John LaZar (born May 22, 1946) is an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

of both stage and screen, best remembered for his lead role as Ronnie 'Z-man' Barzell in the

Russ Meyer Russell Albion Meyer (March 21, 1922 – September 18, 2004) was an American filmmaker. He was primarily known for writing and directing a successful series of sexploitation films featuring campy humor, sly satire and large-breasted women, wh ...

film ''

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls ''Beyond the Valley of the Dolls'' is a 1970 American satire (film and television), satirical Musical film, musical melodrama film starring Dolly Martin, Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, Phyllis Davis, John LaZar, Michael Blodgett, Er ...

'' (1970), co-written by Meyer and

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

.The New York Times
/ref> LaZar grew up in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

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 ...

and is of

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and Native American heritage. He trained at the

American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (ACT) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The American ...

and has studied acting with

Uta Hagen Uta Thyra Hagen (12 June 1919 – 14 January 2004) was a German-American actress and theatre practitioner. She originated the role of Martha in the 1962 Broadway premiere of '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' by Edward Albee, who called her "a ...

. A veteran of many

Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

stage productions, Lazar is also a

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

expert and fencer. LaZar later appeared in Russ Meyer's '' Supervixens'' (1975) and

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 ...

's ''

Deathstalker II ''Deathstalker II'', also known as ''Deathstalker II: Duel of the Titans'', is a 1987 Argentine-American fantasy comedy-adventure film directed by Jim Wynorski and a sequel to 1983's ''Deathstalker''. It was written by Neil Ruttenberg (with an e ...

'' (1987).

Selected credits

*''

'' (1970) (director

) *'' Supervixens'' (1975) (director Russ Meyer) *''

Every Girl Should Have One ''Every Girl Should Have One'' is a 1978 whodunit independent film. In Brazil, the film is known as ''O Que Toda Mulher Tem''. Its tagline was "a 14 Karat Caper". The film had a printed film format of 35 mm. Plot A diamond theft takes plac ...

'' (1978) *''Greatest Heroes of the Bible'' (TV series) (1978) *''Up 'n' Coming'' (1983) (X-rated film starring

Marilyn Chambers Marilyn Ann Taylor (née Briggs; April 22, 1952 – April 12, 2009), known professionally as Marilyn Chambers, was an American pornographic actress, exotic dancer, model, actress, singer and vice-presidential candidate. She was known f ...

) (Non-sexual role) *''Scorpion'' (1986) *''

'' (1987) (producer

) *'' Eddie Presley'' (1992) (director

Jeff Burr Jeffrey Cameron Burr (July 18, 1963 – October 10, 2023) was an American film director, writer, and producer known for his work in horror sequels, such as ''Stepfather II'', ''Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, The Texas Chainsaw Mass ...

) *'' Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold'' (1995) (director

Fred Olen Ray Fred Olen Ray (born September 10, 1954) is an American film producer, director and screenwriter of more than 200 low- to medium-quality feature films in many genres, including Horror film, horror, science fiction, action film, action/adventure f ...

) *''Stripteaser'' (1995) *'' Night of the Scarecrow'' (1995) (director Jeff Burr) *''Over the Wire'' (1996) *''Click'' (TV series) (1997) *''Maximum Revenge'' (1997) *''Vic'' (2006) short film (director

Sage Stallone Sage Moonblood Stallone (May 5, 1976 – July 13, 2012) was an American actor. He was the eldest child of actor Sylvester Stallone. Early life Sage Stallone was born in Los Angeles, California, the elder son and first child of Sasha Czack and a ...

) *''Alice Jacobs is Dead'' (2009) short film

References

External links

* 1946 births American male film actors Living people {{US-film-actor-1940s-stub