Mel Welles
Encyclopedia
Mel Welles was an American
film
actor
. His best-remembered role may be that of hapless flower shop owner Gravis Mushnik in the 1960 low-budget Roger Corman
dark comedy
, The Little Shop of Horrors
.
Not much is known of Welles' early life, except that he was born Ira Meltcher in New York City
. He graduated from Mt. Carmel High School, in 1940. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts
degree from Penn State University, a Master of Arts
degree from West Virginia University
, and a Ph.D.
in psychology
from Columbia University
.
Welles held a number of jobs during his lifetime; at one time or another he worked as a clinical psychologist, radio DJ, television actor, writer and film director. He did some stage work before traveling to Hollywood, where in 1953 he appeared in his first film, Appointment in Honduras
. His favorite role (The Little Shop of Horrors) was also his last in the U.S. for many years.
In the early 1960s, he left the United States to act, produce and direct primarily in Europe
an film productions including the cult horror films Maneater of Hydra
(1967) and Lady Frankenstein
(1971). His fluency in five languages proved to be most helpful. He also served as a film consultant. Later he returned to the U.S., appearing in a number of films, doing voice work, and teaching voice acting.
Probably his most widely seen work in the late 1970s was his English adaptation of the Japanese television show, "Spectreman" which was seen on UHF and cable across the United States. While he shares writing credit with two other people, it's clear that most of the English voice work, and the offbeat humor, is his.
In 1998, Welles took to the stage in a community theater production of Little Shop of Horrors (musical)
as Mushnik, the role he created in the original Roger Corman
film. Welles had never performed in the musical and was happy to be asked to do the role, which he described as a "mitzvah" for Scotts Valley Performing Arts. Jonathan Haze
, who played Seymour in the original film, attended the opening, and Welles also received a visit from Martin P. Robinson
, the designer of the Audrey II plant puppets used in the off-Broadway production (Robinson is also famous for his puppetry on Sesame Street
).
Welles was working on a horror screenplay, tentatively titled House of a Hundred Horrors, at the time of his death.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. His best-remembered role may be that of hapless flower shop owner Gravis Mushnik in the 1960 low-budget Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
dark comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
, The Little Shop of Horrors
The Little Shop of Horrors
The Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 American comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate young florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human flesh and blood. The film's concept is thought to be based on a 1932...
.
Not much is known of Welles' early life, except that he was born Ira Meltcher in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He graduated from Mt. Carmel High School, in 1940. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Penn State University, a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree from West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
, and a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
Welles held a number of jobs during his lifetime; at one time or another he worked as a clinical psychologist, radio DJ, television actor, writer and film director. He did some stage work before traveling to Hollywood, where in 1953 he appeared in his first film, Appointment in Honduras
Appointment in Honduras
Appointment in Honduras is a comedy adventure film, starring Glenn Ford and directed by Jacques Tourneur- Plot :This story originates from a Central American country. Ms. Sylvia Sheppard and a handsome gentleman Jim Corbett is in the jungle and facing dangerous lizards, tigers and other animals...
. His favorite role (The Little Shop of Horrors) was also his last in the U.S. for many years.
In the early 1960s, he left the United States to act, produce and direct primarily in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an film productions including the cult horror films Maneater of Hydra
Maneater of Hydra
Maneater of Hydra is a Spanish-German coproduction released in 1967 directed by American expatriate Mel Welles. The alternate titles include La isla de la muerte and Island of the Doomed...
(1967) and Lady Frankenstein
Lady Frankenstein
Lady Frankenstein is a 1971 Italian horror film directed by Mel Welles. It stars Joseph Cotten, Rosalba Neri , Mickey Hargitay and Paul Müller...
(1971). His fluency in five languages proved to be most helpful. He also served as a film consultant. Later he returned to the U.S., appearing in a number of films, doing voice work, and teaching voice acting.
Probably his most widely seen work in the late 1970s was his English adaptation of the Japanese television show, "Spectreman" which was seen on UHF and cable across the United States. While he shares writing credit with two other people, it's clear that most of the English voice work, and the offbeat humor, is his.
In 1998, Welles took to the stage in a community theater production of Little Shop of Horrors (musical)
Little Shop of Horrors (musical)
Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman...
as Mushnik, the role he created in the original Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
film. Welles had never performed in the musical and was happy to be asked to do the role, which he described as a "mitzvah" for Scotts Valley Performing Arts. Jonathan Haze
Jonathan Haze
Jonathan Haze is an American actor. He is best known for his work in Roger Corman films, and especially for the black comedy cult classic, The Little Shop of Horrors.-Early years:...
, who played Seymour in the original film, attended the opening, and Welles also received a visit from Martin P. Robinson
Martin P. Robinson
Martin P. Robinson is a puppeteer for the Jim Henson Company. He originally built, designed, and performed the puppets for Little Shop of Horrors. He is perhaps best known for his work on Sesame Street. He has performed the characters of Telly Monster, Slimey the Worm, Mr. Snuffleupagus, and Tony...
, the designer of the Audrey II plant puppets used in the off-Broadway production (Robinson is also famous for his puppetry on Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
).
Welles was working on a horror screenplay, tentatively titled House of a Hundred Horrors, at the time of his death.
Filmography
- Appointment in HondurasAppointment in HondurasAppointment in Honduras is a comedy adventure film, starring Glenn Ford and directed by Jacques Tourneur- Plot :This story originates from a Central American country. Ms. Sylvia Sheppard and a handsome gentleman Jim Corbett is in the jungle and facing dangerous lizards, tigers and other animals...
(1953) - Gun FuryGun FuryGun Fury is a 1953 western film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Rock Hudson and Donna Reed. The film is based on the novel Ten Against Caesar by Kathleen B. George and Robert A. Granger...
(1953) - Wyoming RenegadesWyoming RenegadesWyoming Renegades is a 1954 Western film directed by Fred F. Sears and starring Phil Carey, Gene Evans and Martha Hyer. The film features Butch Cassidy as the leader of the Hole in the Wall Gang.-Plot synopsis:...
(1954) - Jesse James vs. the Daltons (1954)
- Yankee PashaYankee PashaYankee Pasha is a 1954 romantic adventure film starring Jeff Chandler and Rhonda Fleming, and featured Mamie Van Doren. The movie was released by Universal Pictures.-Cast:*Jeff Chandler as Jason Starbuck*Rhonda Fleming as Roxana Reil...
(1954) - Massacre CanyonMassacre CanyonThe Massacre Canyon Battle took place on August 5, 1873, in Hitchcock County, Nebraska. It was one of the last battles between the Pawnee and the Sioux and the last large-scale battle between Native American tribes in the area of the present-day United States of America...
(1954) - PushoverPushover (film)Pushover is a film noir notable for being the first film to feature Kim Novak in a starring role. Directed by Richard Quine, the Columbia Pictures film also stars Fred MacMurray. It was adapted from two novels, The Night Watch by Thomas Walsh and Rafferty by William S...
(1954) - Bengal BrigadeBengal BrigadeBengal Brigade is a 1954 American action film directed by Laslo Benedek and starring Rock Hudson, Arlene Dahl and Ursula Thiess.Set in British India in 1857, at the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny...
(1954) - The Silver ChaliceThe Silver Chalice (film)The Silver Chalice is a 1954 historical epic film from Warner Bros., based on Thomas B. Costain's 1952 novel of the same name.-Plot:A Greek artisan is commissioned to cast the cup of Christ in silver and sculpt around its rim the faces of the disciples and Jesus himself. He travels to Jerusalem and...
(1954) - The RacersThe RacersThe Racers is a 1955 film directed by Henry Hathaway. It stars Kirk Douglas and Bella Darvi. -Cast:*Kirk Douglas as Gino Borgesa*Bella Darvi as Nicole*Gilbert Roland as Dell'Orro*Cesar Romero as Carlos Chavez*Lee J. Cobb as Maglio...
(1955) - Pirates of Tripoli (1955)
- Soldier of FortuneSoldier of Fortune (film)Soldier of Fortune is a 1955 adventure film about the rescue of an American held prisoner in the People's Republic of China in the 1950s. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk, starred Clark Gable and Susan Hayward and was written by Ernest K...
(1955) - Abbott and Costello Meet the MummyAbbott and Costello Meet the MummyAbbott and Costello Meet the Mummy is a 1955 film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. It is also the 28th and final Abbott and Costello film produced by Universal Pictures.-Plot:...
(1955) - Spy ChasersSpy ChasersSpy Chasers is a 1955 film starring the comedy team of The Bowery Boys. The film was released on July 31, 1955 by Allied Artists and is the thirty-eighth film in the series.-Plot:...
(1955) - Duel on the Mississippi (1955)
- KismetKismet (1955 film)Kismet is an American musical film in Cinemascope and Eastman Color released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is the fourth movie version of Kismet—the first was released in 1920 and the second in 1930 by Warner Brothers—and the second released by MGM...
(1955) - The Big KnifeThe Big KnifeThe Big Knife is a film noir directed and produced by Robert Aldrich from a screenplay by James Poe based on the play by Clifford Odets. The film stars Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Wendell Corey, Jean Hagen, Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters, Ilka Chase, and Everett Sloane.-Plot:Charlie Castle, a very...
(1955) - Hold Back TomorrowHold Back TomorrowHold Back Tomorrow is an American 1955 film released by Universal-International.-Plot:A death row inmate has one final request before his impending hanging: he wants to spend the night with a woman. The police bring him a suicidal prostitute. After a night of lovemaking, the two are married by the...
(1955) - The Fighting Chance (1955)
- Meet Me in Las VegasMeet Me in Las VegasMeet Me in Las Vegas is an MGM musical comedy produced by Joe Pasternak and directed by Roy Rowland filmed in Eastman Color and CinemaScope. The film has a running time of 112 minutes.-Cast and crew:...
(1956) - Outside the Law (1956)
- Calling Homicide (1956)
- Flight to Hong Kong (1956)
- Code of Silence (1957)
- Attack of the Crab MonstersAttack of the Crab MonstersAttack of the Crab Monsters is a 1957 American black-and-white science fiction film, written by Charles B. Griffith and produced and directed by Roger Corman via Los Altos Productions, on contract for distribution by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. The plot follows a scientific expedition...
(1957) - Hold That HypnotistHold That HypnotistHold That Hypnotist is a 1957 film starring the comedy team of The Bowery Boys. The film was released on March 10, 1957 by Allied Artists and is the forty-fourth film in the series.-Plot:...
(1957) - The UndeadThe Undead (film)The Undead is a 1957 horror film directed by Roger Corman starring Pamela Duncan, Richard Garland, Allison Hayes, and Val Dufour. It follows the story of prostitute Diana Love who is put into a hypnotic trance by psychic Quintis , thus causing her to regress back to a previous life...
(1957) - Rock All NightRock All NightRock All Night is a 1957 American International Pictures film produced and directed by Roger Corman based on a 1955 television episode of The Jane Wyman Theatre called Little Guy.-Plot:...
(1957) - Designing WomanDesigning WomanDesigning Woman is a 1957 romantic comedy about fashion. Vincente Minnelli directed stars Lauren Bacall and Gregory Peck. George Wells won an Academy Award for the screenplay.-Plot:...
(1957) - The 27th DayThe 27th DayThe 27th Day is a 1957 science fiction film from Columbia Pictures. It was directed by William Asher, produced by Helen Ainsworth, and the screenplay was written by John Mantley, who also wrote the original novel...
(1957) - Hell on Devil's Island (1957)
- Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957)
- The Brothers KaramazovThe Brothers KaramazovThe Brothers Karamazov is the final novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Dostoyevsky spent nearly two years writing The Brothers Karamazov, which was published as a serial in The Russian Messenger and completed in November 1880...
(1958) - High School Confidential!High School Confidential (film)High School Confidential is a 1958 crime drama film directed by Jack Arnold. It stars Mamie Van Doren, Russ Tamblyn, Jan Sterling, John Drew Barrymore, Jackie Coogan. The film also features a cameo by Jerry Lee Lewis who opens the movie singing a song of the same name, which Lewis co-wrote with Ron...
(1958) - Hakuja den (1958) (English voice dub)
- The Little Shop of HorrorsThe Little Shop of HorrorsThe Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 American comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate young florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human flesh and blood. The film's concept is thought to be based on a 1932...
(1960) - Lo Sceicco Rosso (1962)
- Hemingway's Adventures of a Young ManHemingway's Adventures of a Young ManHemingway's Adventures of a Young Man is a 1962 drama film directed by Martin Ritt based on the Nick Adams stories by Ernest Hemingway, and featuring Richard Beymer as Adams.-Cast:*Richard Beymer as Nick Adams*Diane Baker as Carolyn...
(1962) - The Reluctant SaintThe Reluctant SaintThe Reluctant Saint is a 1962 film which tells a somewhat fictionalized version of the story of Joseph of Cupertino, a 17th Century Italian saint. It stars Maximilian Schell as Joseph, as well as Ricardo Montalban, Lea Padovani, Akim Tamiroff, and Harold Goldblatt...
(1962) - The Keeler Affair (1963)
- Panic ButtonPanic Button (1964 film)Panic Button is 1964 comedy film starring, Jayne Mansfield, Maurice Chevalier, Eleanor Parker, and Mike Connors....
(1964) - La Sorella di Satana (1966)
- Llaman de Jamaica, Mr. Ward (1968)
- Die Grosse Treibjagd (1968)
- Joyride to Nowhere (1977)
- Dr. Heckyl and Mr. HypeDr. Heckyl and Mr. HypeDr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype is a 1980 film directed by Charles B. Griffith, starring Oliver Reed and Sunny Johnson.-External links:*...
(1980) - FaeriesFaeries (1981 TV special)Faeries is a 1981 animated special that appeared on CBS in the United States. It was based on the book Faeries, described and illustrated by Brian Froud and Alan Lee, directed by Lee Mishkin with animation direction by Fred Hellmich, and executive produced by Thomas W...
(1981) (voice) - WolfenWolfen (film)Wolfen is the title of a 1981 horror film starring Albert Finney, Diane Venora, Gregory Hines and Edward James Olmos based on Whitley Strieber's 1978 novel The Wolfen...
(1981) (voice) - Body and SoulBody and Soul (1981 film)Body and Soul is a 1981 film, written by and starring Leon Isaac Kennedy, and co-starring his then-wife Jayne Kennedy. Directed by George Bowers, it is a remake of the 1947 film, a story of corruption, violence and temptation between a boxer and a knockout....
(1981) - The Last American VirginThe Last American VirginThe Last American Virgin is a 1982 American coming-of-age film, a remake of the Israeli film Eskimo Limon .After the success of the original and several sequels, writer/director Boaz Davidson re-teamed with producers Golan-Globus to attempt to re-create the same success in the United States....
(1982) - HomeworkHomeworkHomework, or homework assignment, refers to tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside of class. Common homework assignments may include a quantity or period of reading to be performed, writing or typing to be completed, problems to be solved, a school project to be built...
(1982) - Chopping MallChopping MallChopping Mall is an American horror/science fiction film, produced by Julie Corman and originally released on March 21, 1986 under the title Killbots....
(1986) - Commando Squad (1987)
- Rented LipsRented LipsRented Lips is a 1988 feature film. The movie was filmed in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, California. -Premise:In this comedy film, a pair of naive documentarians find themselves in over their heads when they agree to finish an "art film" for the head of a local public television...
(1988) - Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here (1988)
- Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II (1989)
- Raising Dead (2002)