I’m at a loss for words tonight.
The last few days I’ve been thinking about Len Cella. I haven’t chatted with him in a long while. I friended him on Facebook many years ago, and he played a role in my movie, The Last Temptation of Fluffy.
Len filmed all his scenes himself, with no pay. He was an absolute perfectionist, doing take after take after take of the most inane, innocuous lines.
And he was screamingly funny.
If you’ve never heard of Len, let me back you up and bring you up to speed. He’s the creator of the Moron Movies, some of the funniest shorts ever committed to film. Long before the internet, his stuff was featured on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Real People. Have a look for yourself just how funny he was.
Len passed away a week ago on Christmas Eve. He was out walking near his house and was struck by a car.
He was 80 years old.
I’m really sorry i didn’t get another chance to chat with him, and to thank him for the inspiration. If you’ve seen my World’s Shortest Horror Films or World’s Shortest Noir Films or the old Adam and Eve film series, that’s 1000% Len’s influence. Short, simple, funny.
RIP to a true original.