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Personal Info

Known For

Directing

Known Credits

78

Gender

Male

Birthday

1937-08-27

Day of Death

1977-05-16 (40 years old)

Place of Birth

New York City, New York, USA

Also Known As

Robert West

Julian Marsh

Francis Ellie

Robert Wuesterwurst

Michael Findlay

Biography

Michael Findlay, along with his wife Roberta Findlay, directed and produced numerous sexploitation movies. They have been described as "the most notorious filmmakers in the annals of sexploitation". In the mid-to-late 1960s, Findlay was prominent among a small group of underground New York filmmakers (including Joseph W. Sarno, Joseph P. Mawra, and Lou Campa) that produced exploitation "roughies" (a mix of sex and sadism) for the grindhouse theater market. Sometimes he would direct under the alias Julian Marsh and act in his own films billed as Robert West. His wife Roberta (aka Anna Riva) was the cinematographer, co-writer, and supporting actress for many of their films together. They also employed the same actors repeatedly, most notably Uta Erickson, and Marie Brent, aka Janet Banzet. The Findlays were friends with George Weiss, producer of Ed Wood's Glen or Glenda and a series of fetishistic Olga films (Olga's House of Shame, Olga's Girls, et al.). In 1964 Weiss encouraged them to make films in this new subgenre of violent sexploitation. Description above from the Wikipedia article Michael Findlay, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Known For

Acting

Virgins in Heat

1976

Virgins in Heat

as

Richard Jennings

The Ultimate Degenerate

1969

The Ultimate Degenerate

as

Spencer (as Robert West)

Lusting Hours

1967

Lusting Hours

as

Partygoer / Call Girl's Client / Voices

Take Me Naked

1966

Take Me Naked

as

The Bum's Friend

Janie

1970

Janie

as

Homeowner (as Richard Jennings)

The Kiss of Her Flesh

1968

The Kiss of Her Flesh

as

Richard Jennings

The Touch of Her Flesh

1967

The Touch of Her Flesh

as

Richard Jennings

Party Levitation

2021

Party Levitation

as

(archive)

Mnasidika

1969

Mnasidika

as

A Thousand Pleasures

1968

A Thousand Pleasures

as

Richard Davis

The Altar of Lust

1971

The Altar of Lust

as

Dr. Rogers (voice) (uncredited)

Body of a Female

1964

Body of a Female

as

Bruno (as Robert West)

The Curse of Her Flesh

1968

The Curse of Her Flesh

as

Richard Jennings / Joe Davidson

Shriek of the Mutilated

1974

Shriek of the Mutilated

as

Decapitation Onlooker (uncredited)

Bacchanale

1970

Bacchanale

as

3rd Mourner / Timothy (voice)

The Sin Syndicate

1965

The Sin Syndicate

as

Bearded Man (uncredited)

Take My Head

1970

Take My Head

as

Narrator (voice)

The Slaughter

1971

The Slaughter

as

Detective (uncredited)

Snuff

1976

Snuff

as

Detective (archive footage) (uncredited)

Production

Crew

Directing