Charlie Peters

Last updated
Charlie Peters
Born (1951-04-22) April 22, 1951 (age 74)
Education University of Connecticut
Carnegie Mellon University [1]
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • Film director

Charlie Peters (born April 22, 1951) is an American screenwriter and film director best known for the films Paternity (1981), Blame It on Rio (1984), Hot to Trot (1988), Her Alibi (1989), Three Men and a Little Lady (1990), and Krippendorf's Tribe (1998).

Contents

Biography

Peters was born on April 22, 1951 in Salt Lake City, Utah. His father died when he was ten years old, and he was raised by his single mother in New York City where he attended New York parochial schools. He spent his high school years at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, England. His classmates there included director Charles Sturridge and actor Edward Duke. [2] He studied theater at the University of Connecticut and received a Schubert Fellowship to do graduate work in playwriting at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. [3] He returned to New York City where he worked as a playwright and had plays produced at La Mama ETC, Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons, The Actors Theater of Louisville and The Edinburgh Festival. [3]

In 1978, Peters was brought to Los Angeles by Columbia Pictures as part of a writers program developed to counter bad publicity the studio garnered from the David Begelman/Cliff Robertson fiasco. Charlie's first produced movie, based on a play he'd written while at CMU, was Paternity starring Burt Reynolds and directed by David Steinberg. [1] In the 1980s and 1990s he had a dozen other movies produced including Blame It on Rio directed by Stanley Donen, and he directed two of his own; Passed Away with Bob Hoskins and Music from Another Room with Jude Law and Brenda Blethyn. [1] He's also worked with directors Robert Mulligan ( Kiss Me Goodbye ) and Bruce Beresford ( Her Alibi ).

Throughout his career, Peters has been fired from several of the most successful films of all time and he's doctored over forty others. [2] [1] Additionally, he has taught screenwriting at USC. His short play Striking Out the Babe has been produced at numerous regional theaters and schools. [3]

He lives in Santa Monica, California and Connecticut. [3]

Filmography

YearTitleDirectorWriterNotes
1981 Paternity NoYes
1982 Kiss Me Goodbye NoYes
1984 Blame It on Rio NoYesCo-written with Larry Gelbart
1988 Hot to Trot NoYesCo-written with Hugo Gilbert and Stephen Neigher
1989 Her Alibi NoYes
1990 Three Men and a Little Lady NoYes
1992 Passed Away YesYesDirectorial debut
1994 My Father the Hero NoYesCo-written with Francis Veber
1997 Jungle 2 Jungle NoUncreditedScript revisions
1998 Krippendorf's Tribe NoYes
Music from Another Room YesYes
2009 My One and Only NoYes
2014 5 Flights Up NoYesAlso producer

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Screenwriter Charlie Peters (A 1977) Crafts Life Story with CMU Center Stage". CMU Alumni Community. 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Cuden, Steve (October 25, 2022). "Charlie Peters, Writer-Director-Episode #221". Storybeat. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Charlie Peters | Playscripts, Inc" . Retrieved August 5, 2025.