Don Edmonds was born on September 1, 1937 in Kansas City, Missouri. Edmonds came to Hollywood, California in the mid to late 50s. He studied acting with noted acting coach Estelle Harmon and began performing in various California stage productions. Don's initial forays into television acting include such live TV shows as Playhouse 90 (1956), Studio One (1948) and Letter to Loretta (1953). Edmonds was usually cast as a goofy sidekick in silly "beach party"-type movies like Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961), Beach Ball (1965), and Wild Wild Winter (1966). Moreover, Don has made guest appearances on such TV shows as Rick Hunter (1984), Les arpents verts (1965), Combat! (1962), Petticoat Junction (1963), Les monstres (1964), Gidget (1965) and Father Knows Best (1954). Edmonds made his directorial debut with the soft-core features Wild Honey (1972) and Tender Loving Care (1973). Don achieved his greatest enduring cult exploitation cinema popularity by directing the infamous Nazisploitation classic Ilsa la louve (1975) and its marvelously outrageous sequel Ilsa, gardienne du harem (1976). After "Ilsa" Edmonds went on to direct the superbly gritty urban action winner Le Maniaque (1977), the cruddy slasher horror entry Demon Rock (1980), the action comedy Tomcat Angels (1991), and the pilot of the TV series Les dessous de Palm Beach (1991). As the vice president of production at Producers Sales Organization, Don was responsible for getting movies like Short Circuit (1986), Huit millions de façons de mourir (1986) and Le clan de la caverne des ours (1986) greenlit and subsequently made. Edmonds has also been involved as either a producer, co-producer or executive producer on a sizable number of pictures that include Larceny (2004), Des flics aux trousses (1996), True Romance (1993) (Don was part of the production team that helped Quentin Tarantino get his early professional filmmaking career off and running), Skeeter and The Night Stalker (1986). More recently, Don attended screenings of his 70s drive-in flicks and appeared as a guest at film conventions held all over the country. He died at age 71 of liver cancer on May 30, 2009.
