Ed Wood

A 1950's writer/director who, after his death in 1978, became a cult icon as a contender for "Worst Director of All Time." Though often showing flashes of invention (Plan Nine from Outer Space, his magnum opus, featured aliens attempting to invade the earth by reanimating the dead), his films were marred by bad writing, bad acting, and a stunning depth and breadth of technical ineptitude. His only skill as a director seemed to lie in convincing investors that his next picture was going to be a smash hit (or, at least, make its money back), even though everything about his track record suggested otherwise. When his string of failures as a Hollywood director became too great to ignore, Wood wound up in the adult entertainment industry, writing and occasionally directing soft- and hard-core pornography films. Writer, director, decorated WWII combat veteran, and transvestite (Wood claimed to be wearing women's underwear while storming the beach at Tarawa), Wood was the subject of a 1994 biopic directed by (who else?) Tim Burton, and was portrayed by (again, who else?) Johnny Depp.