Cult film director Roger Corman often came up with titles before he came up with plots. His 1957 movie "Attack of the Crab Monsters" is one example — "I had no story," Corman told NPR's Renee Montagne in 2010.
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Roger Corman, the "King of B-movies," died Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, California, according to a statement released Saturday by his wife and daughters. "He was generous, open-hearted and kind to all those who knew him," the statement said. "When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, 'I was a filmmaker, just that.'" He was 98.
Why it matters: Over the course of his half-century long career, Corman filled America's drive-ins with hundreds of low-budget movies. They had titles like Sharktopus, Teenage Doll and The Terror. The trailers — and titles — were often better than the movies themselves.
But Corman was also a major figure in American independent film. The directors and actors who worked with him at the beginnings of their careers are a veritable who's who: Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, Francis Ford Coppola.
The backstory: Corman released as many as eight pictures a year — a breakneck pace that rivaled even major studios. Once, as a joke, he borrowed a set (for free, of course) and shot a movie in two days and one night. That hastily assembled movie was the original, black and white, Little Shop of Horrors.
Over the course of his half-century long career, Roger Corman filled America's drive-ins with hundreds of low-budget movies. They had titles like Sharktopus, Teenage Doll and The Terror. The trailers — and titles — were often better than the movies themselves.
But Corman was also a major figure in American independent film. The directors and actors who worked with him at the beginnings of their careers are a veritable who's who: Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, Francis Ford Coppola.
Corman died Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, California, according to a statement released Saturday by his wife and daughters. "He was generous, open-hearted and kind to all those who knew him," the statement said. "When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, 'I was a filmmaker, just that.'" He was 98.
Corman was educated at Stanford and Oxford Universities before he became the dean of grindhouse. Back in 1990, Corman told NPR about making his first film, Monster from the Ocean Floor. It was the early 1950s, and Corman had read in the newspaper about a company that had invented a miniature submarine.
"I finished breakfast, called them up, said I was an independent filmmaker and would be interested in having their submarine in my picture," he recalled.
Putting free stuff in the flicks he pumped out for cheap became Corman's trademark — along with little-known starlets in even littler outfits, filmed on the littlest of budgets. Corman's thrift was legendary.
Dick Miller acted in dozens of Corman films, including the 1955 Western Apache Woman. "I played an Indian in my first picture and about halfway through [Corman] asked me ... Would you like to play a cowboy?" Miller remembered in a Fresh Air interview in 2004. "I said, Doing another movie already? He says, No, in the same movie. So I ended up playing a cowboy and an Indian in my first movie."
Corman released as many as eight pictures a year — a breakneck pace that rivaled even major studios. Once, as a joke, he borrowed a set (for free, of course) and shot a movie in two days and one night. That hastily assembled movie was the original, black and white, Little Shop of Horrors.
"Possibly the fast pace, the insane schedule, brought something to the picture that made it the more-or-less cult film it became," Corman said.
Some of Hollywood's biggest stars got their starts working on Corman films. Above, Salli Sachse and Peter Fonda are pictured on the set of "The Trip," a 1966 film written by Jack Nicholson and directed by Corman.
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Of course, it didn't hurt that the film featured a young Jack Nicholson playing a masochistic dental patient.
Nicholson showed up in a raft of Corman pictures, including a relatively well-regarded series based on works by Edgar Allan Poe, all starring Vincent Price.
But Corman was mostly synonymous with schlock — there was The Student Nurses in 1970 (followed by several subsequent nurse-focused films), the 1966 biker gang movie The Wild Angels, and 1975's homicidal hot rod movie Death Race 2000.
"The drivers are scored not only on how fast they can drive, and how many other drivers they could hit, but also how many pedestrians they could kill," Corman bragged. "Now that was the key. The picture was the biggest success we had, ever, and it led to all kinds of jokes that entered our era."
Corman received an honorary Oscar in 2009 for producing and directing more than 300 films and fostering the careers of Ron Howard, John Sayles, Sylvester Stallone and James Cameron.
"Probably all of his movies combined would not have cost as much as Avatar," Cameron told NPR in 2010.
Corman produced Cameron's first full-length feature, 1981's Piranha II: The Spawning, and taught him an essential lesson: "Your will is the only thing that makes the difference in getting the job done ..." Cameron said. "It teaches you to improvise, and, in a funny way, to never lose hope. Because you're making a movie, and the movie can be what you want it to be."
The movies Corman willed into being are their own loopy, glorious world of teenage cavemen, X-ray eyes and humanoids from the deep. His 300-some movies barely even rose to the level of camp. But many of Hollywood's most respected directors have at least one Corman credit buried in their resumes. And by teaching so many people how to deliver on-budget and on-schedule, Corman was arguably one of the most influential figures of American film.
In 1964 he married Julie Halloran, a UCLA graduate who also became a producer. He is survived by his wife Julie and children Catherine, Roger, Brian and Mary.
Austin Cross
helps Angelenos make sense of news, politics, and more as host of Morning Edition, AirTalk Fridays and The L.A. Report.
Published November 28, 2025 12:00 PM
A screenshot of Mitch Allen, founder of HireSanta.com, during an interview with LAist host Austin Cross.
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The sleigh business is slumping — at least for house calls. Mitch Allen, founder of HireSanta.com, says demand for home visits from the big man has dropped about 20% to 25% in Southern California, according to booking data.
Why the decline? Allen said fewer people are inviting Santa to their holiday events — economic uncertainty and rising consumer debt have families rethinking whether they really need St. Nick to make a living room cameo.
Read on... for a list of places you can visit Santa for free this holiday season.
The sleigh business is slumping — at least for house calls.
Mitch Allen, founder of HireSanta.com, said demand for home visits from the big man has dropped about 20% to 25% in Southern California, according to booking data, as fewer people are inviting Santa to their holiday events.
Allen said over the last few years economic uncertainty and rising consumer debt have families rethinking whether they really need St. Nick to make a living room cameo.
“People are still celebrating Christmas, still getting together with their family and friends,” Allen said. “But instead of having a big blowout event where you bring Santa and Mrs. Claus… now we’re just bringing families together.”
Mall visits remain popular
Don’t feel too bad for old Kris Kringle. Demand for Santas at the mall is still up, Allen said.
There are lots of options across Southern California. Here are a few we rounded up with free access:
Ovation shopping center in Hollywood, starting Nov. 29. Free photos with Santa. Details online.
Anaheim Hills Festival mall, Dec. 13. Free event entry to their Holiday Spectacular. Includes Santa visits, crafts and face painting.
Allen said corporate demand is also steady — or even increased — as businesses book Santas for various events. No sideline Santas here; our boy’s stacking those corporate checks.
How it works
Allen’s company has connected people with pro Santas since 2012 and has a database of about 5,000 Santas nationwide. When it comes to Santa selection, Allen said the company has a simple formula: “You gotta have a real beard, a real belly, and be real jolly.”
His company handles suits, boots and belts, but the twinkle in the eye comes straight from the Santas — and Allen said it’s mandatory.
SoCal still loves them some Santa, even with the dip in home visits. Allen said if you’re thinking about booking a visit, schedule soon as time is running short.
President Donald Trump vowed on Thanksgiving to "permanently pause migration" from poorer nations in a blistering late-night, anti-immigrant screed posted to social media.
Why now: The extended rant came in the wake of the Wednesday shooting of two National Guard members who were deployed to patrol Washington, D.C. under Trump's orders, one of whom died shortly before the president spoke to U.S. troops by video on Thursday evening.
Why it matters: Trump's threat to stop immigration would be a serious blow to a nation that has long defined itself as welcoming immigrants.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump vowed on Thanksgiving to "permanently pause migration" from poorer nations in a blistering late-night, anti-immigrant screed posted to social media.
The extended rant came in the wake of the Wednesday shooting of two National Guard members who were deployed to patrol Washington, D.C. under Trump's orders, one of whom died shortly before the president spoke to U.S. troops by video on Thursday evening.
A 29-year-old Afghan national who worked with the CIA during the Afghanistan War is facing charges for the shooting. The suspect emigrated as part of a program to resettle those who has helped American troops after U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
"Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "Other than that, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for — You won't be here for long!"
Trump's threat to stop immigration would be a serious blow to a nation that has long defined itself as welcoming immigrants.
Elected on a promise to crack down on illegal migration, Trump's raids and deportations have disrupted communities across the U.S. as construction sites and schools have been targets. The prospect of more deportations could be economically dangerous as America's foreign-born workers account for nearly 31 million jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The president said on Truth Social that "most" foreign-born U.S. residents "are on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels" as he blamed them for crime across the country that is predominantly committed by U.S. citizens.
The perception that immigration breeds crime "continues to falter under the weight of the evidence," according to a review of academic literature last year in the Annual Review of Criminology.
"With few exceptions, studies conducted at both the aggregate and individual levels demonstrate that high concentrations of immigrants are not associated with increased levels of crime and delinquency across neighborhoods and cities in the United States," it said.
A study by economists initially released in 2023 found immigrants are 60% less likely to be incarcerated than people born in the U.S. Immigrants have been imprisoned at lower rates for 150 years, the study found, adding to past research undermining Trump's claims.
But Trump seemed to have little interest in a policy debate in his unusually lengthy social media post, which the White House, on its own rapid response social media account, called "one of the most important messages ever released by President Trump."
Trump claimed immigrants from Somalia are "completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota" as he used a dated slur for intellectually disabled people to demean that state's governor, Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee last year, calling him "seriously retarded."
Trump has ramped up his rhetoric since the shooting. On Wednesday night, Trump called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees who had entered under the Biden administration.
On Thursday, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, said the agency would take additional steps to screen people from 19 "high-risk" countries "to the maximum degree possible."
Edlow didn't name the countries. But in June, the administration banned travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 countries and restricted access from seven others, citing national security concerns.
Copyright 2025 NPR
An engagement photo of Kris Edwards and his wife, Tilly, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in June.
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American roads have become more dangerous than violent crimes in some cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston are among the major cities that now report more traffic fatalities than homicides. Despite local, state, and federal safety campaigns, such as the global Vision Zero initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities, such deaths are up 20% in the U.S. from a decade ago.
The effectiveness of Vision Zero: In January 2017, then-L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti joined 13 other L.A. city leaders in pledging to implement the Vision Zero action plan and eliminate traffic deaths in the city by 2025. Instead, deaths have increased. In 2024, the Los Angeles Police Department reported an estimated 268 homicides and 302 traffic deaths, the second consecutive year that the number of people killed in collisions exceeded the number of homicide victims, according to Crosstown LA, a nonprofit community news outlet.
Why deaths have increased: An audit released in April that was commissioned by the city’s administrative officer found that the level of enthusiasm for the program at City Hall has diminished and that it suffered because of “the pandemic, conflicts of personality, lack of total buy-in for implementation, disagreements over how the program should be administered, and scaling issues.” The report also cited competing interests among city departments and inconsistent investment in the city’s most dangerous traffic corridors.
Kris Edwards waited at home with friends for his wife, Erika “Tilly” Edwards, to go out to dinner, but she never made it back to the house they had purchased only four days earlier. Around 9 p.m. on June 29, a hit-and-run driver killed Tilly as she walked to her car after a fundraiser performance in Hollywood.
“I’ve just got to figure out how to keep living. And the hard part with that is not knowing why,” Edwards said of his wife’s death.
Despite local, state, and federal safety campaigns, such as the global Vision Zero initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities, such deaths are up 20% in the U.S. from a decade ago, from 32,744 in 2014 to an estimated 39,345 in 2024, according to data from the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Although traffic deaths have declined since peaking at 43,230 in 2021, the number of deaths remains higher than a decade ago.
Since the covid-19 pandemic, the Pew Research Center found, Americans’ driving habits have worsened across multiple measures, from reckless driving to drunken driving, which road safety advocates call a public health failure. They say technology could dramatically reduce traffic deaths, but proposals often run up against industry resistance, and the Trump administration is focusing on driverless cars to both innovate and improve public safety.
“Every day, 20 people go out for a walk, and they don’t return home,” said Adam Snider, a spokesperson for the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state road safety offices.
American roads have become more dangerous than violent crimes in some cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston are among the major cities that now report more traffic fatalities than homicides. In 2024, the Los Angeles Police Department reported an estimated 268 homicides and 302 traffic deaths, the second consecutive year that the number of people killed in collisions exceeded the number of homicide victims, according to Crosstown LA, a nonprofit community news outlet.
Kris Edwards and his cat, Rex, in the garden of the home he bought with his wife, Erika “Tilly” Edwards, only four days before her death.
“Simply put, the United States is in the middle of a road safety emergency,” David Harkey, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, testified during a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing this summer. Out of 29 high-income countries, America ranks at the bottom in road safety, Harkey said. “This spike is not — I repeat, is not — a global trend. The U.S. is an outlier.”
In January 2017, then-Mayor Eric Garcetti joined 13 other L.A. city leaders in pledging to implement the Vision Zero action plan and eliminate traffic deaths in the city by 2025.
An audit released in April that was commissioned by the city’s administrative officer found that the level of enthusiasm for the program at City Hall has diminished and that it suffered because of “the pandemic, conflicts of personality, lack of total buy-in for implementation, disagreements over how the program should be administered, and scaling issues.” The report also cited competing interests among city departments and inconsistent investment in the city’s most dangerous traffic corridors.
Mayor Karen Bass’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A hit-and-run driver killed Tilly Edwards as she walked to her car after a fundraiser performance in Los Angeles’ Hollywood neighborhood in June.
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Last year, California state Sen. Scott Wiener proposed a bill that would have required new cars sold in the state to include “intelligent speed assistance,” software that could prevent vehicles from exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 mph. But the bill was watered down following pushback from the auto industry and opposition from some legislators who called it government overreach. It was ultimately vetoed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said a state mandate would disrupt ongoing federal safety assessments.
Meanwhile, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an influential automotive lobby, this year sued the federal government over an automatic emergency braking rule adopted during the Biden administration. The lawsuit is pending in federal court while the Department of Transportation completes a review. Even before Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term, the alliance appealed to the president-elect in a letter to support consumer choice.
Under Trump, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is prioritizing the development of autonomous vehicles by proposing sweeping regulatory changes to test and deploy driverless cars. “Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards were written for vehicles with human drivers and need to be updated for autonomous vehicles,” NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser said in September in announcing the modernization effort, which includes repealing some safety rules. “Removing these requirements will reduce costs and enhance safety.”
Some Democratic lawmakers, however, have criticized the administration’s repeal of safety rules as misguided since new rules can be implemented without undoing existing safeguards. NHTSA officials did not respond to requests for comment about Democrats’ concerns.
Advocates worry that without continued adoption of road safety regulations for conventional vehicles, factors such as excessive speed and human error will continue to drive fatalities despite the push for driverless cars.
“We need to continue to have strong collaboration from the federal, state, local sectors, public sector, private sector, the everyday public,” Snider, of the Governors Highway Safety Association, said. “We need everyday drivers to get involved.”
Kris Edwards points to photos of his wife, Tilly. Traffic deaths across the U.S. are higher than they were a decade ago.
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It took nearly a month for police to track down the driver of a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen allegedly involved in Tilly’s death. Authorities have charged Davontay Robins with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, felony hit-and-run driving, and driving with a suspended license due to a previous DUI. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is out on bail.
Kris Edwards now tends to the couple’s backyard garden by himself. Since his wife’s death, he has experienced sleep deprivation, fatigue, and trouble eating, and he relies on a cane to walk. His doctors attribute his ailments to the brain’s response to grief.
“I’m not alone,” he said. “But I am lonely, in this big, empty house without my partner.”
Edwards hopes for justice for his wife, though he said he’s unsure if prosecutors will get a conviction. He wants her death to mean something: safer streets, slower driving, and for pedestrians to be cautious when getting in and out of cars parked on busy streets.
“I want my wife’s death to be a warning to others who get too comfortable and let their guard down even for a moment,” he said. “That moment is all it takes.”
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.Subscribe to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.
Gillian Morán Pérez
is an associate producer for LAist’s midday All Things Considered show. She also writes about your daily forecast.
Published November 28, 2025 5:00 AM
Temperatures will drop to the mid 60s to low 70s.
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Quick Facts
Today’s weather: Partly cloudy
Beaches: 65 to 71 degrees
Mountains: 60s to low 70s degrees
Inland: 70 to 75 degrees
Warnings and advisories: A no burn alert is in effect
What to expect: Mostly sunny skies with the exception of partly cloudy conditions along the coast.
Read on...for more details and who is affected by the No Burn Alert.
Quick Facts
Today’s weather: Partly cloudy
Beaches: 65 to 71 degrees
Mountains: 60s to low 70s degrees
Inland: 70 to 75 degrees
Warnings and advisories: A no burn alert is in effect
Cooler weather has returned to Southern California for the weekend. Coastal communities will experience mostly to partly cloudy skies on Friday.
Along the L.A. and Orange County coast daytime highs will drop to as low as 65 degrees with the warmest areas topping out at 71 degrees.
The eastern San Fernando Valley will have highs from 69 to 74 degrees, meanwhile the western side will see highs from 71 to 76 degrees.
Over in the Inland Empire, temperatures will range from 70 to 75 degrees. In Coachella Valley, communities there will see temperatures from 75 to 80 degrees.
No burn alert in effect
The South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued a no burn alert for most of SoCal until 11:59 p.m. because of high air pollution. That means you should avoid any burning of wood, including fireplaces or manufactured logs made from wax or paper.
The alert applies to O.C. and L.A. County's non-desert areas and Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Excluded from the ban area are residents without natural gas, as well as communities in the High Desert and mountains.
