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John Lazar

Acting Born May 22, 1946 San Francisco, California, USA 24 credits

Biography

John La Zar was born and raised in San Francisco, California. He trained at the American Conservatory Theatre and has studied acting with Uta Hagen, Bill Ball, Jack Kosslyn, and Paul Shenar. La Zar was portraying the titular role in a University of Hawaii stage production of "Caligula" when he was approached by 20th Century Fox studio casting agent Phil Benjamin to audition for the part of deranged and debauched rock'n'roll music producer Ronnie 'Z-Man' Barzell in Russ Meyer's delightfully outrageous camp cult classic "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls." John's wonderfully wild and eccentric performance as 'Z-Man' should have led to bigger and better things, but alas did not. A majority of La Zar's subsequent roles have been decidedly minor: funny as sleazy pimp Carl McKinney in Meyer's typically off-the-wall "Supervixens," a Palestine general in the "David & Goliath" episode of "Greatest Heroes of the Bible," a limousine driver in "Eddie Presley," a warlock in "Night of the Scarecrow," and a strip club patron in "Stripteaser." However, on occasion John has landed a more substantial part; he's especially memorable as evil sorcerer Jarek in the enjoyably silly tongue-in-cheek sword and sorcery fantasy hoot "Deathstalker II." La Zar had a recurring role as scientist Dr. Fez on the soft-core cable TV series "Click." In addition to his regrettably sparse film and TV credits, John has acted in stage productions of such plays as "The Crucible," "Macbeth," "Carnival," "High Mass," "No Exit," and "Everyman." Outside of acting, La Zar is also a ballet dancer, master swordsman, and expert martial artist. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

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Full filmography

  • Supervixens (1975) as Cal MacKinney
  • Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) as Ronnie Z-Man Barzell
  • Rod Steele 0014: You Only Live Until You Die (1997) as Dr. Fez
  • The Body Beautiful (1997) as Dr. Fez
  • Deathstalker II: Duel of the Titans (1987) as Jarek the Sorcerer
  • Sado Psychiatrist (2020) as John Lazar
  • Stripteaser (1995) as Bar Patron
  • Over the Wire (1996) as Assassin
  • Eddie Presley (1993) as Limousine Driver
  • Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold (1995) as Dr. Lindstrom
  • Sex, Lies & Politics (1997) as Dr. Fez
  • Legally Exposed (1997) as Dr. Fez
  • Night of the Scarecrow (1995) as The Warlock
  • Erotic Curse of Cairo (1997) as Dr. Fez
  • Maximum Security (1997) as Murdock
  • Time Warp Vol. 3: Comedy and Camp (2020) as Self
  • Secrets Revealed (1997) as Dr. Fez
  • Cult Movies TV (1999) as Self
  • In the Heat of the Click (1997) as Dr. Fez
  • Every Girl Should Have One (1978) as Chris
  • For the Love of the Click (1997) as Dr. Fez
  • Above, Beneath and Beyond the Valley: The Making of a Musical-Horror-Sex-Comedy (2006) as Self
  • Scorpion (1986) as 2nd Faued
  • Alice Jacobs Is Dead (2009) as Ben Jacobs