Don Schain(1941-2015)

Writer/director/producer Don Schain made his feature debut with the softcore outing The Love Object (1970). A former Manhattan movie theater manager, Schain and his partner Ralph T. Desiderio conceived the idea for the notoriously trashy "Ginger" exploitation picture trilogy in 1970. Schain wrote and directed all three of these immensely popular cult films: Ginger (1971), Les banquiers du vice (1972) and Les emmerdeuses (1973). The "Ginger" flicks starred brassy blonde Cheri Caffaro as a sexy yet tough female James Bond-style crimefighter who used harsh and aggressive methods to nail the villains. Don subsequently directed Caffaro in the equally sleazy drive-in items A Place Called Today (1972) and Samantha, une nana explosive (1977). Schain and Caffaro were married for a while, but eventually divorced. Don subsequently remarried. Schain produced a large volume of successful made-for-TV films; he did most of said television movies for the Disney Channel. Don frequently collaborated with director Blair Treu. He was the president of the Motion Picture Association of Utah and lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. Schain died at age 74 on December 26, 2015.