Photo: Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Lloyd Kaufman is the gleefully gross-out patron saint of American independent cinema. With Troma and The Toxic Avenger he built an empire out of cheap gore, crude satire, and an anarchic do-it-yourself spirit that gave countless future filmmakers their first break. What I respect is that beneath the schlock is a sharp, Yale-educated mind genuinely committed to artistic freedom outside the studio system. He has spent decades evangelizing for the underdog, teaching that you do not need permission or a big budget to make a movie. Love or hate the films, Troma's stubborn survival for half a century is a real testament to his vision and sheer relentlessness.
Overview
Lloyd Kaufman (born December 30, 1945, in New York City) is an American independent filmmaker, actor, screenwriter, and producer. A graduate of Yale University, he co-founded Troma Entertainment in 1974 with Michael Herz, building it into the longest-running independent film studio in the United States. He is best known as the creator of The Toxic Avenger and as a vocal champion of low-budget, outsider filmmaking.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Lloyd Kaufman
- Name (Japanese)
- ロイド・カウフマン
- Reading
- ろいど・かうふまん
- Born
- December 30, 1945 (age 80)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Rooster
- Origin
- New York, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- Actor / Film Director / Screenwriter / Film Producer / Composer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Yale University
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Actor — see all → · Film Director — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.