Paul Blaisdell

Paul Blaisdell (July 21, 1927 – July 10, 1983) was an American painter, sculptor and visual effects creator, best remembered for his work in science fiction and horror B movies of the 1950s.

Life and career[]

Blaisdell was born in Newport, Rhode Island in 1927, and grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts. He sketched and built models since early childhood, and eventually attended the New England School of Art and Design in Boston. Following his graduation, he married his wife Jackie and they moved to California, where he worked for Douglas Aircraft; on the side, he drew artwork for various science fiction magazines, eventually meeting noted literary agent - and founding creative director/editor of the long-running monster magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland - Forrest J Ackerman, who ended up becoming his agent.

In 1955, Blaisdell was hired to create the creature effects for Roger Corman's low-budget film The Beast with a Million Eyes, after which he spent several years designing the monsters for a number of B movies, earning a reputation for working quickly and cheaply. In many cases, he was also the actor portraying the respective creature on screen. However, after a few years, he became disenchanted with the business. Blaisdell, together with film editor/archivist/actor Bob Burns, formed the company Black Shield, to publish the Famous Monsters-inspired magazine Fantastic Monsters Of The Films for seven issues during 1962-63, for which Jim Harmon and Ron Haydock edited and wrote text. He gave up on the magazine when the plates for the eighth issue were destroyed in a fire at his printers. Eventually he quit all involvement in movie culture to work as a carpenter instead.

He died of stomach cancer at the age of 55 in Topanga, California in 1983.^[1]

Filmography[]

Effects[]

• The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955)
• Day the World Ended (1955)
• It Conquered the World (1956, uncredited)
• The She-Creature (1956, uncredited)
• Voodoo Woman (1957, uncredited)
• From Hell It Came (1957, uncredited)
• Not of This Earth (1957, uncredited)
• Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)
• It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958, uncredited)
• Earth vs. the Spider (1958)
• Teenagers from Outer Space (1958, uncredited)
• The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959)

Acting[]

• Day the World Ended (1955)
• It Conquered the World (1956)
• The She-Creature (1956)
• Voodoo Woman (1957)
• The Undead (1957)
• Dragstrip Girl (1957)
• Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)
• Motorcycle Gang (1957)
• The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1958)

References[]

External links[]

• Paul Blaisdell at IMDb
• Paul Blaisdell at AllMovie
• Paul Blaisdell at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database