'Wild Orchid' director Zalman King dies at 70
02-03-12 | 08:46 PM
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'Wild Orchid' director Zalman King dies at 70
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Zalman King, a onetime actor who went on to produce and direct numerous films including "Wild Orchid," died Friday after a lengthy battle with cancer, his son-in-law said. King was 70.
After fighting cancer for six years, King died Friday morning at his home in Santa Monica, California, son-in-law Allison Burnett told CNN.
His wife and longtime contributor, writer-director Patricia Louisiana Knopp, was by his side.
Born Zalman Lefkovitz, King broke into Hollywood in the 1960s as an actor with roles on several TV series including "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "Bonanza," "Gunsmoke" and "The Young Lawyers," according to the online Internet Movie Database website, imdb.com. He produced several films in the 1980s, including the erotic drama "9½ Weeks" starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke. And in 1989, King moved behind the camera to direct "Wild Orchid," written by him and his wife and featuring Rourke and Jacqueline Bisset.
According to Burnett, late director Stanley Kubrick would call King "every night" while shooting "Eyes Wide Shut," starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, to get ideas on shooting erotic scenes.
King also knew Martin Sheen for decades, as well as his son Charlie Sheen, according to Burnett. The former "Platoon," "Wall Street" and "Two and a Half Men" star lauded King as a "brilliant and noble soul" in a statement Friday on his website. "My dear friend of 40 years, Zalman King, just lost his battle with cancer," Charlie Sheen wrote. "Fought like a recon marine til the bitter end."
After fighting cancer for six years, King died Friday morning at his home in Santa Monica, California, son-in-law Allison Burnett told CNN.
His wife and longtime contributor, writer-director Patricia Louisiana Knopp, was by his side.
Born Zalman Lefkovitz, King broke into Hollywood in the 1960s as an actor with roles on several TV series including "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "Bonanza," "Gunsmoke" and "The Young Lawyers," according to the online Internet Movie Database website, imdb.com. He produced several films in the 1980s, including the erotic drama "9½ Weeks" starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke. And in 1989, King moved behind the camera to direct "Wild Orchid," written by him and his wife and featuring Rourke and Jacqueline Bisset.
According to Burnett, late director Stanley Kubrick would call King "every night" while shooting "Eyes Wide Shut," starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, to get ideas on shooting erotic scenes.
King also knew Martin Sheen for decades, as well as his son Charlie Sheen, according to Burnett. The former "Platoon," "Wall Street" and "Two and a Half Men" star lauded King as a "brilliant and noble soul" in a statement Friday on his website. "My dear friend of 40 years, Zalman King, just lost his battle with cancer," Charlie Sheen wrote. "Fought like a recon marine til the bitter end."
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/03/showbi...html?hpt=hp_t2
Zalman King
02-03-12 | 11:23 PM
#5
Re: 'Wild Orchid' director Zalman King dies at 70
I was curious to see how things would've gone if he continued to stay in front of the camera as well as behind it.
Interesting to hear about that Kubrick connection......If it's true.
02-04-12 | 12:30 PM
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Re: 'Wild Orchid' director Zalman King dies at 70
RIP Mr. King
He was the Pioneer for softcore Porn. 2 of my favorite works of his were Red Shoe Diaries (director and writer) and Nine 1/2 Weeks (Producer and Writer)
He was the Pioneer for softcore Porn. 2 of my favorite works of his were Red Shoe Diaries (director and writer) and Nine 1/2 Weeks (Producer and Writer)
02-04-12 | 02:43 PM
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Re: 'Wild Orchid' director Zalman King dies at 70
RIP. Surprised he wasn't married to a starlet.
02-06-12 | 02:59 AM
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Re: 'Wild Orchid' director Zalman King dies at 70
I'll never forget Red Shoe Diaries when I was a kid. RIP
02-06-12 | 04:09 AM
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Re: 'Wild Orchid' director Zalman King dies at 70
The original 2 hour Pilot movie for Red Shoe Diaries is probably one of the best softcore porn movies I have ever seen. Great performance by David Duchovny and Brigitte Bako and a tragic ending. It was a great mix of drama and eroticism.
02-06-12 | 12:36 PM
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Re: 'Wild Orchid' director Zalman King dies at 70
When I was in college my buddy interviewed him for the newspaper. In God's Hands, a movie about surfing, was just being released. Must have been 1997 or 1998. That's a great movie. He did more than just softcore.
02-07-12 | 11:18 PM
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Re: 'Wild Orchid' director Zalman King dies at 70
02-08-12 | 05:11 AM
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Re: 'Wild Orchid' director Zalman King dies at 70
Simultaneously. Red Shoes was on 6 seasons at the same time as X-Files.
Red Shoes episodes are 30 minutes each and Duchovny's character was sort of like the "host" of the series even though he was playing a character named Jake. He would appear in the opening scene to introduce the story and then the end.
Red Shoes episodes are 30 minutes each and Duchovny's character was sort of like the "host" of the series even though he was playing a character named Jake. He would appear in the opening scene to introduce the story and then the end.
