Robert B. Weide
Encyclopedia
Robert B. Weide is an American screenwriter, producer, and director, perhaps best known for his Emmy-winning work on documentaries and Curb Your Enthusiasm
.
. In 1978, while taking film production courses at Orange Coast College
in Costa Mesa, California
, he announced his intention to produce a documentary film
on the Marx Brothers. Undeterred about his career plans by repeated rejections of his applications to the USC School of Cinema-Television, he worked on the project on his own time, and with help from Charles H. Joffe got the rights to clips necessary to make the film. The Marx Brothers In a Nutshell was broadcast in 1982
on PBS, becoming "one of the highest-rated programs in PBS history."
His projects since then include documentaries on four comedians:
Weide was the principal director and an executive producer
of Curb Your Enthusiasm for the show's first five years. He was the recipient of repeated Emmy nominations for his work on the show, and won an Emmy in 2003 for his work as director during its third season.
Weide's first feature film
as director, How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
, was released in October 2008, to generally unfavorable reviews, though it topped the United Kingdom
's box office during its opening weekend.
of Kurt Vonnegut
's Mother Night
. With Vonnegut's support, Weide chronicled him on film starting in 1988 and has obtained footage of him from 16mm home movies
dating back to 1925; a documentary is in the works. Weide was also working on a film adaptation of The Sirens of Titan until the film rights were sold to another producer.
Writing under the pseudonym Wyaduck (a Marx Brothers reference), Weide was a frequent poster to Usenet
group alt.books.kurt-vonnegut, where he reported on the progress of the Mother Night project, as well as his being mentioned in Vonnegut's Timequake
.
, prior to creation of the successful band School of Fish
, worked for Weide in 1987 as an informal office assistant during the production of: Swear To Tell the Truth
. Shortly thereafter, Clayton-Felt reluctantly entered Brown University
for a short-lived academic Term. Clayton-Felt later returned to Los Angeles after leaving Brown in haste to pursue his to-be successful artistic endeavors, following Weide's original advice. School of Fish later went on to be a highly successful American band in the late 1980s through the mid- 1990's prior to Clayton-Felt's death. Weide delivered the eulogy at Clayton-Felt's funeral, after his death from testicular cancer in early 2000.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
.
Career
Weide's career began with an early passion for the Marx BrothersMarx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
. In 1978, while taking film production courses at Orange Coast College
Orange Coast College
Orange Coast College is a community college in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948. It provides two-year associate of art and science degrees, certificates of achievement, and lower-division classes transferable to other colleges...
in Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 109,960 at the 2010 census. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and "edge" city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light...
, he announced his intention to produce a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
on the Marx Brothers. Undeterred about his career plans by repeated rejections of his applications to the USC School of Cinema-Television, he worked on the project on his own time, and with help from Charles H. Joffe got the rights to clips necessary to make the film. The Marx Brothers In a Nutshell was broadcast in 1982
1982 in television
The year 1982 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1982.For the American TV schedule, see: 1982-83 American network television schedule.-Events:...
on PBS, becoming "one of the highest-rated programs in PBS history."
His projects since then include documentaries on four comedians:
- W. C. FieldsW. C. FieldsWilliam Claude Dukenfield , better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer...
: Straight Up, which won a 1986 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Series; - Mort SahlMort SahlMorton Lyon "Mort" Sahl is a Canadian-born American comedian and actor. He occasionally wrote jokes for speeches delivered by President John F. Kennedy. He was the first comedian to record a live album and the first to perform on college campuses...
: The Loyal Opposition; - Lenny BruceLenny BruceLeonard Alfred Schneider , better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was a Jewish-American comedian, social critic and satirist...
: Swear To Tell the TruthLenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the TruthLenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth is a 1998 documentary film directed by Robert B. Weide about the comedian Lenny Bruce. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film was narrated by Robert De Niro....
, a 1998 documentary which won a Creative Arts Emmy and was nominated for an OscarAcademy Award for Documentary FeatureThe Academy Award for Documentary Feature is among the most prestigious awards for documentary films.- Winners and nominees:Following the Academy's practice, films are listed below by the award year...
; - Woody AllenWoody AllenWoody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
: Woody Allen: A Documentary, a two-part film for the American MastersAmerican MastersAmerican Masters is a PBS television show which produces biographies on the artists, actors and writers of the United States who have left a profound impact on the nation's popular culture. It is produced by WNET in New York City...
series on PBS that aired in 2011.
Weide was the principal director and an executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
of Curb Your Enthusiasm for the show's first five years. He was the recipient of repeated Emmy nominations for his work on the show, and won an Emmy in 2003 for his work as director during its third season.
Weide's first 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...
as director, How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (film)
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People is a 2008 British comedy film based upon British writer Toby Young's 2001 memoir of the same name. The film follows a similar storyline, about his five year struggle to make it in the United States after employment at Sharps Magazine...
, was released in October 2008, to generally unfavorable reviews, though it topped the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's box office during its opening weekend.
Work with Kurt Vonnegut
Weide wrote and produced the 1996 film adaptation1996 in film
Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
of Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
's Mother Night
Mother Night
Mother Night is a novel by American author Kurt Vonnegut, first published in 1961. The title of the book is taken from Goethe's Faust....
. With Vonnegut's support, Weide chronicled him on film starting in 1988 and has obtained footage of him from 16mm home movies
16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
dating back to 1925; a documentary is in the works. Weide was also working on a film adaptation of The Sirens of Titan until the film rights were sold to another producer.
Writing under the pseudonym Wyaduck (a Marx Brothers reference), Weide was a frequent poster to Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
group alt.books.kurt-vonnegut, where he reported on the progress of the Mother Night project, as well as his being mentioned in Vonnegut's Timequake
Timequake
Timequake is a semi-autobiographical work by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. published in 1997. Vonnegut described the novel as a "stew", in which he alternates between summarizing a novel he had been struggling with for a number of years, and waxing nostalgic about various events in his life.-Plot...
.
Famous Careers Inspired by Weide
Josh Clayton-FeltJosh Clayton-Felt
Josh Clayton-Felt was an American singer-songwriter. He grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts, and attended high school at the Cambridge School of Weston. He later enrolled at Brown University, but discontinued studies soon after to found the band School of Fish.He worked for acclaimed comedy...
, prior to creation of the successful band School of Fish
School of Fish
School of Fish was an alternative rock band which formed in 1989 and disbanded in 1994. The core members were Josh Clayton-Felt and Michael Ward who would play club dates in Los Angeles, California as a duo accompanied by programmed drums and bass. The band signed with Capitol Records in 1990, and...
, worked for Weide in 1987 as an informal office assistant during the production of: Swear To Tell the Truth
Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth
Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth is a 1998 documentary film directed by Robert B. Weide about the comedian Lenny Bruce. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film was narrated by Robert De Niro....
. Shortly thereafter, Clayton-Felt reluctantly entered Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
for a short-lived academic Term. Clayton-Felt later returned to Los Angeles after leaving Brown in haste to pursue his to-be successful artistic endeavors, following Weide's original advice. School of Fish later went on to be a highly successful American band in the late 1980s through the mid- 1990's prior to Clayton-Felt's death. Weide delivered the eulogy at Clayton-Felt's funeral, after his death from testicular cancer in early 2000.
External links
- Biography from the HBO website
- 40-Minute audio interview with Robert Weide on The Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young America is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California and distributed by Public Radio International...