| |
James Pickett was born on
December 17th 1949 in Kentucky
and made a name for himself in the horror
community for his roles in three of
William Girdler’s Louisville filmed
flicks. He was an actor in local theater
when he was first cast as a zombie in
Girdler’s 1971 flick ‘Asylum
of Satan’ -- in which he
also helped with make-up effects.
Impressed with his acting talents Girdler
chose him to star in his next film -- the
following year James Pickett achieved
horror film icon status in Girdler’s
‘Three on a Meathook’
(1972) playing the sensitive yet
psychotic killer Billy Townsend, a
character vaguely modeled after the
notorious Ed Gein. The next year he gave
another great performance as Mac, another
insane murderer, in Girdler’s ‘The
Zebra Killer’ (1973). After
these three films for Girdler, Mr.
Pickett never made another film.
Shortly thereafter he moved
to Los Angeles where he gained a very
different and perhaps more enduring
reputation as an award-winning playwright
in the gay community, thereafter adopting
the name James Carroll Pickett. He was
the writer in residence at The Beverly
Hills Playhouse. His 1986 play
‘Dream Man’ about a gay
phone-sex host was filmed as a
theatre-on-video presentation in 1991
starring Michael Kearns. His other plays
include the one-man’s night at the
baths tour de force ‘Bathhouse
Benediction’. Other plays
followed. His 1994 play ‘Queen
of Angels’ is considered on
of the most potent AIDS dramas ever
staged.
As an AIDS and gay activist
in the theatre community Pickett was the
co-founder in 1984 (along with Michael
Kearns) of STAGE – The Southland
Theatre Artists Goodwill Event that
raised consciousness, understanding,
support (and funds) about the disease and
helped support AIDS Project Los Angeles.
He started the Gay Men’s
Writer’s series at A Different Light
Bookstore and was also cofounder of
Artists Confronting AIDS.
Sadly, this great
humanitarian/writer/actor passed away
from HIV complications on July 4th,
1994 in Los Angeles.
|
