Jonathan Haze

Haze was born Jack Schachter in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 1, 1929,{{cite web |last1=Vargo |first1=Mike |title=Dystopia, American Greatness, and Rock 'n Roll: 'Little Shop of Horrors' at The Public |url=https://entertainmentcentralpittsburgh.com/center-stage/little-shop-horrors/ |website=Entertainment Central Pittsburgh}}{{cite book|last=Raw|first=Laurence|title=Character Actors in Horror and Science Fiction Films, 1930–1960|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jqBllx5lyuwC|publisher=McFarland|page=102|year=2012|isbn=978-0-786-44474-8}} to Betty and Harry Schachter, who was a jeweller. His cousin was jazz drummer Buddy Rich.{{cite book|last=Humphreys|first=Justin|date=2006|title=Names you never remember, with faces you never forget: interviews with the movies' character actors|publisher=BearManor Media|isbn=1-59393-041-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jkCDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT174}}

Haze was working at a gas station in California when he was discovered by Wyott Ordung. Ordung was directing the movie Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954), which was being produced by Corman, and offered a small part to Haze.{{cite web|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/jonathan-haze |title=Jonathan Haze Brief Biography |website=Answers.com |accessdate=2010-09-16 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918145248/http://www.answers.com/topic/jonathan-haze |archivedate=September 18, 2011}}

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 (1955), Gunslinger (1956), The Oklahoma Woman (1956), It Conquered the World (1956), Swamp Women (1956), Naked Paradise (1957), Not of This Earth (1957), Rock All Night (1957), The Viking Women and the Sea Serpent (1957), Carnival Rock (1957), The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), and The Terror (1963).

Haze also appeared in non-Corman films, such as Bayou (1957), Stakeout on Dope Street (1958), Ghost of the China Sea (1958), and Forbidden Island (1959).

In 1959, Haze guest starred in the episode "Terror Town" of NBC's western television series Cimarron City, starring George Montgomery. Dan Duryea 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.{{cite news |title=First Screenplay Sold |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25517611/jonathan_haze/ |work=Oakland Tribune |date=September 7, 1957 |location=California, Oakland |page=5|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = November 18, 2018}} {{Open access}} He wrote the 1962 science fiction/comedy film Invasion of the Star Creatures. He also worked in production for such films as Premature Burial (1962), The Terror (1963), Medium Cool (1969), Another Nice Mess (1972), and Corman's own The Born Losers (1967).{{cite web|url=http://www.flixster.com/actor/jonathan-haze|title=Jonathan Haze on Flixter|accessdate=2010-09-16}}{{Unreliable source?|date=November 2018}}

Haze was married to costume designer Roberta Keith from the mid-1960s until 1981, and they had two daughters.{{cite web|title=Jonathan Haze, Star of the Original 'Little Shop of Horrors,' Dies at 95 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/jonathan-haze-little-shop-of-horrors-1236053569/ |publisher=Hollywood Reporter |date=November 4, 2024}}

Haze died at his home in Los Angeles, on November 2, 2024, at the age of 95.{{cite news |last1=Pedersen |first1=Erik |title=Jonathan Haze Dies: Seymour In Original ‘Little Shop Of Horrors’ & Longtime Roger Corman Collaborator Was 95 |url=https://deadline.com/2024/11/jonathan-haze-dead-little-shop-of-horrors-1236166775/ |publisher=Deadline |date=November 4, 2024}}

At the 97th Academy Awards, his name was mentioned in the In Memoriam section.{{Cite web|url=https://aframe.oscars.org/news/in-memoriam|title=In Memoriam|work=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|access-date=March 2, 2025}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |last=Humphreys |first=Justin |title=Names You Never Remember, With Faces You Never Forget : Interviews with the Movies' Character Actors |chapter=Jonathan Haze |pages=112–132 |date=2006 |edition=First |type=softcover |publisher=BearManor Media |location=Albany, GA |isbn=978-1-62933-094-5}}

• Scary Monsters Magazine, June, 2010 no.75. "An Interview With Jonathan Haze", massive 29 page interview with Jonathan Haze by writers/interviewers, Paul Parla and Lawrence Fultz Jr.
• Scary Monsters Magazine, January, 2007 no. 61. "Not Of This Earth Interview Jonathan Haze" by writers/interviewers, Lawrence Fultz Jr. and Dennis Druktenis.
• Psychotronic Magazine, 1998. Vol.1, no.27 "Jonathan Haze" article/interview by Justin Humphreys.
• Filmfax, Vol.1 no.5. "Jonathan Haze" article/interview by Sharon Williams.

• {{IMDb name|name=Jonathan Haze|id=0371918}}

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Category:1929 births

Category:2024 deaths

Category:American male film actors

Category:Male actors from Pittsburgh

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