Bill Weeden

Last updated
Bill Weeden
Born (1940-08-08) August 8, 1940 (age 83)
Melbourne, Florida, U.S.
Alma mater Yale University
Years active1965–present
Spouse
Dolores McDougal
​
(m. 1995)​

Bill Weeden (born August 8, 1940 [1] ) is an American film [2] and stage actor, [3] comedy writer, and songwriter. [4]

Contents

Early life

Weeden was born on August 8, 1940, in Melbourne, Florida [1] He graduated from Yale University in 1962. [5]

Film and television career

Weeden is known for his work in genre film, starring in a number of Troma productions and other indie films, including playing the lead villain, Reginald Stuart, in Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1990),. [6] He was called the "Troma Olivier" by the New York Post for the performance. [7]

Weeden starred in Rachel Mason's rock-opera The Lives of Hamilton Fish (2013) as the serial killer Hamilton Fish, whose life is contrasted with the lawmaker with the same name. [8]

Weeden is the only actor in the "slow cinema" film Byron Jones. [9]

In 2020, Weeden starred as the protagonist, Dr. ZOOmis, alongside Kansas Bowling in the parody film Psycho Ape!. [10] [11]

In 2021, Weeden received a Best Actor award [12] for his leading performance as a conflicted war veteran in the suspense-drama short film RedSin. [13] [14]

Weeden stars in the mockumentary film The Once and Future Smash, which premiered at FrightFest in London in August 2022 [15] and at Screamfest in Los Angeles in October 2022. [16]

Stage career

Weeden is the composer of the Broadway show Hurry, Harry (opened 1972) [17] and composed additional material for the Broadway show I'm Solomon (opened 1968). [18]

Weeden played Hucklebee in the final cast of the original Sullivan Street production of The Fantasticks , [19] which closed in 2002. [20] [21] He was also featured in Try to Remember: The Fantasticks, a documentary examining the history of the show. [22]

He created two original musical revues with performing and writing partners David Finkle and Sally Fay (as Weeden, Finkle & Fay) for the New York production company Playwrights Horizons [23] [24] and a children's musical, Babar's Birthday, for Theatreworks/USA. [25] The trio also toured as major market performers for a show organized by Fortune Magazine specifically to entertain and court potential advertisers, [26] even receiving front-page coverage for the act in the Wall Street Journal . [27] The trio also wrote the musical Move It and It’s Yours, which has been performed numerous times in regional theater. [28]

The musical revue Into the Weeds: Selections from the Bill Weeden Songbook features Weeden's songs, including his various collaborations. [29] [30]

Weeden has also performed in a number of off-Broadway and touring shows, including an East Village outdoor production of As You Like It, George Bataille's Bathrobe, [31] The Magnificent Ambersons, [32] an Atlantic City production of Little Shop of Horrors, [32] The Rocky Horror Show, [33] The Wizard of Oz, [34] and Damn Yankees. [35]

Weeden (with Finkle and Fay) contributed several songs to The No-Frills Revue, the 1987 off-Broadway musical conceived by Martin Charnin. [36]

Comedy

Weeden has written comedy material, often with writing partner David Finkle, for Lily Tomlin, [37] Carol Channing, [38] [39] Stiller & Meara, [40] Dick Shawn, [41] [42] Madeline Kahn, [43] [44] and others.

Weeden, Finkle & Fay's "Part of the Problem (The Inflation Song)" was released on 7" on MCA Records in 1980. [45] [46]

Weeden has often collaborated with Upright Citizens Brigade, [47] [48] including the comedy video "Author Wrote a F***ing Book," a parody of James Patterson's commercials, written by Achilles Stamatelaky and directed by Ryan Hunter. [49]

Weeden played the father of correspondent/comedian Jordan Klepper on a 2015 episode of "The Daily Show." [50]

Other work

He has narrated a number of audio books, often paired with his wife Dolores McDougal. [51]

The song "One Big Team" was written and performed by Weeden for the 1988 New York Yankees' Old Timer's Day, [29] and in 2006 by Tony-winning Broadway star James Naughton on the YES Network's Yankees Magazine. [52]

Weeden joins other horror filmmakers and performers, such as Larry Fessenden and Amy Seimetz, voicing the horror "radio" series Tales from Beyond the Pale. [53]

Select filmography

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References

  1. 1 2 "Weeden, Bill, 1940- - LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies | Library of Congress, from LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies (Library of Congress)". The Library of Congress. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  2. ↑ "Bill Weeden". TV Guide.
  3. ↑ "Bill Weeden theatre profile". www.abouttheartists.com.
  4. ↑ "Bill Weeden". AllMusic.
  5. ↑ "Yale '62 - Not Home for the Holidays - Bill Weeden". yale62.org.
  6. ↑ Holden, Stephen (22 May 1996). "FILM REVIEW;A Superhero Lethal With Chopsticks". The New York Times.
  7. ↑ Adams, Thelma. "Received-3151941778465352". New York Post.
  8. ↑ Gorce, Tammy La (17 January 2015). "Both Were Born Hamilton Fish, but Their Paths Differed". The New York Times.
  9. ↑ "Tao film selection and other news". 17 September 2017.
  10. ↑ Lanier, Hunter (17 October 2020). "Psycho Ape! | Film Threat".
  11. ↑ "Watching Movies - Psycho Ape - Without Your Head". withoutyourhead.com.
  12. ↑ Ortiz, Christopher. "THE WINNERS OF THE OCTOBER (2021) SESSION". Europe Film Festival U.K. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  13. ↑ Ortiz, Christopher. "RedSin (2021) Suspense-Drama Short Film". YouTube. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  14. ↑ Ortiz, Christopher (28 February 2021). "RedSin: Suspense-Drama on Hero-Making". www.indieshortsmag.com. Indie Shorts Mag. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  15. ↑ "THE ONCE AND FUTURE SMASH + END ZONE 2 [FrightFest 2022]". 29 August 2022.
  16. ↑ "Screamfest: The Once And Future Smash & End Zone 2".
  17. ↑ "Bill Weeden". Playbill.
  18. ↑ "I'm Solomon Broadway @ Mark Hellinger Theatre - Tickets and Discounts". Playbill.
  19. ↑ "thefantasticks – The Fantasticks Official Website". 4 July 2019.
  20. ↑ "Fantastick Voyage to End | TheaterMania". www.theatermania.com. 5 September 2001.
  21. ↑ "The Fantasticks Bids Farewell, Jan. 13, After 42 Years on Sullivan Street". Playbill. January 13, 2002.
  22. ↑ "Try to Remember: The Fantasticks". IMDb. 14 May 2003.
  23. ↑ Wilson, John S. (15 January 1979). "Song: A Satirical Threesome". The New York Times.
  24. ↑ Holden, Stephen (1 May 1983). "REVUE: TRIO IN 'TRUST US' AT WEST BANK". The New York Times.
  25. ↑ "Piano Man – Central Jersey Archives". 7 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-07.
  26. ↑ Elliott, Stuart (8 March 2010). "Good Housekeeping Puts on a Show to Celebrate Women". The New York Times.
  27. ↑ Kwitny, Jonathan (September 22, 1986). "Satirizing Companies Can Be Rewarding When They Foot Bill". The Wall Street Journal.
  28. ↑ Cooperman, Deb (November 2005). "Review: 'Move It and It's Yours'". Community News.
  29. 1 2 "Into the Weeds Spotlights Songs of Bill Weeden in August". Broadway World.
  30. ↑ "Felicia Finley and Stephanie D'Abruzzo Will Go Into the Weeds | TheaterMania". www.theatermania.com. 21 August 2006.
  31. ↑ Saltz, Rachel (12 August 2009). "Language, the Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial View". The New York Times.
  32. 1 2 Varley, Eddie. "BWW INTERVIEWS: GEORGE BATAILLE'S BATHROBE Star Bill Weeden". Broadway World.
  33. ↑ "Credits for The Rocky Horror Show (Non-Equity Tour, 1993)". Ovrtur.
  34. ↑ "The Wizard of Oz (Non-Equity Tour, 1994)". Ovrtur.
  35. ↑ "Bill Weeden". Playwrights Horizons.
  36. ↑ Holden, Stephen (18 October 1987). "Stage: For Comedy 'The No-Frills Revue'". The New York Times.
  37. ↑ Shepard, Richard F. (15 March 1982). "Going Out Guide". The New York Times.
  38. ↑ "The Essential Jewishness Of Carol Channing — And Lorelei Lee". The Forward. January 16, 2019.
  39. ↑ "Carol Channing: Larger Than Life (2012) - Soundtrack.Net". www.soundtrack.net.
  40. ↑ Shepard, Richard F. (15 March 1982). "Going Out Guide". The New York Times.
  41. ↑ Dietz, Dan (10 April 2014). The Complete Book of 1960s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   978-1-4422-3072-9.
  42. ↑ "Theater: 'Musical Fable'; I'm Solomon' Arrives at the Mark Hellinger". The New York Times.
  43. ↑ Warren, Rod; Audy, Robert; Cohen, Michael; Morris, Edward; Graubaut, Judy (1966). Upstairs at the Downstairs presents Mxide duobels = (Mixed doubles) : a new musical revue. Playbill.
  44. ↑ Dietz, Dan (10 March 2010). Off Broadway Musicals, 1910-2007: Casts, Credits, Songs, Critical Reception and Performance Data of More Than 1,800 Shows. McFarland. ISBN   978-0-7864-5731-1.
  45. ↑ "Weeden, Finkle & Fay – Part Of The Problem (The Inflation Song) (Vinyl)". Discogs .
  46. ↑ "Weeden, Finkle And Fay - Part Of The Problem (The Inflation Song)" – via www.45cat.com.
  47. ↑ "100% All-Natural, Organic, Pure, Simple Juice Commercial | by Pocketwatch". YouTube .
  48. ↑ "UCB Comedy Round Up ft. Brandon Gulya & Bill Weeden". YouTube .
  49. ↑ "Author Wrote a Fucking Book: A COMMERCIAL PARODY by UCB's SCRAPS". YouTube .
  50. ↑ "Melissa McCarthy". June 3, 2015 – via IMDb.
  51. ↑ "Audiobooks narrated by Bill Weeden | Audible.com". www.audible.com.
  52. ↑ "Naughton Recording of Yankees Song Featured on YES".
  53. ↑ Tales from Beyond the Pale, Season One, Volume 5.
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