Penelope Spheeris

Infobox actor
name = Penelope Spheeris


caption =
birthdate = December 2, 1945
birthplace = New Orleans, Louisiana

Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945) is an American director, producer, and screenwriter.

Biography

Early life

Spheeris was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a Greek immigrant father who owned the "Magic Empire Shows" circus carnival and was a side-show strong man. Her mother was a ticket taker for a traveling circus side show. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/61/Penelope-Spheeris.html Penelope Spheeris Biography (1945?-) ] ] Spheeris is the sister of singer Jimmie Spheeris and the first cousin of musician Chris Spheeris [http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:q9lBQJWUeGYJ:www.landscapevoyageradio.co.uk/Chris%2520Spheeris%2520Profile.htm+Jimmie+Spheeris+greek&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=7] and the Greek-French director Costa Gavras, whom she says makes her consider that there is something to the genetic aspects to the job description. [ [http://www.imdb.com/Indie/Ask/20051226.html Ask @ IMDb.com] ] Spheeris spent her first seven years traveling around the American South and American Midwest with her father's carnival. [http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:ASjWwS9z3LIJ:movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800040639/bio+Penelope+Spheeris+greek+father&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3] She majored in film at UCLA in Los Angeles, California.

Career

Spheeris launched her career by producing short subjects for satirist Albert Brooks, many of them being highlights in the first season of the TV series "Saturday Night Live". Her first feature film was "The Decline of Western Civilization" (1981), a punk rock documentary that she wrote, produced, and directed. She followed up with "", this time about the Los Angeles heavy metal scene of 1988, with footage and interviews of legendary metal bands such as Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, Megadeth and Motörhead.

She was also a writer for the TV series "Roseanne" (1988-1997). In the 1990s, Spheeris directed "Wayne's World", a comedy based on Mike Myers' skits from "Saturday Night Live". The movie grossed an impressive $121 million and became a popular hit. Spheeris didn't direct the sequel.

Spheeris directed the TV-show-based comedies "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "The Little Rascals" (for which she co-wrote the screenplay), along with the Chris Farley comedy "Black Sheep" and the Marlon Wayans comedy "Senseless". Spheeris continues to direct. In 2005 she directed the Tom Arnold movie "The Kid & I". Spheeris will return to rock drama: as of 2006 she is at work on "Gospel According to Janis", about Janis Joplin.

Filmography

* "Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales" (1968)
* "I Don't Know" (1972)
* "The Decline of Western Civilization" (1981)
* "Suburbia" (1984) aka "Rebel Streets" and "The Wild Side"
* "The Boys Next Door" (1985)
* "Hollywood Vice Squad" (1986)
* "Dudes" (1987)
* "" (1988)
* "Thunder and Mud" (1990)
* "Wayne's World" (1992)
* "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1993)
* "The Little Rascals" (1994)
* "Black Sheep" (1996)
* "The Decline of Western Civilization III" (1998)
* "Senseless" (1998)
* "The Thing in Bob's Garage" (1998)
* "Hollyweird" (1999)
* "We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll" (2001)
* "Posers" (2001)
* "Closers" (2001)
* "" (2003)
* "The Kid & I" (2005)
* "Gospel According to Janis" (2008)

References

External links

*imdb name|0790715