Max Thayer | |
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Born | Michael Thayer June 18, 1946 Detroit, Michigan, United States |
Other names | Michael R. Thayer |
Occupation | Film actor |
Years active | 1975 – |
Michael "Max" Thayer (born June 18, 1946) is an American movie actor, sometimes credited as Michael R. Thayer. He is mostly known for playing lead roles in several B-movies and action films such as Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks , Planet of Dinosaurs and No Retreat, No Surrender 2 .
After serving in the US Army, Thayer decided to become an actor. He first appeared in theater, then in several low-budget movies during the 1970s. In 1976, he played the lead male role, opposite Dyanne Thorne in Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks . He went on to play roles in such films as Planet of Dinosaurs and The Retrievers. During the 1980s, after a short hiatus from acting due to an accident, Thayer found himself working in the Philippines, where he starred in several low-budget action films such as Deadringer, No Dead Heroes and Phantom soldiers. In 1987, he played one of the lead roles in the action film No Retreat, No Surrender 2 , opposite Loren Avedon and Cynthia Rothrock. In the 1990s and 2000s, he appeared mostly in bit parts. [1] In 2018, he played one of the lead roles in the independent film In the Middle of the River. [2]
Daphne Eurydice Zuniga is an American actress. She made her film debut in the 1982 slasher film The Dorm That Dripped Blood (1982) at the age of 19, followed by a lead role in another slasher film The Initiation (1984) two years later.
Nancy Ann Travis is an American actress. She began her career on Off-Broadway theater, before her first leading screen role in the ABC television miniseries Harem opposite Omar Sharif. Her breakthrough came in 1987, playing Sylvia Bennington in the comedy film Three Men and a Baby. She later starred in its sequel, Three Men and a Little Lady (1990).
Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS is a 1975 Canadian nazisploitation film about a sadistic and sexually voracious Nazi prison camp commandant. The film is directed by American filmmaker Don Edmonds and produced by David F. Friedman for Cinépix Film Properties in Montreal. The film stars Dyanne Thorne in the title role, who is loosely based on Ilse Koch, a convicted war criminal and overseer at the Buchenwald concentration camp.
Dyanne Thorne was an American actress, stage performer, and vocalist. She was known for her stage work in Las Vegas and as the lead actress in the Ilsa film franchise which began with Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS (1975).
Teddy Chiu, professionally known as Teddy Page, is a Filipino film director and occasional writer. He began his career as a young man in the early 1980s, directing low-budget action movies for producer K.Y. Lim's Silver Star Film Company.
Gods In Polyester: A Survivors' Account Of 70's Cinema Obscura is a cult film book covering mainly American obscure, low-budget, and independent film horror, sci-fi, exploitation film, Blaxploitation, Spaghetti Western, and action films that were created between 1970 and 1981.
No Retreat, No Surrender 2 is a 1987 Hong Kong-American martial arts film directed by Corey Yuen, and starring Loren Avedon, Matthias Hues, Max Thayer and Cynthia Rothrock. Despite its title, it does not have any narrative or character connection to No Retreat, No Surrender, as it plots an independent story. The film was originally released as Raging Thunder in the Philippines. It is the second film in the No Retreat, No Surrender franchise.
Nazi exploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film and sexploitation film that involves Nazis committing sex crimes, often as camp or prison overseers during World War II. Most follow the women in prison formula, only relocated to a concentration camp, extermination camp, or Nazi brothel, and with an added emphasis on sadism, gore, and degradation. The most infamous and influential title is a Canadian production, Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS (1974). Its surprise success and that of Salon Kitty and The Night Porter led European filmmakers, mostly in Italy, to produce similar films, with just over a dozen being released over the next few years. Globally exported to both cinema and VHS, the films were critically attacked and heavily censored, and the sub-genre all but vanished by the end of the seventies.
Vernon Wells is an Australian character actor. He began appearing on Australian television shows in the mid-1970s, such as Homicide, Matlock Police and All the Rivers Run. He is best known to international audiences for his role of Wez in the 1981 science fiction action film Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and Bennett in the military action film Commando.
Aditya Pancholi is an Indian actor, producer and playback singer working in Hindi cinema.
Tanya Boyd is an American actress who is best known for her role as Celeste Perrault on Days of Our Lives.
Colleen Brennan is an American former pornographic actress. She has also gone by the name Sharon Kelly.
Roy Horan III was an American actor and martial artist best known for his Hong Kong martial arts films. Horan played Lewis in the 1981 martial arts film Game of Death II, and Priest/Russian in the 1978 martial arts film Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, opposite Jackie Chan. He was a student of Hwang Jang-lee, who appeared with Horan in several films.
Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks is a 1976 sexploitation women in prison film, the first sequel to Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS. The film was directed by Don Edmonds.
Marilyn Joi is an American actress who appeared in a number of exploitation films during the 1970s.
Ring of Terror is a black-and-white 1962 horror film, which centers around a young medical student named Lewis Moffitt who must open a crypt and steal the ring of a deceased man in order to join a fraternity. Directed by Clark L. Paylow from a screenplay by Lewis Simeon and Jerrold I. Zinnamon, the film stars George Mather as Lewis, with Austin Green and Esther Furst in supporting roles.
Max Carl Gronenthal is an American rock singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter. He is the co-lead singer of the classic rock band Grand Funk Railroad. In addition, he spent several years as the keyboardist and lead singer for the southern rock band 38 Special. Carl is known for having co-written and sung lead vocals on 38 Special's hit song, "Second Chance" (1989).
Nacht van de Wansmaak is a Flemish-Dutch film festival dedicated to cult films, exploitation films and other bizarre B-films.
Howard Maurer is an American musician, performer and actor from New York City. He is known for his roles in the Ilsa series of films in addition to 30 years of producing and performing musical and comedy revues in Las Vegas.
No Retreat... No Surrender... Si Kumander is a 1987 Filipino action comedy film directed by Pablo Santiago and starring Fernando Poe Jr. and his wife Susan Roces, the latter as the titular commander. Produced by FPJ Productions, the film was released on September 17, 1987. Critic Luciano E. Soriano of the Manila Standard gave Kumander a mildly positive review, commending Poe and Roces' "delightful" performances while deeming the film "mildly amusing" and "an over-extended [TV] sitcom".