- Known as the "Godfather of Gore". He worked in advertising and financed most of his own films. Pioneered the horror genre in the 1960s known as the "splatter film," which focused on gore and gruesomeness. Horror films created by Lewis included Blood Feast (1963), Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964), A Taste of Blood (1967), The Wizard of Gore (2007), The Gruesome Twosome (1967) She-Devils on Wheels (1968) and Scum of the Earth (1963). Lewis died in his sleep on 9/26/2016, at age 90. John Waters, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino and James Gunn are among filmmakers who were inspired by Lewis' work.
- For more than 20 years he taught graduate-level courses in mass communications. He lectured at professional seminars worldwide.
- Did most of the voice-overs in his films, including the theatrical trailers, because he did not want to pay any more actors to speak the lines.
- Father of Robert Lewis.
- Headed his own advertising and consulting firm, Communicomp, based in Plantation, FL. Writes a regular series of articles, "Copy That Sells", for "Direct Marketing" magazine, and was the copywriting columnist for "Catalog Age.".
- Son of Geraldine (Waldman) and Calvin Emmanuel/Manuel Goldberg. His parents were Jewish emigrants, his father from Russia and his mother from Poland.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content