Stephen Lodge (author)
Encyclopedia
Stephen Lodge is an American
author, television screenwriter and actor; also a former costumer and stuntman to the industry. He was born on 6 February 1943 in the Long Beach area of California
, United States
.
Western
epic, the 1993 CBS
TV movie Rio Diablo, co-starring Travis Tritt
, Naomi Judd
and Stacy Keach
. His first major screenwriting credit was for the United Artists
feature The Honkers starring James Coburn
.
Soon afterwards, he was writing, producing and directing the film, One Block Away – this was co-written by Hoke Howell, who also acted in it. Another of Lodge's films, Kingdom of the Spiders
, starring Star Trek's
William Shatner
, aired regularly on cable television
in the 1990s.
Lodge grew up watching "B"
Western
s, and his ambition from early on was to become an actor when he was older. He was able to visit movie sets as a youth, and was in awe of the experience. When he was 10, he was presented with an 8mm
movie camera
for his birthday. This encouraged him to write, direct and act in his own amateur
productions. He started professional
acting at 12 years old, and by the age of 16 he had appeared at Hollywood's famous Corriganville Western movie ranch.
When his time at college ended, he was fortunate to be employed by Columbia Pictures
, where, among other things, he was an assistant to the associate producer
on the 1963 TV series Camp Runamuck
. He also gained valuable media experience as a costumer for numerous productions, notably the classic 1963 TV series The Fugitive
.
, near Palm Springs
, with his wife Beth and their two dogs. Since moving to the desert he has written, produced and directed a 90-minute TV special, Bordello; authored several articles for various magazine
s; and completed additional screenplay
s, including adaptations of his novels, "Shadows of Eagles", "Charley Sunday's Texas Outfit!", and "Nickel-Plated Dream".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author, television screenwriter and actor; also a former costumer and stuntman to the industry. He was born on 6 February 1943 in the Long Beach area of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Early and professional life
He is the co-writer of the Kenny RogersKenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
Western
Television Westerns
Television Westerns are a sub-genre of the Western, a genre of film, fiction, drama, television programming, etc., in which stories are set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in the American Old West, Western Canada and Mexico during the period from about 1860 to the end of the...
epic, the 1993 CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
TV movie Rio Diablo, co-starring Travis Tritt
Travis Tritt
James Travis Tritt is an American country music singer from Marietta, Georgia. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 2000s, he released two albums on Columbia Records and one for the defunct...
, Naomi Judd
Naomi Judd
Naomi Judd is an American country music singer, songwriter, and activist.-Personal life:She was born Diana Ellen Judd to Charles Glen Judd and his wife Pauline Judd on January 11, 1946, in Ashland, Kentucky. Her father owned a gas station; her mother started out as a homemaker but later became a...
and Stacy Keach
Stacy Keach
Stacy Keach is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical...
. His first major screenwriting credit was for the United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
feature The Honkers starring James Coburn
James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor. Coburn appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances during his 45-year career, and played a wide range of roles and won an Academy Award for his supporting role as Glen Whitehouse in Affliction.A capable,...
.
Soon afterwards, he was writing, producing and directing the film, One Block Away – this was co-written by Hoke Howell, who also acted in it. Another of Lodge's films, Kingdom of the Spiders
Kingdom of the Spiders
Kingdom of the Spiders is a 1977 horror science-fiction film directed by John "Bud" Cardos and produced by Igo Kantor, Jeffrey M. Sneller and James Bond Johnson. The screenplay is credited to Richard Robinson and Alan Caillou, from an original story by Jeffrey M. Sneller and Stephen Lodge...
, starring Star Trek's
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
, aired regularly on cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
in the 1990s.
Lodge grew up watching "B"
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
s, and his ambition from early on was to become an actor when he was older. He was able to visit movie sets as a youth, and was in awe of the experience. When he was 10, he was presented with an 8mm
8 mm film
8 mm film is a motion picture film format in which the filmstrip is eight millimeters wide. It exists in two main versions: the original standard 8mm film, also known as regular 8 mm or Double 8 mm, and Super 8...
movie camera
Movie camera
The movie camera is a type of photographic camera which takes a rapid sequence of photographs on strips of film which was very popular for private use in the last century until its successor, the video camera, replaced it...
for his birthday. This encouraged him to write, direct and act in his own amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
productions. He started professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
acting at 12 years old, and by the age of 16 he had appeared at Hollywood's famous Corriganville Western movie ranch.
When his time at college ended, he was fortunate to be employed by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, where, among other things, he was an assistant to the associate producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
on the 1963 TV series Camp Runamuck
Camp Runamuck
Camp Runamuck is an American sitcom which aired on NBC during the 1965-1966 television season. The series was created and executive produced by David Swift, and aired for 26 episodes.-Synopsis:...
. He also gained valuable media experience as a costumer for numerous productions, notably the classic 1963 TV series The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
.
Later life
Lodge now lives in Rancho Mirage, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, near Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
, with his wife Beth and their two dogs. Since moving to the desert he has written, produced and directed a 90-minute TV special, Bordello; authored several articles for various magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s; and completed additional screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
s, including adaptations of his novels, "Shadows of Eagles", "Charley Sunday's Texas Outfit!", and "Nickel-Plated Dream".
External links
- Stephen Lodge general biography at AuthorsDen.com - acting credits - miscellaneous credits
- Profile at Amazon.comAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...