Renato Casaro obit

Renato Casaro, Famed Italian Designer of Movie Posters, Dies at 89

He created artwork for ‘A Fistful of Dollars,’ ‘Conan the Barbarian’ and more, then made a comeback with ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood.’ 

He was not on the list.

Renato Casaro, the Italian designer of movie posters renowned for the hand-crafted art he created for films including A Fistful of Dollars, Conan the Barbarian and the Rambo features, has died. He was 89.

Casaro died Monday night in a hospital in his native Treviso, Italy, after being admitted days earlier with bronchopneumonia, the Italian news service RAI reported.

Casaro helped put bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger on the map in Hollywood with his poster for the Dino De Laurentiis-produced Conan the Barbarian (1982), and he also designed posters for the actor’s Red Sonja (1985), The Running Man (1987), Total Recall (1990), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and True Lies (1994).

“Schwarzenegger was the perfect man to paint,” he told The Guardian in 2022. “He had a tough expression. His face was like a sculpture. It was a real pleasure for me — I have always had a weakness for heroes.”

Sylvester Stallone, another heroic figure in Hollywood, said Casaro “captured his soul” with posters for his films, which included the Rambo features of 1982, 1985 and 1988, plus Over the Top (1987), Lock Up (1989) and Cliffhanger (1993).

Casaro created posters for lots of spaghetti Westerns early in his career, and one for Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars (1964), starring Clint Eastwood, helped that movie become a worldwide sensation. He then reunited with the Italian filmmaker for My Name Is Nobody (1973) and Once Upon a Time in America (1984).

Casaro said the key to a successful poster is to “capture the essential: that moment, that glance, that attitude, that movement that says everything and condenses the entire story. That’s the hard part,” he told The New York Times in 2021. “You can’t cheat. You can’t promise something that isn’t there.”

Born on Oct. 26, 1935, Casaro became fascinated with billboards as a kid and tried to reproduce paintings by such artists as American Norman Rockwell and countryman Angelo Cesselon. When he was a teenager, he drew posters on the walls of the local Garibaldi Cinema in exchange for tickets.

Casaro landed a job as an apprentice lithographer at the Zoppelli printing house and worked for a year as an illustrator for the film ad agency Studio Favalli in Rome before opening his own studio at age 21.

Among his first professional movie posters were for the rerelease of Allan Dwan’s Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) and for the 1955 Italian films Romeo & Juliet and Zwei blaue Augen. With the rise of the spaghetti Western, he was drawing about a 100 posters a year.

In 1965, Casaro burst onto the international scene with his poster for John Huston’s epic The Bible in the Beginning … (1966), which ignited a long collaboration with De Laurentiis.

“It was a colossal film,” he told CBS News in a 2022 interview. “My posters were put on billboards on Sunset Boulevard. After that, my phone never stopped ringing.”

One of his favorite pieces was one for Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita (1990), and he also worked with Bernardo Bertolucci on The Last Emperor (1987) and The Sheltering Sky (1990), with David Lynch on Dune (1984) and Wild at Heart (1990) and with Rob Reiner on The Princess Bride (1987) and Misery (1990).

His résumé also included artwork for Flash Gordon (1980), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), Blow Out (1981), Octopussy (1983), The NeverEnding Story (1984), Angel Heart (1987), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), Wild Orchid (1989) and Dances With Wolves (1990).

After a long period in Spain and Germany, he returned to live and work in his hometown about a decade ago. A documentary about his life, The Last Movie Painter, was released in 2020.

Casaro stopped designing posters in 1998 when studios turned away from hand-drawn artwork to use Photoshop and other digital tools. But then Quentin Tarantino called out of nowhere, looking for posters for a vintage spaghetti Western starring Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) for Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood (2019). 

Tarantino later sent him a signed photo of DiCaprio with one of the posters. “Thanks so much for your art gracing my picture,” he said in an accompanying message. “You’ve always been my favorite.”

Art Department

Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Pacino, Quentin Tarantino, Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Damon Herriman, Timothy Olyphant, Harley Quinn Smith, Kansas Bowling, Madisen Beaty, Mike Moh, Josephine Valentina Clark, Sydney Sweeney, Michaela Sprague, Margot Robbie, Kayla Radomski, Ryan Ramirez, Margaret Qualley, and Julia Butters in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

7.6

poster designer: Rick Dalton posters (uncredited)

2019

 

Gérard Depardieu and Christian Clavier in Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar (1999)

Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar

6.0

poster designer (uncredited)

1999

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies (1994)

True Lies

7.3

poster designer (uncredited)

1994

 

Sylvester Stallone in Cliffhanger (1993)

Cliffhanger

6.5

poster designer (uncredited)

1993

 

Embeth Davidtz and Bruce Campbell in Army of Darkness (1992)

Army of Darkness

7.4

poster designer (uncredited)

1992

 

Anne Parillaud in Innocent Blood (1992)

Innocent Blood

6.2

poster designer (uncredited)

1992

 

K2 (1991)

K2

6.2

poster designer (uncredited)

1991

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger and John Pantellas in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

8.6

poster designer (uncredited)

1991

 

Nicolas Cage, Judge Reinhold, and Erika Anderson in Zandalee (1991)

Zandalee

4.3

poster designer (uncredited)

1991

 

Misery (1990)

Misery

7.8

poster designer (uncredited)

1990

 

Jonathan Brandis, Clarissa Burt, and Kenny Morrison in The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990)

The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter

5.1

poster designer (uncredited)

1990

 

Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves (1990)

Dances with Wolves

8.0

poster designer (uncredited)

1990

 

Christian Slater, Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Balthazar Getty, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Alan Ruck in Young Guns II (1990)

Young Guns II

6.5

poster designer (uncredited)

1990

 

Flight from Paradise (1990)

Flight from Paradise

5.4

poster designer

1990

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger in Total Recall (1990)

Total Recall

7.5

poster designer (uncredited)

1990

 

Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern in Wild at Heart (1990)

Wild at Heart

7.2

poster designer (uncredited)

1990

 

Jeff Kober in The First Power (1990)

The First Power

5.7

poster designer (uncredited)

1990

 

Wild Orchid (1989)

Wild Orchid

4.5

poster designer (uncredited)

1989

 

Ernest Borgnine, Brandon Lee, Debi A. Monahan, and Werner Pochath in Laser Mission (1989)

Laser Mission

3.6

poster designer (uncredited)

1989

 

Lock Up (1989)

Lock Up

6.4

poster designer (uncredited)

1989

 

Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips in Renegades (1989)

Renegades

5.5

poster designer (uncredited)

1989

 

John Neville in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

7.1

poster designer (uncredited)

1988

 

Sylvester Stallone in Rambo III (1988)

Rambo III

5.8

poster designer (uncredited)

1988

 

Tommy Lee Jones, Melanie Griffith, and Sting in Stormy Monday (1988)

Stormy Monday

6.2

poster designer (uncredited)

1988

 

Maniac Cop (1988)

Maniac Cop

6.0

poster designer (uncredited)

1988

 

Io e mia sorella (1987)

Io e mia sorella

6.1

poster designer

1987

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Running Man (1987)

The Running Man

6.6

poster designer (uncredited)

1987

 

Helsinki Napoli All Night Long (1987)

Helsinki Napoli All Night Long

6.1

poster designer

1987

 

Peter Falk and Fred Savage in The Princess Bride (1987)

The Princess Bride

8.0

poster designer (uncredited)

1987

 

Burt Reynolds, Lauren Hutton, and Cliff Robertson in Malone (1987)

Malone

5.8

poster designer (uncredited)

1987

 

Robert De Niro and Mickey Rourke in Angel Heart (1987)

Angel Heart

7.2

poster designer (uncredited)

1987

 

Sylvester Stallone, David Mendenhall, and Rick Zumwalt in Over the Top (1987)

Over the Top

5.8

poster designer (uncredited)

1987

 

Robert Powell in Love Sins (1987)

Love Sins

5.9

poster designer

1987

 

Adriano Celentano and Debra Feuer in Il burbero (1986)

Il burbero

6.2

poster designer

1986

 

Daniel Greene in Hands of Steel (1986)

Hands of Steel

5.3

poster designer (uncredited)

1986

 

Sky Pirates (1986)

Sky Pirates

4.3

poster designer

1986

 

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

Rambo: First Blood Part II

6.8

Video Game

cover illustration

1985

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brigitte Nielsen in Red Sonja (1985)

Red Sonja

5.1

poster designer (uncredited)

1985

 

Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Tom Burlinson in Flesh+Blood (1985)

Flesh+Blood

6.7

poster designer (uncredited)

1985

 

The Care Bears Movie (1985)

The Care Bears Movie

5.6

poster designer (uncredited)

1985

 

Sean Young and Kyle MacLachlan in Dune (1984)

Dune

6.2

poster designer (uncredited)

1984

 

Peter O'Toole, Helen Slater, Hart Bochner, Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow, Peter Cook, Marc McClure, Brenda Vaccaro, and Simon Ward in Supergirl (1984)

Supergirl

4.4

poster designer (uncredited)

1984

 

Robert De Niro, James Woods, William Forsythe, Brian Bloom, Adrian Curran, James Hayden, Rusty Jacobs, and Scott Tiler in Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

Once Upon a Time in America

8.3

poster designer (uncredited)

1984

 

Noah Hathaway, Sydney Bromley, Alan Oppenheimer, Tilo Prückner, and Deep Roy in The NeverEnding Story (1984)

The NeverEnding Story

7.3

poster designer (uncredited)

1984

 

Delitto in Formula Uno (1984)

Delitto in Formula Uno

5.8

poster designer

1984

 

Sylvester Stallone in First Blood (1982)

First Blood

7.7

poster designer (uncredited)

1982

 

Delitto sull'autostrada (1982)

Delitto sull'autostrada

5.9

poster designer

1982

 

Alberto Sordi and Monica Vitti in Lo so che tu sai che io so (1982)

Lo so che tu sai che io so

6.7

poster designer

1982

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sandahl Bergman in Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Conan the Barbarian

6.9

poster designer (uncredited)

1982

 

Ornella Muti and Adriano Celentano in Madly in Love (1981)

Madly in Love

6.9

poster designer

1981

 

Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure (1981)

Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure

7.1

poster designer

1981

 

Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)

The Postman Always Rings Twice

6.6

poster designer (uncredited)

1981

 

Ornella Muti and Adriano Celentano in The Taming of the Scoundrel (1980)

The Taming of the Scoundrel

7.6

poster designer

1980

 

Brian Blessed, Max von Sydow, and Sam J. Jones in Flash Gordon (1980)

Flash Gordon

6.5

poster designer (uncredited)

1980

 

Bud Spencer in Everything Happens to Me (1980)

Everything Happens to Me

5.8

poster designer

1980

 

Terence Hill and Bud Spencer in I'm for the Hippopotamus (1979)

I'm for the Hippopotamus

6.6

poster designer

1979

 

Rossana Di Lorenzo and Alberto Sordi in Il comune senso del pudore (1976)

Il comune senso del pudore

6.0

poster designer

1976

 

Ornella Muti and Vittorio Gassman in Pure as a Lily (1976)

Pure as a Lily

4.5

poster designer

1976

 

The Boss and the Worker (1975)

The Boss and the Worker

6.0

poster designer

1975

 

What's Your Sign? (1975)

What's Your Sign?

5.5

poster designer

1975

 

Due cuori, una cappella (1975)

Due cuori, una cappella

5.5

poster designer (uncredited)

1975

 

Trinity Plus the Clown and a Guitar (1975)

Trinity Plus the Clown and a Guitar

4.7

poster designer

1975

 

Alberto Sordi in While There's War There's Hope (1974)

While There's War There's Hope

6.7

poster designer (uncredited)

1974

 

My Name Is Nobody (1973)

My Name Is Nobody

7.3

poster designer (uncredited)

1973

 

I racconti di Viterbury - Le più allegre storie del '300 (1973)

I racconti di Viterbury - Le più allegre storie del '300

4.9

poster designer

1973

 

Now They Call Him Sacramento (1972)

Now They Call Him Sacramento

4.7

poster designer

1972

 

What Am I Doing in the Middle of a Revolution? (1972)

What Am I Doing in the Middle of a Revolution?

5.8

poster designer

1972

 

Decameron proibitissimo (Boccaccio mio statte zitto) (1972)

Decameron proibitissimo (Boccaccio mio statte zitto)

4.9

poster designer (uncredited)

1972

 

Ettore lo fusto (1972)

Ettore lo fusto

5.5

poster designer

1972

 

I due assi del guantone (1971)

I due assi del guantone

5.3

poster designer

1971

 

Terence Hill in Trinity Is Still My Name (1971)

Trinity Is Still My Name

7.2

poster designer (uncredited)

1971

 

Terence Hill and Bud Spencer in Blackie the Pirate (1971)

Blackie the Pirate

5.2

poster designer

1971

 

Io non spezzo... rompo (1971)

Io non spezzo... rompo

5.8

poster designer

1971

 

I due maghi del pallone (1970)

I due maghi del pallone

5.5

poster designer

1970

 

Edwige Fenech, Franco Franchi, and Ciccio Ingrassia in Don Franco e Don Ciccio nell'anno della contestazione (1970)

Don Franco e Don Ciccio nell'anno della contestazione

5.0

poster designer

1970

 

The Price of Power (1969)

The Price of Power

6.3

poster designer

1969

 

Dove vai tutta nuda? (1969)

Dove vai tutta nuda?

5.2

poster designer

1969

 

Franco, Ciccio e le vedove allegre (1968)

Franco, Ciccio e le vedove allegre

5.1

poster designer

1968

 

Lee Van Cleef in Day of Anger (1967)

Day of Anger

7.0

poster designer

1967

 

Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia in Two Sons of Ringo (1966)

Two Sons of Ringo

6.1

poster designer

1966

 

Peter O'Toole, Stephen Boyd, Ava Gardner, Richard Harris, John Huston, George C. Scott, Ulla Bergryd, and Michael Parks in The Bible in the Beginning... (1966)

The Bible in the Beginning...

6.2

poster designer (uncredited)

1966

 

A Few Dollars for Django (1966)

A Few Dollars for Django

5.5

poster designer (uncredited)

1966

 

Our Men in Bagdad (1966)

Our Men in Bagdad

5.0

poster designer

1966

 

Guy Madison and Ingeborg Schöner in The Mystery of Thug Island (1964)

The Mystery of Thug Island

5.0

poster designer

1964

 

A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

A Fistful of Dollars

7.9

poster designer (uncredited)

1964

 

Gary Cooper in Man of the West (1958)

Man of the West

7.0

poster designer (uncredited)

1958

 

Zwei blaue Augen (1955)

Zwei blaue Augen

7.5

poster designer (uncredited)

1955

 

Romeo & Juliet (1955)

Romeo & Juliet

7.5

poster designer (uncredited)

1955

 

Additional Crew

Asterix and the Big Fight (1989)

Asterix and the Big Fight

6.4

title designer: German version

1989

 

Thanks

The Last Movie Painter (2020)

The Last Movie Painter

7.0

special thanks

2020

 

Self

E continuano a mangiare fagioli

Self

Production Unknown

 

Arte Journal (1998)

Arte Journal

4.4

TV Series

Self

2025

1 episode

 

Once Upon A Time In... Treviso

Short

Self

2024

 

Life After the NeverEnding Story (2024)

Life After the NeverEnding Story

8.0

Self

2024

 

Renato Casaro racconta le sue opere e la sua arte dai saloni della sua mostra (Treviso, 2021)

Short

Self

2021

 

The Last Movie Painter (2020)

The Last Movie Painter

7.0

Self

2020

 

Life After Flash (2019)

Life After Flash

6.7

Self

2019

 

The Art of the Blockbuster: An Interview with Renato Casaro

Video

Self

2018

Lawrence Moten obit

Syracuse legend Lawrence Moten dies at 53

 

He was not on the list.

Syracuse, N.Y. ― Lawrence Moten, one of the greatest players in Syracuse basketball history, has passed away at the age of 53.

Moten’s daughter, Lawrencia, confirmed her father’s passing on Tuesday. He was found dead in his Washington D.C. home earlier Tuesday.

Moten played at Syracuse from 1991 to 1995. He remains Syracuse’s all-time leading scorer with 2,334 career points. He averaged 19.3 points per game for his entire four-year career at Syracuse.

But Moten’s impact on the Syracuse basketball program went beyond his scoring records.

Moten burst upon the scene when Syracuse was still in the midst of an NCAA investigation. The unheralded recruit out of Washington, D.C.’s Archbishop Carroll High School stayed firm with his commitment to Syracuse, even taking a year at New Hampton (N.H.) Prep to qualify academically.

He averaged 18.2 points per game as a freshman and helped Syracuse to the 1992 NCAA Tournament.

Moten captured the hearts of Syracuse fans with his high socks and a nickname that matched the smoothness of his game ― Poetry in Moten.

Syracuse served a one-year NCAA Tournament ban as a result of the investigation, but Moten returned the Orange to the tournament in 1994 and 1995. He was named a second-team All-American as a senior in 1995.

Moten played two years in the NBA with the Vancouver Grizzlies, but once his playing career was over he came back to Syracuse. He worked with youth groups within the Syracuse city school district.

Just this past June, Moten had returned to his hometown of Washington, D.C., taking a job as general manager for the boys and girls basketball teams at Digital Pioneers Academy.

In a recent conversation, Moten was clearly happy to be back in D.C. and excited about his new position. He talked about scheduling games this season in Syracuse against Nottingham High School and a to-be-determined opponent.

On March 3, 2018, Syracuse University honored Moten by raising his No. 21 jersey to the rafters of the JMA Wireless Dome.

“Lawrence Moten was a Syracuse icon,” Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack said in a statement.

“His accolades as Syracuse’s all-time leading scorer and holding the Big East scoring record for 25 years speak for themselves, but his style of play is what energized the Dome and was deserving of his nickname ‘Poetry in Moten.’

“He was a fixture around the program long after his playing career, always with a smile on his face. We extend our thoughts and prayers to Lawrence’s family and friends. He will be Forever Orange.”

Moten was selected in the second round of the 1995 NBA Draft by the Grizzlies and later signed with the Washington Wizards in 1998.

He also played professionally in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and the American Basketball Association (ABA) through 2006 and played overseas in Spain and Venezuela.

Moten later became the vice president of player development for the Maryland Nighthawks of the ABA. He was the head coach of the Rochester Razorsharks in 2014 and led them to their fourth PBL title.

 

Career history

1995–1997      Vancouver Grizzlies

1997    Papagou

1997–1998      La Crosse Bobcats

1998    Washington Wizards

1998–1999      Idaho Stampede

2001    Maryland Mustangs

2001–2002      Saskatchewan Hawks

2002    Mobile Revelers

2004–2006      Maryland Nighthawks

Career highlights

2× ABA All-Star (2005, 2006)

Third-team All-American – AP, NABC (1995)

3× First-team All-Big East (1993–1995)

Third-team All-Big East (1992)

No. 21 retired by Syracuse Orange

Soo Catwoman obit

Fashion and punk icon dies as tributes paid to 'highly influential' figure

Model Soo Catwoman was closely associated with the Sex Pistols and once shared a flat with the punk band's bassist Sid Vicious - with chaotic results

 

She was not on the list.

Punk and fashion icon Soo Catwoman has died aged 70 after falling into a coma. The model, real name Susan Lucas, was closely associated with punk band the Sex Pistols and once shared a flat with the band's notorious bassist Sid Vicious.

Her children Shem and Dion Lucas said she "recently fell ill and was taken to hospital, and shortly after fell into a coma, which she sadly never awoke from". Her grieving family confirmed that she died on Tuesday (September 30) while she was "surrounded by her family and loved ones".

Her children added: "We are utterly devastated by her loss, it came very quickly and unexpectedly.

"She was a very kind and caring individual who helped and cared for countless people during her time on this earth, she was a champion of the underdog, and always gave to people in need whenever she could. She was also a highly influential and inspirational figure, whose image has loomed large in the public consciousness for the past 49 years.

"She pushed forward the frontiers of fashion with her handmade clothing accessories, her striking make up and of course her signature 'Soo Catwoman' hairstyle. She remains a huge inspiration in the worlds of music, art and fashion, her image is timeless and as striking today as it was in 1976."

She was portrayed by actor Jude Law's daughter Iris in celebrated director Danny Boyle's Sex Pistols drama. The 2022 TV series was based on the memoir of Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones.

In their tribute, her family said she lived in "silent dignity" and "never sought to capitalize on her fame and lived a simple life". In their tribute, they said she had chosen "to raise her children instead of seeking fame and fortune".

Her kids have launched a GoFundMe fundraiser for a memorial for friends, family and fans to visit. They said that because she "cared so much for other people" she was never focussed on "amassing personal wealth".

Their tribute read: "Due to the surprise nature of her death and lack of support available we would like to ask if anyone would like to contribute to her funeral costs and the costs associated with this, so that we can give her the dignified send off that she deserves. We would be very grateful for any and all help people wish to give."

Lucas was active in the London punk scene between 1976 and 1978, where she became a muse of photographer Bob Gruen and befriended the members of the Sex Pistols. Her distinctive, cat-influenced hairstyle is an iconic image within punk, and has led to her being featured in publications including the Guardian and News of the World. Her image has influenced other pop culture figures such as Keith Flint, and fashion designers including Junya Watanabe, Chanel, Obey and Mugler.

Lucas began developing her distinctive hairstyle in 1972, when she began to spike up the sides of her hair in reference to Bride of Frankenstein, while also having a pink-striped fringe. Displeased with always having to style this hair, in 1976 she had the middle of her head shaved in an Ealing barbershop. She used Vicks VapoRub to style this cut. This haircut led to her and Marco Pirroni being approached by a woman in summer 1976 to join Club Louise, a lesbian club on Poland Street, where she befriended the members of London's early punk scene. It was also at the club that she also met photographer Bob Gruen, for whom she soon became a muse

In the following years, Lucas became an increasingly prominent figure within the scene, being featured on the front cover of punk zines Society Today and Society Today, bands' t-shirts, record sleeves, posters, flyers and was used by some mainstream news publications as an example of punk's effect on the youth. One prominent example of this was a few weeks before the 100 Club Punk Special, when Lucas along with Simone Thomas, Debbie Wilson and Sharon Hayman were approached on Park Lane by a photographer and paid £15 to be photographed. These photos were then published in a Sunday issue of the News of the World as a part of a moral panic article claiming the four were prostitutes. She was particularly close with Sex Pistols members John Lydon and Sid Vicious, sharing a flat with Vicious during this period. Lucas was frequently pictured by Ray Stevenson posing with members of the original fans of the Sex Pistols known as the Bromley Contingent such as Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin and Billy Idol. While she was also associated with the Bromley Contingent by all the journalists, she later claimed not to have been a member. By 1978, following the dissolution of the Sex Pistols, she became less involved in the punk scene

Joshua Allen obit

'So You Think You Can Dance'Season 4 Winner Joshua Allen Dead at 36

 He was not on the list.

Joshua Allen -- the winner of "So You Think You Can Dance" Season 4 -- has died.

A family member tells TMZ he died on Sept. 30 but declined to share how he passed. The family member asks fans for "privacy and prayers."

His years-long friend in the dance community, Emmanuel Hurd, tells TMZ he is shocked by his death and remembers him as "a very honest, real person" who would tell you his own flaws.

He goes on ... "He didn't always do things the way that everybody thought he should, but that's why he was a winner."

Joshua rose to fame in 2008 when he won 'SYTYCD'. Notably, the late Stephen "tWitch" Boss was his runner-up and they became good friends.

After his big win, Joshua revealed to Entertainment Weekly he never had technical dance training as a kid, but would "try to take classes" during summer breaks from school. Once he made it through several auditions for the show, he said he signed up for all the dance classes he could to expand his knowledge.

He also revealed his big dreams at the time, saying he hoped to become a recording artist, but also choreograph and own a studio and company ... and eventually own a record label and be a producer.

He did find himself in some legal trouble in 2016 when he was charged with domestic violence in Los Angeles. He ultimately got a year in jail plus probation in 2017, Deadline reported.

As part of his prize for winning SYTYCD Season 4, Allen appeared as a featured dancer in Step Up 3D, along with fellow finalists Katee Shean and Stephen 'tWitch' Boss. He also appeared in the dance comedy Freak Dance. In 2010, Allen took part in Season 2 of Oxygen's Dance Your Ass Off as one of the show's pros. Allen was a featured dancer in the 2011 remake of the musical/movie Footloose. Allen has appeared in videos and commercials for Honda, McDonald's, and the US Census. Joshua has also been featured as a dancer on numerous TV shows, including Community and American Horror Story.

In July 2016, Allen was indicted for felony assault of his girlfriend and assault with a deadly weapon. Prior to this time, he had been charged with multiple misdemeanor domestic violence counts.

Joshua was 36.

 

RIP.

 

Actor

Crunchers: Mr. Salt's Bestest Warm-Up Commercial

Video

Magnetic Cools Dancer

2020

 

Chris D'Elia, Bianca Kajlich, Bridgit Mendler, David Fynn, Ron Funches, Brent Morin, and Rick Glassman in Undateable (2014)

Undateable

7.3

TV Series

Relentless

2016

1 episode

 

Like Father

6.5

TV Movie

Couch Dancer

2012

 

Emma Roberts in American Horror Story (2011)

American Horror Story

7.9

TV Series

Basketball Guy #1

2011

1 episode

 

Kenny Wormald and Julianne Hough in Footloose (2011)

Footloose

5.9

Finale Dancer

2011

 

Sharni Vinson and Rick Malambri in Step Up 3D (2010)

Step Up 3D

6.2

House of Samurai

2010

 

Freak Dance (2010)

Freak Dance

4.5

Meathead

2010

 

Additional Crew

Pistachio - The Little Boy That Woodn't (2011)

Pistachio - The Little Boy That Woodn't

6.1

dancer

2011

 

Self

Dance Moms (2011)

Dance Moms

4.7

TV Series

Self

2015

1 episode

 

The 83rd Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade (2014)

The 83rd Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade

8.5

TV Special

Self

2014

 

Cat Deeley, Matthew Morrison, Stephen Boss, and JoJo Siwa in So You Think You Can Dance (2005)

So You Think You Can Dance

7.0

TV Series

SelfSelf - Season 4 Winner

2008–2011

21 episodes

 

Dance Your Ass Off (2009)

Dance Your Ass Off

5.8

TV Series

Self - Dancer & Choreographer

2010

2 episodes

 

Ellen DeGeneres in The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003)

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

6.5

TV Series

Self - Guest

2008

1 episode

Samuel M. Sherman obit

Samuel M. Sherman, Producer of ‘Satan’s Sadists,’ ‘The Naughty Stewardesses’ and Other Exploitation Films, Dies at 85

He and ill-fated director Al Adamson fed drive-ins with these kinds of movies — ‘Dracula vs. Frankenstein’ among them — starting in the late 1960s. 

He was not on the list.

Samuel M. Sherman, the writer, producer and marketing mastermind who partnered with director Al Adamson to squeeze success out of such low-budget films as Satan’s Sadists, Brain of Blood and The Naughty Stewardesses, has died. He was 85.

Sherman died Monday at his home in Freehold, New Jersey, David Sehring, his creative director, business affairs and sales agent since 2015, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Soon after Sherman and Adamson launched the production and distribution company Independent-International Pictures, they supplied drive-ins with such flicks as Satan’s Sadists (1969), Horror of the Blood Monsters (1970), Brain of Blood (1971) and Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971), starring Lon Chaney Jr.

The pair worked not just in horror but in such other areas as biker films (1970’s Hell’s Bloody Devils, 1971’s Angels’ Wild Women), Westerns (1969’s Five Bloody Graves, 1972’s Lash of Lust), sexploitation (1973’s The Naughty Stewardesses), martial arts (1974’s Dynamite Brothers), chase pictures (1974’s I Spit on Your Corpse, also known as Girls for Rent) and blaxploitation (1976’s Black Heat).

Severin Films co-founder David Gregory, who directed the 2019 documentary Blood and Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson, noted that Sherman and Adamson were great at “retitling and reselling the same movie over and over [and] at changing a work-in-progress picture to cash in on a recent trend.”

In the 1996 book It Came from Horrorwood, Sherman told author Tom Weaver that most of his films were made for less than $150,000. His company also gave veteran Hollywood actors much-needed work, among them Chaney and John Carradine.

He and Adamson “had a wonderful relationship — like the brother I never had — and we enjoyed being together and working together,” Sherman once said. “Al always said that when we were both together in the same place (New York or L.A.), we always made great things happen.”

Born in New York on April 23, 1940, Sherman attended City College of New York, where he screened Flash Gordon serials and such films as the Boris Karloff-starring The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) for his fellow students. For a class project, he shot a short film in one day that he called The Weird Stranger.

While in college, Sherman worked as a film editor and as a writer/editor for James Warren, the publisher of such magazines as Famous Monsters, Wildest Westerns and Screen Thrills Illustrated, and said he came up with the idea of showing old Republic Pictures serials in theaters. Those wound up drawing huge audiences — and that, he claimed, led to the 1960s’ Batman show on ABC.

In 1962 on a work assignment for Screen Thrills Illustrated, Sherman visited Hollywood and first met Adamson, introduced to him by Adamson’s father, silent film star-producer Victor Adamson (known by his stage name as Denver Dixon). Two years later, he got into distribution with the elder Adamson to bring The Scarlet Letter (1934) back to theaters.

While working for Hemisphere Pictures in 1965, Sherman tried to secure distribution for Al Adamson’s first film, Echo of Terror. He couldn’t get it in theaters, but footage from that would be used for Blood of Ghastly Horror (1967), also known in various stages of production as Psycho A-Go-Go and The Man With the Synthetic Brain.

Sherman and Adamson realized they needed their own distribution company and in 1968 joined with former theater owner Dan Kennis to start Independent-International Pictures. Satan’s Sadists, about a ruthless motorcycle gang, was their first production, shot in California in 1968.

As was the case with Blood of Ghastly Horror, they often took films that Adamson had already shot, modified them and sold them. Sherman gave them catchy, easy-to-identify titles and marketed them with dynamic, often lurid campaigns.

“It was always my concept that if you have a very small budget, make the film different by very bizarre, crazy, looney elements — and this always worked,” he said.

As might be expected, Adamson and Sherman never won an Academy Award, but they did employ at least one future Oscar winner: cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond (Satan’s Sadists, Five Bloody Graves, Horror of the Blood Monsters).

“I grew up seeing his exploitation movies and wild and wacky trailer campaigns at my local drive-in the ’60s and ’70s,” said Sehring, a former American Movie Classics exec who helped Sherman’s films find new homes on Blu-ray and elsewhere. “Sam was quite a character — the ‘Broadway Danny Rose’ of the drive-in business.”

Along the way, Sherman amassed an impressive collection of 16mm and 35mm films and saw his memoirs, When Dracula Met Frankenstein: My Years Making Drive-In Movies With Al Adamson, published in 2021.

In 1995, Adamson, then 65, was murdered by his live-in contractor and found beneath his home in Indio, California.

Sherman’s survivors include his daughter, Stephanie. His wife of 52 years, Linda, died in November 2022.

Director

Bob Sacchetti and Scott Schwartz in Raiders of the Living Dead (1986)

Raiders of the Living Dead

2.6

Director

1986

 

Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

Dracula vs. Frankenstein

3.5

Director (Dracula's Death Scene, uncredited)

1971

 

Creature with the Blue Hand (1967)

Creature with the Blue Hand

6.0

Director (new footage, uncredited)

1967

 

Charles Chaplin in Chaplin's Art of Comedy (1966)

Chaplin's Art of Comedy

6.8

Director

1966

 

Writer

Dracula Vs Frankenstein (2002)

Dracula Vs Frankenstein

3.7

Writer

2002

 

Bob Sacchetti and Scott Schwartz in Raiders of the Living Dead (1986)

Raiders of the Living Dead

2.6

screenplay bystory by

1986

 

John Carradine and Don 'Red' Barry in Doctor Dracula (1983)

Doctor Dracula

3.1

additional dialogue

1983

 

Team-Mates (1978)

Team-Mates

5.7

writer (uncredited)

1978

 

Nurse Sherri (1977)

Nurse Sherri

3.8

original story (uncredited)

1977

 

Yvonne De Carlo, Don 'Red' Barry, Regina Carrol, Connie Hoffman, Marilyn Joi, Geoffrey Land, Robert Livingston, Harry Ritz, and Jimmy Ritz in Blazing Stewardesses (1975)

Blazing Stewardesses

2.7

screenplaystory

1975

 

The Naughty Stewardesses (1973)

The Naughty Stewardesses

3.7

screenplay bystory by

1973

 

Lash of Lust (1972)

Lash of Lust

3.3

Writer

1972

 

Dracula vs. Frankenstein - Alternate Ending

Short

screenplaystory

1971

 

Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

Dracula vs. Frankenstein

3.5

screenplaystory

1971

 

The Blood Drinkers (1964)

Brain of Blood

3.1

story

1971

 

Blood of Ghastly Horror (1967)

Blood of Ghastly Horror

2.9

story

1967

 

Creature with the Blue Hand (1967)

Creature with the Blue Hand

6.0

Writer (1987 footage, uncredited)

1967

 

Charles Chaplin in Chaplin's Art of Comedy (1966)

Chaplin's Art of Comedy

6.8

Writer

1966

 

Actor

Yvonne De Carlo, Don 'Red' Barry, Regina Carrol, Connie Hoffman, Marilyn Joi, Geoffrey Land, Robert Livingston, Harry Ritz, and Jimmy Ritz in Blazing Stewardesses (1975)

Blazing Stewardesses

2.7

Shooting Gunfighter in Blue Shirt (uncredited)

1975

 

Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

Dracula vs. Frankenstein

3.5

Man in the Car Killed by the Monster (uncredited)

1971

 

Producer

Beyond This Earth (2020)

Beyond This Earth

executive producer

2020

 

The Happy Hobo - Presentation Reel

Short

associate producer (uncredited)

2020

 

Gabriella

Short

executive producer

2019

 

Wraith (2016)

Wraith

6.7

Short

executive producer

2016

 

Seregon O'Dassey, Samantha Hahn, Barrett Perlman, Gloria Chung, and Lisa Pincus in Bloody Slumber Party (2014)

Bloody Slumber Party

2.6

consulting producer

2014

 

Maniac (2013)

Maniac

7.3

Short

executive producer

2013

 

Pollination *

6.1

Short

executive producer

2012

 

Night Club (2011)

Night Club

5.8

producer

2011

 

From Other Worlds

executive producer

1994

 

Midnight (1982)

Midnight

4.9

executive producer

1982

 

Bedroom Stewardesses (1978)

Bedroom Stewardesses

producer (uncredited)

1978

 

Team-Mates (1978)

Team-Mates

5.7

producer

1978

 

Cinderella 2000 (1977)

Cinderella 2000

3.5

executive producer

1977

 

Nurse Sherri (1977)

Nurse Sherri

3.8

producer (as Mark Sherwood)

1977

 

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1977)

Uncle Tom's Cabin

5.3

producer (1976 footage, uncredited)

1977

 

Girls' Hotel - Alternate Intro (1977)

Girls' Hotel - Alternate Intro

Short

executive producer (uncredited)

1977

 

Per Oscarsson in Terror of Frankenstein (1977)

Terror of Frankenstein

5.8

executive producer

1977

 

Nurses for Sale (1976)

Nurses for Sale

4.4

producer consultant (1976 footage, uncredited)

1976

 

Black Heat (1976)

Black Heat

4.2

executive producer (uncredited)

1976

 

Yvonne De Carlo, Don 'Red' Barry, Regina Carrol, Connie Hoffman, Marilyn Joi, Geoffrey Land, Robert Livingston, Harry Ritz, and Jimmy Ritz in Blazing Stewardesses (1975)

Blazing Stewardesses

2.7

producer

1975

 

Susie Ewing, Georgina Spelvin, and Rosalind Miles in Girls for Rent (1974)

Girls for Rent

4.4

producer

1974

 

Dynamite Brothers (1974)

Dynamite Brothers

3.7

executive producer

1974

 

The Naughty Stewardesses (1973)

The Naughty Stewardesses

3.7

producer

1973

 

Mean Mother (1973)

Mean Mother

3.2

distribution producer (uncredited)

1973

 

Dracula vs. Frankenstein - Alternate Ending

Short

producer (uncredited)

1971

 

Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

Dracula vs. Frankenstein

3.5

producer (uncredited)

1971

 

Angels' Wild Women (1971)

Angels' Wild Women

3.8

executive producer

1971

 

The Blood Drinkers (1964)

Brain of Blood

3.1

producer

1971

 

Satan's Sadists - Outtakes

Short

producer

1969

 

William Bonner, Regina Carrol, Greydon Clark, Robert Dix, and Russ Tamblyn in Satan's Sadists (1969)

Satan's Sadists

4.8

producer

1969

 

Blood of Ghastly Horror (1967)

Blood of Ghastly Horror

2.9

associate producer

1967

 

Charles Chaplin in Chaplin's Art of Comedy (1966)

Chaplin's Art of Comedy

6.8

producer

1966

 

Cinematographer

Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

Dracula vs. Frankenstein

3.5

Cinematographer (Gary Graver cameo scene, uncredited)

1971

 

Production Manager

Drive-in Movie Memories (2001)

Drive-in Movie Memories

7.5

production consultant

2001

 

John Carradine and Don 'Red' Barry in Doctor Dracula (1983)

Doctor Dracula

3.1

executive in charge of production

1983

 

Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

Dracula vs. Frankenstein

3.5

production supervisor

1971

 

Music Department

Yvonne De Carlo, Don 'Red' Barry, Regina Carrol, Connie Hoffman, Marilyn Joi, Geoffrey Land, Robert Livingston, Harry Ritz, and Jimmy Ritz in Blazing Stewardesses (1975)

Blazing Stewardesses

2.7

music editor (uncredited)

1975

 

Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

Dracula vs. Frankenstein

3.5

music editor (uncredited)

1971

 

Additional Crew

Rex (2008)

Rex

5.1

production consultant

2008

 

Girls Nite Out (1982)

Girls Nite Out

4.9

production consultant

1982

 

Per Oscarsson in Terror of Frankenstein (1977)

Terror of Frankenstein

5.8

production consultant

1977

 

Mean Mother (1973)

Mean Mother

3.2

production consultant (uncredited)

1973

 

Joseph Cotten, John Gabriel, and Anne Randall in Doomsday Voyage (1972)

Doomsday Voyage

3.6

production consultant

1972

 

The Blood Drinkers (1964)

Brain of Blood

3.1

voice dubbing: Richard Smedley & Grant Williams Fight Scenes (uncredited)

1971

 

Horror of the Blood Monsters (1970)

Horror of the Blood Monsters

3.1

production consultant

1970

 

Hell's Bloody Devils (1970)

Hell's Bloody Devils

4.3

production consultant

1970

 

Beast of Blood (1970)

Beast of Blood

4.8

production consultant (uncredited)

1970

 

Five Bloody Graves (1969)

Five Bloody Graves

3.5

promotional director (uncredited)

1969

 

William Bonner, Regina Carrol, Greydon Clark, Robert Dix, and Russ Tamblyn in Satan's Sadists (1969)

Satan's Sadists

4.8

production consultant

1969

 

Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968)

Mad Doctor of Blood Island

4.6

production consultant (uncredited)

1968

 

The Ghastly Ones (1968)

The Ghastly Ones

3.8

production consultantstory consultanttitles (uncredited)

1968

 

Thanks

Roanna Jackson in White Buffalo: An American Prophecy (2024)

White Buffalo: An American Prophecy

7.6

very special thanks

2024

 

Film is Dead. Long Live Film! (2024)

Film is Dead. Long Live Film!

7.7

thanks (as Sam Sherman)

2024

 

Feed Your Head! Lose Your Head! - Tens of Dozens of Reasons to Love 'Dracula vs. Frankenstein' A Visual Essay (2020)

Feed Your Head! Lose Your Head! - Tens of Dozens of Reasons to Love 'Dracula vs. Frankenstein' A Visual Essay

Video

thanks (as Sam Sherman)

2020

 

Happy Goldsplatt in Celluloid Bloodbath: More Prevues from Hell (2012)

Celluloid Bloodbath: More Prevues from Hell

5.2

special thanks

2012

 

Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010)

Machete Maidens Unleashed!

7.3

our deepest appreciation to our interviewees (as Sam Sherman)

2010

 

Mondo Macabro (2001)

Mondo Macabro

7.9

TV Series

special thanks

2002

1 episode

 

E! True Hollywood Story (1996)

E! True Hollywood Story

6.5

TV Series

special thanks (as Sam Sherman)

2000

1 episode

 

It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein (1994)

It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein

7.2

TV Movie

special thanks (as Sam Sherman)

1994

 

Madison in Evil Toons (1992)

Evil Toons

4.2

special thanks (as Sam Sherman)

1992

 

Jannina Poynter in Angel of Vengeance (1987)

Angel of Vengeance

3.7

special thanks (as Sam Sherman)

1987

 

Drive-in Madness! (1987)

Drive-in Madness!

5.8

special thanks

1987

 

Self

Lunch with Archer King

Self

Post-production

 

The Proof is Out There (2021)

The Proof is Out There

6.6

TV Series

Self - Film Producer (as Sam Sherman)

2025

1 episode

 

Zandor and Friends

Video

Self

2020

 

Blood and Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019)

Blood and Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson

7.3

Self

2019

 

Memories of Blood

Video

Self

2019

 

Gary Kent in Danger God (2018)

Danger God

7.1

Self

2018

 

Heckler Kane: The Imperfect Podcast (2013)

Heckler Kane: The Imperfect Podcast

Podcast Series

Guest

2017

2 episodes

 

42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Street (2015)

42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Street

7.5

Self - DistributorProducer

2015

 

Sam Sherman erzählt

Video

Self - Narrator (as Sam Sherman)

2015

 

Creature Feature: 60 Years of the Gill-Man (2014)

Creature Feature: 60 Years of the Gill-Man

7.6

Self

2014

 

Adjust Your Tracking (2013)

Adjust Your Tracking

7.0

Self

2013

 

John Carradine: Galerie eines Schauspielers

Video

Self

2011

 

Getränkt in Blut! Sam Sherman über Drakapa

Video

Self

2011

 

Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010)

Machete Maidens Unleashed!

7.3

Self

2010

 

Producing Schlock: The Career of Al Adamson

6.5

Video

Self

2008

 

Sam Sherman Interviews Actor John Gabriel

Video

Self

2005

 

Creature Feature: 50 Years of the Gill-Man (2004)

Creature Feature: 50 Years of the Gill-Man

7.3

Video

Self

2004

 

Sidney Pink on 'Pyro'

Short

Self

2001

 

Drive-in Movie Memories (2001)

Drive-in Movie Memories

7.5

Self (as Sam Sherman)

2001

 

Forrest Ackerman Deleted Scene

Video

Self (as Sam Sherman)

2001

 

E! True Hollywood Story (1996)

E! True Hollywood Story

6.5

TV Series

Self (as Sam Sherman)

2000

1 episode

 

Sightings (1991)

Sightings

8.2

TV Series

Self - UFO Investigator (segment "Edwards Encounter")Self - UFO Investigator (segment "In the News") (as Sam Sherman)

1996

2 episodes

 

Al Adamson: Drive-in Monster

4.1

Short

Self

1995

 

The Joe Franklin Show (1950)

The Joe Franklin Show

6.9

TV Series

Self

1993

1 episode

 

Drive-in Madness! (1987)

Drive-in Madness!

5.8

Self

1987