Herbert W. Zoozman in 1957 at the “World Premiere” of his recently completed movie, “My Bare Lady“, a film several critics regarded as Avant Garde, in that it was Hollywood’s first ever musical-sexploitation film. Zoozman himself regarded it as one of his best because “it came in under-budget and on time, no thanks to Nymph (its star) and that deadbeat bum of a director, Woodhead [sic]*.” * An obvious reference, unintentionally derogatory or not, to Zoozman’s on-and-off-again relationship with director Fredward D. Woodcock, who helmed 17 1/2 Zoozman flicks. Woodcock was alternately in Zoozman’s favor and many historians believe he was a distant relative, if not Zoozman’s connection to the Las Vegas showgirls he enjoyed so much. Some also feel the only reason Zoozman continued to hire Woodcock, was that Woodcock’s brother-in-law was married to Dick Nixon’s wife’s half-sister, thus assuring Zoozman access to the White House when Nixon would become President in 1960, which he did not.
Herbert W. Zoozman — born 1919, Schenectady, New York; married 9 times (#5, #7, #9 to Mynx Devlin); only one child (to which he’d actually cop) Herbert W. Zoozman, Jr. (b. 1938); as a teenager Zoozman would often get a gang of friends together and “produce” musical pageants in his backyard. Typically he would take a well-known musical of the day and substitute bawdy lyrics for the real words.
(i.e. “Showboat” becomes “Show EVERYTHING Boat.”) Runs away from home at 14, joins the circus. “Great training for the film business. It’s all about separating the suckers from their 10 cents and getting ‘em into the tent.” He becomes famous for his “Alien Seduction/Martian Love Child” spiel (still performed to this day at side shows in the South) The circus goes bankrupt in Burbank in 1936, stranding Zoozman near Hollywood.
He quickly lands a job with Cosmo Baxter, “America’s Most Daring Producer!” Zoozman assists Baxter with such road show classics as “Forbidden Lust”, “Confessions of a Reefer Addict” and “Wedding Night Confession.” This last featured some “shocking” footage of “actual childbirth” (actually a goat being born).
Zoozman promptly stole the negative for this footage, convinced a local Pentacostal Church to give him $10,000 (he told them he was doing a biopic of Jesus Christ, and had signed Charlie Chaplin to play the lead), and released his first “Zoozman RoadShow Classic” — Jail Bait Baby, which he billed in trade publications as the “Gone With the Wind” of exploitation nudie/sex hygiene movies. [SEE FILMOGRAPHY FOR COMPLETE LISTING OF ZOOZMAN FILMS] Married showgirl Phyllis Cuphouse in 1938, son Herbert W. Zoozman born 6 months later.
Divorced from Phyllis in 1939 (infidelity). Married Marjorie Tremayne in 1940, divorced later that same year (infidelity). Married Marjorie’s sister Eileen in 1941, marriage annulled in early 1942 and stayed unmarried for the remainder of the year. 1943 — two marriages. First to Kim Yong Son, simply to legalize her emigration from the Philippines (after a quickie divorce (infidelity)), Miss Son became Zoozman’s full time live-in maid and stayed with him until she died in 1979).
1943′s second marriage was to Lorna Dumbrowsky, a stripper who went by the professional name of “Nymph O’Maniac!” [NOTE: MANY OF HER HARD CORE FANS WERE DISMAYED TO FIND OUT THAT SHE WAS NOT IN FACT IRISH] and billed herself (after 1945) as “The Atomic Bombshell“.
Zoozman casts “Nymph” in several epics of the late 1940′s, including “B-Girl Rhapsody” “What Blondie Taught the Native”.. “Battle of the Runway Queens”.. “Vixen of Bagdad”. “Lady Godiva’s Bath”. “Casting Couch Confidential”. “Nudie Cutie Revue” .. “Strip Poker” .. “Redhead Rhumba!” .. “Nude-O-Rama” .. “Eve’s Temptation” .. “Rasslin’ She-Babes!”
Despite numerous infidelities (Ms. Dumbrowsky stated in her final divorce petition in 1958 that “If trapped on a desert island, Mr. Zoozman would do it with mud” to which Mr. Zoozman replied, “Happily”) this marriage lasted through the late 50′s, until Zoozman met the notorious “Wham-Wham” Girl, Mynx Devlin. Ms. Devlin had been blacklisted in the early 50′s after an amazing career as the world’s #1 film noir goddess in the 1940′s, making such oft- revived cinema classics as “Jive Crazy!” “A Bullet for Peggy”, “Thrill Queen”, “Home Wrecker” “Hell Is A Female,” and “My Gun Is Big.” Only Zoozman would take a chance, casting her in a no-budget gorilla-suit classic, “Jungle Vixen!” A torrid romance followed, and Zoozman and Devlin were married after Zoozman’s divorce from Dumbrowsky.
Thus began Zoozman’s most productive years as a filmmaker, and his most turbulent years personally. From the time they met in 1957 to their final 3 day marriage in 1969, Zoozman and Devlin are married and divorced three times. “I’m fire, and she’s gasoline…or maybe it’s the other way around,” is the way Zoozman himself put it. (In the 1960s when Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were married, divorced and remarried, some Hollywood insiders referred to it as a “Zoozie”)
The day after their final marriage, Zoozman pulls his most notorious stunt, unsuccessfully trying to “sell” Mynx to an Arab tribal chieftain, to raise funds for his next movie, “Hot Harley Honeys” (re- released as “Hells Belles” and “Lesbo Motor Mamas”) Mynx divorces Zoozman for the final time, retires from the screen, and opens a tavern in Hollywood (where Zoozman maintains a table office currently).
Swearing off marriage, Zoozman contents himself with dating starlets, until he meets Tiffany VanderKellen at a casting session for “Thar She Blows!” Smitten by his vast movie experience, she instantly forsakes her female lover and moves in with Zoozman. These were some of Zoozman’s happiest days, at home by his swimming pool with his new flower-child bride. It seems that Zoozman just couldn’t help himself, however, and two years in the marriage VanderKellen discovered Mr. Z in bed with local exotic dancer Taffy St. Clair, “The Girl With More Take Offs Than a Jet Plane!”
Mr. Z’s film career continued — from 1970 to the early 80′s, he produced almost 50 movies, everything from soft-core 3-D films like “Masseuse On The Loose!” to ultra-violent fare like “Night of the Atomic Chainsaw Debacle.” He slowed down a little in the 80′s and 90′s, mainly contenting himself with extensive “casting sessions” and lengthy press releases to the trades.
Herbert W. Zoozman, Jr (Herb Walker) — born 1938, Palm Springs, California; married Emma Louise Scheib in 1957; two children — Herbert W. Zoozman III (b. 1958) and Cassandra Sue Zoozman (b. 1961); moved to Van Wert, Ohio in 1962, became an accountant, changed his name, and didn’t talk to his father for the next 25 years…wanting nothing at all to do with his father’s “fame”.
Herbert W. Zoozman III — born 1958, Van Nuys, California; in 1985 came to California in search of the grandfather he never knew, moved in with him, took, care of him, and is nearly single-handedly responsible for bringing Zoozman’s work to the public eye; makes many personal appearances each year promoting his grandfather’s work, along with Sarah Karloff and Bela Lugosi, Jr. (neither of whom Zoozman ever had the opportunity to work with).
On the set of They Came in Outer Space (1959). Niles LaBeefe, right, newly returned to work after a “nervous breakdown”, anxiously waits for filming to resume, as Herbert W. Zoozman, left, roots through his camera bag for his wide angle lens. Mynx Devlin, center, who plays Queen Galactica, leader of the deadly Panther Women of Venus (Zontar), had only three days prior filed for divorce from Zoozman, who was not informed until the end of principal photography.
Another interesting fact: filming later that day would be halted for several hours while Zoozman “negotiated” with local law enforcement after not being able to produce his filming permit. No one can say with any degree of certainty why Zoozman was allowed to continue filming at this location, as no official records exist anywhere in LA county’s files.
