William Lustig was born on February 1, 1955, in the borough of the Bronx, New York. During his teenage years, he spent a significant amount of time watching a vast array of low-budget, trashy exploitation films at numerous grind house theaters located on 42nd Street in Manhattan. Concurrently, he worked as a movie theater usher in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Following his high school graduation, Lustig took a few film classes at New York University.
Lustig's film career began in his mid-to-late teenage years, where he worked behind-the-scenes in various minor production capacities on a handful of hardcore X-rated pornography pictures, as well as a production assistant on the films "The Seven Ups" and "Death Wish". He made his directorial debut, producing and editing the hardcore porn features "Hot Honey" and "The Violation of Claudia" under the pseudonym Billy Bagg.
In 1980, Lustig found himself at the center of a controversy when he released the grim, gory, and disturbing slasher film "Maniac", which boasts an intense performance by the legendary character actor Joe Spinell and features hideously graphic and gruesome makeup effects by horror icon Tom Savini. In 1982, Lustig followed up "Maniac" with the tough, gritty, and exciting New York urban revenge film "Vigilante". In 1988, he delivered another winner with the violent horror action film "Maniac Cop", a cinematic collaboration with fellow maverick independent filmmaker Larry Cohen.
Lustig's subsequent films, including the 1989 action item "Hit List" and the suspenseful serial killer thriller "Relentless", were also well-received. However, the two "Maniac Cop" sequels were hit-or-miss affairs, with the second installment being a worthy successor to the original and the third being a mediocre entry in the series. Lustig's last film as a director to date was the nifty and enjoyable fright flick "Uncle Sam".
Since 1997, William Lustig has focused on producing retrospective DVD documentaries for Anchor Bay and currently runs the outstanding DVD label Blue Underground, which restores and re-releases popular and little-seen cult movies, as well as grind house action, drama, and horror films.
