Conrad Brooks obit

Baltimore-born actor Conrad Brooks dies at 86
He was not on the list.

Baltimore-born actor Conrad Brooks, who parlayed a recurring role in the films of the legendarily awful director Edward D. Wood Jr. into a decades-long career in grade-Z films and as a mainstay of fan conventions, died Wednesday. Brooks, who had lived in Inwood, W.Va., since 2004, died of complications from sepsis, said his daughter, Connie Archer.

Born Conrad Biedrzycki and raised a baker’s son in Fells Point, Brooks first met Wood, whose life was dramatized by director Tim Burton in the 1994 film “Ed Wood,” in 1948, after moving from Baltimore to Los Angeles.

Four years later, after returning to Baltimore briefly before moving back to L.A., he was given a part in Wood’s directorial debut, “Glen or Glenda,” a film about a transvestite with a thing for angora sweaters. Brooks appeared in several more films for Wood, including the director’s magnum opus, playing a cop in 1959’s “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” the story of aliens determined to subjugate the Earth by raising the dead.

Rediscovered in the early ‘80s, after Wood’s movies had become a favorite of bad-film enthusiasts, he would appear in more than 75 films and videos over the ensuing years and kept working until shortly before his death, his daughter said.

Selected filmography



Jalopy (1953) as Party Guest (uncredited)

Glen or Glenda (1953) as Banker / Reporter / Pickup Artist / Bearded Drag

Clipped Wings (1953) as Recruit (uncredited)

Jail Bait (1954) as Medical Attendant / Photographer (uncredited)

The Mad Magician (1954) as Bonfire Extra (uncredited)

Bride of the Monster (1955) as Suspect Outside Office (uncredited)

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) as Policeman

The Sinister Urge (1960) as Connie

Night of the Ghouls (1959)

Mystery in Shadows (1960, Short, Director, Producer, Writer) as Bob Ryan

Bob and Run (1960, TV Movie) as Bob

The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961) as Man at Airfield

Girl Madness (1961)

Hellborn (1961)

The Young and the Immoral (1961)

A Polish Vampire in Burbank (1983) as Bartender

Night of the Ghouls (1984) as Man in Fight (uncredited)

Deathrow Gameshow (1987) as Judge

Curse of the Queerwolf (1988) as Wally Beaver

Young Rebels (1989) as Drug Boss

On the Trail of Ed Wood (1990, Documentary) as Himself

Shadow of the Dragon (1992) as Officer Singer

Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The Plan 9 Companion (1992, Documentary) as Himself

Hellborn (1993, Writer) as Himself / Connie

Test Tube Teens from the Year 2000 (1994) as Janitor

Ed Wood: Look Back In Angora (1994, Documentary) as Himself

Ed Wood (1994) as Bartender

Conrad Brooks vs. the Werewolf (1994, Short) as Himself

Baby Ghost (1995) as Elliot

The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood Jr. (1995) as Himself

Bikini Drive-In (1996) as Oscar

Misfit Patrol (1996) as Officer Buford Murphy

Toad Warrior (1996) as Swamp Farmer

The Saturn Avenger Vs. the Terror Robot (1996, Short) as Doc

Shotgun Boulevard (1996) as Rinaldi

Roller Gator (1996) as Swamp Farmer

Blood Slaves of the Vampire Werewolf (1996, Director) as Monk

Snuff Films: An Exposé (1996, Short) as Himself

Guns of El Chupacabra (1997) as Deputy Reins

Dalziel and Pascoe: Deadheads (1997, TV Series) (uncredited)

The Ironbound Vampire (1997) as Ambrose

Ice Scream (1997) as Ricky

Alien Agenda: Under the Skin (1997) as Sal Pantangilo (segment "Unsavory Characters")

I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998) as Cruiser Cop #3

Hollywood Mortuary (1998) as Himself

Creaturealm: From the Dead (1998) as Himself (segment "Hollywood Mortuary")

Armageddon Boulevard (1999) as Godfather Rinaldi

The Atomic Space Bug (1999) as Mr. Donaldson

Silent Scream (1999) as Silent Screen Villain

The Beast of Retro City (1999)[6]

Ghost Taxi (1999)

Jan-Gel, the Beast from the East (1999, Director, Producer, Writer) as Himself

Transylvania Police; Monster Squad (2000)

The Vampire Hunters Club (2001, Video short) as Conrad

The Monster Man (2001) as Lord Gideon

El Cerebro de Hitler! (2001) as Babbling Drunkard

Max Hell Frog Warrior (2002) as Swamp Farmer

Raising Dead (2002) as Police Chief Arbogast

Pacino Is Missing (2002) as Blind Camera Operator

Bikini Planet (2002) as Vice-President

Attack of the Giant Gull (2002)

Zombiegeddon (2003) as Dean Martinson

Minds of Terror (2003) as Doctor

Jan-Gel 3: Hillbilly Monster (2003, Director, Executive Producer) as Dirty Harry

Corpses Are Forever (2004) as Mr. Fairbrass

Dr. Horror's Erotic House of Idiots (2004) as Conrad Andrews

Brain Robbers From Outer Space (2004) as Officer Jamey

Super Hero Central (2004) as Laslo Mauser

Bob's Night Out (2004) as Crazy Cop

Gypsy Vampire (2005, Director) as Cap

That's Independent! (2004, Documentary) as Himself

The Demon Monster from Outer Space (2005)

2020 An American Nightmare (2005, Executive Producer) as Dad

9mm Sunrise (2006) as Mr. Rinaldi

Purvos (2006) as Professor Jessup

Zeppo: Sinners from Beyond the Moon! (2007) as Dept of Defense chief Brooks

Vampira: The Movie (2007, Consultant)

Gypsy Vampire 2 - Gypsy Vampire's Revenge (2007, Director)

Blast Corrigan: Rocketship To Earth (2008)

Toilet Gator (2008)

Freaky Vampire (2008, Director)

A Taste of Desperation (2009) as The Landlord

It Came from Trafalgar (2009) as Wid Hawk

Shadows In The Woods (2009, Co-Director)

Space Vampires From The Planet Blood (2009)

Beside the Manor Selby (2010) as The Gardener

Zombie on the Loose (2010, Director)

The Girl (2011) as Elderly Gentleman

Invasion of the Reptoids (2011) as Elderly Gentleman

Terror of The Giant Tentacle (2013)

Psychotic State (2014) as Grandpa

Plan 9 (2015) as Jamie

Bite School (2015) as Conrad

Pitfire of Hell (2016) as UFO Spotter

Killer Waves (2016) as Marvin

Subconscious Reality (2016) as The Seer

Don't Let the Devil in (2016) as Mr. Taylor

Toilet Gator (2017) as Walter Vonleer

Abaddon (2018) as Hippie

Midnight Massacre (2018) as Grandfather Anthony

Ghost of El Chupacabra (2019)