George Kuchar - In Memoriam

The great camp filmmaker George Kuchar has died at age 69. It's a sad day. He was a nice man. A creative man. A driven man, who inspired untold numbers of filmmakers over the years.

Starting in adolescence, he and his twin brother Mike had their aesthetic down--Hollywood homage demento. Their early films premiered in New York City where underground-film goers marveled at their loving and lurid tales of depravity and loneliness. John Waters was truly inspired and took off on his own wild tangent shortly thereafter.

George and Mike continued to make films until the present. George also taught filmmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute. His low-budget, let's-put-on-a-twisted-show approach was a lesson in resourcefulness and filmic wonder. His use of background music alone is brilliant, but it's the color and the pathos that get to me. Every time.

Hold Me While I'm Naked (1966) - A classic. No, really. It truly is. Starring the lovely Donna Kerness.


I, An Actress (1977) - A "screen test" he shot with a student who was more interested in acting than filmmaking.


Dynasty of Depravity (2005) Part 1 - SFAI student filmmaking in action.

Part 2

George discusses his feelings about Texas in 2009.


I've written briefly about George and his obsession with severe weather patterns in the Midwestern United States. Mike continues to make films. My condolences to the Kuchar family.

NY Times obit