Melvin Van Peebles
Van Peebles at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.
Born	Melvin Peebles August 21, 1932 Chicago, Illinois
Other name(s)	Brer Soul
Occupation	Actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, composer
Years active	1955—present

Melvin Van Peebles (born August 21, 1932) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, novelist and composer, and the father of actor and director Mario Van Peebles. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 385 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,832 × 2,848 pixels, file size: 3. ... Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal 2005 The TriBeCa Film Festival was founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Manhattan. ... is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mario Van Peebles (b. ...

Biography

Early life

Van Peebles was born Melvin Peebles in Chicago, Illinois. He joined the Air Force thirteen days after graduating from college, staying for three and a half years.^[1] He lived in Mexico for a brief period, earning a living by painting portraits,^[1] before coming back to the United States, where he started driving cable cars in San Francisco. He began writing about his experiences as a cable car driver. What evolved from an initially small article and a series of photographs was Van Peebles' first book, The Big Heart.^[1] Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... For other uses, see College (disambiguation). ... San Francisco Cable Car No. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

One day, a passenger suggested that Van Peebles should become a filmmaker. He shot his first short film, Pickup Men for Herrick, in 1957.^[1] He made two more short films during the same period. According to Van Peebles, "I thought they were features. Each one turned out to be eleven minutes long. I was trying to do features. I knew nothing."^[1] As Van Peebles learned more about the filmmaking process, he found out that "I could make a feature for five hundred dollars. That was the cost of ninety minutes of film. I didn't know a thing about shooting a film sixteen to one or ten to one or none of that shit. Then I forgot you had to develop film. And I didn't know you needed a work print. All I can say is that after I did one thing he would say, 'Well, aren't you gonna put sound on it?' and I would go, 'Oh shit!' That's all I could say."^[1]

Career

After Van Peebles completed his first short films, he took them with him to Hollywood in order to try and find work, but was unable to find anyone who wanted to hire him as a director. In New York City, Van Peebles met a man who saw his films and wanted to screen them in France. "And they said—'Jesus! This man's a genius! Where is he? He should be making films!'"^[1] In France, Van Peebles learned the language and was hired to translate Mad magazine into French.^[1] He began to write plays in French, utilizing the sprechgesang form of songwriting, where the lyrics were spoken over the music. This style carried over to Van Peebles' debut album, Brer Soul.^[1] ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Harvey Kurtzmans cover for the first issue of the comic book Mad Mad is an American humor magazine founded by publisher William Gaines and editor Harvey Kurtzman in 1952. ... Sprechgesang and sprechstimme (German for spoken-song and spoken-voice) are musical terms used to refer to an expressionist vocal technique that falls between singing and speaking. ... Brer Soul is a 1969 album by Melvin Van Peebles. ...

Prior to entering Hollywood, Van Peebles directed the French film Story of a Three Day Pass (La Permission). His first Hollywood film was the 1970 comedy Watermelon Man, written by Herman Raucher. The movie told the story of a casually racist but well meaning white man who suddenly wakes up black and finds himself alienated from his friends, family and job. In 1970 Van Peebles was also to direct filming of the Powder Ridge Rock Festival which was banned by court injunction. American cinema has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. ... The Story of a Three-Day Pass is a 1968 film written and directed by Melvin Van Peebles, based on his novel, La Permission. ... DVD cover Watermelon Man is a 1970 comedy-drama film directed by Melvin Van Peebles and based on the book The Night the Sun Came out on Happy Hollow Lane by Herman Raucher. ... Herman Raucher Herman Raucher (born April 13, 1928 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American author who has written several novels and screenplays, among them the popular Summer of 42 and The Great Santini. ... Manifestations Slavery Racial profiling Lynching Hate speech Hate crime Genocide (examples) Ethnocide Ethnic cleansing Pogrom Race war Religious persecution Blood libel Paternalism Police brutality Movements Policies Discriminatory Race / Religion / Sex segregation Apartheid Redlining Internment Ethnocracy Anti-discriminatory Emancipation Civil rights Desegregation Integration Equal opportunity Counter-discriminatory Affirmative action Racial quota... Scheduled for July 30, August 1 and August 2, 1970 in Middlefield, Ct. ...

Van Peebles then wrote and directed the independent feature, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. His son Mario's 2004 film BAADASSSSS! tells the story behind his father's film. Despite the success of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, he has directed only a few other films. Sweet Sweetbacks Baadasssss Song was a 1971 independent film written, produced, scored, directed by, and starring Melvin Van Peebles. ... BAADASSSSS!, also known as How to Get the Mans Foot Outta Your Ass, is a 2003 biopic film directed by the films star, Mario Van Peebles. ...

Melvin Van Peebles speaks English, French and Dutch. He was educated at Ohio Wesleyan University. “OWU” redirects here. ...

Van Peebles was recently the subject of a documentary entitled How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It) (2005). Van Peebles' next project will be a double album with Madlib, to be released on Stones Throw Records. The first disc of the album will be Brer Soul Meets Quasimoto and the second disc will be the Madlib Invazion remix. Madlib had previously sampled Van Peebles heavily on both of his albums under the Quasimoto moniker.^[2] He is also working on a new film, titled Confessions of an Ex-Doofus Mutha.^[3][4] For the word game, see Mad Libs. ... Stones Throw Records is a California-based hip hop independent record label. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Madlib. ...

Bibliography

• (As "Melvin Van".) The Big Heart. San Francisco: Fearon, 1957. With photographs by Ruth Bernhard, a book about life on San Francisco's cable cars. "A cable car is a big heart with people for blood. The people pump on and off — if you think of it like that it is pretty simple" (p. 21).
• La Permission, (1967)

Ruth Bernhard (October 14, 1905 - December 18, 2006) was an American photographer. ... Cable Car in San Francisco A San Francisco cable car Winding drums on the London and Blackwall cable-operated railway, 1840. ... La Permission The Story of a 3-Day Pass La Permission is a French-language novel written by Melvin Van Peebles. ...

Filmography

As director

• Pickup Men for Herrick (short, 1957) also writer and composer
• Sunlight (short, 1957) also writer, composer and producer
• Cinq cent balles (short, 1963) also writer and composer
• The Story of a Three-Day Pass (also known as La Permission, 1967) also writer, from his novel La Permission, and composer
• Watermelon Man (1970) also composer
• Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971) also actor, writer, composer, co-producer and editor
• Don't Play Us Cheap (1973) also writer, from his book Harlem Party and stage musical Don't Play Us Cheap, and composer
• Identity Crisis (1989) also actor, producer and editor
• Vroom Vroom Vroooom (segment from Tales of Erotica, also known as Erotic Tales, 1996) also writer, composer, producer and editor
• Gang in Blue (1996) co-director, actor and producer
• Le Conte du ventre plein (also known as Bellyful, 2000) also writer, composer and delegate producer
• Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha (2008)

La Permission The Story of a 3-Day Pass La Permission is a French-language novel written by Melvin Van Peebles. ... La Permission The Story of a 3-Day Pass La Permission is a French-language novel written by Melvin Van Peebles. ... DVD cover Watermelon Man is a 1970 comedy-drama film directed by Melvin Van Peebles and based on the book The Night the Sun Came out on Happy Hollow Lane by Herman Raucher. ... Sweet Sweetbacks Baadasssss Song was a 1971 independent film written, produced, scored, directed by, and starring Melvin Van Peebles. ... Dont Play Us Cheap VHS Dont Play Us Cheap cast recording Harlem Party is a novel written by Melvin Van Peebles. ... Dont Play Us Cheap VHS Dont Play Us Cheap cast recording Harlem Party is a novel written by Melvin Van Peebles. ... Identity Crisis is a 1989 comedy film directed and edited by Melvin Van Peebles, and written by Mario Van Peebles. ... Vrooom Vroom Vrooom is a short film directed by Melvin Van Peebles. ... Tales of Erotica is a compilation of four short films released in 1996. ... Gang in Blue is a 1996 film co-directed by Melvin Van Peebles and his son, Mario Van Peebles, about a black police officer who discovers a cell of white supremacist vigilantes within his department. ... Le Conte du ventre plein (international English title: Bellyful) is a 2000 film written and directed by Melvin Van Peebles. ... Le Conte du ventre plein (international English title: Bellyful) is a 2000 film written and directed by Melvin Van Peebles. ... Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha is a 2008 film by Melvin Van Peebles. ...

Other credits

• Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death (1971 Broadway musical book and score)
• Just an Old Sweet Song (also known as Down Home, Robert Ellis Miller, 1976) made for television; screenwriter and theme song
• Greased Lightning (Michael Schultz, 1977) screenwriter
• The Sophisticated Gents (Harry Falk, 1981) made for television; actor, screenwriter, song “Greased Lightning” and producer
• The Day They Came to Arrest the Book (Gilbert Moses, 1987) made for television; screenwriter
• O.C. and Stiggs (Robert Altman, 1987) actor
• Jaws: The Revenge (Joseph Sargent, 1987) actor
• Sonny Spoon (1988) television series; actor
• Posse (Mario Van Peebles, 1993) actor
• Terminal Velocity (Deran Sarafian, 1994) actor
• Panther (Mario Van Peebles, 1995) based on his novel Panther, screenwriter, actor and producer
• The Shining (Mick Garris, 1997) television movie; actor
• Melvin Van Peebles' Classified X (Mark Daniels, 1998) documentary; screenwriter, actor and executive producer)
• The Hebrew Hammer (Jonathan Kesselman, 2003) actor

Aint Supposed to Die a Natural Death is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Melvin Van Peebles. ... Greased Lightning is a 1977 biographical film, starring Richard Pryor, Beau Bridges and Pam Grier, and directed by Michael Schultz. ... O.C. and Stiggs is a mid-1980s film directed by Robert Altman, based on two characters featured in a series of stories published in National Lampoon. ... Jaws The Revenge is a 1987s horror film. ... Sonny Spoon was a detective program aired in the United States on the NBC television network in 1988. ... Posse is a 1993 Western movie starring Stephen Baldwin, Mario Van Peebles, Billy Zane, Tone Loc, Reginald VelJohnson, Big Daddy Kane, Blair Underwood, Isaac Hayes, and Nipsey Russell. ... Terminal Velocity is a 1994 action movie starring Charlie Sheen as a daredevil skydiver who becomes mixed up with Russian spies. ... Panther is a 1995 film dramatizing the story of The Black Panther Party of Self-Defense. ... The Shining was a TV miniseries adaptation of Stephen Kings novel of the same name. ... DVD cover The Hebrew Hammer is a film that was released in 2003. ...

Discography

• Brer Soul (1969)
• Watermelon Man OST (1970)
• Ain't Supposed To Die A Natural Death (1970)
• Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song OST (1971)
• Ain't Supposed To Die A Natural Death Broadway Cast (1972)
• Don't Play Us Cheap OST (1973)
• As Serious As A Heart-Attack (1974)
• What the....You Mean I Can't Sing?! (1974)
• Ghetto Gothic (1995)
• X-Rated by an All-White Jury (1997)
• [[All My Children (july 2008)

Brer Soul is a 1969 album by Melvin Van Peebles. ... The Watermelon Man OST is the is the soundtrack to the 1970 film Watermelon Man, directed by Melvin Van Peebles. ... Aint Supposed to Die a Natural Death is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Melvin Van Peebles. ... The Sweet Sweetbacks Baadasssss Song OST is the is the soundtrack to Melvin Van Peebles 1971 film Sweet Sweetbacks Baadasssss Song. ... Dont Play Us Cheap is the soundtrack to Melvin Van Peebles Broadway musical, Dont Play Us Cheap. ... As Serious As A Heart-Attack is an album by Melvin Van Peebles. ... What the. ... Ghetto Gothic is a 1995 album by Melvin Van Peebles. ...

References

The SuicideGirls logo, used on the website and associated merchandise. ... The Village Voice is a New York City-based weekly newspaper featuring investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts reviews and events listings for New York City. ...

External links

• Melvin Van Peebles at the Internet Movie Database
• Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
• "Melvin Van Peebles interview" on the WGBH series, Say Brother
• Interview at SuicideGirls.com