Forrest Tucker, star of The Crawling Eye, called himself the last of the ''ugly guys.''
The actor wasn't concerned with looks.
We can't all be supermodels, no matter how much we'd like to be. Our society puts so much pressure on being attractive that we forget about the qualities that make human beings special.
Horror movies are a perfect reminder that something doesn't have to be beautiful in order to have substance. In fact, you can fall in love with a movie that is so ugly it scares the pants off of you.
In 1958, director Quentin Lawrence released the horror film The Crawling Eye, also known as The Trollenberg Terror. The film focuses on a group of people being terrorized by a creature that appears to be a giant eyeball. A disembodied eye isn't the most attractive thing, and while the film didn't enjoy immediate success, it has since become a cult favorite amongst horror fans.
Starring in the film was Forrest Tucker. The actor was previously known for his work on stage in musicals like The Music Man. But while many leading men are known for their good looks, Tucker proudly rejected the title. In an interview, the actor said he was the last of a breed of "ugly guys."
"I look in the mirror and I say, 'Forget it: what else is new?'" Tucker said, according to a Los Angeles Times article. The actor wasn't struggling with his self-esteem; he was making a statement that looks weren't important. Rather, the content of his character was.
"But I know how to do a line, do a take," he said. "Let me do the basics. Let other people care about being pretty...When you put down your money at the box office, I want you to leave happy."