(AFP / Voz Media) Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Francis Ford Coppola. The man who discovered these and other great stars, Roger Corman, died last Thursday at his home at the age of 98.
"He launched many careers and quietly led our industry in important ways," director Ron Howard posted on X. He also said he got his first break when he was just 23 years old.
RIP Roger Corman. A great movie maker and mentor. When I was 23 he gave me my 1st shot at directing. He launched many careers & quietly lead our industry in important ways. He remained sharp, interested and active even at 98. Grateful to have known him. https://t.co/z4jT6ltuAj
— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) May 12, 2024
The independent producer and director of B movies died at his home in Santa Monica, California, his family told Variety magazine. "His films were revolutionary and iconoclastic, and captured the spirit of an age," his family said in a statement. "When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said: 'I was a filmmaker, just that.'"
Corman specialized in low-budget productions that became cult classics, such as Little Shop of Horrors (1960) and a series of adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories starring Vincent Price.
Corman was born in Detroit in 1926 and got his start in Hollywood as a messenger for Twentieth Century Fox before becoming a script reader.
In 2009 he received an Honorary Oscar from the Academy.
He has more than 500 credits as a producer and director, according to the IMDB movie database, including The Fast and the Furious, Grand Theft Auto and The Cry Baby Killer. In the latter, Jack Nicholson made his Hollywood debut, thanks to the Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood.
