Del Tenney

{{Infobox person |name=Del Tenney |birth_name=Delbert Tenney |birth_date={{Birth date|1930|7|27}} |birth_place=Mason City, Iowa, United States |death_date={{Death date and age|2013|2|21|1930|7|27}} |death_place=Jupiter, Florida, United States |occupation=Actor, film director, screenwriter, film producer |spouse=Margot Hartman }}

'''Delbert "Del" Tenney''' (July 27, 1930<ref name="dignity">{{cite web |url=http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Delbert-Tenney&lc=4879&pid=163327767&mid=5438100 |title=Delbert Tenney Obituary - Leo P. Gallagher & Son Funeral Home}}</ref> – February 21, 2013) was an American actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer.<ref name="CT">{{cite news|url=http://blog.ctnews.com/meyers/2013/03/01/the-passing-of-the-b-movie-king-of-connecticut-%E2%80%94-del-tenney/|title=The passing of the B-movie king of Connecticut — Del Tenney|last=Meyers|first=Joe|date=March 1, 2013|publisher=Connecticut Post|access-date=3 March 2013|archive-date=21 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055313/http://blog.ctnews.com/meyers/2013/03/01/the-passing-of-the-b-movie-king-of-connecticut-%E2%80%94-del-tenney/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Life and career== Tenney was born in Mason City, Iowa, in 1930. Moving with his parents at age 12 to Los Angeles while they found work during World War II. As an adult, he studied in theater programs in both Los Angeles City College and Cal State LA, with classmates including James Coburn and Alan Arkin. Later in 1954 he would move to New York and began acting alongside other part-time jobs to make ends meet, including washing dishes and working as a detective.<ref>{{cite book |last=Weaver |first=Tom |date=1988 |title=Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers |location= Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher= McFarland & Company, Inc.|page= 344|isbn=0-89950-360-8 }}</ref>

Starting out as an actor, he appeared in some Off-Broadway plays and summer stock, and also performed in the Broadway premiere of Terence Rattigan's play ''Ross''.<ref name="Drive-in">{{cite web|last1=Walker|first1=Brian J.|title=Del Tenney (1930-2013)|url=http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/deltenney.html|website=briansdriveintheater.com|publisher=Brian's Drive-In Theater|access-date=20 December 2017}}</ref><ref name="IBDB">{{cite web|title=Del Tenney|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/del-tenney-108394|website=ibdb.com|publisher=Internet Broadway Database|access-date=20 December 2017}}</ref><ref name="IOBDB">{{cite web|title=Del Tenney|url=http://www.lortel.org/Archives/CreditableEntity/13376|website=lortel.org|publisher=Internet Off-Broadway Database|access-date=20 December 2017|archive-date=22 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051621/http://www.lortel.org/Archives/CreditableEntity/13376|url-status=dead}}</ref> He would decide to quit acting in 1962 to focus on filmmaking. After working as an assistant director on several low budget features he would later categorize as soft core pornography,<ref>{{cite book |last=Weaver |first=Tom |date=1988 |title=Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers |location= Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher= McFarland & Company, Inc.|page= 344-345|isbn=0-89950-360-8 }}</ref> he then established a legacy in film directing several low-budget horror/exploitation films in the 1960s, including ''The Horror of Party Beach'' (1964). Based in Connecticut, Tenney's other films with producing partner Allen Iselin include ''Psychomania'' (a.k.a. ''Violent Midnight''), ''The Curse of the Living Corpse'', and ''I Eat Your Skin''.<ref>Weaver, Tom (2000). ''Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Heroes''. McFarland. p. 344. {{ISBN|0-7864-0755-7}}</ref> After the production and trouble finding a distributor for ''Skin'', and seeing the success of horror films with much larger budgets such as from Hammer and star-studded disaster films, Tenney felt the low-budget market had fallen apart and retired from filmmaking. <ref>{{cite book |last=Weaver |first=Tom |date=1988 |title=Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers |location= Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher= McFarland & Company, Inc.|page= 353|isbn=0-89950-360-8 }}</ref>

Tenney died on February 21, 2013, at his home in Jupiter, Florida at the age of 82.<ref name="legacy">{{cite news|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/palmbeachpost/obituary.aspx?n=delbert-tenney-del&pid=163357670&fhid=11210|title=Delbert "Del" TENNEY (obituary)|date=February 28, 2013|publisher=Palm Beach Post through Legacy.com|access-date=3 March 2013}}</ref>

==Personal life== Tenney married stage and film actress Margot Hartman. They remained married until his death.<ref name="dignity"/>

==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1953|| ''Stalag 17'' || (uncredited) || |- |1953|| ''The Wild One'' || (uncredited) || |- |1962|| ''Satan in High Heels'' || Paul || |- |1963|| ''Violent Midnight'' || Bar Patron (uncredited) || Producer, uncredited co-writer |- |1964|| ''The Curse of the Living Corpse'' || The Living Corpse (uncredited) || Director, Writer, Producer |- |1964|| ''The Horror of Party Beach'' || Gas Station Attendant (uncredited) || Director, Producer |- |1966|| ''The Poppy Is Also a Flower'' TV movie || || Exec. Associate Producer |- |1971|| ''I Eat Your Skin'' || (uncredited stuntman) || Director, Writer, Producer; filmed in 1964 |- |2000|| ''The Clean and Narrow'' || Mayor Reynolds || Executive Producer |- |2001|| ''Do You Wanna Know a Secret?'' || Pastor Clifford Adams (final film role) || Writer, Producer |- |2003|| ''Descendant'' || || Co-Director, Story, Executive Producer |}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb name|0855096}} * {{IBDB name|108394}} * {{iobdb name|13376}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tenney, Del}} Category:1930 births Category:2013 deaths Category:American male film actors Category:Film directors from Florida Category:Film producers from Florida Category:American male screenwriters Category:20th-century American male actors Category:20th-century American screenwriters Category:20th-century American male writers Category:American male stage actors