Anthony "Tony" Cardoza (May 26, 1930 – December 7, 2015) was an American actor and film producer. A number of the

B-movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

s that he produced are considered to be among the all-time worst, and were immortalized through ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then ...

''.

Early years

Cardoza was born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

Military service

Before becoming involved in the film industry, Cardoza was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army 3rd infantry division, being a sergeant gunner on the 105 mm Howitzer in the Korean War. He was awarded two Bronze Battle Stars, the Good Conduct Medal, Korean War Medal, Sharp Shooters medal, Presidents Medal, the Syngman Rhee Presidential Medal, the Asian War Medal, and others. Just prior to an honorable discharge, Cardoza was assigned to escort deceased soldiers to their loved ones.

Manufacturing career

After his discharge from the army, Cardoza worked for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in East Hartford, Connecticut, as a Heliarc

welder A welder is a person or equipment that fuses materials together. The term welder refers to the operator, the machine is referred to as the welding power supply. The materials to be joined can be metals (such as steel, aluminum, brass, stainles ...

on J-57 Jet engines, a trade he continued making a living from for a number of years into his show business career. However, in 1963, a doctor advised him to stop welding because of

chalazion A chalazion (; plural chalazia or chalazions) or meibomian cyst is not a cyst but a granuloma in the eyelid that results from a blocked meibomian gland. It typically occurs in the middle of the eyelid, red, and not painful. They tend to come ...

forming under his eyelids.

Film career

Cardoza worked on over a dozen films, but is perhaps best known for his three collaborations with Coleman Francis in the 1960s: '' The Beast of Yucca Flats'', '' The Skydivers'', and '' Red Zone Cuba''. Cardoza's work would be remembered in the 1990s television series ''

'', as four of his five films would be lampooned – his three collaborations with Coleman Francis, and '' The Hellcats''.

Personal life

Cardoza was married to Joy Wilkerson, an experienced auto racing driver. They had a daughter, Kim.

Death

Cardoza died December 7, 2015, as a result of complications from a stroke.

Selected filmography

* '' Final Curtain'' * '' Night of the Ghouls'' * '' The Beast of Yucca Flats'' * '' The Skydivers'' * '' Red Zone Cuba'' * '' The Hellcats'' * ''Bigfoot'' * ''Outlaw Riders'' * ''Smokey and the Hotwire Gang'' * ''Inside Out Upside Down'' * ''Crime of Crimes'' * '' Raw Force'' * ''Heated Vengeance'' * ''Misfit Patrol''

Television

* '' The Joy Wilkerson TV Talk Variety Show'' – 46 episodes writer/producer/director (1974–1975)

References

External links

*
B-Monster: Profile: Anthony Cardoza's Tor of the Desert, by Tom Weaver

1930 births 2015 deaths American male film actors Male actors from Hartford, Connecticut Film producers from Connecticut {{US-film-producer-stub