- Born
- Birth nameFrederick Olen Raymond
- Height5′ 8½″ (1.74 m)
- Fred Olen Ray spent most of his childhood in Florida, where he was always a fan of horror movies on TV. He collected autographs of many of the actors in those films where he met Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. His early career was filled with low-budget horror and science-fiction films, but the market eventually dried up and he switched to producing softcore "T&A" videos of the type shown late at night on Showtime and Cinemax. His films rarely cost more than $500,000, and he has written under at least 30 different pen names; he was one of the first to fill time at the end of his films with outtakes, now a common practice in other comedy films. The outdoor sets are often CGI backdrops and many sets are in his own home or near it. Ray often can share credit for his softcore film success with the late cinematographer/director Gary Graver, big shoes for him to fill while working with an excess of tattooed and body-beaded new performers in this genre.- IMDb Mini Biography By: arcadiafan (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)
- SpousesKimberly A. Ray(October 23, 1997 - present) (divorced, 2 children)Miriam L. Preissel (divorced)
- ChildrenJohn RayMax Olen RayAnthony Ray
- Has an independent wrestling promotion called ACW, where he wrestles under the name "Fabulous" Freddie Valentine.
- One reviewer described his films as "rushed, cheap, and sleazy, but you can't help but love them.".
- [working with actors] For years I've had the reputation of either making your career or killing you. You work with me, you die or go on to something better.
- [on why he became a director] I initially wanted to work in make-up and special effects, probably from all of those years of reading Famous Monsters magazine, but it soon became apparent that you would always be between jobs and I was looking for something that would actually earn me a living. I think I became a director because that was the fastest way to get a film made on the independent side of things.
- [on making low-budget vs. big budget movies] Making a film with no money or schedule is ten times harder than it is to make a big budget show where you're surrounded by a gang of super-talented people.
- [getting harder to compete with big studios (1992)] It's tough when the majors start competing at the ground level that the independents are working at. I don't know what new genre the independents can come up with that the majors aren't willing to do. because, apparently, the majors are willing to do anything from scalping girls to dropping their pants. Now. they're wallowing around in the grime with the rest of us, only on a much grander scale.
- [low-budget filmmaking] Making movies is never really been that much fun. The two best days of making a movie Is the day you get the financing and the wrap party. And everything between is a pain in the fucking ass. You always have to compromise. You cant do exactly what you want to do.
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