Stephen C. Apostolof (February 25, 1928 – August 14, 2005), sometimes credited under aliases A.C. Stephen(s) or Robert Lee, was a Bulgarian-American filmmaker specializing in low-budget exploitation and erotic films, who gained a cult following for a wide variety of films that range from erotic horror (Orgy of the Dead) and suburban exposé (Suburbia Confidential) to western-themed costume pictures (Lady Godiva Rides) and Mission Impossible-type capers such as (Hot Ice). Apostolof had gained a reputation for creating high-quality mass entertainment with minimal budgets. He was also one of the few directors to work steadily with the infamous Ed Wood and such sexploitation icons as Marsha Jordan and Rene Bond in the 1960s and 1970s.
Early life
Apostolof was born in the Black Sea town of Burgas, Bulgaria, to Hristo Apostolov, a can manufacturer, and his wife Polyxena. Apostolof had a brother, Stavri, and two sisters, Vesa and Lila. The Apostolofs were an artistically inclined family. Steven attended a German-language high school for several years. In 1946, when he was only 17, he joined an underground guerilla group that fought the newly established Communist regime in Bulgaria. He was eventually arrested and spent 18 months in jail.
In 1948, he escaped from Bulgaria by stowing away on a Finnish freighter. He was caught in Turkish territorial waters and thrown in jail for several months, accused of being a Bulgarian spy. After a short stay in Istanbul he drifted to Paris, France. After serving in the French Foreign Legion, in 1950 he moved, this time to Canada, and from there in 1952 he went to Los Angeles, California, where he became a clerk for Bank of America.
Career
1950s
Apostolof's career in films began at 20th Century-Fox, where he was doing some number-crunching in the production department in 1953–1954.
Journey to Freedom (1957) Around 1955, Apostolof teamed up with exploitation veterans Robert C. Dertano and William C. Thompson to create SCA Productions, a company that produced the semi-autobiographical Cold War melodrama Journey to Freedom (1957). The film starred Tor Johnson, the Swedish wrestler best known for appearing in Edward D. Wood Jr.'s movies Bride of the Monster (1954), Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) and Night of the Ghouls (1959).
Journey to Freedom was shot in the legendary Sunset Gower Studios and later picked up for distribution by Republic Pictures, known for its quality B-movies and westerns, many of them starring John Wayne. Although not very popular at the time, Journey to Freedom became part of the so-called Red Scare, a period of intense anti-Communism that had already produced propaganda films like I Married a Communist (1949), The Red Menace (1949) and Big Jim McLain (1952). Journey to Freedom tells about Apostolof's escape from Communist Bulgaria through Istanbul, Paris and Toronto to Los Angeles, California.
1960s
In the mid-'60s Apostolof became involved in sexploitation cinema, adopting the less foreign-sounding "A.C. Stephen" as a nom de plume. Apostolof cites Russ Meyer's The Immoral Mr. Teas (1959), the first nudie-cutie, as a major influence in his sexploitation-oriented career. He said, "I saw what was happening in the market—I couldn't possibly compete with the major companies, but I saw a niche there for us, the independent guys. I saw those sexy type of pictures that were becoming popular. I went and saw them and I wanted to see how far you could go with nudity." Over the next two decades Apostolof made 16 films with a trademark blend of tasteful nudity and campy humour.
Orgy of the Dead (1965)
Orgy of the Dead, Apostolof's first directorial credit as A.C. Stephen with a screenplay by Ed Wood, is now considered a camp classic and has inspired a cult following. It features the legendary oracle The Amazing Criswell (known from Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space) and burlesque queen Pat Barrington (later to star in Harry H. Novak's The Agony of Love). Wood served as writer, production manager, casting agent, and even held up cue cards for Criswell, although he did not direct. Orgy of the Dead was the beginning of a very successful partnership between Apostolof and Wood that would last until the latter's death in 1978. This cooperation resulted in several films that captured the zeitgeist of the late 1960s and the 1970s.