Don Dohler

• Name — Don Dohler • Born — 27 January 1946 • Birthplace — Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. • Died — 2 December 2006 • Place of death — Perry Hall, Maryland, U.S. • Occupation — Film director, screenwriter, film producer, cartoonist

Dohler was born in Baltimore, Maryland. When he was a child, his mother bought him a film projector and one day he drew stick figures on a piece of scotch tape. He ran the tape through the projector and just before the tape burned up inside of the projector, he saw the animated figure dance on the wall and that's when he knew he wanted to make films.

In 1961, at the age of 15, Dohler started a Mad-style fanzine called WILD. Mad had Alfred E. Neuman as a mascot, so Dohler used his middle-school creation, Pro Junior, as WILD’s mascot. In WILD ’ s peak, it had contributors such as Jay Lynch, Art Spiegelman, and Skip Williamson, who later went on to be famous in the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the early 1970s Jay Lynch and Art Spiegelman were fooling around and they started drawing WILD’s mascot, ProJunior, again, but this time in a leopard skin leotard. Robert Crumb saw ProJunior and decided to draw a comic about him. As a result, Lynch rounded up 22 underground comix artists, including Dohler, to draw their own interpretation of ProJunior, which was published by Kitchen Sink Press in a comic in 1971.

In the mid-1960s Dohler came up with an idea for a magazine for filmmakers. It would feature illustrated step-by-step articles for amateur special effects filmmakers. Inspired by his underground comix friends, Dohler set off to publish the magazine on his own. Cinemagic featured articles by industry professionals and went on for 11 issues before being purchased by Starlog in 1979. Cinemagic inspired several young filmmakers who later went on to have successful careers in Hollywood, including J. J. Abrams, Tom Sullivan, Ernie Farino, Michael Trcic and Al Magliochetti.

Fresh off the success of Cinemagic and his own burgeoning filmmaking career, Dohler wrote two books in 1979-1980: Film Magic: The Fantastic Guide to Special Effects Filmmaking (Cinema Enterprises, 1979) and the two-volume Stop Motion Animation: A Complete Step-By-Step Guide (Cinema Enterprises, 1980). In the 1990s, he returned to publishing, putting out Amazing Cinema and Movie Club magazines. He supplemented his income at various times as editor of the (Baltimore county) Times-Herald and as editor of the Harford Business Ledger.

Dohler died from cancer in Maryland in 2006; he was 60 years old. Dohler's life is chronicled in a documentary by John Kinhart titled Blood, Boobs & Beast and released in 2007.

• The Alien Factor (1978) • Fiend (1980) • Nightbeast (1982) • Galaxy Invader (1985) • Blood Massacre (1991) • Alien Factor 2: Alien Rampage (1999) (A.K.A. Alien Rampage) • Harvesters (2001) (Remake of Blood Massacre) • Stakes (2002) • Vampire Sisters (2003) • Crawler (In Post-Production) • Dead Hunt (2006)

Don Dohler is recorded with the occupation film director. Recorded with the occupation screenwriter. Recorded with the occupation cartoonist. Recorded with the occupation artist. Recorded as film producer, screenwriter, cartoonist, director and artist.