Phil Tucker (May 22, 1927 – November 30, 1985) was an American film director, writer, producer, and Film editor. While Tucker directed his first six feature films in the span of two years (while still in his mid-20s), he is best known for his first film, the science fiction B movie Robot Monster, often considered an example of "so bad it's good" film-making in the Ed Wood vein, and for the Lenny Bruce movie Dance Hall Racket.It's rumored that a 1953 suicide attempt took place in response to the poor reception of Robot Monster. According to Keep Watching The Skies! by Bill Warren, his attempted suicide was actually fueled by depression and a dispute with the film's distributor, who had allegedly refused to pay Tucker his contracted percentage of the film's profits. There are further claims that after 1955, Tucker was blacklisted within the film industry, though he did go on to direct a number of other productions, including 1960's The Cape Canaveral Monsters. Year prior, Tucker directed Lenny Bruce and Bruce's wife Honey Harlow in 1953's Dance Hall Racket.By the 1970s Tucker had established himself as a formidable film editor, finally escaping the stigma of his early directorial work. He contributed to such well-known films as Orca and the 1976 remake of King Kong, and remained in post-production throughout the rest of his career.In addition to his love of film, Tucker had an avid interest in all things mechanical. He invented a hot air engine known as the Surge Turbine for which he was granted a US patent. Tucker built a prototype of the engine which he tried, unsuccessfully, to sell to the automobile industry as a more efficient alternative to the traditional internal combustion engine.
In an interview with Harry Medved and Michael Medved for the book "The Golden Turkey Awards," Tucker stated that he had also directed a film titled "Space Jockey". An article in the August 5, 1953 issue of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner ("Cast Hard at Work on Fairbanks' First Movie") reported on the filming of "Space Jockey" and included several quotes from Tucker. The article noted that filming was scheduled to wrap the following day. However, no copy of the finished film has ever surfaced and "Space Jockey" is now considered a lost film.
Editor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen
1981
The Nude Bomb
1980
Jason of Star Command
1979
TV Series 1 episode
Wonder Woman
1979
TV Series 5 episodes
The Next Step Beyond
1978-1979
TV Series 3 episodes
Death Riders
1976
Documentary
Kiss Me Baby
1957
Director
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Cape Canaveral Monsters
1960
TV Movie
Broadway Jungle
1955
Strips Around the World
1955
Bagdad After Midnite
1954
Dream Follies
1954
Tijuana After Midnite
1954
Documentary
Stardust in Your Eyes
1953
Short uncredited
Robot Monster
1953
Dance Hall Racket
1953
Production Manager
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Next Step Beyond
1978
TV Series post-production supervisor - 4 episodes
Orca
1977
post-production supervisor
King Kong
1976
post-production supervisor
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Cape Canaveral Monsters
1960
TV Movie original story / screenplay
Lock Up
1959
TV Series story - 1 episode
Broadway Jungle
1955
Strips Around the World
1955
original screenplay
Editorial Department
Title
Year
Status
Character
National Geographic Specials
1967-1968
TV Series documentary assistant editor - 2 episodes