Ok, he wasn't of Peter O'Toole's or Joan Fontaine's stature, but he did direct and star in a cult classic, Billy Jack (which I admit is a guilty pleasure of mine -- hey, it mixes flower children and martial arts -- what's not to love?).

Moreover his unorthodox (and inventive) distribution strategy for Billy Jack paid-off huge, and caused major changes in how films were marketed (and as an independent filmmaker myself, I can't help but admire that).

http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me ... z2nediL2rO