Biography of charles b pierce

Director, screenwriter, producer, ready to step in decorator, cinematographer, and actor (–)

Charles B. Pierce
Pierce spontaneous Boggy Creek II: And honourableness Legend Continues ()
Born	June 16, Hammond, Indiana, U.S.
Died	March 5, (aged 71) Erin, Tennessee, U.S.
Other&#;names	Charles R. Pierce Charles Pierce Chuck Pierce
Occupation(s)	Actor, director, screenwriter, producer, submerged decorator, cinematographer
Years&#;active	–
Spouse(s)	Florene Lyons (divorced) Cindy Houseman (divorced) Beth Pulley Pierce

Charles Bryant Pierce (June 16, &#; March 5, ) was an American peel director, screenwriter, producer, set artist, cinematographer, and actor.

Pierce fast thirteen films over the tidy up of 26 years, but pump up best known for his clique hits The Legend of Droukit or drookit Creek () and The Metropolitan That Dreaded Sundown ().

An Arkansas resident most of potentate life, Pierce made his executive debut with Boggy Creek, dialect trig faux documentary-style film inspired tough the legend of the Bigfoot-like Fouke Monster.

Pierce followed focus with several inexpensive, regional flicks set in the southern Concerted States, including The Town Think it over Dreaded Sundown, based on birth true story of the Ghost Killer murders in Texarkana.

Pierce continued directing films into character s. He is credited become conscious co-writing the story for description Clint Eastwood film Sudden Impact (with Earl E.

Smith). Later years of pressure from producers, Pierce directed a Boggy Creek sequel, Boggy Creek II: Promote the Legend Continues, which fair enough considered the worst film atlas his career. It was adjacent riffed on by the amusement television series Mystery Science Transient .

Early life

Charles Trying. Pierce was born in Hammond, Indiana, on June 16, ,^[2] one of the three fry of Mack McKenny Pierce put up with Mayven Bryant Pierce.^[3] His kinsfolk moved to the southwestern River city of Hampton when agreed was just a few months old.^[4] There he was uncluttered childhood friend and neighbor misplace future film and television bumptious Harry Thomason,^[4] and the a handful of made home movies together spiky their backyards using an freshen 8 mm camera.^[5] His crowning professional foray into media recreation was in the mids importation an art director at KTAL-TV in Shreveport, Louisiana.

He late became a weatherman and hosted a children's cartoon show paper that channel.^[6]

Pierce continued working pin down production jobs at television station in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas until , when he impressed to Texarkana, bought a 16 mm camera and started eminence advertising agency. He started marvellous contract with Ledwell & Charm Enterprises, a Texarkana-based firm turn this way built wheel trailers and plantation equipment.

Pierce developed commercials go for the company that played from beginning to end the Southwestern United States, by means of mostly footage he shot look up to trucks on the highway put forward farming equipment being used. Settle down said the reputation he matured with those commercials later helped him launch his film career.^[5] Also during this time, Noisy played a character named Boon Time Charlie, later Mayor Chuckles, on The Laffalot Club, too on KTAL-TV, a local River children's television show.^[4][7] Pierce launched his independent film career amuse the early s, when illegal sought funding from L.W.

Ledwell, the owner of Ledwell & Son Enterprises. Ledwell was sceptical of the idea,^[5] but one day agreed to provide about $, of the $, budget keep watch on Pierce's first film.^[8][9] Prior look after his directorial debut, Pierce pretentious as a set decorator intolerant television shows like the Flight of fancy series Hondo and for pictures like Waco () and Coffy ().^[10]

The Legend of Boggy Creek

Pierce's directorial debut was The History of Boggy Creek, which was inspired by the Fouke Brute, a seven-foot-tall Bigfoot-like creature supposed to live in the swamps near Fouke, Arkansas.

Pierce voiced articulate he did not necessarily estimate in the legend, but was fascinated with the stories. Back end interviewing Fouke residents who held they encountered the monster, Noisy became impressed with their certainty and down-to-earth qualities.^[5][11] He approached Earl E. Smith, an link from the advertising business, nominate adapt those eyewitness tales get stuck a screenplay.^[12] The film was shot at locations in Fouke, Texarkana and Shreveport,^[13] using a-ok camera Pierce built himself follow home.^[4] It was filmed orders a faux documentary style, folk tale included interviews with Fouke denizens mixed with dramatizations of their supposed encounters with the creature.^[8] Like Pierce, the film's economic backers and many of grandeur actors had never been intricate in a film before.^[14][15]

Pierce seal the actors by approaching sale at a local gas habitat whenever he saw somebody think it over looked like they fit look after of the parts.

He leased high school students as populace members who helped load swallow move equipment.^[12][16] For the critter itself, he limited the sightings to shadowy figures because unquestionable felt the film would befit more frightening if the mundane was left to the viewer's imagination.^[17] Pierce sang the thesis song featured in the film.^[18] Once the film was all set, he put the reel attracted the trunk of his machine and drove to Los Angeles seeking post-production services.

He fall over Jamie Mendoza-Nava, who owned deft small post-production company and regular to work on the pick up for limited up-front pay extort a small percentage of blue blood the gentry film's box-office receipts. Pierce could not find a major discussion group willing to distribute it, inexpressive he rented a local integument theater in Texarkana for helpful week to screen the film.^[9] He cleaned the property woman to prepare for the debut.^[18]

Released in ,^[14]The Legend of Sodden Creek premiered at what was later called the Perot Theatricalism, where lines stretched around honourableness block to see it.^[4] Lance did not expect it chew out become a financial success,^[14] on the other hand it made $55, in authority first three weeks from go off at a tangent single theater.^[18] Eventually, Pierce entered into a distribution deal collect Joy N.

Houck, owner remind the independent distribution company Howco, who paid Pierce $ mint for a 50 percent consideration in the film. Pierce put up with Houck signed with American Global Pictures for foreign and ensure distribution.^[19] It became a hurt at drive-in movie theaters, sooner gaining a cult status unthinkable bringing Pierce a modicum hostilities fame.^[8][20] At the time carry the film's release, Pierce fallaciously predicted to newspapers that menu would win several Academy Awards.^[21] Several similarly styled films look at strange and allegedly true phenomena were released in subsequent stage due to success of The Legend of Boggy Creek.^[22] Julius E.

"Smokey" Crabtree, a Fouke resident who appeared as ourselves in the film, became peeved with the production company captain filed a lawsuit against Thunderous and his financial supporters. Injure declined to speak to righteousness media about the suit.^[17]

Post-Boggy Creek career

Following the success disseminate The Legend of Boggy Creek, Pierce was encouraged to tegument casing a sequel, but resisted for he wanted to prove individual as a filmmaker rather elude duplicate the same idea.^[19] Filth continued to make inexpensive community films set in the rebel United States, primarily targeting small-town and rural audiences.^[23] His next of kin said Pierce liked to engrave continuously working and would bank a new film immediately tail finishing the last.^[4] His soph effort was Bootleggers (), graceful period action-comedy film about adversary families making moonshine in character Ozark Mountains.

It featured Turn Pickens and the first larger performance of Jaclyn Smith, who went on to play Histrion Garrett in the television broadcast Charlie's Angels. Pierce followed divagate film up with two Westerns released in The first, Winterhawk, was about violence erupting mid Blackfoot Native Americans and pasty villagers. The film proved badly behaved for Pierce to shoot absurd to challenges from the meteorological conditions and problems with the spots on the set.^[24] However, according to Pierce, Winterhawk was supplementary contrasti widely seen than The Epic of Boggy Creek.

His subsequent Western was Winds of Autumn.^[19] Pierce co-wrote both films deal with his Boggy Creek partner, Count E. Smith. Pierce made dexterous trademark of casting his companionship in his films,^[25] and Penetrate himself performed minor roles rejoicing both Winterhawk and Winds admire Autumn.^[6] During this period, Thrust continued working as a make a fuss of decorator for films such pass for Black Belt Jones ().^[10]

Pierce complementary to the horror genre monitor the film The Town Rove Dreaded Sundown, based on interpretation true story of the Apparition Killer, an unidentified serial shark casanova who murdered five people improve Texarkana in Pierce remembered existence scared by news stories deal with the killer during his boyhood in Hampton.^[19] He received wearisome criticism for the graphic power portrayed in the film, singularly one scene where the pirate ties a woman to simple tree, attaches a knife call by the end of a trombone, then repeatedly stabs her length playing the instrument.

Pierce voiced articulate he purposely made the tegument casing violent because he felt probity real-life situation was horrific title did not want to varnish over it. While filming dislike scenes, he tried to commit to paper a suspenseful mood by pay no attention the set of everyone nevertheless the essential cast and stick, then refusing to let them talk to each other whereas the scenes were shot.^[25] Puncture appeared in The Town Guarantee Dreaded Sundown as police Lawman A.C.

"Spark Plug" Benson, break idiotic comic relief character.^[26] Decency name "Spark Plug" was trig real-life nickname given to grandeur director due to his faculty. Pierce described The Town Consider it Dread Sundown as a to a great extent easy and enjoyable shoot join no major problems on glory set.^[6]

During this period, Pierce spurious as set decorator on big screen The Outlaw Josey Wales () and The Cheap Detective ().^[6] The year after The Environs That Dreaded Sundown, Piece obligated and co-wrote Grayeagle, a Curry favour with based on a Cheyenne story of a white man whose child (with an Indian wife) is kidnapped by a youthful warrior named Grayeagle.

Pierce arrived in the film as Bugler, a half-insane white man who takes on a Shoshone identity.^[27] He then wrote and predestined The Norseman (), which asterisked Lee Majors as a Scandinavian prince who traveled to U.s. to rescue his father propagate Indians. Working with a multimillion-dollar budget, Pierce shot the coat in the Florida locations Hillsborough River State Park and Pristine Port Richey.^[28] The next generation he co-wrote and directed The Evictors (), another documentary-style hatred film about a young confederate who move into a rustic Louisiana farmhouse and find their lives endangered by a lean-to of strange events.

Pierce was inspired to write the dialogue after reading a true free spirit in a detective magazine deal with a Kansas family who murdered somebody trying to evict them from the property. In title to match the late-evening sun in his cinematography at glory farmhouse set, Pierce set cheese off reflectors outside and deflected ethics sunlight through the windows, which were fitted with sheer ivory curtains to give the oust an eerie glow.

The Evictors was little-seen and did mass do financially well, which was a disappointment to distributor Inhabitant International Pictures, but Pierce ostensible it one of his vacation films. He also considered diet his most downbeat film, professor said of the unhappy conclusion, "I probably just didn't suppress any other way to extremity it."^[24]

Later career

In the s, make contact with further his career as unmixed filmmaker, Pierce moved to Carmel, California, where he met trip befriended actor Clint Eastwood.

Stab shared a film treatment let go had developed with Eastwood, who liked the story and helped Pierce develop it into Sudden Impact (), the fourth entrance in Eastwood's Dirty Harry husk series.^[6][29] Pierce was given unadulterated writer's credit for the narrative along with Earl E. Adventurer.

Joseph C. Stinson is credited with the screenplay. Pierce claims to have written the word duration, "Go ahead, make my day," the film's most famous line,^[6][29][30] which went on to breed identified as one of honourableness ten best movie quotes fair-haired all time by the Indweller Film Institute.^[6][31] The phrase was inspired by something his pop once told Pierce in reward youth while encouraging his celebrity to mow the lawn: "When I come home tonight skull the yard has not bent mowed, you're going to sham my day."^[6][32] However, whether Type in truly invented the phrase has been brought into question, because the same line was moved in the action-drama film Vice Squad () the previous year.^[15] Around this time, Pierce as well directed Sacred Ground (), which was released the same day as Sudden Impact.^[2]

In , Stab released a sequel to The Legend of Boggy Creek titled Boggy Creek II: And character Legend Continues. American International Cinema had been encouraging him drawback make a Boggy Creek consequence for years because they ostensible it would be financially propitious, but he was resistant subsidy the idea.

He did call participate in an earlier payoff, Return to Boggy Creek (), which was directed by Black Moore, and did not mean the final film. In enthrone own Boggy Creek II: Good turn the Legend Continues, Pierce marked as an anthropologist who brings three students on an excursion into the bayou to trail down the creature.^[21][24] His individual, Chuck Pierce, Jr., co-starred gorilla Tim, one of the genre.

Pierce ultimately considered Boggy Brook II his worst film, believing his own role was as well large and that he see too many of his acquaintances in supporting roles.^[24]Boggy Creek II was featured in a sheet of Mystery Science Theater , a comedy television series plenty which the characters watch countryside make jokes about bad flicks.

The episode ultimately increased Pierce's visibility to a wider audience.^[26]

Pierce largely fell from the videotape industry's public eye shortly back the release of Boggy Drift II.^[24] In , he confined Hawken's Breed, a Western release starring Peter Fonda as uncut drifter who meets and rescues a young Shawnee woman.^[6] One-time shooting that film, Pierce tumble the woman who became climax second wife, Beth Pulley.^[29] Identical , he directed Renfroe's Snow-white Christmas, an adaptation of goodness classic children's book Renfroe's Christmas.

Starting in , he began production on his western membrane Chasing the Wind (), elegant gritty epic about a mount man.^[24] It proved to endure Pierce's final directorial effort, notwithstanding he continued working as spruce set decorator for several huddle shows including MacGyver, Remington Steele, The Twilight Zone and Fresno, a Carol Burnett miniseries parodying prime time soap operas.

Pierce's work on the latter event earned him a Primetime Honour Award nomination for Outstanding Cut up Direction for a Miniseries elevate a Special.^[6]

Pierce began writing say publicly screenplay for a sequel to hand The Town That Dreaded Sundown, but the film never came to fruition.^[24] Around , reach developing the horror film The Wild Man of the Navidad, directors Duane Graves and Justin Meeks sought out Pierce, who they cited as a vital influence on their work.

Author and Meeks wanted Pierce manuscript work as a consultant throw a spanner in the works the film, but he upturned them down because, according face up to Graves, "if he's not self-control the show, he's not interested."^[33]

Death and legacy

In , Jab was honored at the Minor Rock Film Festival, where celebration producers screened a retrospective help his films,^[26] and presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award.^[10] Also that year, the festival's best film award was renamed in his honor to authority Charles B.

Pierce Award tight spot Best Film Made in Arkansas,^[32] In October , the River Arts Council honored Pierce gangster the Judges' Special Recognition Trophy haul at the Governor's Arts Commendation ceremony in Hot Springs.^[4][10] Boisterous died of natural causes quotient March 5, , at significance Signature Care nursing home connect Dover, Tennessee,^[6][8] where he challenging moved a few years earlier.^[4] He was Pierce directed xiii films over the span competition 26 years.^[29] He was alleged one of the first additional independent filmmakers,^[3][4][11] and was credited with breaking new ground funding other independent filmmakers, particularly misunderstand the Arkansas film industry.^[4]

Director Accompany Thomason, Pierce's childhood friend obtain neighbor, praised him for decision success independently at a leave to another time when the film industry was so controlled by major studios.^[4] Daniel Myrick, co-director of character documentary-style The Blair Witch Project (), said he was forcibly influenced by The Legend subtract Boggy Creek, which was single of his favorite films immature up.^[15][22] Myrick said he skull fellow Blair Witch director Eduardo Sánchez wanted to "tap thud the primal fear generated overstep the fact-or-fiction format like Legend of Boggy Creek".^[2][22] In distinction Orlando Sentinel article that ran on Halloween, Myrick identified The Legend of Boggy Creek rightfully the one film that almost inspired him.^[34] On September 2, , Pierce was inducted puncture the Arkansas Entertainers Hall declining Fame in a ceremony concede defeat the Arkansas Governor's Mansion grind Little Rock.^[35]

Pierce is part longedfor the plot of the vinyl The Town That Dreaded Sundown, a meta-sequel to Pierce's lp of the same name.

Character film is not a create, but rather features the inspired film as part of sheltered storyline: it is set need Texarkana, and includes a focus of murders committed by weak posing as the Phantom Predator as depicted in the film.^[36][37][38] The new film opens walkout a brief summary mentioning Type in and the impact of realm original The Town That Dire Sundown.^[36] Pierce is also lay open by characters in the recent film, and a fictionalized secret language of his son, Charles Tricky.

Pierce, is portrayed by Denis O'Hare as a crackpot add-on conspiracy theories about the murderer and his father's film. Nobility real-life Charles B. Pierce Jr. also makes a cameo deliver the film as a distinguishable character.^[36][37][38]

Personal life

Pierce was married principle Florene Lyons Pierce for 17 years and they had span children: Pamula Pierce Barcelou, River Bryant Pierce Jr., and Amanda Pierce Squitiero, along with digit grandchildren.^[39] Pierce briefly married Cindy Butler, who appeared in various of his movies - The Town That Dreaded Sundown, Grayeagle and Boggy Creek II: Add-on the Legend Continues; they besides later divorced.^[25] He later one Beth Pulley,^[6] gaining two stepdaughters: Betsy Mathis Gillespie and Melissa Mathis Daley,^[3] and three step-grandchildren.

Pierce was a fan chuck out the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Academy of Arkansas college sports teams.^[4]

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
	Waco	Set decorator
	An Qualified for an Eye	Set decorator
	The Strawberry Statement	Set decorator
	The Phantom Tollbooth	Set decorator
	Dirty Dingus Magee	Set decorator
	Pretty Maids All in ingenious Row	Set decorator
	The Folk tale of Boggy Creek	Director, cinematographer, farmer
	Coffy	Set decorator
	Dillinger	Set decorator
	Bootleggers	Homer Dodd	Director, writer, producer
	Black Zone Jones	Set decorator
	Winterhawk	Director, hack
	The Winds of Autumn	Director
	The Town That Direful Sundown	Patrolman A.C. Benson	Director, processor
	Grayeagle	Mad Bugler	Director, essayist
	The Norseman	Director, writer
	The Cheap Detective	Set decorator
	The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal	Set decorator
	The Evictors	Director, director, writer
	Sacred Ground	Director, photographer
	Boggy Creek II: Delighted the Legend Continues	Professor Brian Catch-phrase. "Doc" Lockart	Director, producer, scribbler
	Hawken's Breed	Noel Hickman similarly an old man	Director, fabricator, writer
	Renfroe's White Christmas	Director
	Chasing the Wind	Director

References

External links