Peter Deyell

Peter Deyell (aka Peter R.J. Deyell) is an American filmmaker, with a diverse background in movies, television, radio and theatre, including acting, writing, directing and producing.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Deyell began his career in show business as a child, when he auditioned for the role of Tiny Tim, in an NBC musical version of "A Christmas Carol," starring Basil Rathbone as Scrooge. Deyell did not get the part, but Rathbone was so impressed with the youngster that he put him in touch with a talent agent. That introduction eventually led to roles for Deyell on the New York stage with the likes of Steve Allen, Eve Arden, Danny Kaye, Bob Hope, Ethel Merman, Nat "King" Cole, Edward Mulhare, Mary Martin, Victor Borge, Robert Q. Lewis, Pat Boone, Patrice Munsel, Jimmy Rogers and Jack Sterling.

During the last phase of live television in the late 1950s, Deyell performed on the NBC series "Frontiers of Faith." He appeared in many TV commercials and skits on the NBC broadcast of The Patti Page Show. He also played the Son, in the live television series "Sid Caesar Invites You," which starred Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, and was written by Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks and Neil Simon.

Deyell's first feature film, as an actor, was Paramount Pictures' "That Kind of Woman" with Tab Hunter and Sophia Loren, produced by Carlo Ponti and directed by Sidney Lumet.

On NBC's "Shirley Temple's Storybook" series, Deyell performed in productions of "Kim," "The Prince and the Pauper," and "Madeline." As a young adult, he portrayed Peter on the TV series "Mr. Novak" starring James Franciscus. He had his first screen kiss in the Sam Katzman feature of the Hank Williams biopic "Your Cheatin' Heart," which co-starred George Hamilton and Susan Oliver. He also had a recurring role as the character Mr. Muscles on the Emmy Award-winning TV series "Dusty's Attic" (a.k.a. "Dusty's Treehouse").

When Deyell was a teenager, he moved with his family to Los Angeles, and began working on an independent film with a group of friends. A story about the project in "The Hollywood Reporter" caught the attention of a young director named Steven Spielberg. Spielberg contacted Deyell, and hired him as assistant director on a short film that Spielberg was directing, "Slipstream," starring Tony Bill. "Slipstream" was never completed, but through that association, Deyell introduced Spielberg to cinematographer Allen Daviau, who later teamed up with Spielberg to shoot several critically-acclaimed films such as "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," "The Color Purple," "Twilight Zone: The Movie," "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and others. Deyell continued acting, and was signed as a contract player at 20th Century Fox Television. While there, he shot a test pilot for the original TV series "Batman," in which he auditioned for the role of Robin, with Lyle Waggoner as Batman. Unfortunately for Deyell, the role of Robin went to actor Burt Ward, although Deyell's screen test can still be seen in the documentaries "Holy Batmania" and "Hollywood Screen Tests: Take One" produced by Kevin Burns. Later, Deyell was cast in the recurring role of the Delivery Boy on the long-running prime time soap opera "Santa Barbara." He also appeared on the hit TV series "Newhart."

Deyell's acting career was temporarily interrupted when he served in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, eventually working his way up to the rank of First Class Petty Officer. He later accepted a commission and served with distinction as a U.S. Coast Guard Reserve Officer. Deyell is a life member of the Reserve Officers Association.

In his 20s, Deyell began to transition from acting to production jobs behind the camera, including positions in make-up, assistant directing and directing. At age 20, he was the youngest vice president of production in motion picture history at Cinevest International, one of several production companies at General Service Studios in Hollywood. There, he was responsible for up to five feature films in development and production simultaneously.

Deyell's first experimental film, "The Diabolical Destiny," starred Elizabeth Baur ("Ironside") Jonathan West (director of photography for "Star Trek: The Next Generation") and Janice Fisher (writer of "Lost Boys").

For Deyell's first feature film, he produced, adapted and directed Elaine May's "Not Enough Rope" starring Zalman King ("Red Shoe Diaries"), Florence Lake ("Lassie"), and Sandy Brown ("General Hospital"). Other feature films included "Zoo Ship," "The Ghost Dance," and the documentary "Meet John Wooden." Deyell directed "Lucky Angel," a film starring Betsy Monroe ("Mrs. Doubtfire"), Robert Abrams ("Hot Springs Hotel"), and Ted Kurtz ("Howard the Duck") which was released theatrically in Europe.

Deyell is currently in pre-production on a live-action and animated feature titled "Missy and the Magic Mansion," and is developing a Broadway musical with multi-Academy Award-winning composer Michel LeGrand.

In addition to his motion picture work, Deyell has written, produced and directed a number of television public service announcements for the U.S. Coast Guard featuring Mickey Mouse and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, including the award-winning music video "Don’t Do Drugs."

As a writer, producer and director, Deyell has worked on over 100 commercials and music videos with musical artists such as The Commodores, WAR, Electric Light Orchestra, Paul Anka, Ringo Starr, Stevie Wonder, Smoky Robinson, Michael Jackson, Rufus, Chaka Kahn and Helen Reddy. His network television credits include "Chips," "Hunter," "Remington Steele," "Matlock," as well as movies of the week and mini-series such as "World War III," "Rage and Evita: First Lady" starring Faye Dunaway. Additionally, Deyell has sold a total of 13 screenplays.

Deyell currently serves as president of the Panamanian production company PanAm FilmWorks, for which he is packaging a series of horror/adventure features to be filmed in Panama. He has also been working with Panamanian officials to develop an international film school to be based in Panama City, to help develop a more skilled film community in that country.

Deyell is a member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG), Actors Equity Association (AEA), Directors Guild of America (DGA), Writers Guild of America (WGA), Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. In his capacity as a member of the DGA, Deyell serves on the organization's Special Projects Committee, and he was one of the founders of The Artists Rights Foundation, with J. Paul Getty, Jr., Steven Spielberg, Allen Daviau, Frank Pierson, Arthur Hiller, Sydney Pollack, Gene Reynolds, George Lucas and Martin Scorsese. The Artists Rights Foundation has since merged with Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation.

Deyell is the former artistic director of Center Stage Theatre in Los Angeles, where he helmed productions of "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum," "Anything Goes," "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown," "Once In A Lifetime," "A Shot In The Dark," and "Plaza Suite." He has been a guest lecturer/director at the American Film Instituteand the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Deyell's projects have garnered many nominations, awards and honors including The Walter Elias Disney Award, The Atlanta Film Festival, The Chicago Film Festival, The Bronze Eagle Award, The Bronze Halo Award, the 1995, 1996, and 1997 International ANGEL Awards (for Motion Picture Screenplay), and the 1996 International TELE Awards (BRONZE STATUE) for Music Video.

External links

Peter Deyell on the Internet Movie Database [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0223368/]

"Holy Batmania" on the Internet Movie Database [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289716/]

"Hollywood Screen Tests: Take One" on the Internet Movie Database [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0447998/]

"Don't Do Drugs" music video [http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sane+kids+say+no+to+drugs+and+gangs&search_type=&aq=f]

At director Robert Wise's 90th birthday celebration [http://www.dga.org/news/dgamonthly-1104/evnt_wise-1104.php3]

DGA Special Projects Committee tribute to director Costa-Gavras [http://www.dga.org/news/v27_6/images/dganews_mar03/gravras_full.html]

List of celebrities and other famous people who served in the U.S. Coast Guard [http://www.uscg.mil/history/faqs/celeb.html]

References

Tanja L. Couch. 100 Careers in Film and Television. Barron's. ISBN 0764121642.

Vincent LoBrutto. Principal Photography: Interviews With Feature Film Cinematographers. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0275949559.