Roberta Findlay | |
---|---|
Born | 1943 (age 80–81) New York City, New York, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Film director, cinematographer, producer, actress |
Spouse |
Roberta Findlay (née Hershkowitz;[1] born 1943)[citation needed] is an American film director, cinematographer, producer and actress.[2] She is best known for her work in the exploitation field. Her work has received increasing critical appreciation in recent years.[3]
Findlay was born Roberta Hershkowitz in Brooklyn, New York City to Hungarian-Jewish immigrant parents, and was raised in the Bronx.[4] She was classically trained on piano as a child, and her parents hoped she would have a career as a musician.[4]
While attending the City College of New York, she met Michael Findlay, a student who had recently transferred there after leaving seminary school, where he was studying to become a Catholic priest.[5] He asked her to perform a piano accompaniment for a silent film screening he was holding on the university campus.[5] The two eventually married and began making films together, with Roberta often working as cinematographer.[5]
By her own account, Roberta's marriage to Michael was tempestuous, and the couple were separated by 1974 due to him suffering "psychological issues."[5] Despite their separation, she continued to occasionally work with him professionally, including as cinematographer on Shriek of the Mutilated (1974).[5] Michael Findlay died in 1977 in a helicopter accident; after his death, she continued to make films, directing the horror films Blood Sisters (1987) and Tenement (1985).[6][7]
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Cinematographer | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1968 | The Kiss of Her Flesh | No | Yes | Yes | Credited as Anna Riva | |
1969 | Crack-Up | No | No | Yes | ||
1971 | The Slaughter | Yes | No | Yes | Credited as Roberto Herz Kowicz | |
1974 | Invasion of the Blood Farmers | No | No | Yes | Credited as Frederick Douglass | |
1974 | Shriek of the Mutilated | No | No | Yes | [5] | |
1976 | Snuff | No | No | Yes | [8][9] | |
1985 | The Oracle | Yes | No | No | [7][10] | |
1985 | Tenement | Yes | No | No | [11] | |
1987 | Blood Sisters | Yes | No | No | [7][11] | |
1988 | Lurkers | Yes | No | No | [7][11] | |
1988 | Prime Evil | Yes | No | No | [7][12] | |
1989 | Banned | Yes | No | No |
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Cinematographer | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1971 | The Altar of Lust | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
1974 | Angel Number 9 | Yes | Yes | Yes | [13] | |
1975 | Anyone But My Husband | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
1975 | Every Inch a Lady | Yes | No | No | Film also attributed to John and Lem Amero | [14][15] |
1982 | Liquid A$$ets | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-writer | [16] |
1985 | Shauna: Every Man’s Fantasy | Yes | No | Yes | Uncredited |