Anthony M. Lanza(1936-2010)
- Editor
- Director
- Producer
Anthony M. Lanza was born in 1936 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He made
his own 16mm movies as a kid and studied film at the University of
Southern California. After graduating from USC, Anthony secured his
first motion picture gig as both co-editor and co-producer of
Timothy Carey's sublimely screwy
one-of-a-kind exploitation oddity
The World's Greatest Sinner (1962).
Lanza went on to edit such offbeat low-budget movies as
Wild Guitar (1962),
The Sadist (1963),
What's Up Front! (1964),
The Nasty Rabbit (1964),
Deadwood '76 (1965),
Dinah East (1970) and
Doomsday Voyage (1972). He was an
assistant director on both
The Skydivers (1963) and
Bigfoot (1970). Moreover, he handled
post-production supervisor duties on such straight-to-video items as
Body Count (1995) and
The Dangerous (1995). Lanza has
directed three theatrical features: the gritty biker romp
The Glory Stompers (1967)
('Dennis Hopper (I)''s first-ever biker flick), the dire talk show
spoof "The Irv Carlson Show" and the supremely schlocky sci-fi/horror
camp hoot
The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971).
In addition, he directed another three pictures that either weren't
finished or failed to receive theatrical releases: "Desert Gems,"
"Freedom Riders" and "Squeeze Play."
Lanza died on October 16, 2010 at the Rosewood Nursing Home in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Lanza died on October 16, 2010 at the Rosewood Nursing Home in Lake Charles, Louisiana.