, which marked the start of a prolific period that would see him produce nine films in just six years. Girdler's early works were often low-budget horror entries, including Asylum of Satan and Three on a Meathook, which may not have made a significant impact on the drive-in movie scene but did manage to get his foot in the door with Sam Arkoff and American International Pictures.
Girdler's subsequent films were a mix of genres, including blaxploitation films such as Zebra Killer, Abby, and Sheba Baby, as well as the political thriller Project Kill starring Leslie Nielsen. After his stint with AIP ended, Girdler directed the thriller Grizzly, which was a bleak knockoff of Jaws and starred a giant fuzzy bear. Despite being made on a relatively tight budget, Grizzly was a major box office hit, ranking among the most successful films of 1976.
Girdler's other notable films include the Exorcist rip-off Abby, which prompted a lawsuit from Warner Brothers, and the posthumous hit The Manitou, which was based on Graham Masterton's 1976 best-selling novel and starred Tony Curtis and Susan Strasberg. Despite facing legal issues that prevented him from seeing profits for both films, Girdler's work continues to be celebrated by fans of horror and exploitation cinema.
