Obituary: George Kuchar / Influential, irreverent underground filmmaker
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George Kuchar was perhaps the most prolific and influential filmmaker most moviegoers have never heard of.
With his twin brother, Mike -- and later, alone -- Mr. Kuchar made some of the earliest films in the 1960s explosion of underground movies.
He often sent up the B-movies of his youth in irreverent parodies with equally campy titles. In the mid-1960s, Mr. Kuchar followed "Corruption of the Damned" with a work that came to be regarded as a classic of the alternative scene, "Hold Me While I'm Naked."
The exuberant auteur of the no-budget film had made nearly 220 movies and videos since the 1950s, and his reach spilled over into the mainstream. The Kuchars influenced such filmmakers as Brian De Palma, David Lynch and John Waters, according to the San Francisco Art Institute, where Mr. Kuchar had taught for 30 years.
Mr. Kuchar died Tuesday in at a San Francisco hospice following a battle with cancer, a spokeswoman for the art institute said. He was 69.
His "remarkable spirit and no-holds-barred approach to filmmaking" inspired students and "the film community worldwide," Charles Desmarais, the art institute's president, said in a statement.
The playfulness of Mr. Kuchar's movies also was reflected in the titles of the filmmaking courses he taught after joining the art institute in 1971 -- "AC/DC Psychotronic Teleplays" and "Electro-graphic Sinema."
Although his work could seem off the cuff, it was marked by a tender lyricism and a love of thundering, canned scores, according to Kevin Thomas, a film critic and former Los Angeles Times staff writer.
Mr. Kuchar's loosely autobiographical "Hold Me While I'm Naked" was about the trials of a low-budget filmmaker whose actress quits mid-movie because she resents going nude in every scene. It mock-seriously questioned the relationship of artist to art and came to be regarded as his masterpiece.
Village Voice gave the film the No. 52 spot on its list of the top 100 films of the 20th century.
Other better-known Kuchar works include "I, An Actress" (1977), a short film that features him directing an actress who sputters ludicrously melodramatic dialogue, and "Thundercrack!" (1975), an underground erotic parody that he wrote and starred in. It was directed by his partner in life and film, Curt McDowell, who later died of AIDS.
The Hollywood melodramas popular during the Kuchar brothers' childhood infused their films, which featured friends and neighbors. One opening credit read "Starring the Liebowitz Family."
Born in 1942 in New York City, the brothers began making movies after an aunt gave them a camera when they were 12.
After graduating from a high school that emphasized the arts, Mr. Kuchar briefly drew weather maps for a local TV station. He had a lifelong fascination with weather, which he later documented in videos.
By the 1960s, the self-taught filmmakers had developed a following in New York's underground film movement. Eventually, they worked separately but remained close. When Mr. Kuchar moved to San Francisco, his brother followed.
First Published September 12, 2011 12:00 am
