Donald G. Jackson

Donald Jackson
Born(1943-04-24)April 24, 1943
DiedOctober 20, 2003(2003-10-20) (aged 60)
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor
SpouseJanet

Donald G. Jackson (April 24, 1943 – October 20, 2003) was an American filmmaker.[1][2]

Biography

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Born in Tremont, Mississippi, Jackson grew up in Adrian, Michigan. As an adult he struggled to become a filmmaker for many years while working at an auto factory. Finally, in the mid-1970s he made his first feature film, a horror film parody, The Demon Lover. This film was soon followed by the wrestling film, I Like to Hurt People.[3] These films financed his move to Hollywood, California, where he remained until his death.[4] Jackson is perhaps most well known for creating and directing the cult film, Hell Comes to Frogtown.[5]

Throughout his career Jackson worked with several filmmakers including Roger Corman and James Cameron[6] but it was not until he began a long collaboration with American filmmaker Scott Shaw that the team created a method they called zen filmmaking. Zen filmmaking is a distinct style of filmmaking where no scripts are used in the creation of a film.[7][8] Actors who frequently starred in Jackson's films included Joe Estevez and Robert Z'Dar.

Death

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Jackson died of leukemia on October 20, 2003 and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.[9]

Filmography

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Documentary films about Donald G. Jackson

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References

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  1. ^ Variety: Donald G. Jackson Multihyphenate, 'Roller Blade' director
  2. ^ Donald G. Jackson Los Angeles Daily News
  3. ^ Donald G. Jackson: The Final Interview
  4. ^ Donald G Jackson, Maverick Filmmaker
  5. ^ Fango Flashback: “HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN” Archived May 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Armour, Adam (2019-04-24). "Legacy of a B-movie artist". The Itawamba County Times. Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  7. ^ Paste Magazine: The Best of the Bad: The 15 Greatest B-Movie Directors
  8. ^ Shaw, Scott. "Donald G. Jackson: The Filmmaking and the Filmmaker". zenfilmmaking.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  9. ^ Donald G. Jackson biography at Find A Grave
  10. ^ Davies, Clive (2015-03-06). Spinegrinder: The Movies Most Critics Won't Write About. SCB Distributors. ISBN 978-1-909394-06-3.
  11. ^ RiffTrax preview clip on official YouTube channel
  12. ^ Rollergator|RiffTrax
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