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Jonathan Haze is an American actor, producer, and horror movie icon. He is best known for his roles in Roger Corman films, particularly as "Seymour" in Corman's cult black comedy classic, The Little Shop of Horrors (1960). Haze's career spans over 20 films across six decades, including screenwriting the sci-fi comedy Invasion of the Star Creatures (1962).
Born in Pittsburgh into a show business family, Haze was related to legendary jazz drummer and bandleader Buddy Rich. He began his career behind the scenes, working in stage production for his cousin Buddy and eventually becoming stage manager for Josephine Baker. After moving to Los Angeles, Haze transitioned into film production and became a frequent collaborator with low-budget producer/director Roger Corman. The slender, curly-haired, awkward-looking actor made his screen debut in Corman's Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954) and continued to take on minor roles as tough guys and eccentrics. He appeared as a pickpocket in Swamp Women (1955), an ex-convict in Five Guns West (1955), and a man affected by radioactive fallout in Day the World Ended (1955), Corman's first sci-fi film. Recognized for his versatility, Haze earned larger parts and better billing in productions like Gunslinger (1956), It Conquered the World (1956), Naked Paradise (1957), Carnival Rock (1957), Not of This Earth (1957), and Bayou (1957), also known as Poor White Trash.
After playing a Viking in the outlandish The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957), Haze secured his first leading role in Warner Bros.' drama Stakeout on Dope Street (1958), directed by Irvin Kershner. He portrayed an average teenager who, along with two friends, discovers $250,000 worth of heroin and decides to enter the drug trade. However, it was The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) that propelled Haze to cult stardom. As Seymour Krelboyne, the dim-witted but endearing Skid Row flower shop assistant, he nurtures a seemingly harmless plant that turns out to be a monstrous, bloodthirsty creature requiring human victims for sustenance. The film, featuring Haze's close friend Dick Miller and a then-unknown Jack Nicholson, gained massive popularity through midnight TV showings and inspired a successful Broadway musical and subsequent musical film. Haze reunited with Miller and Nicholson in Corman's Edgar Allan Poe-inspired The Terror (1963), starring Boris Karloff.
Around this period, Haze began shifting away from acting to focus on behind-the-scenes work. He wrote the screenplay for the sci-fi comedy Invasion of the Star Creatures (1962) and contributed to the production of films such as The Premature Burial (1962), Medium Cool (1969), Another Nice Mess (1972), and Corman's The Born Losers (1967).
Leveraging his experience and connections, Haze moved into producing commercials. As CEO of a commercial production company, he developed successful national and international campaigns for clients like United Airlines, Kool-Aid, and Schlitz Beer throughout the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s. In 1999, he made a cameo appearance in Corman's The Phantom Eye (1999).
