Farewell, Mr. Meyer

SFist mourns the passing of infamous filmmaker Russ Meyer, who died at age 82 in Los Angeles. Born in Oakland in 1922 to his policeman father and nurse mother, Russ got his start in filmmaking with an 8mm camera his mother gave him as a gift. In WWII he worked for the Army Signal Corps shooting newsreels.

Nicknamed "King Leer," he released his first film, The Immoral Mr. Teas, in 1959 with the backing of Peter DeCenzie, owner of Oakland's El Rey Burlesque. At the time Russ was working as a photographer, shooting centerfolds for Playboy among other gigs. An earlier, unreleased production filmed at the El Rey, French Peep Show, featured none other than burlesque super-star Tempest Storm.

His biggest success was Beyond the Valley of the Dolls in 1970, cowritten with none other than the newly svelte Roger Ebert. Film critics continue to examine his seminal work, 1965's Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Considered tame by today's standards, the film chronicled the sexy adventures of three strippers out for thrills. The film was vilified by both social conservatives wary of its moral implications and feminists who found the film exploitative.

Russ spent the last years of his life working on the epic autobiography A Clean Breast, a costly three-volume tome. But if you're into the "new burlesque," you should definitely check out some of his films. SFist hopes Russ is in heaven surrounded by huge jugs with tiny pasties.