Spheeris, Penelope 1945-

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SPHEERIS, Penelope 1945-

PERSONAL: Born December 2, 1945 (some sources cite 1946), in New Orleans (some sources cite Algiers), LA; daughter of a circus carnival owner and sideshow "strong man" and a ticket-taker for a traveling circus side show; children: Anna Schoeller.

ADDRESSES: Agent—Gersh Agency, Inc., 232 North Canon Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210-5302.

CAREER: Director, producer, and writer. Director of films, including I Don't Know, 1971; (and producer, and contributor of photography) The Decline of Western Civilization (documentary), Spheeris Films, 1981; Suburbia (also known as The Wild Side), New World, 1984; The Boys Next Door (also known as Big Shots), New World, 1985; Hollywood Vice Squad, Cinema Group, 1986; Dudes, Cineworld, 1986; The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years (documentary), New Line Cinema, 1986; As Nasty as We Want to Be, 1990; Wayne's World, Paramount, 1992; (and producer) The Beverly Hillbillies, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1993; The Little Rascals, Universal, 1994; Black Sheep, Paramount, 1996; Senseless, Miramax/Dimension Films, 1998; The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (documentary), Spheeris Films, 1998; The Thing in Bob's Garage, Act III Productions, 1998; No Use Walking When You Can Stroll, 1998; (and cinematographer) We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n' Roll (documentary), Divine Pictures, 2001; Posers, 2001; Closers, Dimension Films, 2001; and Lifers Group: World Tour (documentary short film).

Producer of films, including Real Life, Paramount, 1979; (and director, and contributor of photography) The Decline of Western Civilization (documentary), Spheeris Films, 1981; and (and director) The Beverly Hillbillies, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1993. Actress in films, including Naked Angels, 1969; Calling the Shots, 1988; and (as Nicky's mom) Wedding Band, 1990.

Director of television specials, including (with others) Decade, MTV, 1989; Thunder and Mud, 1990; (segment director) "New Chicks," in "Prison Stories: Women on the Inside," HBO Showcase, Home Box Office (HBO), 1991; Visitors from the Unknown, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), 1991; andCrooked E: The Unshredded Truth about Enron, 2003. Director of television pilots, including (and co-creator) Danger Theatre, Fox, 1993; and Dear Doughboy, The WB, 2000. Also producer of short pieces for Saturday Night Live, NBC, c. 1970s. Appeared as herself in television programs, including Intimate Portrait: Lea Thompson, 1998; Beverly Hillbillies: The E! True Hollywood Story, 2001; Ernest Goes to Hollywood: Jim Varney, the E! True Hollywood Story, 2001; and Hollywood High, 2003.

AWARDS, HONORS: Jury Award for Best Documentary, Chicago Underground Film Festival, and Freedom of Expressions Award and nomination for Grand Jury Prize, both from Sundance Film Festival, all 1998, all for The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III; We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n' Roll named best documentary at Australian Film Festival, Boston Underground Film Festival, and San Francisco Indiefest.

WRITINGS:

screenplays

The Decline of Western Civilization (documentary), Spheeris Films, 1981.

Suburbia (also known as The Wild Side), New World, 1984.

(With Bert Dragin) Summer Camp Nightmare (also known as The Butterfly Revolution), Concorde, 1987.

(With Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur) The Little Rascals (based on a story by Spheeris), Universal, 1994.

television series

(And story editor) Roseanne, American Broadcasting Company (ABC), 1988-1990.

Danger Theatre, Fox, 1993.

SIDELIGHTS: Although she is best known as a director, Penelope Spheeris has also helped to write some of the films and television programs on which she works. Spheeris began her career as a director largely in documentaries, including the three-film series The Decline of Western Civilization. Those films chronicle the Los Angeles music scene, particularly in its punk and heavy metal incarnations, over the course of twenty years. "If I could make a decent living doing documentaries, I would," Spheeris told an interviewer from the Onion A.V. Club, but since there is not that much money in making documentaries she has also directed several big-budget comedic films. There is so little money in documentaries, in fact, that Spheeris financed the third installment in The Decline of Western Civilization herself, out of her earnings from directing comedies, and gave all of the profits from the film to charity.

Spheeris's directorial credits include Wayne's World, The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Little Rascals, the last of which Spheeris also co-wrote. As research, she watched all 221 of the original Our Gang episodes, and then had to decide which storylines she wanted to use. "I knew I had to get Spanky and Alfalfa into a tutu," Spheeris told Barry Koltnow of the Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. "I wanted little boys wearing little girls' clothes. That's my kind of movie." But, she continued, "I also wanted an issue in this movie, and that's why we did [the He-Man WomanHater's Club]." Darla, a female member of the Little Rascals, shows up the woman-hater's club in the end, providing "a feminist blow," Melina Gerosa wrote in Entertainment Weekly.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

books

Authors and Artists for Young Adults, Volume 46, Gale (Detroit, MI), 2002.

Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television, Volume 36, Gale (Detroit, MI), 2001.

International Directory of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 2: Directors, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1996.

Newsmakers 1989, Issue 4, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1989.

Women Filmmakers and Their Films, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1998.

periodicals

America's Intelligence Wire, January 4, 2003, "Crooked E Director Questions Air Date Move."

Austin American-Statesman (Austin, TX), February 2, 1996, review of Black Sheep, p. E5; October 5, 1998, Chris Riemenschneider, review of TheDecline of Western Civilization, Part III, p. E2; October 6, 1998, "Decline Has Tragic Roots Here," p. E1.

Boston Herald, February 16, 1998, Stephen Shaefer, review of Senseless, p. 35; May 12, 2000, Paul Sherman, review of The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III, p. 17.

Christian Science Monitor, August 5, 1994, David Sterritt, review of The Little Rascals, p. 10.

Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), February 2, 1996, Dann Gire, review of Black Sheep, p. 29; February 20, 1998, Melissa Knopper, review of Senseless, p. 40.

Daily Variety, July 12, 2002, Melissa Grego, "Enron Next for Liar Scribe," pp. 1-2; January 2, 2003, Michael Speier, review of The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth about Enron, p. 4.

Denver Post, February 20, 1998, Roger Ebert, review of Senseless, p. F3.

Entertainment Weekly, February 21, 1992, Owen Gleiberman, review of Wayne's World, pp. 32-34; August 14, 1992, Ty Burr, review of Wayne's World, p. 64; October 22, 1993, Owen Gleiberman, review of The Beverly Hillbillies, pp. 52-53; May 13, 1994, Melina Gerosa, review of The Little Rascals, p. 11; August 19, 1994, Lois Alter Mark, review of The Little Rascals, p. 44; February 10, 1995, Glenn Kenny, reviews of The Little Rascals, The Boys Next Door, Dudes, Thunder and Mud, Wayne's World, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Suburbia, pp. 76-77; August 4, 2000, Owen Gleiberman, review of The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III, p. 61.

Film Journal International, September, 2001, Ed Kelleiher, review of We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n' Roll, p. 70.

Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA), February 20, 1998, Roger Ebert, review of Senseless, p. E3.

Hollywood Reporter, June 27, 2002, Tamara Conniff, "Helmer Spheeris Has 'Rotten' Deal for Rhino Films," pp. 1-2.

Houston Chronicle, February 2, 1996, Jeff Millar, review of Black Sheep, p. 4.

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, August 1, 1994, Barry Koltnow, review of The Little Rascals, p. 0801K3064.

Los Angeles Times, May 11, 1984, Kevin Thomas, review of Suburbia, p. 14; May 18, 1984, Patrick Goldstein, interview with Spheeris, p. 1; July 7, 1996, Steve Hochman, "Penelope Spheeris Is Again Looking into the Punk World for Her Third Film on L.A.'s Rock Scene," p. 5; July 21, 1996, "Decline Approved," p. 5.

New York Times, July 8, 1981, Robert Palmer, review of The Decline of Western Civilization, pp. 17, C27; March 1, 1986, Janet Maslin, review of Hollywood Vice Squad, pp. 14, 17; March 14, 1986, Vincent Canby, review of The Boys Next Door, pp. 18, C10; April 19, 1987, Caryn James, review of Summer Camp Nightmare, p. 11; June 17, 1988, Janet Maslin, review of The Decline of Western Civilization, Part II: The Metal Years, pp. 18, C14; June 24, 1988, Janet Maslin, review of Dudes, pp. 18, C9; June 26, 1988, "Penelope Spheeris Finds the Heart of Rock," p. H21; October 30, 1988, review of Dudes, p. H30; February 26, 1989, review of The Decline of Western Civilization, Part II: The Metal Years, p. H36; January 26, 1991, John J. O'Connor, review of Prison Stories: Women on the Inside, pp. 13, 48; February 14, 1992, Janet Maslin, review of Wayne's World, pp. B6, C15; April 12, 1992, Jamie Diamon, "Penelope Spheeris: From Carny Life to Wayne's World," p. H11; February 17, 1995, Janet Maslin, review of The Little Rascals, p. D18; February 2, 1996, Janet Maslin, review of Black Sheep, pp. B3, C19; July 7, 2000, review of The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III, pp. B10, E10.

People, July 4, 1988, Fred Bernstein, "Shock Director Penelope Spheeris Documents the Wild Side, but Her Life Is Wilder than Her Movies," pp. 52-54; July 11, 1988, Peter Travers, review of The Decline of Western Civilization, Part II: The Metal Years, p. 18; February 24, 1992, Leah Rozen, review of Wayne's World, p. 15; November 1, 1993, Ralph Novak, review of The Beverly Hillbillies, pp. 16-18; March 2, 1998, Leah Rozen, review of Senseless, pp. 21-22; March 9, 1998, Leah Rozen, profile of Spheeris, p. 24.

Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO), February 20, 1998, Robert Denerstein, review of Senseless, p. 6D.

San Francisco Chronicle, February 2, 1996, Mick La-Salle, review of Black Sheep, p. D3; February 20, 1998, Mick LaSalle, review of Senseless, p. C5; August 6, 1998, Neva Chonin, review of The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III and interview with Spheeris, p. E4.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 15, 1999, Paula Nechak, review of The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III, p. 22.

Seattle Times, February 2, 1996, review of Black Sheep, p. F6; February 20, 1998, review of Senseless, p. F8; January 15, 1999, Keith Simanton, review of The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III, p. G8.

Shoot, December 13, 2002, Sarah Woodward, "Dir. Penelope Spheeris Heads for Dark Light," pp. 7-8.

Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), February 20, 1998, Stephen Whitty, review of Senseless, p. 11; July 8, 2000, Stephen Whitty, review of The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III, p. 22.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 20, 1998, Joe Holleman, review of Senseless, p. E3.

Variety, February 2, 1998, Dennis Harvey, review of The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III, p. 33; February 16, 1998, Todd McCarthy, review of Senseless, p. 57; March 19, 2001, Dennis Harvey, review of We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n' Roll, p. 36.

Wall Street Journal, April 12, 1984, Julie Salamon, review of Suburbia, pp. 28, 30.