Robert Tapert

Infobox Actor
name = Robert Tapert


caption = Robert Tapert with Renee O'Connor and Lucy Lawless in 2003
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birthdate = Birth date and age|1955|05|14
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occupation = Film and television producer
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spouse = Lucy Lawless (1998–present)
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Robert Gerard Tapert (born May 14 1955), sometimes credited as Rob Tapert, Robert G. Tapert, or Rip Tapert, is an American film producer, best known for his co-founding of, and his subsequent work with, the Renaissance Pictures company.

Tapert first become involved with filmmaking while attending Michigan State University. He intended to study economics, but was drawn into film courses by his roommate Ivan Raimi's brother Sam. Sam Raimi had been making films of his own in his native Michigan for many years, usually with his brothers Ivan and Ted, and Raimi's childhood friend Bruce Campbell. Ultimately, Sam Raimi and Tapert decided that they should make a film together.

The result of this endeavour was "The Happy Valley Kid", the story of a young man, played by Tapert, who goes to college, only to be met with rejection at every turn. Near the end of the film, he loses his mind, dresses up as a cowboy, and begins gunning down all those who wronged him. Despite its seemingly serious plot, the film is largely a comedy. The film was screened at Michigan State several times, and made a profit for Raimi and Tapert. This spurred them onto the idea of making a feature film.

Ultimately, when this feature film was produced, it was a graphic horror film titled "The Evil Dead", directed by Sam Raimi and starring Bruce Campbell. Thanks to a glowing review from author Stephen King, the film was a wild success with the crowd at the Cannes Film Festival in France, despite not enamouring other critics. The film was successful enough to spawn two sequels, "Evil Dead II" and "Army Of Darkness."

Tapert has also produced numerous other films, typically involving Sam Raimi and/or Bruce Campbell in some capacity, such as "Crimewave", "Easy Wheels", "", "Darkman", "Timecop", "The Gift", "The Grudge" (and its sequel, "The Grudge 2") and "30 Days of Night".

During the 1990s, Tapert produced several television series, most notably "" and "."

He has been married to "Xena" star Lucy Lawless since March 28 1998. They have two sons: Julius Robert Bay Tapert (born October 16 1999) and Judah Miro Tapert (born May 7 2002).

References

*imdb name|id=0849964|name=Robert G. Tapert
*Warren, Bill. "The Evil Dead Companion", ISBN 0-312-27501-3.

External links

* [http://www.robtapert.com/ Rob Tapert Online - News & Multimedia Fan Site]