STARBURST is saddened to learn that another bastion of low-budget independent cinema, Ted V. Mikels has passed away, aged 87.

Born Theodore Mikacevich in 1929, Mikels began acting at an early age and started making films of his own stage performances before founding a production company. After writing and directing his first feature, Strike Me Deadly, in 1963, he began to amass a filmography that, while never quite hitting the mark in the commercial realm, is much-loved by fans of grindhouse and horror movies.

As a director and producer, he was well loved and respected. Some of his best-known films include (as director): The Astro-Zombies, The Corpse Grinders, Blood Orgy of the She-Devils, and The Doll Squad. He was still making films into his eighties, with Paranormal Extremes: Text Messages from the Dead released last year.

A pioneering filmmaker to the end, Mikels died on Sunday, October 16th.

Everyone at STARBURST’s thoughts are with his family and friends.

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