Biography
Though not nearly a household name like contemporary filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, writer-director-occasional actor John Landis became one of the more important Hollywood filmmakers to come into prominence in the late 1970s. Enormously successful and influential, particularly because of the first half of his career, Landis directed some of the seminal comedies of the century, including "The Kentucky Fried Movie" (1977) and the …
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Career Milestones
| Formed St. Clare Entertainment with Robert Weiss and Leslie Belzberg to produce TV series, telefilms and miniseries | ||
| Reportedly worked as an uncredited co-writer for the James Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me" | ||
| Worked as an extra and stunt man in several German action movies and Spanish-filmed spaghetti Westerns | ||
1970 | Made feature debut at age 18, working uncredited as a production assistant on "Kelly's Heroes" | |
1973 | Appeared as an actor in "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" | |
1973 | Made feature debut as writer/director with the monster spoof "Schlock"; also starred (in gorilla suit) as the Sclockthropus; first collaboration with makeup effects designer Rick Baker | |
1975 | Had a small role in Paul Bartel's "Death Race 2000" | |
1977 | Returned to directing when he was hired by writers Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker to direct their screenplay for "Kentucky Fried Movie" | |
1978 | Breakthrough feature as director, "National Lampoon's Animal House"; first collaboration with actor John Belushi | |
1979 | Appeared as an actor in Steven Spielberg's "1941" | |
1980 | Co-wrote and directed "The Blues Brothers"; at the time was the most expensive - and subsequently the highest-grossing - comedy feature ever made; first collaboration with Dan Aykroyd who co-starred with Belushi and co-wrote with Landis | |
1981 | Directed, wrote and appeared in the well-received horror comedy "An American Werewolf in London"; re-teamed with Rick Baker, who won the Academy Award for Best Makeup Effects | |
1982 | Helmed first documentary, "Coming Soon," which was released only on VHS | |
1983 | Directed Michael Jackson's landmark longform music video "Thriller"; again collaborating with makeup FX master Rick Baker | |
1983 | Helmed the comedy "Trading Places"; first collaboration with Eddie Murphy and second teaming with Dan Aykroyd | |
1983 | Made producing debut with "Twilight Zone: The Movie"; also directed the opening teaser and first segment of the film, which is known for the Helicopter crash which took the lives of actor Vic Morrow and two child actors | |
1983 | Produced the best-selling home video documentary short subject "Making Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'" | |
1984 | Executive produced the USA Network series "Weird Science" based on the movie of the same name | |
1985 | Directed the feature "Into the Night" and the accompanying documentary "B.B. King 'Into the Night'" | |
1985 | Made TV directing debut with "Disaster at Buzz Creek," an episode of the CBS comedy series "George Burns Comedy Week" | |
1985 | Re-teamed with Dan Aykroyd, who co-wrote and co-starred, for the comedy "Spies Like Us" | |
1986 | Directed "¡Three Amigos!" with Chevy Chase, Martin Short and Steve Martin | |
1986 | TV producing debut, "Fuzzbucket," a fantasy telefilm on ABC's "Disney Sunday Movie" | |
1987 | Co-directed the satirical comedy "Amazon Women on the Moon," which is a compilation of twenty-one comedy skits directed by five different directors | |
1988 | Re-teamed with Eddie Murphy to direct "Coming to America" | |
1990 | Executive produced (and occasional directed) the popular HBO sitcom "Dream On" | |
1991 | Re-teamed with Michael Jackson to direct his "Black and White" video | |
1992 | Replaced Jack Shoulder as the director of the horror film "Innocent Blood" | |
1994 | Once again teamed with Eddie Murphy for "Beverly Hills Cop III" | |
1995 | Executive produced the first season of Fox's Sci-fi series "Sliders" | |
1996 | Guest starred as himself in an episode of the NBC sitcom "Caroline in the City" | |
1998 | Returned to direct "Blues Brothers 2000" | |
1999 | Produced the syndicated series "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World" | |
2005 | Directed "Deer Woman" and "Family" episodes of the Showtime series "Masters of Horror" | |
2007 | Directed the documentary "Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project" for HBO | |
2007 | Directed three episodes of "Psych" on the USA Network | |
Awards
2008 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special in Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project |