Carl Monson
Encyclopedia
Carl Monson aka Carlos Monsoya, Charles Monsoya and Nosnom Lrak, was at the forefront of independent low budget sexploitation
/grindhouse
films or paracinema
during the 1970s and 1980s. He is most well known for Blood Legacy (1971), Booby Trap (1973) and Death Feud (1986).
’s school of theatre, known as the Hollywood “Star Factory.” In 1964, with his first wife Laura Shelton, he founded the Curtain Call Theater in North Hollywood, a critically acclaimed invitational playhouse run by professional actors on a cooperative basis. The Curtain Call Theater was one of the first legitimate theatres to open in the NoHo Arts District which is now considered Hollywood's theatre district.
In addition to working in theatre, Monson also directed and wrote screenplays for low-budget sexploitation and grind house films during the 1970s and 1980s. He is most well known for Blood Legacy(1971), A Scream in the Streets (1973) and Savage Harbor (1987). He also founded and worked out of Bumblebee Productions with his second wife, Tricia Kross. He worked out of Bumblebee Productions until his death from heart failure August 4, 1988.
A Scream in the Streets
Booby Trap
The Takers
Please Don't Eat My Mother
Blood Legacy
The Acid Eaters
, “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “My Favorite Martian,” “Have Gun, Will Travel” and “Death Valley Days.” Carl and Laura had two children; Clay Monson (who makes a cameo appearance in Death Feud) and Cristen Monson Susong (a Broadway performer). Shelton and Monson divorced in 1973.
in 1953. Ms. Shelton was married briefly to classmate Frank Grimmer while attending Texas Western College (now the University of Texas at El Paso
). After divorcing and winning a contest to appear on a television game show, Ms. Shelton was offered a scholarship to the Pasadena Playhouse
where her contemporaries included Oscar-winner Gene Hackman
and Rue McClanahan
. Ms Shelton was one of the last "Hollywood Debutantes" selected by the industry and presented at the Hollywood Debutant Ball by Joan Crawford
and Bob Hope
. While at Pasadena Playhouse
, she met and married actor/director Carl J. Monson. In 1964, with Carl, she founded the Curtain Call Theater in North Hollywood. In addition to working in the theater throughout the 1960s, Ms. Shelton focused on her television career as Laura Shelton and her two children, Clay Monson born 1964, and Cristen Monson Susong born 1969. Her last stage appearance was as Elsa Schraeder in The Sound of Music
starring Oscar-nominated Anne Blyth for Houston’s Theatre Under the Stars
in 1969. After her marriage to Monson ended in 1973, Ms. Shelton moved from California back to El Paso to provide a home for her children.
My Favorite Martian
The Beverly Hillbillies
FBI Code 98
(Feature Film 1963), Anita Davidson
The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor
Miami Undercover
Harrigan and Son
Wagon Train
keyboard player, Jimmy Greenspoon
). His second marriage produced no children, but Kross and Monson did create Bumblebee Productions.
Sexploitation
Sexploitation, or "sex-exploitation", describes a class of independently produced, low-budget feature films generally associated with the 1960s and serving largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit sexual situations and gratuitous nudity. The genre is a subgenre of exploitation films...
/grindhouse
Grindhouse
A grindhouse is an American term for a theater that mainly shows exploitation films. It is named after the defunct burlesque theaters located on 42nd Street in New York City, where 'bump n' grind' dancing and striptease were featured.- History :...
films or paracinema
Paracinema
Paracinema is an academic term to refer to a wide variety of film genres out of the mainstream, bearing the same relationship to 'legitimate' film as paraliterature like comic books and pulp fiction bears to literature. The term was coined by Jeffrey Sconce, an American media scholar, and...
during the 1970s and 1980s. He is most well known for Blood Legacy (1971), Booby Trap (1973) and Death Feud (1986).
Career
Monson got his start at the prestigious Pasadena PlayhousePasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
’s school of theatre, known as the Hollywood “Star Factory.” In 1964, with his first wife Laura Shelton, he founded the Curtain Call Theater in North Hollywood, a critically acclaimed invitational playhouse run by professional actors on a cooperative basis. The Curtain Call Theater was one of the first legitimate theatres to open in the NoHo Arts District which is now considered Hollywood's theatre district.
In addition to working in theatre, Monson also directed and wrote screenplays for low-budget sexploitation and grind house films during the 1970s and 1980s. He is most well known for Blood Legacy(1971), A Scream in the Streets (1973) and Savage Harbor (1987). He also founded and worked out of Bumblebee Productions with his second wife, Tricia Kross. He worked out of Bumblebee Productions until his death from heart failure August 4, 1988.
Selected filmography
Death Feud- aka Savage Harbor(1986), Screenwriter/Actor: Harold/Director/Producer
A Scream in the Streets
A Scream in the Streets
A Scream in the Streets is a 1972 crime drama movie by producer Harry Novak and director Carl Monson, from a screenplay by Eric Norden. The cast includes John Kirkpatrick, Sharon Kelly, Frank Bannon, Linda York and Angela Carnon. The film tells the story of two detectives who try to track down a...
- (1973), Director/Producer
Booby Trap
Booby trap
A booby trap is a device designed to harm or surprise a person, unknowingly triggered by the presence or actions of the victim. As the word trap implies, they often have some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. However, in other cases the device is placed on busy roads or is...
- aka 10 Seconds to Murder(1973), Actor:Jack Brennan/Assoc. Producer
The Takers
- (1972), as Carlos Monsoya, Actor: Laura's Husband/Director
Please Don't Eat My Mother
Please Don't Eat My Mother
Please Don't Eat My Mother is a 1973 exploitation film directed by Carl J. Monson.-Plot:A shy and timid man who lives with his mother buys a plant he thinks talked to him. His loneliness is very apparent in the way he tries to turn the plant into a friend. Well, the plant is carnivorous and can...
- (1972), Actor: Officer O'Columbus/Director/Producer
Blood Legacy
- aka Legacy of Blood(1971), Screenwriter/Director/Producer
The Acid Eaters
- aka The Acid People(1968), Screenwriter
Laura Shelton
Monson's first wife was Laura Shelton (1935-2008) aka Carol Monson (born Carol Jean Ready on September 5, 1935 in Eastland, Texas). She was a frequent guest star on several popular 1960s television series including “Wagon Train,” “Harrigan and Son,” “The Detectives” starring Robert TaylorRobert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
, “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “My Favorite Martian,” “Have Gun, Will Travel” and “Death Valley Days.” Carl and Laura had two children; Clay Monson (who makes a cameo appearance in Death Feud) and Cristen Monson Susong (a Broadway performer). Shelton and Monson divorced in 1973.
Shelton's Life and Career
Ms. Shelton was born to Beth Allene Judkins and Mack Ready, and was adopted by Hubert Haskell Shelton as a small child shortly after her mother remarried. Raised primarily in El Paso, Texas, she graduated from Austin High SchoolAustin High School (El Paso, Texas)
Stephen F. Austin High School is a secondary school in El Paso, Texas, opened in 1930. It is part of the El Paso Independent School District. The school's mascot is a Golden Panther named "Henry." The school was designed by Texas contractor and architect Robert E. McKee. When the local school...
in 1953. Ms. Shelton was married briefly to classmate Frank Grimmer while attending Texas Western College (now the University of Texas at El Paso
University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is a four-year state university, and is a component institution of the University of Texas System. Its campus is located on the bank of the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas. The school was founded in 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy,...
). After divorcing and winning a contest to appear on a television game show, Ms. Shelton was offered a scholarship to the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
where her contemporaries included Oscar-winner Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
and Rue McClanahan
Rue McClanahan
Rue McClanahan was an American actress, best known for her roles on television as Vivian Harmon on Maude, Fran Crowley on Mama's Family, and Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls, for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1987.-Early life:McClanahan was born Eddie Rue...
. Ms Shelton was one of the last "Hollywood Debutantes" selected by the industry and presented at the Hollywood Debutant Ball by Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
and Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
. While at Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
, she met and married actor/director Carl J. Monson. In 1964, with Carl, she founded the Curtain Call Theater in North Hollywood. In addition to working in the theater throughout the 1960s, Ms. Shelton focused on her television career as Laura Shelton and her two children, Clay Monson born 1964, and Cristen Monson Susong born 1969. Her last stage appearance was as Elsa Schraeder in The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
starring Oscar-nominated Anne Blyth for Houston’s Theatre Under the Stars
Theatre Under the Stars
Theatre Under The Stars or TUTS may refer to:*Theatre Under The Stars - musical theatre company in Vancouver, British Columbia*Theatre Under The Stars - musical theatre company in Houston, Texas...
in 1969. After her marriage to Monson ended in 1973, Ms. Shelton moved from California back to El Paso to provide a home for her children.
Shelton's Selected TV Work
Death Valley DaysDeath Valley Days
Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
- There Was Another Dalton Brother (1964), Emmy Johnson
- The Red Petticoat (1961)
My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963 to May 1, 1966 for 107 episodes...
- The matchmakers (1963), Marsha Carson
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
- Jed Becomes a Banker (1963) Secretary
FBI Code 98
FBI Code 98
FBI Code 98 is a 1962 crime drama directed by Leslie H. Martinson and produced by Warner Bros. Originally intended as television pilot, the film was instead released theatrically in the United Kingdom in 1962, and in the United States in 1964. FBI Code 98 stars many Warner Bros...
(Feature Film 1963), Anita Davidson
The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor
The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor
The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor is an American crime drama series which ran on ABC during its first two seasons, and on NBC during its third and final season...
- The Queen of Craven Point (1961), Nancy
- Personal Enemy (1961), Darlene
Miami Undercover
Miami Undercover
Miami Undercover is an American detective drama that aired in broadcast syndication in 1961 for a total of 38 episodes. The series co-starred former Boxer Rocky Graziano. -Synopsis:...
- The Baby Sitter (1961), Mona Cries
Harrigan and Son
Harrigan and Son
Harrigan and Son is an ABC sitcom about a father-and-son team of lawyers, played by Pat O'Brien and Roger Perry as Jim Harrigan, Sr., and Jim, Jr. In supporting roles, as secretaries, are Georgine Darcy as Gypsy and Helen Kleeb as Miss Claridge. The series aired 34 episodes at 8 p.m. Eastern Time...
- The Case of the Missing Case (1961), Fern Williams
Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
- The Luke Grant Story (1960), Chris
Tricia Kross
Carl Monson later married Tricia Kross (ex-wife of Three Dog NightThree Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...
keyboard player, Jimmy Greenspoon
Jimmy Greenspoon
Jimmy Greenspoon is an American keyboard player, best known as a member of the band, Three Dog Night. He currently lives in Montgomery County, Maryland....
). His second marriage produced no children, but Kross and Monson did create Bumblebee Productions.
External links
- Something Weird: http://www.somethingweird.com/ Popular online resource for Sexploitation movies]