Donald Michael Dohler (January 27, 1946 – December 2, 2006) was an American

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

known for making low-budget

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and

horror films Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

, as well as his work in

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

and publishing.Vanderbilt, Mike
"Don Dohler’s Nightbeast gave J.J. Abrams his start in sci-fi,"
''The AV Club'' (11/18/15).Kaltenbach, Chris
"Perry Hall to Hollywood: Don Dohler publishes a movie magazine,"
''The Baltimore Sun'' (March 19, 1994).

Biography

Early life

Dohler was born in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. When he was a child, his mother bought him a film projector and one day he drew stick figures on a piece of scotch tape. He ran the tape through the projector and just before the tape burned up inside of the projector, he saw the animated figure dance on the wall and that's when he knew he wanted to make films.

Publishing

''WILD'' and ProJunior

In 1961, at the age of 15, Dohler started a '' Mad''-style

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

called ''WILD''. ''Mad'' had

Alfred E. Neuman Alfred E. Neuman is the fictitious mascot and cover boy of the American humor magazine '' Mad''. The character's distinct smiling face, gap-toothed smile, freckles, red hair, protruding ears, and scrawny body date back to late 19th-century ad ...

as a mascot, so Dohler used his middle-school creation,

Pro Junior ProJunior, sometimes styled as Pro Junior, is an American comics character created by Don Dohler in 1958.Fox, M. Steven"Don Dohler's Projunior" ComixJoint. Accessed June 4, 2018. He debuted in a fanzine in 1961, and in underground comix in 1970. K ...

, as ''WILD''’s mascot. In ''WILD''’s peak, it had contributors such as

Jay Lynch Jay Patrick Lynch (January 7, 1945 – March 5, 2017) was an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his '' Bijou Funnies'' and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip ''Nard n' Pat'' and the r ...

Art Spiegelman Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman ( ; born February 15, 1948), professionally known as Art Spiegelman, is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazin ...

, and

Skip Williamson Mervyn "Skip" Williamson (August 19, 1944 – March 16, 2017) was an American underground cartoonist and central figure in the underground comix movement. Williamson's art was published in the '' National Lampoon'', ''High Times'', ''the Realis ...

, who later went on to be famous in the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the early 1970s Jay Lynch and Art Spiegelman were fooling around and they started drawing ''WILD''’s mascot, ProJunior, again, but this time in a leopard skin leotard.Knudde, Kjell
"Don Dohler,"
''Lambiek's Comiclopedia''. Accessed June 4, 2018.

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American artist who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American c ...

saw ProJunior and decided to draw a comic about him. As a result, Lynch rounded up 22 underground comix artists, including Dohler, to draw their own interpretation of ProJunior, which was published by

Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hardcov ...

in a comic in 1971.

''Cinemagic''

In the mid-1960s Dohler came up with an idea for a magazine for filmmakers. It would feature illustrated step-by-step articles for amateur special effects filmmakers. Inspired by his

friends, Dohler set off to publish the magazine on his own. ''Cinemagic'' featured articles by industry professionals and went on for 11 issues before being purchased by ''

Starlog ''Starlog'' was an American monthly science fiction magazine that was created in 1976 and focused primarily on ''Star Trek'' at its inception. Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs were its creators and it was published by Starlog Group, Inc. in Aug ...

'' in 1979. ''Cinemagic'' inspired several young filmmakers who later went on to have successful careers in

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 ...

, including J. J. Abrams, Tom Sullivan, Ernie Farino, Michael Trcic and Al Magliochetti.

Other projects

Fresh off the success of ''Cinemagic'' and his own burgeoning filmmaking career, Dohler wrote two books in 1979-1980: ''Film Magic: The Fantastic Guide to Special Effects Filmmaking'' (Cinema Enterprises, 1979) and the two-volume ''Stop Motion Animation: A Complete Step-By-Step Guide'' (Cinema Enterprises, 1980). In the 1990s, he returned to publishing, putting out ''Amazing Cinema'' and ''Movie Club'' magazines. He supplemented his income at various times as editor of the (Baltimore county) ''Times-Herald'' and as editor of the ''Harford Business Ledger''.

Filmmaking

Dohler's first film, the science fiction

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 ...

'' The Alien Factor'', was released in 1978. The story begins with a young teenage couple making out in a car when an insect-looking monster attacks. The local sheriff must find out what's causing the killings while the mayor is breathing down his neck to keep a lid on the deaths so a multimillion-dollar amusement park can be built nearby. Featuring special effects from Ernest Farino, John Cosentino, and Larry Schelecter, ''The Alien Factor'' had a long run on TV throughout the 1980s, including on

Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...

Superstation ''Superstation'' (alternatively rendered as "super station" or informally as "SuperStation") is a term in North American broadcasting that has several meanings. Commonly, a "superstation" is a form of distant signal, a broadcast television sign ...

WPCH-TV WPCH-TV (channel 17), branded as Peachtree TV, is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is owned by locally based Gray Media alongside CBS affiliate and company flagship WANF (channel 46), and l ...

.Piepenburg, Erik
"Big Hair and Bad Blood: VHS-Era Horror Obscurities From A to Z,"
''The New York Times'' (OCTOBER 26, 2011). Dohler made several more low-budget films during the 1980s, including ''

The Galaxy Invader ''Galaxy Invader'' is a 1985 American direct-to-video science fiction film directed and co-written by Baltimore filmmaker Don Dohler. The film's plot centers on an alien who is pursued by hillbillies after his spaceship crash-lands on Earth. The ...

'', '' Nightbeast'', ''Blood Massacre'' and ''Fiend'', a

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

film with a supernatural twist. After an eleven-year self-imposed hiatus, Dohler returned to filmmaking with ''Alien Rampage'', where Dohler met actor/cop Joe Ripple. Dohler never cared for directing, so he asked Ripple to direct his films, and he concentrated on cinematography and editing. Together they made five films, including ''Harvesters'', ''Stakes'', ''Vampire Sisters'', ''Crawler'' and ''Dead Hunt''.

Later life and death

Dohler died from cancer in Maryland in 2006; he was 60 years old. Dohler's life is chronicled in a documentary by John Kinhart titled '' Blood, Boobs & Beast'' and released in 2007.

Filmography

*'' The Alien Factor'' (1978)"Don Dohler: Celebrity,"
''TV Guide''. Accessed June 4, 2018. *'' Fiend'' (1980) *'' Nightbeast'' (1982) *'' Galaxy Invader'' (1985) *'' Blood Massacre'' (1991)Muir, John Kenneth (2011). Horror Films of the 1990s. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786484805. *'' Alien Rampage'' (1999) (A.K.A. ''Alien Factor 2: The Alien Rampage'') *''

Harvesters Harvester may refer to: Agriculture and forestry * Combine harvester, a machine commonly used to harvest grain crops * Forage harvester, a machine used to harvest forage * Harvester (forestry), a type of heavy vehicle employed in cut-to-length log ...

'' (2001) (Remake of ''Blood Massacre'') *'' Stakes'' (2002) *''

Vampire Sisters ''Vampire Sisters'' () is a 2012 German children's film by Wolfgang Groos. The fantasy-comedy film based on the eponymous novel series by Franziska Gehm. Plot The two twelve year old half-vampire sisters Silvania and Dakaria Tepes move from Trans ...

'' (2003) *'' Crawler'' (In Post-Production) *'' Dead Hunt'' (2006)

References

External links

DonDohler.com
– Official Don Dohler Site *

in

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on September 3, 2015.
TimeWarpFilms.com
– Official site of Time Warp Films
Blood, Boobs & Beast
– A documentary about Don Dohler's life and career by director John Paul Kinhart
Story on Dohler in Bmore Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dohler, Don 1946 births 2006 deaths Artists from Baltimore American science fiction film directors American horror film directors Underground cartoonists Deaths from cancer in Maryland Film directors from Maryland