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| Ed Wood was a man of letters. Many of them. |
NOTE: This article concludes my coverage of Ed Wood's Warm Angora Wishes and Rubber Octopus Dreams (Arcane Shadows Press, 2024).
The story: "Appendix" by Frank Dello Stritto and Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Synopsis: Circa April 1973, author Frank Dello Stritto visited the Ackermansion, the Los Angeles home of Famous Monsters of Filmland editor Forrest J. Ackerman. While there, he found some old letters that had been written by Ed Wood in March 1954, most of them addressed to actor Bela Lugosi. Dello Stritto meticulously dictated them into a tape recorder, then transcribed the recordings when he got home to New Jersey. What follows are nine of those letters.
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| Edwin Schallert. |
March 1, 1954: Ed is trying to secure work for Bela, who is headlining a revue at the Silver Slipper in Las Vegas. During a recent work trip to Vegas, Ed managed to run up a bill of $300, which amounts to over $3,000 in today's money. Bela is now obligated to pay most of this, with Ed contributing $48 of his own money. Ed disputes the bill and says it is very important to him that people know he is not trying to take advantage of Bela in any way, financially or otherwise. Eddie Fox, the publicity director for the Silver Slipper, is in Los Angeles to meet with a talent agent named Lou Sherrill. Ed says he will meet with Eddie Fox to discuss the matter personally, and he chastises Bela for mentioning the money dispute to Lou Sherrill. ("You could have come to me first.")
Meanwhile, Ed is convinced that the upcoming film The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters (1954) will be "a hell of a lift" for Lugosi's career. He imagines the news stories it will generate, bringing attention to both Lugosi and the Silver Slipper. Furthermore, Ed says that Lou Sherrill has an idea for a new nightclub act starring Bela. Ed tells Bela that the actor's comeback is in full swing and that more triumphs lie ahead. As an example, Ed says he is talking to Los Angeles Times writer Edwin Schallert, who is planning a big article about Bela Lugosi. Schallert is headed to Vegas to review actor Howard Keel's show, and he will be swinging by the Silver Slipper to check out Bela's revue.
Ed warns Bela not to get taken by all the "sharpies" in Las Vegas. Ed says that, when he was there on business, he kept track of every expense he incurred. Bela should not pay for anything that Ed did not account for personally. He worries that he now looks bad in the eyes of Lou Sherrill. Ed stresses that Bela needs to tell Lou this was all a misunderstanding and that Ed is not a conman or a parasite.
Ed then returns to the subject of the Bowery Boys movie. Ed tells Bela not to worry about learning all the dialogue in the script. "We'll get it this time," he says. Ed claims to have a three-picture deal with Howco and declares that at least one of these films will be a star vehicle for Bela. According to Ed, horror films are enjoying newfound popularity at the moment; he points to some 3D films from Universal and Warner Bros. as examples. Bela's new film should fit right in. Eddie closes the letter by rehashing the matter of the $300 bill and emphasizing that he is being honest and scrupulous in his dealings with Bela.
March 5, 1954: Several days later, Ed responds to a "seven-point note" from Lugosi. Ed says that Schallert's story has not been printed yet. When it is, Ed will buy ten copies and send five to Lou Sherrill. Ed also thanks Bela for explaining the previous awkward situation to Lou via telegram. ("His attitude changed for the better almost immediately.")
Ed says that "the troubles on my picture [presumably 1954's Jail Bait] have ended," meaning that he will now be able to pay his previous debt to Bela. On the other hand, producer George Weiss says that Ed and Bela's previous film, Glen or Glenda (1953), has not turned a profit yet. Ed is dubious of this, because Weiss has managed to pay off $1,000 in debts since it opened and Ed is owed 50% of the take. Ed further claims he has two more films in the works and thinks he can get Bela $5,000 for ten days of work. Ed will be producing Bela's movie for Monogram and will decide who gets paid what.
Ed mentions some press clippings that Bela has sent him. Ed says he forwarded these to Alex Gordon for preservation. Ed also congratulates Bela on extending his Vegas show another two weeks and says that it will not be difficult to line up some film work for the veteran actor now. He boasts that, between himself and Lou Sherrill, Bela now has "two good men on [his] side." Ed closes the letter by promising to write again soon. He also asks about some "collars" and some publicity photos.
March 11, 1954: Ed apologizes for not writing sooner, but he has been busy working on a script for director-producer Ron Ormond. Ed says that Ormond will use a photo of Bela in his upcoming book. Ed brings up the "collars" from the previous letter and says that "no one" has paid for them yet. ("Let's not mention it until we get a bill.") Ed is also happy that Bela's Vegas show is continuing, even though the actor is complaining of exhaustion. Ed assures Bela that he is universally known and loved, and his success at the Silver Slipper proves it. He then mentions he is enclosing a bill for the publicity pictures.
Ed says that the movie deals he is making on Bela's behalf are "only yours and my business," meaning that Bela should not discuss them with agent Lou Sherrill. He also says that he has done right by Bela and that Bela will do likewise if Ed ever needs a favor. Alex Gordon is being evasive about why he didn't get an apartment with Bela, but Ed doesn't want to start an argument over it. According to Ed, his next project with Bela will be The Vampire's Tomb aka The Vampire. Ford Beebe will direct it. Ed is confident that he can work the filming into Bela's schedule, even allowing some days for rest.
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| The fabulous Silver Slipper. |
March 13, 1954: This is a brief letter in which Ed acknowledges receiving some publicity material from Bela. Ed promises to make copies and send them to all the Los Angeles papers. He also mentions a "wonderful tribute" to Bela that occurred in Las Vegas. Ed says that he and Alex Gordon would like to visit Bela in Vegas very soon, and they will do so if they are able to raise the money. Once again, Ed mentions that he is sending some "collars" to Bela through the regular mail.
March 13, 1954: This is not a letter to Bela Lugosi but rather a press release about Bela that Ed is sending to various newspaper reporters, including Luella Parsons and Edwin Schallert. It merely mentions the great success that Bela is having at the Silver Slipper in Las Vegas. One copy of this press release is going to Edith Gwynne of the L.A. Mirror, whom Ed thanks personally for complimenting the 3D Christmas cards that he manufactures. Ms. Gwynne received one of Ed's cards from actress Helen Ainsworth (1901-1961).
March 21, 1954: Even though Ed has put $7 worth of gasoline and maintenance into his Nash automobile, his visit to Bela will have to wait until the weather cooperates. Ed mentions that Alex Gordon is meeting with director Ford Beebe and Allied Artists vice president Harold Mirisch. "This is very important to all of us," Ed states.
Unfortunately, even though Ed sent out a lot of press releases, no stories have emerged in the local papers as of yet, and it's getting expensive to buy all those newspapers. But Ed assures Bela that he has a film project that is definitely going ahead as planned. And that's in addition to anything Alex Gordon is planning! The backers for Ed's film are very impressed with the coverage that Bela has been getting lately for his Las Vegas show.
A friend of Ed's (and a fully-repaid backer of Glen or Glenda) has now given Ed $1,000 for promotion. Ed wants to take this money and invest it in the next movie so that he and Bela can own the production outright before it's even made. He's confident he can accomplish this. Ed also mentions that Ron Ormond is buying Ed's script Enchanted Isle.
March 24, 1954: Ed says that, since Bela will be returning to Los Angeles soon, there is no point in visiting him in Las Vegas now. But Ed does have some updates. Dolores got her purse, for instance. And Ed sent Bela some Enzoflam painkiller tablets through the mail, which the post office assured him would be delivered the following day. (They weren't.)
Ed also includes the March 23, 1954 edition of Variety with two articles of particular interest. One says that Ron Ormond is teaming up with producer Bernard Woolner to make three movies, including Enchanted Isle. Another article fleetingly mentions Bela Lugosi's revue in Las Vegas.
March 27, 1954: This is a very brief note to talent agent Lou Sherrill. Ed explains that he is forwarding some publicity material he received from Bela. Ed adds that he tried to get this material into the newspapers himself but had no luck. "Nothing was printed," Ed says, "so [Bela] thought, in the case, you might have more of an 'in' somewhere."
March 28, 1954: This is a letter that Ed sent to various publishers, including Dell Publications and National Comics Publications (the company that evolved into DC), to get them interested in a Bela Lugosi comic book. Ed mentions Bela's Las Vegas show and the fact that Bela's old horror films have recently been sold to television.
Excerpt:
One thing, it is being proven all over the place that the name Bela Lugosi still brings them in and will continue to do so. Of all the stars in the world, I can't think of anyone who could outdo you in fans and popularity. There is no one in the world. Even babies know your name. Now, we'll make it pay off.
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| An anti-Nixon poster. |
Though they do not answer that question definitively, the letters included in Warm Angora Wishes give us some additional insight into the Wood/Lugosi dynamic. In my opinion, these documents are not exactly flattering to Ed Wood, but they are not damning either. The director is clearly obsessed with money; he writes about financial matters (often petty ones) in nearly every paragraph. Furthermore, in his frequent attempts to encourage and flatter Lugosi, he seems like a scheming nephew trying to get himself added to his uncle's will. Besides, I doubt that a truly honest person would declare his own honesty this often and this emphatically. There are few things less believable than someone who says "believe me" a lot. Quite frankly, to paraphrase a slogan that was used against Richard Nixon in the 1960 election, I would not buy a used car from this man.
But I'm not ready to dismiss Ed Wood as a ghoul or a parasite, the way Bela Lugosi, Jr. so often has. The great actor's son and namesake has long been an outspoken critic of Ed, as can be seen in the documentary The Haunted World of Ed Wood (1995). Actress Joanna Lee, who stiffly played the alien Tanna in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), made similar allegations against Ed in her obscure autobiography A Difficult Woman in Hollywood (1999), but she never even met—let alone worked with—Bela Lugosi. He was dead by the time she filmed her few scenes for Plan 9. I'll assume Ms. Lee drew some negative conclusions based on second- and third-hand accounts of Bela and Ed's relationship.
If Ed Wood's goal was to exploit Bela Lugosi for financial gain, he did a pretty poor job of it. Ed lived in abject poverty for nearly all his time in Hollywood and was occasionally too poor even to afford a telephone. And yet his love of classic monster movies, especially those starring Bela Lugosi, was so profound that he would buy horror memorabilia (including figurines, paperbacks, and albums) when he barely had money to pay his rent. Besides, if these letters can be trusted, he really did hustle on Bela's behalf. Sure, most of Ed's planned projects for Bela never came to fruition, like that comic book he wanted to start, but at least he was trying. And who's to say that there wasn't some genuine friendship between these two men? They certainly exchanged a lot of letters in just one month. Today, I suppose, they'd just be texting back and forth.
Besides the insight it provides into the Ed Wood/Bela Lugosi relationship, this appendix offers us a glimpse of how the world worked in 1954. There were no cell phones and no internet, so people were more reliant on the postal service. And the only real way to promote your project was print media. Actors and directors depended on newspapers to get the word out. If you've seen Tim Burton's Ed Wood (1994), you might remember that Ed (as played by Johnny Depp) was totally reliant on the local L.A. newspapers and on Daily Variety for information. There's even a scene where he drives his sputtering Nash to a newsstand to look for ads for Glen or Glenda in various publications but finds none. Well, these letters in Warm Angora Wishes show us how true those moments in Ed Wood were.
We also have quite a cast of characters in these old letters. There are some figures I knew already: Ed Wood, Bela Lugosi, Dolores Fuller, Alex Gordon, Howard Keel, Marie Windsor, George Weiss, Ford Beebe, Louella Parsons, and Ron Ormond. But some names were brand new to me: Edwin Schallert, Eddie Fox, Lou Sherrill, Bernard Woolner, Harold Mirisch, Helen Ainsworth, and Frank Winkler. Intriguing folks all, I'm sure. Coincidentally, Edwin's son William wound up playing a starring role in the Ed Wood-scripted Shotgun Wedding (1963) just a few years later. Maybe that was just a coincidence. And it seems like Lou Sherrill was representing Bela in some way at that time. I can find precious little info on Sherrill, apart from a brief mention in Clayton Moore's autobiography, I Was that Masked Man (1998). Dracula and the Lone Ranger were your clients? Now that's a career!
And so many fascinating tangents! Most of the talk is of Bela's Las Vegas revue, a topic I really should study in more detail someday, but the conversation (of which we only get one side) branches out in so many directions. There's the saga of Dolores Fuller's purse, the strange matter of the "collars" that Ed keeps sending to Bela, some additional info about Ed's never-to-be Enchanted Isle, and even some misguided speculation that Bela is going to appear in The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters. For the record, he's nowhere near that film unless he agreed to promote it or something. Despite that film's title, it does not feature any prominent horror stars, other than renowned "gorilla suit guy" Steve Calvert, who performed similar duties in both The Bride and the Beast (1958) and Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952).
This also brings us to the end of Ed Wood's Warm Angora Wishes and Rubber Octopus Dreams. Honestly, making my way through this book has been one of my most satisfying experiences as a Wood fan in 2024. It was great fun seeing how these authors put their own personal stamp on Ed Wood's classic films. There's not a single story here that I regret reading or that I feel was a waste of time. And the supplemental material, such as the Wood letters and the various historical photos and documents, help make the book a valuable resource for even knowledgeable Woodologists. If Arcane Shadows Press wants to publish a sequel someday, I'd be happy to do this all again.
P.S. I am acutely aware that this week marks the 100th anniversary of Ed Wood's birth. Rest assured, there will be a centenary article in this space next week. Stay tuned.