B-Movie Director Killed, Entombed -- Contractor Arrested

LOS ANGELES - In a crime called more horrible than any he ever filmed, a director of grisly B-movies was killed and entombed in concrete beneath his whirlpool tub.

An independent contractor who had been living in Al Adamson's house while remodeling it was arrested yesterday for investigation of murder.

Adamson made his reputation with horror and science-fiction movies in the 1960s and '70s, namely "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" and "Blood of Ghastly Horror."

He had not been seen for five weeks before his body was found Wednesday at his house in Indio, 150 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Phone tips led police to Fred Fulford at a St. Petersburg, Fla., hotel said Lt. Bruce Bower of the Indio Police Department. Fulford, 46, traveled to Florida about a week before Adamson was reported missing, Bower said.

It was unclear when Adamson died. He would have turned 66 on July 25. Adamson's brother contacted police last week. After examining the construction work at his house, police dug up the flooring and unearthed the body.

At the time of his death, producing partner Samuel Sherman and Adamson were working on a film about extraterrestrials.