Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, such as The Toxic Avenger (1984) and Tromeo and Juliet (1996). Many of the strategies employed by him at Troma have been credited with making the film industry significantly more accessible and decentralized.
Contents
Early life
Kaufman was born to a Jewish family in New York City, the son of Ruth (née Fried) and Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Sr., a lawyer.
Career
Early career
Kaufman graduated from Yale University with the class of 1968, where he majored in Chinese studies. His fellow Yale classmates included Oliver Stone and George W. Bush. Originally intending to become a social worker, he became fast friends with student filmmakers Robert Edelstein and Eric Sherman (son of filmmaker Vincent Sherman), who introduced him to his future lifelong obsession: cinema. Some of Lloyd's favorite filmmakers include John Ford, Kenji Mizoguchi, Ernst Lubitsch, Stan Brakhage, and Franklin Schaffner.
In 1966, Lloyd went on a hiatus from his studies and spent a year in Chad for USAID as a pathfinder for the Peace Corps.
Returning to Yale, he produced Robert Edelstein's low-budget film Rappaccini and directed his own first feature film, an experimental black and white film titled The Girl Who Returned (1969). The film was presented at film societies at Yale, Harvard, and other east coast institutions. Following his graduation, Kaufman went on to work for Cannon Films, where he met John G. Avildsen (future Academy Award-winning director of Rocky and The Karate Kid.) The two collaborated for several years, making low-budget films including Joe (1970) and Cry Uncle! (1971). During this period, Kaufman also directed and starred in his second feature film, The Battle of Love's Return (1971), which garnered positive reviews in publications such as The New York Times; wrote and co-produced the lesbian thriller Sugar Cookies (1973) with Oliver Stone; and wrote and directed the Israeli comedy flop Big Gus, What's the Fuss? (1973). Kaufman also served as executive in charge of locations for Saturday Night Fever (1977), and was influential in choosing 2001 Odyssey as the nightclub in the film.
From 1973 to 1979, Kaufman produced and directed a handful of adult films in New York under the pseudonym "Louis Su". He directed at least three movies: The Divine Obsession, The Newcomers and Sweet & Sour, and has been credited for producing at least three more.
Troma Studios
In 1974, Kaufman and his business partner Michael Herz founded Troma Entertainment and began producing and distributing independent action and comedy films. In order to pay the bills, Kaufman did some freelance work for major Hollywood productions, including Rocky (edited on Troma's flatbed machines), Saturday Night Fever, and The Final Countdown, which he also produced (Kaufman has said that it was his experience on this film that made him never want to deal with a major studio again). From 1979 to 1981, the two wrote, produced and directed a series of profitable "sexy comedies" including Squeeze Play!, Waitress!, Stuck on You! and The First Turn-On!. On most of these early films, Kaufman is credited as "Samuel Weil." Kaufman also made a small appearance in Rocky and served as the production manager on Louis Malle's My Dinner with Andre.
In 1985, Troma experienced mainstream success with the violent, darkly comic superhero film The Toxic Avenger. Toxic went on to become Troma's most popular movie, inspiring two sequels, a fourth independent film sequel, a Saturday morning children's television show, comic books and tons of merchandise. The Toxic Avenger, or "Toxie", is now Troma's official mascot.
Kaufman's follow-up to The Toxic Avenger was Class of Nuke 'Em High, which he co-directed with Richard W. Haines. Riding on the success of the Toxic Avenger, Nuke 'Em inspired two sequels, a fourth independent film sequel, and a healthy run on late night cable shows such as USA Up All Night. At one time, Class of Nuke 'Em High was the highest-selling VHS for Troma.
Troma's popularity waned after the box office failure of Troma's War, a contributing factor to the company's collapse as a major film studio, forcing the Kaufman to eventually downsize his business into an independent film studio. Kaufman attributed the film's lack of success to cuts made to the movie after the MPAA refused to release it with an R-rating in its intended form. Troma's attempt to regain its popularity with the superhero satire Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. was unsuccessful, failing to make an impression at the box office. From 1995 to 2000, Kaufman retrofitted the studio into an independent film company, finding success amongst cult movie fans and critics with the independent film Tromeo and Juliet (1996), a loose parody of Shakespeare's play. Other independent films that followed were the less successful and poorly reviewed. Terror Firmer (1999), a slasher film set on the set of a Troma movie (with Kaufman playing a caricature of himself), and the fourth installment, Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV, which proved to be an ultimately unsuccessful revival of the series, both films failing to make an impression at the box office.
Filmography
As director
All films from Waitress to Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. were co-directed with college friend and Troma Vice President Michael Herz
The Girl Who Returned (1969)
The Battle of Love's Return (1971)
Big Gus, What's the Fuss? (1973) (co-directed by Ami Artzi)
The New Comers (1973)
Squeeze Play! (1979) (as Samuel Weil)
Waitress! (1981) (as Samuel Weil)
Stuck on You! (1982) (as Samuel Weil)
The First Turn-On! (1983) (as Samuel Weil)
The Toxic Avenger (1984) (as Samuel Weil)
Class of Nuke 'Em High (1986) (as Samuel Weil; co-directed by Richard W. Haines)
Troma's War (1988) (as Samuel Weil)
The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989)
The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie (1989)
Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1990)
Tromeo and Juliet (1996)
Terror Firmer (1999) (based on his book All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned from The Toxic Avenger)
Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2000)
All the Love You Cannes! (2002)
As producer only
Sugar Cookies (1973)
Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972)
Mother's Day (1980)
The Final Countdown (1980)
The Dark Side of Midnight (1984)
Screamplay (1985)
Igor and the Lunatics (1985)
Girls School Screamers (1986)
Combat Shock (1986)
Fortress of Amerikkka (1988)
Dialing for Dingbats (1989)
Class of Nuke 'Em High 2: Subhumanoid Meltdown (1991)
Class of Nuke 'Em High 3: The Good, the Bad and the Subhumanoid (1994)
DeCampitated (1998)
Mother's Day (2010)
Father's Day (2011)
B.C. Butcher (2016)
The Toxic Avenger: The Musical (2018)
#ShakespearesShitstorm (2020)
The Toxic Avenger (2023)
As actor
The Battle of Love's Return (1971) - Abacrombie
Cry Uncle! (1971) - Hippie #2
The Love Thrill Murders (1971) - Squeegee
Rocky (1976) - Drunk
Slow Dancing in the Big City (1978) - Usher
The Final Countdown (1980) - Commander Kaufman
Rocky V (1990) - Drunk (Scenes Deleted)
Cannes Man (1996) - Troma Chief
Tromeo and Juliet (1996) - Bar Patron (Uncredited)
Orgazmo (1997) - Doctor
Terror Firmer (1999) - Larry Benjamin
Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2000) - Man in Public Service Announcement
Tales from the Crapper (2004) - The Crap Keeper
LolliLove (2004) - Father Lloyd
Comic Book: The Movie (2004) - Himself (Uncredited)
Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove (2005) - Bar Drunk
Slither (2006) - Sad Drunk
Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (2006) - Old Arbie
Bryan Loves You (2008) - Jonathan's Helper
Crank: High Voltage (2009) - Maintenance Guy #2
As narrator
Human Hibachi 3: The Last Supper (2025) - Uncle Lloyd
Books
All I Need to Know about Filmmaking I Learned from The Toxic Avenger (with James Gunn)
Make Your Own Damn Movie (with Adam Jahnke and Trent Haaga)
The Toxic Avenger: The Novel (with Adam Jahnke)
Direct Your Own Damn Movie (with Sara Antill and Kurly Tlapoyawa)
Produce Your Own Damn Movie (with Ashley Wren Collins)
Sell Your Own Damn Movie (with Sara Antill)
Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons (Foreword by Lloyd Kaufman)
