John Cabell Breckenridge nicknamed “Bunny” was born August 6th, 1902 in Paris, France to a wealthy family. Breckenridge was the great-grandson of US Vice President John C. Breckenridge, for whom he was named, and was also the great-grandson of the founder of the Wells Fargo Bank, Lloyd Tevis. Breckenridge grew up in England and attended Eton and Oxford Universities where he studied theater.  In 1927 while working in theater in Paris, France Breckenridge married the daughter of a French Countess and the couple had a daughter together but divorced in 1929. Relocating to London, England Breckenridge became a noted Shakespearean performer before moving to San Francisco, California. In 1954 Breckenridge made media headlines when he announced his intention to emulate Christine (formerly George) Jorgensen by traveling to Denmark to have a sex-change operation. Breckenridge also made known his intention to marry Jean Claude, his male secretary.  Breckenridge was now a grandfather and his progressive granddaughter supported him in his efforts. Legend has it that Breckenridge was inspired to get a sex change operation in part because of the Ed Wood film “Glen or Glenda”. Unfortunately, his plans fell through when he was severely injured in a car wreck while traveling in Mexico. Also in 1954 Breckenridge was successfully sued by his infirm mother and ordered to pay her an annual support stipend of $8500. Despite all the above Breckenridge is best remembered for his only film appearance as the ruler of aliens in the 1958  “Plan Nine From Outer Space” a film written, directed and produced by Edward D. Wood Jr. widely acknowledged as being the worst director of all time. Ironically Breckenridge obtained the role of the Ruler in “Plan Nine From Outer Space” because he was a houseguest of Paul Marco at the time the film was shooting. David Demering who played co-pilot Danny obtained his role in “Plan Nine From Outer Space” in the same fashion. Ironically Breckenridge was one of the few seasoned actors working on the film. Breckenridge’s performance in “Plan 9 From Outer Space” was a camp classic.  Breckenridge wore pajamas similar to those worn by his underlings, very visible mascara and lipstick. Breckenridge could be seen visibly reading cue cards on the set floor, constantly rolling his eyes and mugging for the camera. Some Ed Wood fans speculate that this was merely the actor’s attempt to deal with the over the top character he was portraying, the inane dialogue and ludicrous plot. Remarkably Plan Nine From Outer Space is Breckenridge’s only screen appearance. Shortly after “Plan Nine From Outer Space” was completed and released Breckenridge took two teenage boys in his care with him to Las Vegas, Nevada and was arrested and charged with ten counts of sex perversion. Breckenridge was committed for one year to the Atascadero State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Upon release from Atascadero, Breckenridge returned to San Francisco, California and actually became noted socially for the celebrities he befriended, including Princess Margaret, Elvis Presley, and Ed Sullivan. During the 1960s Breckenridge was known to open his home to members of the growing hippie movement, who enjoyed his stories of his wild flamboyant youth, not to mention his progressive opinions on free love and gay rights. Breckenridge also returned to stage acting, appearing in several local productions.  Later Breckenridge relocated to New Jersey but occasionally returned to San Francisco for extended stays. In 1994 Bill Murray portrayed John “Bunny” Breckenridge in the Tim Burton film “Ed Wood” about the life of the (in)famous director. Contrary to the film there was no evidence that Ed Wood and John “Bunny” Breckenridge knew each other prior to the filming of “Plan Nine From Outer Space” despite this and other historical inaccuracies most fans of Ed Wood embraced the film and it re-introduced movie-goers to Ed Wood and many of his contemporaries including John “Bunny” Breckenridge. Unlike other members of the Ed Wood entourage Bunny Breckenridge lived to see the film and the cult phenomenon that surrounded Ed Wood after the film’s release but Breckenridge’s advanced age and failing health prevented him from interacting with fans to any great degree. (bio by: Kyle  Brinkmann) Cause of death: Heart failure