Release date: 29 May 2023
Limited Edition Deluxe Hardback Book
June. Ron. Tim. Together they were the Ormond Organization, a Nashville mother-father-son trio who cranked out a wild bunch of movies, from Lash LaRue westerns to the stripper-gore-musical outrage The Exotic Ones, then, finally… Baptist extravaganzas. The Ormonds plunged into every area of showbiz, from vaudeville to drive-in movies to Christian filmmaking. They did it all on a shoestring – by themselves, with no studio to back them.
Theirs was a glittery world like no other. Populated by inebriated cowboys… spook-show mentalists… non-acting country stars… UFO testifiers… men in gorilla suits… fire-breathing, mud-wrestling ex-strippers… egocentric magicians… rockabilly monsters… sweaty preachers… pint-sized evangelists. Not to mention a con artist or ten.
At the height of their frenzied career Ron and June experienced a spiritual awakening after their private plane crashed on the way to a premiere. The Ormonds turned their back on secular show business to produce a series of shocking, surreal religious pictures, including an unbelievable trio of films for Mississippi Baptist preacher Estus Pirkle – such as The Burning Hell, which made millions without ever being shown in an actual movie theatre. The inside story on the three unbelievable Ormond-Pirkle religious pictures has never been told – until now.
Forensic biographer Jimmy McDonough interviewed June Ormond extensively and she revealed things she told no other soul. June was the guiding force of the family, a woman who held her own in the cutthroat male-dominated world of exploitation film. Her commentary is hilarious, brutally honest and at times heartbreaking.
Presented by Nicolas Winding Refn, and released to coincide with Powerhouse Films’ publication of From Hollywood to Heaven, a four-disc Blu-ray box set of thirteen films by the Ormond Family, The Exotic Ones is a landmark work by Jimmy McDonough, and a beautifully designed feast for the eyes.
‘This is the last book I will write on exploitation film,’ says Jimmy. ‘Buy it! Or go to hell.’
- Luxurious large format quarter-bound hardcover book in heavy duty slipcase with ribbon page markers and gold page edges
- Nearly forty years in the making
- Contains over 800 photos
- Limited Collector’s Edition of just 1,500 copies
- All previous FAB Press collaborations with byNWR have sold out quickly, and are now much-sought-after high-priced collector’s items
- Dimensions: 350mm x 310mm x 38mm
- Weight: 4025g
- ISBN: 9781913051181
