When B-movie legend and Las Vegas filmmaking icon Ted V. Mikels died on October 16 at age 87, he left behind dozens of movies and a legacy of support and collaboration with the local film community. Mikels made his name with low-budget quickies like Girl in Gold Boots (1968), The Astro-Zombies (1968), The Corpse Grinders (1971) and The Doll Squad (1973), many of which gained cult followings of the “so bad it’s good” variety. Girl in Gold Boots was one of the movies mocked on Mystery Science Theater 3000, and The Doll Squad has been cited as an influence on both Charlie’s Angels and Quentin Tarantino. Just this week, Astro-Zombies was released in a deluxe new Blu-ray edition, with audio commentary by Mikels himself and a separate commentary track by the RiffTrax crew, featuring former MST3K stars.
Mikels moved to Vegas in 1986, and he worked steadily in the local industry from then on, eventually producing straight-to-video sequels to The Corpse Grinders and Astro-Zombies, often with local cast and crew. With his white hair in a ponytail, his impeccably curled mustache and his ever-present giant boar’s-tooth necklace, Mikels was a distinctive figure at local film festivals and movie premieres for many years. “Ted was not only a truly inspirational filmmaker, but a wonderful person that was a joy to be around,” says Chad Clinton Freeman, founder of the PollyGrind film festival. “Ted was a remarkable man, with a lifelong love and passion for filmmaking, and I am truly going to miss his laugh, his smile and his unwavering strength and stamina that helped him find a way to complete his next film,” adds Derek Stonebarger, whose former downtown venue Theatre 7 and Vegas Indie Film Fest screened a number of Mikels movies. Those sentiments are undoubtedly shared by many in the local film community.
Most recently, Mikels was the executive producer of a Corpse Grinders remake from German director Timo Rose, and he had been shooting his latest film as writer and director, a sequel to 1982’s Ten Violent Women, in Las Vegas. “He was such a nice guy, and I’m so honored and proud that he has a cameo in my Corpse Grinders,” Rose told the horror website Rue Morgue. Local filmmaker Drew Marvick had been working with Mikels on Ten Violent Women: Part Two, and is committed to finishing the film. “Even though it definitely won’t feel like a Ted V. Mikels movie without him, I can’t think of a better way to honor him than to not let anything stop the movie from getting made,” Marvick says. In movies like Rose’s and Marvick’s, and in the collections of bad-movie lovers everywhere, Mikels’ legacy lives on.
