# Matt Cimber
**Matt Cimber** (born January 12, 1936) is an American director, producer, and writer known for exploitation cinema of the 1960s and 1970s, for the films *[Butterfly](https://www.edgepedia.org/butterfly-1982-film)* and *Hundra*, and for creating the television series *GLOW: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling*. He was born as Matteo Ottaviano and has also worked under that name on screen credits.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) • [2](https://grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Matt_Cimber%3A_Grindhouse_Specialist) A 2015 profile gives his birth name as Thomas Vitale Ottaviano.[3](https://keyframe.fandor.com/are-matt-cimbers-burning-embers-still-hot/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | January 12, 1936[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) |
| Professions | Director, writer, producer, and occasional actor[4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/matt-cimber/credits/3000214238/) |
| Signature 1970s films | *The Black 6* (1973), *The Candy Tangerine Man* (1975), *Lady Cocoa* (1975), *The Witch Who Came from the Sea* (1976)[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/109402) |
| *Butterfly* (1981) | Starred Pia Zadora; Orson Welles's last film; one of three Golden Globe nominations the film received[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) |
| *GLOW* | Created and directed *GLOW: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling* (1986), which ran four seasons on 103 US stations[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) |
| Return to features | *Miriam* (2006), after a twenty-year absence from motion picture production[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) |
## Theatre and Jayne Mansfield
Cimber began his career in the early 1960s directing off-Broadway plays, including works by [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://www.edgepedia.org/f-scott-fitzgerald) and [Tennessee Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/tennessee-williams) and the US premieres of the [Jean Cocteau](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-cocteau) trilogy.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) During this period he rewrote *Burning Bright* with John Steinbeck, a production that introduced Sandy Dennis, who later won an Academy Award for *Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) He also studied with Michael Chekhov.[6](https://travsd.wordpress.com/2021/01/12/matt-cimber-burlesque-butterfly-and-blaxploitation/)
He then directed a Broadway revival of *Bus Stop*, where he met the actress [Jayne Mansfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/jayne-mansfield), whom he later married.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) In his own account, [Mansfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/mansfield) brought him to Hollywood, where technicians at her studio, Fox, trained him across departments from editing to cinematography.[7](https://www.closelyobservedframes.com/post/an-interview-with-matt-cimber) His cinematic directorial debut, *Single Room Furnished*, starred Mansfield and was her last movie; IMDb dates it 1966, while the Grindhouse Cinema Database describes its release in 1968 and notes that Cimber directed it under the name Matteo Ottaviano.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) • [2](https://grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Matt_Cimber%3A_Grindhouse_Specialist) At the time of Mansfield's fatal car crash in 1967, she and Cimber had been divorced for several months.[6](https://travsd.wordpress.com/2021/01/12/matt-cimber-burlesque-butterfly-and-blaxploitation/)
## Exploitation films of the 1970s
After *Single Room Furnished*, Cimber made sexploitation features including *Man & Wife: An Educational Film for Married Adults* (1969), *Africanus Sexualis: Black is Beautiful* (1970), and *Sex and Astrology* (1971).[2](https://grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Matt_Cimber%3A_Grindhouse_Specialist) • [3](https://keyframe.fandor.com/are-matt-cimbers-burning-embers-still-hot/) One of these, *The Sensually Liberated Female* (1970), was based on the best-selling book *The Sensuous Female*; as its screenwriter and director, Cimber changed the title for release because the publisher rescinded the rights.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/)
Blaxploitation formed his most productive mid-decade run. *The Black 6* (1973) featured an all-black cast of NFL players trying their hand at acting; *The Candy Tangerine Man* and *Lady Cocoa*, both 1975, followed.[2](https://grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Matt_Cimber%3A_Grindhouse_Specialist) • [5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/109402) IMDb reports that *The Candy Tangerine Man* is [Samuel L. Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/samuel-l-jackson)'s favorite film.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/)
In 1976 he released the psychological horror film *The Witch Who Came from the Sea*, written by Robert Thom and starring [Millie Perkins](https://www.edgepedia.org/millie-perkins).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) • [8](https://www.showtimes.com/movies/the-witch-who-came-from-the-sea-76099/) Cimber has said the script seemed impossible to finance until Thom persuaded his wife, Perkins, an Academy Award nominee for *The Diary of Anne Frank*, to work for scale wages.[7](https://www.closelyobservedframes.com/post/an-interview-with-matt-cimber) The film was subsequently banned in Britain after being labeled a "video nasty," alongside titles such as *Cannibal Holocaust* and *The Driller Killer*.[7](https://www.closelyobservedframes.com/post/an-interview-with-matt-cimber)
## The 1980s: *Butterfly*, *Hundra*, and action films
*Butterfly*, starring [Pia Zadora](https://www.edgepedia.org/pia-zadora), was released in 1981 according to IMDb and in 1982 according to the AFI Catalog, which also credits Cimber as its producer and screenwriter.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) • [5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/109402) The film was [Orson Welles](https://www.edgepedia.org/orson-welles)'s last movie and received three Golden Globe nominations.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) Also in 1982 came *A Time to Die*, a World War II drama based on a [Mario Puzo](https://www.edgepedia.org/mario-puzo) story starring Rex Harrison, and *Fake-Out*, a second film with Zadora.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/)
With actress Laurene Landon he made two action-adventure films, *Hundra* (1983) and *Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold* (1984).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) *Hundra*, a sword-and-sandal fantasy shot in Almeria, Spain, with a score by [Ennio Morricone](https://www.edgepedia.org/ennio-morricone), has drawn a minor cult following for its openly feminist central character, an Amazon warrior.[9](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/27182/hundra/) Cimber has described collaborating with Morricone on three feature films; composer [Sergio Leone](https://www.edgepedia.org/sergio-leone), whom Cimber befriended while working in Italy, suggested the connection.[7](https://www.closelyobservedframes.com/post/an-interview-with-matt-cimber) In 2017 the critic Scout Tafoya devoted an installment of his video essay series *The Unloved* to *Hundra*, placing it among films that told stories of strong female heroes long before the success of *Wonder Woman*.[10](https://www.rogerebert.com/mzs/the-unloved-part-43-below-the-belt-and-hundra)
## *GLOW* and television
In the late 1980s Cimber created and directed the syndicated series *GLOW: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling* (1986), which ran four seasons on 103 stations in the United States.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) The show combined professional wrestling with comedy and colorful characters, and performers included models and aspiring actresses trained for the program.[11](https://newsmetric.co.uk/matt-cimber-jayne-mansfield-ex-husband/) According to a Time report on the original show, cast members recalled that Cimber, its creator, could be harsh in directing them, a pattern they discussed decades later.[12](https://time.com/4827493/glow-netflix-professional-wrestling-gorgeous-ladies/) The original series later inspired the Netflix comedy-drama *GLOW*, and the fictional director Sam Sylvia in that series was partly inspired by Cimber's role.[11](https://newsmetric.co.uk/matt-cimber-jayne-mansfield-ex-husband/)
## Documentaries and the return with *Miriam*
In the 1990s Cimber worked mainly in documentary. He wrote and directed *The History of United Nations* (1996) and *An American Icon: Coca-Cola, the Early Years* (1997), and he created and wrote the eight-minute introductory film shown to visitors at the United Nations, for which he received a special commendation from the UN.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) • [11](https://newsmetric.co.uk/matt-cimber-jayne-mansfield-ex-husband/)
After a twenty-year absence from motion picture production he returned with the independent drama *Miriam* (2006), a drama about Holocaust survivor Miriam Schafer; the AFI Catalog credits him as director, producer, and screenwriter on it.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) • [11](https://newsmetric.co.uk/matt-cimber-jayne-mansfield-ex-husband/) • [5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/109402)
## Reputation
Cimber's work sits mostly outside the Hollywood mainstream, in exploitation, action, and cult cinema, and it has drawn attention from later filmmakers. [Quentin Tarantino](https://www.edgepedia.org/quentin-tarantino) is quoted as saying that Cimber's films were among his favorites.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/) In a 2021 interview, Cimber credited Tarantino with bringing the kind of film he made into the mainstream.[7](https://www.closelyobservedframes.com/post/an-interview-with-matt-cimber)
## References
1. [Matt Cimber, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162343/)
2. [Matt Cimber: Grindhouse Specialist, The Grindhouse Cinema Database](https://grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Matt_Cimber%3A_Grindhouse_Specialist)
3. [Are Matt Cimber's Burning Embers Still Hot?, Keyframe/Fandor](https://keyframe.fandor.com/are-matt-cimbers-burning-embers-still-hot/)
4. [Matt Cimber List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/matt-cimber/credits/3000214238/)
5. [Matt Cimber, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/109402)
6. [Matt Cimber: Burlesque, Butterfly and Blaxploitation, Travalanche](https://travsd.wordpress.com/2021/01/12/matt-cimber-burlesque-butterfly-and-blaxploitation/)
7. [An Interview with Matt Cimber, Closely Observed Frames](https://www.closelyobservedframes.com/post/an-interview-with-matt-cimber)
8. [The Witch Who Came From the Sea, Showtimes synopsis](https://www.showtimes.com/movies/the-witch-who-came-from-the-sea-76099/)
9. [Hundra review, DVD Talk](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/27182/hundra/)
10. [The Unloved, Part 43: Below the Belt & Hundra, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/mzs/the-unloved-part-43-below-the-belt-and-hundra)
11. [Matt Cimber: Director of Cult Films and Jayne Mansfield's Ex-Husband, Newsmetric](https://newsmetric.co.uk/matt-cimber-jayne-mansfield-ex-husband/)
12. [The Story Behind the Wrestling Show That Inspired Netflix's 'GLOW', Time](https://time.com/4827493/glow-netflix-professional-wrestling-gorgeous-ladies/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Directors, producers, and screenwriters › Genre and specialist film directors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license