DOVER, TENN. — Charles B. Pierce, an Arkansas native and independent filmmaker who made the influential 1971 film “The Legend of Boggy Creek,” died at nursing home here Friday, March 5, of undetermined causes. He was 71. MSTies know Pierce as the star, writer, director and co-producer of his 1985 followup film “The Barbaric Beast of Boggy Creek, Part II, ” which was retitled “Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues,” when it appeared in episode 1006.
You can read an AP story about his death here.
Here’s a piece from the area where he was living in his later years.
Thanks to Kathy for the heads up.
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R.I.P. The very fact that he was in a nursing home at 71 probably means that the cause of death was unpleasant. :sad:
mikek #1 – I’m perhaps generalizing, but he always struck me as the kind of person who smoked a lot. Perhaps that’s why he needed assisted living so soon. But I do agree, that’s too bad. My prayers go to his family.
Sorry to see the gentleman go, as my wife and I sure have enjoyed Boggy Creek 2 for many a year. In fact we will probably have a special memorial viewing of it in honor of his passing. In the meantime, I’m gonna sniff my arm sweat to calm down and make sure my baby is tied in the trees to keep her safe from the creature.
I was going to watch an Indian horror movie tonight, but screw it. It’s Boggy Creek 2 in memory. I’m even going to stuff a hand towel down the front of my jeans to get that weird looking batch thing going. Goodnight, professor.
Bigzilla has the right idea with a memorial. Im gonna watch B2TLC as well and Im going to do it wearing my dirtiest bib overalls (no shirt) and loaded shotgun and chewing tobacco. also im gonna try and power the tv and vcr with a gas powered generator. *wiping away a tear*
I will let out a razorback hog call tonight in your honor. R.I.P. Charles. :sad:
At church tomorrow, I will wear my black broccoli rubberband.
Wow, I hate to hear that. I also had no idea that he inspired the Blair Witch Project.
RIP from a fellow Southerner and SEC fan.
And the legend continues, never to be heard from again…
Sniff… I’ll always remmember your weird batch, cropped jeans, and bent chicken legs… sniff. R.I.P.
Well, I know what I’m watching tonight. Here’s to you Charles! And my condolences to the family, especially you, Chuck “Tim” Pierce, wherever you are. :cry:
…I think I’ll call all my rowdy friends over tonight!
R.I.P. Mr. Pierce. :sad:
“I saw the little creature.”
Ah, “Dictator for life, Charles B. Pierce,” you will be missed. We’ll be watching “Boggy Creek 2” tonight in his honor.
Pierce also directed the soon-to-be-remade “The Down that Dreaded Sundown,” a pretty darn good 70s documentary-style horror movie. But I will always remember him for the Boggy Creek movies, that put the Southern bigfoot on the map, and led to a hilarious MST3K episode.
And before I thought of Horrors of Spider Island I was going to put in Boggy Creek II as being underrated this morning.
Blue smoke will pour from my motor in your honor, sir.
As some have suggested, watching this episode is the right thing to do. No one who creates art, of any sort, wants to be remembered any other way (although I do hope he took the riffing in the right spirit).
I can’t watch tonight (too late) but my wife and I will definitely watch this tomorrow.
Prayers to his casts & family. Wish I had known before I just suffered through …Aztec Mummy…
I look forward to seeing the little creature tomorrow. Imagine who could be at the memorial service?
True to his word Charles B. Pierce never did ‘call again’- You will be missed
My friends and I always thought it was awesome that the Brains did a movie made in Arkansas. Last Halloween we made a pilgrimage to Fouke, and a lot of the buildings and stores seen in the movie are still there. Also, the Boggy Creek Creature couldn’t possibly be scarier than all the zombified followers of Tony Alamo that live in that town (his “flagship” church is in a converted strip mall). If I’m not mistaken, Chuck Pierce also sang the theme song to the first Legend of Boggy Creek film under the name Chuck Bryant.
Like so many others, I’ll be having a mini-marathon of Boggy Creek tonight.
Rest In Peace. Wooooooooooooooooooo PIG SOOEY!
Here’s a more detailed article: http://www.channel3000.com/entertainment/22765078/detail.html
First thing tomorrow, I will be sure to drink Wild Turkey while looking for a waffle house. You were enjoyed, my friend. Say hi to the little creature in sky for us all.
Randy
He’s gone to the great Waffle House in the sky. Hopefully there he will never have to see “the little creature” again.
This makes it obvious what I’ll be watching next-and he got story credit for the Dirty Harry movie Sudden Impact (which I watched recently but didn’t notice his name)-so there’s more than just creatures to his movie legacy.
Man, I just watched “Boggy Creek II” the other day. I think I’ll put on a tube top, perm my hair and get the jeep stuck in the mud in his honor.
RIP Charles B. Pierce.
“Hello, TIM…”
RIP, Charlie B. Your movie was terrible, but it sure has brought a lot of joy to a lot of people.
He immortalized where I used to sleep (Reid Hall). RIP Chuck.
Bummer man. Read the more detailed story provided by MM @ 22 and the story speaks of his daughter Amy. No mention of his son the famous ‘Stickboy’. He doesn’t even have a shirt sleeve to dab away his tears. RIP Mr Pierce.
In our MST3K community “Boogy Creek 2” will live on…RIP. Definitely going to watch this one today in memory of Mr. Pierce.
I’ll have to pop on BC2 in memory today.
Holy crap! The original Boggy Creek made $25 million? I hope had a nice nursing home! Has anyone here seen the first one?
Explitive deleted! Mr. Pierce a talented leader during camping expeditions, making sure things played out okay, etc.
On the more serious side, Pierce was also a very enthusiastic filmmaker and even has a film festival in his native Arkansas. Hate to see such a talent go, and we don’t even know if he was working on Boggy Creek 3/4!!
R.I.P. Charles. Boggy Creek 2 is one my wife and I watch a lot, and it won’t be the same any more. We also enjoy “The Legend of Boggy Creek”–it’s a fun rainy-Saturday afternoon flick.
For those interested the orignal The Legend of Boggy Cree is public domain. You now can have a double bill of bigfoot goodness in Mr. Pierce’s honor.
http://www.archive.org/details/the_legend_of_boggy_creek
Oh well, life goes on. Except for you!!
Oh, it always hurts when you see someone go before their time. Condolences to his family. It’s cold here today, but I shall walk around with my t-shirt strung over my shoulder in memory of (as Tom Servo called him) Charles B. (in over his head) Pierce.
Wow, looks like there was a lot of Boggy Creek viewing this weekend. I bet this many people haven’t watched this movie at the same time since the MST3K episode was originally broadcast.
A good weekend to dust off MST3K Vol. V.
Touch of Satan for next week’s discussion, and Boggy Creek II to send off CBP to the little creature in the sky.
RIP old man.
Sad to hear about his passing,but at least he’s in a better place..If anyone is interested,check out The Town that Dreaded Sundown,which is pretty good,but you get to see him in drag briefly.Don’t know if that’s a good thing or not..R.I.P. Charles..
I saw LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK on youtube, and BOGGY CREEK 2 is the best of the MST3K Volume 5 set. I also suspect Charles sung the ending credits song in LEGEND. Pretty good song too.
rest in peace, and may you be ready for some football beyond this life.
Why nine gars?
I reviewed Legend of Boggy Creek over on the Discussion Board. He definitely had an eye for nature.
Aw, that sucks. I remember being terrified by the original Boggy Creek as a kid and I love the MST3K episode. Maybe they’ll do a decent release of The Town that Dreaded Sundown, now.
This is really sad news- to think he was only 71 and in a nursing home. Shoot, my Dad, for instance, is getting close to 90 and lives on his own.
An icon in MST lore has passed. To Snowdog#32, i have seen the original, it’s strictly done as a documentary. Seems like everyone in the town of Fouke has the same last name. Like so many of you, i will be watching his magnum opus tonight, in honor of his passing. Now if you’ll excuse me, i’ve got to tend to my fires….
Awww…poopie, two southerners in one week–first the great (totally unrelated to MST, btw) writer Barry Hannah, and now Chuck. RIP.
I urge you all to try to find a copy of Norseman and watch it in his honor (Norseman is kind of Chuck’s “Citizen Kane”)
This is the first MST related passing in a long time where I saw it and actually gasped in shock mixed with a little sadness. I always watch a movie sunday night to finish off the weekend and tonight it will be Boggy Creek II: The Legend Continues (to be not heard of by anyone). This is a favorite and another that I just never get tired of. When you’re watching these it’s like they are frozen in time the way they were in the film and it’s hard to picture good old Doc Lockhart as an old man. I’ll always think of you as a middle aged anthropology professor chasing elusive creatures in the swamp with your painfully skinny son, braless Tanya, and her friend with the fright wig. Happy hunting Doc!
Charles B. Pierce: may you rest in eternal peace with the comfort that comes with knowing that you have attained near-immortality and will live on every time that some MST3K fan watches your terrible performance in the laughable “Boggy Creek II”. It’s more than most of us will achieve.