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| This teddy bear plays a significant role in Ed Wood history. |
The sheer volume of Ed Wood's magazine work for Pendulum/Calga and its related imprints is nothing less than staggering. The first half of the 1970s was his most prolific period writing for adult magazines and produced his most freewheeling work. When Eddie penned an entire issue of a magazine -- including the ads, photo captions, and various texts (both credited and uncredited) -- the results are simply sublime for a Wood obsessive like me.
Beyond his known credits and the titles listed on his resumes, however, we can never say with absolute certainty what Ed Wood wrote and didn't write. The editorials in dozens of Pendulum magazines make a good case study. Are they truly Ed-itorials? Let's take a look at two examples, both culled from magazines published in October/November 1971. This was a key timeframe in Wood history. The filming of adult loops on Hal Guthu's sets was at its height, and Ed was also in production on his last-known feature as a writer-director, The Young Marrieds. Did he write the following articles during this busy time? Read on and cast your ballot!
Body & Soul was a flagship Pendulum title. Pendulum's magazines were customarily centered on a core theme, and the editorial here spells it out: sexual freedom and revolution. Not only does the index page promise an article ("The Movies and Sex") actually credited to Ed, but to put it mildly, all of the text in this issue is worth considering as potential Wood-work.
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| The cover of Body & Soul. |
The cover itself features adult performer Dick Burns, although his head is down and you likely wouldn't recognize him until you saw his face in a photo feature later in the magazine. Yes, Dick played Ben in The Young Marrieds. On that same cover are some telltale signs that were are on one of Hal Guthu's sets. We see, for instance, the same pink stuffed bear that forms a literal bear-ier (har har) between Ben and Ginny in The Young Marrieds. The cover models are frolicking in a large brass poster-bed and depicted as children. The stuffed bear is present but seems to pay no attention. Where have we seen this sort of big swirly lollipop before? I think it could be the logo graphic for the Danish International loop series.
Example #2: Swap, vol. 5, no. 4
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| Ed (maybe) weighs in on "swinging swappers." |
Swap's theme should be self-explanatory. One of those famous Chinese Guardian Lions shows up on the cover and in a photo feature. We get another piece ("Bedroom Scene") actually credited to Ed on the index page, as well as one of his short stories ("Taking Off") elsewhere in the magazine. Necromania stars Ric Lutze and Rene Bond appear in a lengthy photo feature, having a threesome with a lucky gentleman. The issue's final photo feature depicts another threesome, this time with two girls and one guy. The girls are named Pussy and Titty.
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| A Chinese Guardian Lion on the cover of Swap. Note the fuzzy pink bedspread. |
Body & Soul and Swap represent a mere snippet of the roughly 700 magazines published by Pendulum during the last decade of Ed Wood's life. The extended Pendulum family includes: Calga, SECS Press, Edusex, Gallery Press, the unattributed "triple-dot" mags (bearing three dots on the cover), and various magazines connected to the Swedish Erotica franchise.
We know Ed Wood was prolific. Just how prolific? Grab these mags where and when you can before it's too late to find out!