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Mel Welles

 
Actor: Mel Welles
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Occupation: Actor, Director
  • Active: '50s-'60s, '80s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Adventure
  • Career Highlights: Little Shop of Horrors, The Undead, Attack of the Crab Monsters
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Undead (1957)

Biography

A writer turned actor/director, Mel Welles is one of the most enduring cult figures from '50s exploitation pictures. Welles moved into films after careers in New York theater and wrestling promotion in Canada, and arrived in Hollywood at just about the time that his services were needed. Filmmakers were eager to make movies appealing to teens, and Welles, who had written for jazz satirist Lord Buckley, was a natural both as a performer and writer of "special material" to jazz up the scripts and action of the exploitation pictures being ground out. His most notable work in this area was in the 1958 drug-and-sexploitation classic High School Confidential, directed by Jack Arnold, for which Welles provided two stunningly funny (and effective) parodies of beat poetry and jargon, and also served as the movie's resident expert on marijuana. During this period, Welles--who is a master of numerous accents and dialects--appeared in numerous Roger Corman films (Attack of the Crab Monsters, Rock All Night etc.), usually in small roles, and became part of the stock company that included Dick Miller and Jonathan Haze. During the '60s, Welles began directing low budget films such as the crime thriller Code of Silence (1960) and the horror film Lady Frankenstein (1972). In recent years, Welles has come to appreciate the former teenagers who now love his work--which usually falls into the "psychotronic" or cult movie category--although he is embarrassed by the seriousness with which modern audiences embrace his beat poetry parodies in High School Confidential (and which, much to his puzzlement, recently surfaced on a compact-disc collection of Beat poetry). ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Mel Welles
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Mel Welles

Welles in The Little Shop of Horrors
Born February 17, 1924
New York City, New York
Died August 18, 2005
Norfolk, Virginia

Mel Welles (February 17, 1924 - August 18, 2005) was an American film actor. His best-remembered role may be that of hapless flower shop owner Gravis Mushnik in the 1960 low-budget Roger Corman dark comedy, The Little Shop of Horrors (which featured Jack Nicholson as a masochistic dental patient).

Not much is known of Welles' early life, except that he was born Ira Meltcher in New York City. He graduated from Mt. Carmel High School, in 1940. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree from Penn State University, a Master of Arts degree from West Virginia University, and a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University.

Welles held a number of jobs during his lifetime; at one time or another he worked as a clinical psychologist, radio DJ, television actor, writer and film director. He did some stage work before traveling to Hollywood, where in 1953 he appeared in his first film, Appointment in Honduras. His favorite role (The Little Shop of Horrors) was also his last in the U.S. for many years.

In the early 1960s, he left the United States to act, produce and direct primarily in European film productions including the cult horror film Lady Frankenstein (1971). His fluency in five languages proved to be most helpful. He also served as a film consultant. Later he returned to the U.S., appearing in a number of films and doing voice work.

Probably his most widely seen work in the late 1970's was his English adaptation of the Japanese television show, "Spectreman" which was seen on UHF and cable across the United States. While he shares writing credit with two other people, it's clear that most of the English voice work, and the offbeat humor, is his.

In 1998, Welles took to the stage in a community theater production of Little Shop of Horrors (musical) as Mushnik, the role he created in the original Roger Corman film. Welles had never performed in the musical and was happy to be asked to do the role, which he described as a "mitzvah" for Scotts Valley Performing Arts. Jonathan Haze, who played Seymour in the original film, attended the opening, and Welles also received a visit from Martin P. Robinson, the designer of the Audrey II plant puppets used in the off-Broadway production (Robinson is also famous for his puppetry on Sesame Street).

Welles was working on a horror screenplay, tentatively titled House of a Hundred Horrors, at the time of his death.

Filmography

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 
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Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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