Donald G. Jackson (April 24, 1943 – October 20, 2003) was an American

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

Biography

Born in Tremont,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, Jackson grew up in

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the ma ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. As an adult he struggled to become a filmmaker for many years while working at an auto factory. Finally, in the mid-1970s he made his first feature film, a

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

parody, ''The Demon Lover''. This film was soon followed by the

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

film, ''I Like to Hurt People''. These films financed his move to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where he remained until his death. Jackson is perhaps most well known for creating and directing the

cult film A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated ...

, ''

Hell Comes to Frogtown ''Hell Comes to Frogtown'' is a 1988 American science fiction action film directed by Donald G. Jackson and R. J. Kizer, and written by Jackson and Randall Frakes. The film stars professional wrestler Roddy Piper as Sam Hell, one of the last rem ...

''. Throughout his career Jackson worked with several filmmakers including

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

and

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

but it was not until he began a long collaboration with American filmmaker

Scott Shaw Scott Shaw (born 23 September 1958 in Los Angeles, California) is an American author, martial artist, musician, and filmmaker. Career Scott Shaw is an advanced martial artist. He has written a number of articles and books on the martial arts a ...

that the team created a method they called ''

zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

filmmaking''. Zen filmmaking is a distinct style of filmmaking where no scripts are used in the creation of a film. Actors who frequently starred in Jackson's films included

Joe Estevez Joseph Estévez (born February 13, 1946), sometimes credited as Joe Phelan, is an American actor and director. He is the younger brother of actor Martin Sheen and the uncle of Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Renée Estevez, and Ramon Estevez. E ...

and

Robert Z'Dar Robert James Zdarsky (June 3, 1950 – March 30, 2015), better known by his stage name Robert Z'Dar, was an American character actor and film producer, best known for his role as officer Matt Cordell in the cult horror film ''Maniac Cop'' (1988) ...

Death

Jackson died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

on October 20, 2003 and was interred in the

Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary is a cemetery and Morgue, mortuary located in the Westwood, Los Angeles, Westwood area of Los Angeles. It includes a crematory for cremation services. Its location is at 1218 Glendon Av ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Filmography

* ''The Demon Lover'' (1976) * ''I Like to Hurt People'' (1985) * '' Roller Blade'' (1986) * ''UFO: Secret Video'' (1986) * ''

'' (1987) * '' Roller Blade Warriors: Taken by Force'' (1990) * ''

The Roller Blade Seven ''The Roller Blade Seven'' is a 1991 cult martial arts film directed by Donald G. Jackson, written by Jackson and Scott Shaw, produced by Jackson and Shaw, and starring Shaw, Frank Stallone, Karen Black, Joe Estevez, Don Stroud, and William Smi ...

'' (1991) * '' The Legend of the Rollerblade Seven'' (1992) * ''Carjack'' (1993) * ''

Return to Frogtown ''Return to Frogtown'' (also known as ''Frogtown II'') is a 1993 B movie directed by Donald G. Jackson. It is the sequel to the 1988 cult film '' Hell Comes to Frogtown''. Like its predecessor, the film is set in a post-apocalyptic future where ...

'' (1993) * ''It's Showtime'' (1993) * '' Return of the Roller Blade Seven'' (1993) * '' Pocket Ninjas'' (1994) * ''Queen of Lost Island'' (1994) * ''The Devil's Pet'' (1994) * ''Twisted Fate'' (1994) * ''Kill, Kill Overkill'' (1994) * ''Baby Ghost'' (1995) * ''Little Lost Sea Serpent'' (1995) * ''Big Sister 2000'' (1995) * ''Raw Energy'' (1995) * ''Rollergator'' (1996) Rollergator, RiffTrax
/ref> * '' Toad Warrior'' (1996) * '' Guns of El Chupacabra'' (1997) * ''Armageddon Boulevard'' (1998) * ''Lingerie Kickboxer'' (1998) * ''Guns of El Chupacabra 2: The Unseen'' (1999) * ''Blade Sisters'' (1999) * ''Ride with the Devil'' (1999) * ''Legend of the Dead Boyz'' (2001)

Documentary films about Donald G. Jackson

*''Demon Lover Diary'' (1980) *'' Interview: The Documentary'' (2005)

References

External links

*
Collection of articles about Donald G. JacksonRiffTrax treatment of ''Rollergator '' on official YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Donald G. 1943 births 2003 deaths People from Adrian, Michigan Deaths from leukemia in California Film directors from Michigan Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery People from Itawamba County, Mississippi