Roger Corman directed and produced hundreds of B-movies starting in the 1950s. He is credited with discovering big names like Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson and Francis Ford Coppola.
American director and producer Roger Corman, known for his low-budget films produced at a breakneck pace, has died at the age of 98, his family announced on Saturday, according to American media.
His family said he died Thursday, May 9, at his home in Santa Monica, California. Roger Corman had directed and produced hundreds of low-budget genre films beginning in the 1950s.
“His legendary ability to stretch a dollar allowed him to quickly conceive and create period films and sci-fi epics on budgets that would not cover the food costs of a modern studio shoot,” according to his biography on the Oscars website.
Overflowing energy
“Thanks to his ingenuity, his boundless energy and his deep love of cinema, Roger Corman has made more films than anyone else,” adds the site. He is credited with discovering some great names in cinema such as Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson and Francis Ford Coppola.
Among the titles he produced, The Fast and the Furious (1954) Dementia 13 (1963) Big Bad Mama (1974) are among the best known. Born in Detroit, Michigan, he made his way to Hollywood, starting as a courier at 20th Century-Fox and later as a screenwriter.
