Jonathan Haze (born Jack Aaron Schachter; April 1, 1929 – November 2, 2024) was an American actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in

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 ...

films, especially the 1960

black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...

The Little Shop of Horrors ''The Little Shop of Horrors'' is a 1960 American Comedy horror, horror comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about a florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human blood. The ...

'', in which he played florist's assistant Seymour Krelboined.

Early years

Haze was born Jack Schachter in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, on April 1, 1929, to Betty and Harry Schachter, who was a jeweller. His cousin was jazz drummer

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

Early career

Haze was working at a gas station in

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 ...

when he was discovered by Wyott Ordung. Ordung was directing the movie ''

Monster from the Ocean Floor ''Monster from the Ocean Floor'' is an American 1954 science fiction film about a sea monster that terrorizes a Mexican cove. The film was directed by Wyott Ordung and starred Anne Kimbell and Stuart Wade. It was the first film produced by Ro ...

'' (1954), which was being produced by Corman, and offered a small part to Haze. Corman, three years Haze's senior, was impressed and cast Haze in many of his films over the next ten years, including '' Apache Woman'' (1955), ''

Day the World Ended ''Day the World Ended'' is a 1955 American independently made black-and-white post-apocalyptic science fiction film, produced and directed by Roger Corman, that stars Richard Denning, Lori Nelson, Adele Jergens, Paul Birch and Mike Connors. ...

'' (1955), ''

Gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers () or in the late 19th and early 20th century gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in shootouts. Today, the term "gunslin ...

'' (1956), ''

The Oklahoma Woman ''The Oklahoma Woman'' is a 1956 American Western film directed by Roger Corman. Plot The film involves the return of Steve Ward, a former gunslinger recently released from federal prison, to his hometown to claim a ranch he has inherited. Upo ...

'' (1956), '' It Conquered the World'' (1956), '' Swamp Women'' (1956), ''

Naked Paradise ''Naked Paradise'' (sometimes credited as ''Thunder Over Hawaii'') is a 1957 drama film directed by Roger Corman. It stars Richard Denning and Beverly Garland. Corman later asked Charles B. Griffith, who worked on the script, to reuse his screen ...

'' (1957), '' Not of This Earth'' (1957), '' Rock All Night'' (1957), '' The Viking Women and the Sea Serpent'' (1957), ''

Carnival Rock ''Carnival Rock'' is a 1957 film directed by Roger Corman with musical performances by The Platters, David Houston, Bob Luman and His Shadows, and the Blockbusters. Plot A nightclub owner, Christopher 'Christy' Cristakos, falls in love with the ...

'' (1957), ''

'' (1960), and ''

The Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to ...

'' (1963). Haze also appeared in non-Corman films, such as ''

Bayou In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...

'' (1957), '' Stakeout on Dope Street'' (1958), '' Ghost of the China Sea'' (1958), and '' Forbidden Island'' (1959).

Later work

In 1959, Haze guest starred in the episode "Terror Town" of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

'' Cimarron City'', starring George Montgomery.

Dan Duryea Dan Duryea ( , January 23, 1907 – June 7, 1968) was an American actor in film, stage, and television. Known for portraying villains, he had a long career in a variety of leading and secondary roles.Gaita, PaulDan Duryea Biography."''Turner C ...

who portrayed the mastermind of a criminal enterprise in silver who is the half-brother of Haze's character. Haze later branched into other aspects of filmmaking. In 1957, Haze sold his first screenplay to Arrarat Productions. Titled ''The Monster of Nicholson Mesa'', the film was a parody of horror films. He wrote the 1962 science fiction/comedy film '' Invasion of the Star Creatures''. He also worked in production for such films as ''

Premature Burial Premature burial, also known as live burial, burial alive, or vivisepulture, means to be buried while still alive. Animals or humans may be buried alive accidentally on the mistaken assumption that they are dead, or intentionally as a form of ...

'' (1962), ''

'' (1963), ''

Medium Cool ''Medium Cool'' is a 1969 American drama film written and directed by Haskell Wexler and starring Robert Forster, Verna Bloom, Peter Bonerz, Marianna Hill and Harold Blankenship. It takes place in Chicago in the summer of 1968. It was notable ...

'' (1969), ''

Another Nice Mess ''Another Nice Mess'' is a 1972 comedy film written and directed by Bob Einstein and starring Rich Little as Richard Nixon and Herb Voland as Spiro Agnew. Plot The film is presented in the style of a Laurel and Hardy comedy, with Nixon in the ...

'' (1972), and Corman's own ''

The Born Losers ''The Born Losers'' is a 1967 American outlaw biker film.Gary A. Smith, ''The American International Pictures Video Guide'', McFarland 2009 p 32 The film introduced Tom Laughlin as the half- Indigenous American Green Beret Vietnam veteran B ...

'' (1967).

Personal life and death

Haze was married to costume designer Roberta Keith from the mid-1960s until 1981, and they had two daughters. Haze died at his home in Los Angeles, on November 2, 2024, at the age of 95. At the

97th Academy Awards The 97th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the gala, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly r ...

, his name was mentioned in the '' In Memoriam'' section.

References

External links