Who is Ted V. Mikels?

American filmmaker Ted V. Mikels holds a unique position as one of the most unconventional directors of exploitation cinema. Famous for his eccentric home life (he once lived with a harem in a castle with secret passageways) and promotional gimmicks (he was known for having nurses and ambulances on hand to assist "scared-to-death" moviegoers), Mikels is now considered a pioneering master of low-budget movie making.

Examples of Mikels' influence can be seen everywhere: from music (punk band The Misfits wrote a tribute song called "The Astro-Zombies"), to Mikels' film The Doll Squad being the template for the television series Charlie's Angels, to inspiring the look of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.

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Francine York

As herself

Francine York was born in a small mining town in northern Minnesota called Aurora, and was a model and dancer before becoming an actress. Francine's credits include Curse of the Swamp Creature (now a cult film), and Tickle Me with Elvis Presley. Roles include Queen Niolani on the television show Lost in Space; Dr. North in Land of the Giants; Robert Culp's girlfriend in The Flood; a scientist in Time Traveler, a pilot for ABC; opposite Robert Stack in Luxury Liner; and opposite Roddy McDowell (as Lydia Limpit) in Batman Soon Came Up. The last got her a story in Saturday Evening Post and later she was known as one of the Bat Girls. The Streets of San Francisco, Columbo, Kojak, Wild Wild West, Police Story, Mission Impossible, Riptide, and Perry Mason all followed. She starred in Ted V. Mikels' The Doll Squad in 1972. She recently guest starred in the new Beverly Hills 90210, Lois & Clark (the new Superman), and Marilyn Is Alive as Marilyn Monroe.

More information

Official website
IMDB listing

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