Spanish director Jesus 'jess' Franco has died at the age of 82.

The moviemaker passed away in Malaga, Spain on Tuesday (02Apr13).

Franco began his career in the 1950s and had his first big break with 1962 horror The Awful Dr Orloff. He had to make two different versions of the film in a bid to please Spanish censors.

He collaborated with Christopher Lee several times, on movies such as 1969's Count Dracula, The Bloody Judge and The Blood of Fu Manchu.

Three of the controversial director's films - Women Behind Bars, Devil Hunter and Bloody Moon - made the U.K.'s list of banned "video nasties" in the 1980s.

Franco's muse Lina Romay featured in several of his projects, and they went on to marry in 2008 after a longterm relationship. She died in early 2012.