Ahmet Zappa
Encyclopedia
Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa (born May 15, 1974) is an American
musician
, actor
and novelist.
, California
, the third of four children born to businesswoman Adelaide Gail Sloatman
and musician Frank Zappa
. Ahmet's father was of Sicilian, Greek-Arab and French descent and his mother is of Danish, French, Irish and Portuguese ancestry. Ahmet has released several albums with his brother Dweezil Zappa
, as well as writing the song "Frogs With Dirty Little Lips" with his father. He also has two sisters named Moon Unit Zappa
and Diva Zappa
and has also appeared in a few feature film
s and television program
s, sometimes appearing as a program host in the latter (see Robotica
, But Can They Sing?
).
, in a regular segment called 'Vinyl Justice', in which hosts Adam Buxton
and Joe Cornish
, dressed as policemen, examined his vinyl collection for 'criminal records'.
In 2000, Ahmet appeared in the film Ready to Rumble
. Along with his brother Dweezil
, he also performed a cover of Britney Spears
' song "...Baby, One More Time" for the film's soundtrack.
In July 2006, Ahmet saw the release of his debut novel, entitled The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless, aimed at younger readers. The rights to a movie have already been bought by Disney. The movie is in production with screenwriter Tim Firth
assisting, and an expected release in 2011.
On October 19, 2006, The Jim Henson Company
announced it had hired Ahmet to write a treatment for a feature film version of the hit 1980s television show Fraggle Rock
. He is also writing a sequel to The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless, which had also been optioned to adapt to a screenplay.
Ahmet Zappa introduced the idea of developing a graphic novel-to-film division to Disney’s studio head, Bob Eiger. Eiger, understanding the studio’s need for such an entity, allowed Ahmet to run with the idea and granted him free rein to what became known as “Disney’s Kingdom Comics.”
in 2001. Ahmet married actress Selma Blair
on January 24, 2004, at Carrie Fisher
's mansion in Beverly Hills, California
. Blair filed for divorce
at the Los Angeles Superior Court on June 21, 2006, citing irreconcilable differences
. In a statement to People
, a spokesman for the couple said, "Selma and Ahmet have decided to divorce but love each other very much and will continue to be close friends".
Ahmet is now married to Shana Muldoon, the sister of actor Patrick Muldoon
.
They have a daughter, Halo Violetta Zappa, born December 28, 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and novelist.
Early life
Ahmet was born in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, the third of four children born to businesswoman Adelaide Gail Sloatman
Gail Zappa
Gail Zappa was the second wife of the late musician and composer Frank Zappa and is the executrix of the Zappa Family Trust. They met in 1966 when she was working at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, and they were married on September 21, 1967, while she was pregnant with her first child, Moon...
and musician Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
. Ahmet's father was of Sicilian, Greek-Arab and French descent and his mother is of Danish, French, Irish and Portuguese ancestry. Ahmet has released several albums with his brother Dweezil Zappa
Dweezil Zappa
Dweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor.-Early life:Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of musician Frank Zappa and Adelaide Gail Sloatman, who worked in business. He is the second of four siblings: his older sister, Moon, younger sister Diva and younger...
, as well as writing the song "Frogs With Dirty Little Lips" with his father. He also has two sisters named Moon Unit Zappa
Moon Unit Zappa
Moon Unit Zappa is an American actress, musician and author. She goes by the name Moon Zappa; "Unit" is her middle name.-Personal life:...
and Diva Zappa
Diva Zappa
Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen Zappa is an American artist, also known for several acting roles in film and television, as well as recording a one-off comedy single. She is the youngest daughter of musician Frank Zappa.-Personal life:...
and has also appeared in a few feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
s and television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
s, sometimes appearing as a program host in the latter (see Robotica
Robotica
Robotica is a robot combat show produced for the American television cable channel TLC, a subsidiary of the Discovery Channel. Three seasons of Robotica were produced. The shows first aired in April 2001, with the final season beginning in late 2002. Show hosts for the first season were Ahmet...
, But Can They Sing?
But Can They Sing?
But Can They Sing? is a reality television series that premiered on October 30, 2005 on VH1 as part of its celebreality programming. Hosted by Ahmet Zappa, the series was partially based on NBC's announced but abandoned project I'm a Celebrity but I Wanna Be a Pop Star...
).
Career
In the late 1990s, Ahmet appeared on Channel 4 UK's The Adam and Joe ShowThe Adam and Joe Show
The Adam and Joe Show was a British television comedy show, written and presented by Adam and Joe, that is, Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish, which ran for four series on Channel 4 between 1996 and 2001...
, in a regular segment called 'Vinyl Justice', in which hosts Adam Buxton
Adam Buxton
Adam Offord Buxton is an English comedian and actor. With Joe Cornish, he forms one half of the duo Adam and Joe. The pair presented Adam and Joe on BBC 6 Music, whilst Buxton also presents his own show on 6 Music on Sundays, called Adam Buxton's Big Mix Tape, currently on hiatus.-Major work:His...
and Joe Cornish
Joe Cornish (comedian)
Joseph Murray "Joe" Cornish is an English comedian, television and radio presenter, director, writer and actor, who along with his long-time comedy partner, Adam Buxton, form the comedy duo Adam and Joe....
, dressed as policemen, examined his vinyl collection for 'criminal records'.
In 2000, Ahmet appeared in the film Ready to Rumble
Ready to Rumble
Ready to Rumble is a 2000 American comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and written by Steven Brill, which is based on Turner Broadcasting's now defunct professional wrestling promotion, World Championship Wrestling...
. Along with his brother Dweezil
Dweezil Zappa
Dweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor.-Early life:Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of musician Frank Zappa and Adelaide Gail Sloatman, who worked in business. He is the second of four siblings: his older sister, Moon, younger sister Diva and younger...
, he also performed a cover of Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
' song "...Baby, One More Time" for the film's soundtrack.
In July 2006, Ahmet saw the release of his debut novel, entitled The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless, aimed at younger readers. The rights to a movie have already been bought by Disney. The movie is in production with screenwriter Tim Firth
Tim Firth
Tim Firth is an English dramatist, screenwriter and songwriter.Tim Firth was born, and has lived all his life in, the North West of England on the border of Cheshire and Lancashire...
assisting, and an expected release in 2011.
On October 19, 2006, The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company, an American entertainment organization, traces its origins to the founding of Muppets, Inc. in 1958 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The Muppets helped the company gain worldwide acclaim in family entertainment for more than four decades...
announced it had hired Ahmet to write a treatment for a feature film version of the hit 1980s television show Fraggle Rock
Fraggle Rock
Fraggle Rock is a children's live action puppet television program series created by Jim Henson. The central characters were a set of "Muppet" creatures called Fraggles. The show ran from January 10, 1983, to March 30, 1987, on CBC Television in Canada, ITV in the UK, HBO in the United States,...
. He is also writing a sequel to The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless, which had also been optioned to adapt to a screenplay.
Ahmet Zappa introduced the idea of developing a graphic novel-to-film division to Disney’s studio head, Bob Eiger. Eiger, understanding the studio’s need for such an entity, allowed Ahmet to run with the idea and granted him free rein to what became known as “Disney’s Kingdom Comics.”
Personal life
He dated Rose McGowanRose McGowan
Rose Arianna McGowan is an actress and singer. She is known for her role as Paige Matthews in The WB Television Network supernatural drama series Charmed. She played Ann-Margret alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis Presley in the CBS mini-series Elvis...
in 2001. Ahmet married actress Selma Blair
Selma Blair
Selma Blair is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. She has performed in feature films including Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde, The Sweetest Thing, Hellboy, The Fog, Purple Violets and Hellboy II: The Golden Army...
on January 24, 2004, at Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
's mansion in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
. Blair filed for divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
at the Los Angeles Superior Court on June 21, 2006, citing irreconcilable differences
Irreconcilable differences
The concept of irreconcilable differences provides a possible ground for divorce in a number of jurisdictions.In Australian family law with no-fault divorce it is the sole ground, adequate proof being that the estranged couple have been separated more than 12 months.In the United States it can be...
. In a statement to People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
, a spokesman for the couple said, "Selma and Ahmet have decided to divorce but love each other very much and will continue to be close friends".
Ahmet is now married to Shana Muldoon, the sister of actor Patrick Muldoon
Patrick Muldoon
Patrick Muldoon is an American actor.-Early life:Muldoon was born in San Pedro, California, the son of Deanna, a homemaker, and William Patrick Muldoon II, a personal injury lawyer. He is of Irish descent on his father's side and of Croatian descent on his mother's side...
.
They have a daughter, Halo Violetta Zappa, born December 28, 2010.
Discography
- Confessions (1991)
- Shampoohorn (1994)
- Music For PetsMusic for PetsMusic for Pets is an album by the band "Z", led by Dweezil and Ahmet Zappa, released in 1996.The creation of the album was a troubled one, with multiple recording sessions interrupted by the death of Frank Zappa, the creation and recording of new material based on what was popular at the time, and...
(1996) - Leather Dynamite (2002)
Filmography
- Pump Up the VolumePump Up the Volume (film)Pump Up the Volume is a 1990 comedy-drama film written and directed by Allan Moyle and starring Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis.- Plot summary :...
(1990) - Jaime - Jack FrostJack Frost (1998 film)Jack Frost is a 1998 Christmas film, starring Michael Keaton and Kelly Preston. Keaton stars as the title character, a man who dies in a car accident and comes back to life as a snowman...
(1998) - Snow plow driver - Ready To RumbleReady to RumbleReady to Rumble is a 2000 American comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and written by Steven Brill, which is based on Turner Broadcasting's now defunct professional wrestling promotion, World Championship Wrestling...
(2000) - Cashier - Fraggle Rock: The Movie (Announced, October 2006) - producer
Television
- 2 Hip 4 Tv2 Hip 4 TV2 Hip 4 TV is a variety show aimed at children that appeared on NBC in 1988, and was hosted by Colin Quinn and Ahmet Zappa. Musical guests included the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Edie Brickell and New Bohemians, Sparks and El Vez . The series was set in a bowling alley....
- Host (1988) - RoboticaRoboticaRobotica is a robot combat show produced for the American television cable channel TLC, a subsidiary of the Discovery Channel. Three seasons of Robotica were produced. The shows first aired in April 2001, with the final season beginning in late 2002. Show hosts for the first season were Ahmet...
- host for three seasons (2001–2002) - webRIOTWebRIOTwebRIOT was a game show that debuted on MTV in December 1999. It was hosted by Ahmet Zappa and Masasa served as the announcer. The gameplay consisted of contestants answering multiple-choice music trivia questions while accompanying music videos played. After the question was read, four choices...
- host (1999) - Happy Hour - host (1999)
- But Can They Sing?But Can They Sing?But Can They Sing? is a reality television series that premiered on October 30, 2005 on VH1 as part of its celebreality programming. Hosted by Ahmet Zappa, the series was partially based on NBC's announced but abandoned project I'm a Celebrity but I Wanna Be a Pop Star...
- host (2005) - Head Case Ep #105 (Parental Guidance Required) - Starz Channel Original Series - self (2008)
- RoseanneRoseanne (TV series)Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from October 18, 1988 to May 20, 1997. Starring Roseanne Barr, the show revolved around the Conners, an Illinois working class family...
(1996)