Skip Edwards was born the child of German immigrants on Ellis Island. His United States citizenship confirmed the Edwards were forced to give him up for adoption when they were deported in 1905 for the smuggling of pornographic bibles into Rhode Island. He spent much of his early years as a vagabond, hopping trains and doing odd jobs until he found his way to California. Along the way, he had learned many tricks of the trade, fixing card games and being a general shyster. This helped pave his road into movie making.

After making a somewhat reasonable living as a bookie, Edwards saw the money to be made in the movie studios around him. Inspired by the team of Arbuckle and Keaton, he set about assembling a team himself so he could test the waters.

He cobbled together a script. His time on the road had warped his mind somewhat and the result was the often-bizarre “Zombies A’Plenty.” (It should be noted that Edwards’ original title was “Dead Walkers.”) Edwards set out to find funding for the film.

It came in the manner of Zep Renfield. Renfield was a millionaire playboy during the 20’s, and his real name is still unknown. The two met at a club in Hollywood and hit it off initially. Renfield was extremely interested in acting in motion pictures as Edwards was in directing them. He was aware of the scandal that could arise however, and used the name to disguise himself, as well as heavy makeup during filming so that he wouldn’t be recognized should the picture flop.

His funding source secured, Edwards set out to cast the rest of his opus. Amazingly, Renfield was the source of both of his co-stars.

Butterfly Kensington was a drag queen at a Hollywood club. Renfield was shocked to discover that the lady he hoped to cavort with was not really a woman at all. In order to keep Kensington from going to the papers, Renfield convinced Edwards to cast him in the film’s main role.

Hoagie Bonanza was a caretaker for Renfield’s family mansion. A close friend, Renfield sought him out to play beside him in the picture. Bonanza was ecstatic since the general consensus was that the movie stars of the day were overwhelmingly white. Edwards was ecstatic at the chance to break a racial barrier with his film, but did change Bonanza’s name to something with more “punch” (his real name was Juarez Gazpacho – his grandson would become a controversial director in his own right).

The pieces all fit together - Edwards began filming “Dead Walkers” in May of 1922. Things were rough all through the film’s production. It turned out that Bonanza spoke very little English and Renfield would often translate for him. Any dialogue spoken by Bonanza is Spanish, and often syncs up incorrectly with the dialogue cards throughout the movie. In fact, the only English Bonanza knew was “I’ll bring the sausage!” which can be seen used in the movie.

Other problems ensued, such as the zombies’ make-up making actors sick and causing them to vomit often. One actor nearly died from heat stroke. The camera would often break resulting in many hours of daylight lost for filming. As a result, a film slated for a six day dream stretched into a month long ordeal. Many scenes failed to match up. This was the tip of the iceberg for Edwards; the real problem came after the first week of filming when Butterfly Kensington died.

Kensington, though a drag queen, was very much straight. He had a well-documented fetish as well – enjoying ladies with large physiques. His first week’s pay for the film burned a hole right through his pocket and he spent the majority of it on obese hookers. The resulting orgy crushed his chest. Edwards would not have found out, but Kensington had strangely chosen to hold his orgy on the set.

A week was lost to funeral services, but Renfield insisted they move on. He wasn’t very fond of Kensington, though Edwards had formed a homoerotic fixation with the drag queen. A stuntman in heavy makeup recorded Kensington’s final shots.

The resulting short premiered before a few large studio heads. Edwards had hoped to sell it to them in hopes they might hire his talent. It is well documented that every person at the screening vomited intensely with the exception of Edwards and Bonanza. Renfield was furious and never spoke to Edwards again. His true identity still remains a secret.

Edwards remained friends with Bonanza, despite their inability to understand one another. It is speculated the two became lovers, but the evidence is extremely circumstantial. Whatever their relationship, it is known that Edwards gave both the negative and the only known print of the film to Bonanza, while Edwards lay dying from the complications of no less than three venereal diseases.

Bonanza handed the film down through his family line, but the print was thought lost in the fire of his grandson Juarez Gazpacho’s log cabin in the Catskills. It was there that an intrepid group of three young men found it, alongside Gazpacho’s charred diary. Having heard of the film through interviews with Gazpacho, they set out to finally release the film.

They became Bad Waitress Productions, and dedicated themselves to exemplifying the memories of both Edwards and Gazpacho. The digitally re-mastered release of “Zombies A’ Plenty” is slated for Summer 2005.