Shaun Costello

Biography

Shaun Costello began directing for "loops" (10-minute scenes shown in coin-operated viewers in adult theaters) in NYC in the early 1970s, and soon was directing (and acting in) full porn movies and other grindhouse "roughies" shown in Times Square's 42nd Street adult theaters. Costello took work where he could get it, often working for the Mob, who owned many adult theaters and distribution, and working under different aliases for different theaters so that no one (at the time) knew that he was his own competition. Eventually moving on to a mainstream documentary career, Costello written and directed grindhouse movies - rough and violent and reflecting of their times - have seen a resurgence as the 2010's have seen these movies be remastered and re-released and often seen for the first time in decades. Anyone interested in the history of American porn or grindhouse/exploitation theater of the late 1960s and 1970s will likely have encountered Shaun Costello's work, often unknowingly due to his prolific use of aliases.

Most Known For

Hymns from the Abyss

as Self (archive footage)

Enrapture

as Cigar Shop Man

The Love Bus

as George

Pandora's Mirror

as Waiter / Man in Audition Line

Forced Entry

as David

Cheryl's Surrender

as Ray Lavagis

The Untamed Vixens

as Jerry

Teenage Nurses

as Joe / TV Reporter

Joy Of Humiliation

as Biker with Cigarette

The Fury in Alice

as Chip Carson

The Porn Brokers

as Self

Selling It

as (archive footage)

Venture Into the Bizzare

as Closing Narration (voice)

The Two Lives of Jennifer

as Bob O'Connor

The Summer of Suzanne

as Chip

Sexual Customs in Scandinavia

as Mr. Thorens

Feel

Cherry Hustlers

as Company Investigator

Private Practice

as Mr. Barnes

Schoolgirl's Reunion

as Football Announcer (voice) / Autograph Seeker / Guy at Party