Zalman King
Encyclopedia
Zalman King is an American film director, writer, actor and producer. His directing and writing productions are known for incorporating erotica
as a centerpiece to plots which are nevertheless about greater issues.
) with James Caan and Walter Koenig
. In 1967 he played the outlaw Muley in "Muley", an episode of the TV show Gunsmoke
. His character shoots Marshall Matt Dillon as part of a plan to rob the Dodge City Bank, but as he and his gang are waiting for Dillon to recover (so they can try again to kill him), Muley falls in love with one of the girls at the Long Branch Saloon, which thwarts the plan.
King played "The Man" in the 3rd episode of the first season of Adam-12
. His character was an apparent drug addict who kidnaps an infant at gunpoint and Officer Malloy disarms him by some reverse psychology.
From September 1970 until May 1971, King played attorney Aaron Silverman on the drama The Young Lawyers
, broadcast on the ABC television network. King later contributed a unique delivery to Trip with the Teacher
(1975), portraying the psychopathic Al, a narcoleptic murdering motorbiker.
He appeared in Lee Grant
's directorial debut feature film Tell Me a Riddle
.
(1988), Wild Orchid (1990), and Red Shoe Diaries
(1992), which became a long-running television series for Showtime network. It spawned many sequels.
He is perhaps best known for his collaboration with director Adrian Lyne
on the film 9½ Weeks
which starred Kim Basinger
and Mickey Rourke
. He produced (and usually directed) the television series and film ChromiumBlue.com and Showtime series Body Language.
Other work as director includes the 1995 film Delta of Venus
based on the book by Anaïs Nin
and starring Audie England
as an American girl living in Paris in 1939.
They have two daughters, Chloe King and Gillian Lefkowitz.
Erotica
Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...
as a centerpiece to plots which are nevertheless about greater issues.
Acting
As a young man in 1963 he played a gang member on Alfred Hitchcock Presents ("Memo from Purgatory" written by Harlan EllisonHarlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
) with James Caan and Walter Koenig
Walter Koenig
Walter Marvin Koenig is an American actor, writer, teacher and director, known for his roles as Pavel Chekov in Star Trek and Alfred Bester in Babylon 5. He wrote the script for the 2008 science fiction legal thriller InAlienable.-Early life:...
. In 1967 he played the outlaw Muley in "Muley", an episode of the TV show Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
. His character shoots Marshall Matt Dillon as part of a plan to rob the Dodge City Bank, but as he and his gang are waiting for Dillon to recover (so they can try again to kill him), Muley falls in love with one of the girls at the Long Branch Saloon, which thwarts the plan.
King played "The Man" in the 3rd episode of the first season of Adam-12
Adam-12
Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...
. His character was an apparent drug addict who kidnaps an infant at gunpoint and Officer Malloy disarms him by some reverse psychology.
From September 1970 until May 1971, King played attorney Aaron Silverman on the drama The Young Lawyers
The Young Lawyers
The Young Lawyers is an American legal drama that was aired on the ABC network as part of its 1970-71 lineup.-Plot:Aaron Silverman is part of a group of young, idealistic students at a top Boston law school who open a legal aid center, the "Neighborhood Law Office," to help the poor...
, broadcast on the ABC television network. King later contributed a unique delivery to Trip with the Teacher
Trip with the Teacher
Trip with the Teacher is a 1975 horror film written, produced and directed by Earl Barton.Four teen-age girls from Los Angeles are on a field trip in the desert. On the way to their destination their bus breaks down. While stranded they are approached by 3 bikers...
(1975), portraying the psychopathic Al, a narcoleptic murdering motorbiker.
He appeared in Lee Grant
Lee Grant
Lee Grant is an American stage, film and television actress, and film director. She was blacklisted for 12 years from film work beginning in the mid-1950s, but worked in the theatre, and would eventually win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Felicia Carp in the...
's directorial debut feature film Tell Me a Riddle
Tell Me a Riddle
Tell Me a Riddle is a 1980 American drama film directed by Lee Grant. The screenplay by Joyce Eliason and Alev Lytle is based on Tillie Olsen's collection of four short stories of the same name which won the 1961 O. Henry Award. This is Grant's first film as director...
.
Directing
King has directed several commercially successful films, including Two Moon JunctionTwo Moon Junction
Two Moon Junction is a 1988 American English language erotic thriller and romance film written and directed by Zalman King, starring Sherilyn Fenn and Richard Tyson...
(1988), Wild Orchid (1990), and Red Shoe Diaries
Red Shoe Diaries
Red Shoe Diaries is an erotic drama series that aired on the American cable television network Showtime from 1992 to 1997 and distributed by Playboy Entertainment overseas...
(1992), which became a long-running television series for Showtime network. It spawned many sequels.
He is perhaps best known for his collaboration with director Adrian Lyne
Adrian Lyne
Adrian Lyne is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for directing films that focus on sexually charged characters and often uses natural light, a fog machine and other effects to create eroticized atmospheres...
on the film 9½ Weeks
9½ Weeks
9½ Weeks is a 1986 erotic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger. It is based on the novel of the same name by Elizabeth McNeill....
which starred Kim Basinger
Kim Basinger
Kimila Ann "Kim" Basinger is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again , and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman . Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture...
and Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
. He produced (and usually directed) the television series and film ChromiumBlue.com and Showtime series Body Language.
Other work as director includes the 1995 film Delta of Venus
Delta of Venus
Delta of Venus is a book of short stories by Anaïs Nin. Though the stories were largely written in the 1940s while Nin was writing erotica for a private collector, the book was first published posthumously in 1978. In 1995 a film version of the book was directed by Zalman King. There are multiple...
based on the book by Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin was a French-Cuban author, based at first in France and later in the United States, who published her journals, which span more than 60 years, beginning when she was 11 years old and ending shortly before her death, her erotic literature, and short stories...
and starring Audie England
Audie England
Audie England is an American actress and professional photographer.- Biography :She was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and graduated from UCLA with a concentration in cinematography....
as an American girl living in Paris in 1939.
Personal Life
King is married to writer/producer Patricia Louisianna Knop, with whom he has collaborated on many projects, such as writing Wild Orchid, Delta of Venus and 9½ Weeks as well as many episodes of Red Shoe Diaries.They have two daughters, Chloe King and Gillian Lefkowitz.