David F. Friedman

David F. Friedman came into the world in Birmingham, Alabama, with a newspaperman for a dad and a musically gifted mom who played piano and organ for silent films and churches. Early on, the guy saw the grittier sides of adulthood—his parents dragged him out to restaurants, movies, and shows when he was barely out of diapers. His dad was already up there in years and passed away when David was thirteen, so life took a sharp turn. After high school, the draft came calling. Friedman got shipped to Europe for World War II, and when the war wound down, he landed in Chicago, got married, and found himself in the wild world of indie filmmaking—making underground sex hygiene reels at Essanjay Films with Irwin Joseph. Jump to the 1950s: Friedman bounced between gigs at Paramount Pictures, Essanjay (which turned into Modern Films), and Apex Attractions, churning out softcore shorts before meeting Herschell Gordon Lewis in 1960. The two hit it off and started cranking out “nudie-cuties”—low-budget flicks packed with nudity, which was basically unheard of in big studio films back then. They knocked out titles like The Adventures of Lucky Pierre and Scum of the Earth!, filming mostly in Miami to dodge Chicago winters. Eventually, they wanted something new and went for broke with Blood Feast, a gory low-budget shocker that made way more cash than their earlier stuff, spawning even bloodier follow-ups. By ‘64, Friedman split with Lewis, moved to LA, and started his own company, producing sleazy shockers like The Defilers and a bunch more through the ‘60s. But once Hollywood ditched the Hays Code and X-rated hardcore took over, Friedman refused to go full hardcore despite the money, choosing to stick to his guns.