Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957)[1] is an American film director and actor best known for appearing in Heartbreak Ridge in 1986 and known for directing and starring in New Jack City in 1991 and USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage in 2016. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, whom he portrayed in the 2003 biopic Baadasssss!, which he also co-wrote and directed.
He traveled often with his parents between Europe and the United States.[5]
He majored in economics at Columbia College, the undergraduate division of Columbia University. He was invited to speak as the Class Day Speaker as part of the annual commencement exercises in 2021.[6]
In 1971, he appeared in the film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. Melvin Van Peebles directed and played the lead role, and Mario played his father's character as a child. The film became a hit and a historical American film, because it was widely credited with showing Hollywood that a viable black audience existed and thus influenced the creation of the Blaxploitation genre. That year, Mario acted in a TV movie called Crosscurrent.[citation needed]
For the rest of the decade, he did not appear in other productions.
He appeared in the action film Exterminator 2 (1984), as the main villain against its protagonist, played by Robert Ginty.[citation needed] When the production wrapped, the producers were unhappy and wanted a re-shoot. They replaced the original director, but the main star was no longer available so they made Van Peebles' character more central.[7]
In 1985, he landed his first leading role in the film Rappin'[8] as Rappin' John Hood, an ex-convict who attempts to save his neighborhood from developers and hoodlums.
1985 to 1991: continued acting career and early directorial effort to breakthrough
In 1985, he played in the comedy Delivery Boys, was one of the central characters in the action drama South Bronx Heroes, and acted in the dramatic TV film Children of the Night and one episode of the Cosby Show.[9]
In 1988, Van Peebles played the lead in the short-lived detective show Sonny Spoon. The show ran for two brief seasons, both of which aired in 1988 before the series was canceled. The show would mark his directorial debut, for which he tackled the task for one episode. That same year, he also acted in the TV film The Child Saver.
In 1989, he directed for the show Top of the Hill, three episodes of 21 Jump Street, two of which he acted in, and an episode of the TV series Wiseguy.
He also acted in one episode of American Playwrights Theater: The One-Acts, and the film Identity Crisis directed by his father.
Van Peebles in 1991
At the beginning of the 1990s he performed in the TV film Blue Bayou and one episode of In Living Color.
Van Peebles directed Malcolm Takes a Shot, a 1991 CBS Schoolbreak Special about an aspiring high-school basketball star whose obstacles include epilepsy and his own arrogance. Van Peebles appeared in the special in a cameo appearance as the main character's doctor. He was nominated for a DGA Award by the Directors Guild of America for "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Shows".[citation needed]
He made his feature film directorial debut in 1991 with the black gangster film New Jack City, in which he also co-stars. Other lead actors are Wesley Snipes, Ice-T and Judd Nelson.[citation needed]New Jack City was produced with an estimated $8,000,000 budget.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 1991, before being released nationally on March 8, 1991. Well received by critics, it grossed $7,039,622 during its opening weekend, and was the highest grossing independent film of 1991, grossing a total of $47,624,253 domestically.[10]
In 1993, he starred in and directed the black Western Posse, featuring a large ensemble cast including Woody Strode, Billy Zane, Tiny Lister, Tone Lōc, Big Daddy Kane, Robert Hooks, and many more. The film tells the story of a posse of black soldiers and one ostracized white soldier, who are all betrayed by a corrupt colonel.
That same year, he played in the science fiction crime film Full Eclipse.
In 1995, he directed and co-starred in Panther based on a screenplay adapted by his father, Melvin Van Peebles, from his novel of the same name portraying the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, tracing the organization from its founding through its decline in a compressed timeframe. Creative license is taken but the general trajectory of the Party and its experiences is factual. At the Locarno International Film Festival it won the prize of the Ecumenical Jury, a Silver Leopard, and was nominated for a Golden Leopard. At the Political Film Society it was nominated for a PFS Award.[citation needed]
In 1996, he acted in one episode of Living Single and one episode of HBO's Strangers. He also played the lead in the science fiction action film Solo. His directorial release that year was Gang in Blue, in which he stars and co-directs with his father who also has a role in the film. It's about a black police officer who discovers a cell of white supremacist vigilantes within his department.
In 1998, he directed and starred in Love Kills, a comedy about a masseur who gets mixed up in the family plots at the mansion of a recently deceased Beverly Hills millionaire. He also appeared in the mini series Mama Flora's Family, Valentine's Day, and Killers in the House.
In 1999, he acted in Judgement Day, and Raw Nerve.
In 2000, Van Peebles acted in one episode of Martial Law and 20 episodes of Rude Awakening, he also appeared in the filmsSally Hemings: An American Scandal and Blowback.
In 2001, he starred in a film called Guardian, and co-starred in the Michael Mann film Ali for which he received a nomination for "Outstanding Supporting Actor" at the NAACP Image Awards.
In 2002, he acted in 10,000 Black Men Named George, two episodes of Robbery Homicide Division , and the TV movie Fiona.
In 2003, he acted in the film The Hebrew Hammer, 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out, Gang of Roses, and The Street Lawyer.
In 2004, he was a lead in the TV film Crown Heights and acted in one episode of Soul Food. In 2005, he acted in Carlito's Way: Rise to Power. In 2006, he directed and co-starred in the film Hard Luck, starring Wesley Snipes as the lead, and Cybill Shepherd was also in it. Snipes plays Lucky, a down on his luck former criminal and drug dealer whose post prison trials and tribulations take him on a wild adventure. In 2007, he acted in an episode of Law & Order and the film Sharpshooter. That year, he returned to directing for television starting with three episodes of Damages, in which he also had recurring role until 2009.[citation needed]
In 2011, he directed the sport drama All Things Fall Apart starring rapper/actor 50 Cent in the title role playing a football player who suffers from a deadly disease; Van Peebles also played a role in this feature. Other acting credits that year were the films Tied to a Chair and 5th & Alameda, on TV, two episodes of Hellcats and two episodes of The Game, and he started to direct for the TV series Boss directing five episodes until 2012.
Mario Van Peebles in 2014
In 2012, he wrote, directed, and acted in We the Party, a comedy set in an ethnically diverse Los Angeles high school. The film focuses on five friends as they deal with romance, money, prom, college, sex, bullies, Facebook, fitting in, standing out, and finding themselves. Also that year, he acted in one episode of The Finder and the feature film American Warship.
In 2013, he directed one episode NCIS, one episode of Monday Mornings, one episode of Zero Hour, and an episode of Nashville and in 2014 he directed two additional episodes of Nashville as well as acting in one, in 2015, he reprised his role with another director.[citation needed]
In 2017, he directed two additional episodes of Being Mary Jane and one episode of Hand of God. He also acted in the feature For Justice and in four episodes of Bloodline, one of which he also directed, and he directed an additional episode his character didn't appear in. That year, he created and produced the TV series Superstition, directed eight episodes, and acted in ten, and in some of them he performed both roles.[citation needed]
Melvin Van Peebles was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the early 2020s. His feature film debut, The Story of a Three-Day Pass (1967), was based on his own French-language novel La Permission and was shot in France, as it was difficult for a black American director to get work at the time. The film won an award at the San Francisco International Film Festival which gained him the interest of Hollywood studios, leading to his American feature debut Watermelon Man, in 1970. Eschewing further overtures from Hollywood, he used the successes he had so far to bankroll his work as an independent filmmaker.
Courtney Bernard Vance is an American actor. He started his career on stage before moving to film and television. Vance has received various accolades, including a Tony Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as nominations for a Grammy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award.
Posse is a 1993 American Western film directed by and starring Mario Van Peebles. Featuring a large ensemble cast, the film tells the story of a posse of African-American soldiers and one ostracized white soldier, who are all betrayed by a corrupt colonel. The story starts with the group escaping with a cache of gold, and continues with their leader Jesse Lee taking revenge on the men who killed his preacher father. The story is presented as a flashback told by an unnamed old man. The title of the film refers to a group of people who are summoned to help law enforcement officers. This film was the first film to be released by Gramercy Pictures.
David Alan Grier is an American actor and comedian. Known for his roles on stage and screen, Grier gained popularity playing multiple roles in the American sketch comedy television series In Living Color (1990–1994) and Reverend Leon Lonnie Love on the Fox comedy series Martin (1993–1997). In 2004, Grier was ranked no. 94 on Comedy Central's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups.
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is a 1971 American independent blaxploitation action thriller film written, co-produced, scored, edited, directed by, and starring Melvin Van Peebles. His son Mario Van Peebles also appears in a small role, playing the title character as a young boy. The film tells the picaresque story of a poor black man fleeing from the white police authorities.
Baadasssss! is a 2003 American biographical drama film, written, produced, directed by, and starring Mario Van Peebles. The film is based on the struggles of Van Peebles' father Melvin Van Peebles, as he attempts to film and distribute Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, a film that was widely credited with showing Hollywood that a viable African-American audience existed, and thus influencing the creation of the blaxploitation genre. The film also stars Joy Bryant, Nia Long, Ossie Davis, Paul Rodriguez, Rainn Wilson, and Terry Crews.
Rappin' is a 1985 American film directed by Joel Silberg, written by Adam Friedman and Robert J. Litz, produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and starring Mario Van Peebles. The film is a sequel to Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, and is also known as Breakdance 3. Although it features Ice-T, Rappin' has a plot unconnected to the previous two films and features different lead characters and locations. It is also considered to be a companion piece to the documentary Breakin' 'n' Enterin'.
William Henry Duke Jr. is an American actor, director, and producer. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke works primarily in the action and crime drama genres often as a character related to law enforcement. As a director, he is known for his works dealing in the Black American experience, and has been called the "Godfather of African American Cinema."
Watermelon Man is a 1970 American comedy film directed by Melvin Van Peebles and starring Godfrey Cambridge, Estelle Parsons, Howard Caine, D'Urville Martin, Kay Kimberley, Mantan Moreland, and Erin Moran. Written by Herman Raucher, it tells the story of an extremely bigoted 1960s-era white insurance salesman named Jeff Gerber, who wakes up one morning to find that he has become black. The premise for the film was inspired by Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, and by John Howard Griffin's autobiographical Black Like Me.
Don't Play Us Cheap is a 1973 American musical comedy film based on the 1970 musical of the same name. The musical was written, produced, scored, edited and directed by Melvin Van Peebles. Both the original stage musical and the film adaptation are based on Van Peebles' 1967 French-language novel La fête à Harlem (1967).
BaadAsssss Cinema is a 2002 TV documentary film directed by Isaac Julien. Julien looks at the Blaxploitation era of the 1970s in this hour-long documentary.
Bokeem Woodbine is an American actor. In 1994, he portrayed Joshua, the main character's troubled brother, in Jason's Lyric. He won a Black Reel Award and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for his role as Kansas City mob enforcer Mike Milligan in the second season of Fargo. Woodbine also portrayed Daniel in season 2 of the WGN series Underground, Herman Schultz/Shocker in the film Spider-Man: Homecoming, and saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman in the Oscar-winning Ray Charles biopic Ray.
Ghetto Gothic is the fifth studio album by Melvin Van Peebles. Released in 1995, this album marks the second traditional music effort by Van Peebles, after What the....You Mean I Can't Sing?! Previously, Van Peebles released the experimental spoken word albums Brer Soul, Ain't Supposed To Die a Natural Death and As Serious as a Heart-Attack.
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is the soundtrack to Melvin Van Peebles' 1971 feature film of the same name. The soundtrack was performed by then-unknown Earth, Wind & Fire and released in 1971 on Stax Records. To attract publicity for the film without spending significant money, the soundtrack was released before the movie; it performed well, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart.
Jamie Hector is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of drug kingpin Marlo Stanfield on the HBO drama series The Wire and as Detective Jerry Edgar in the drama series Bosch.
Richard Anthony Williams was an American actor. He was best known for his starring performances on Broadway in The Poison Tree, What the Wine-Sellers Buy and Black Picture Show. Williams also had notable roles in 1970s blaxploitation films such as The Mack and Slaughter's Big Rip-Off.
Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s, when the combined momentum of the civil rights movement, the black power movement, and the Black Panthers spurred African-American artists to reclaim the power of depiction of their ethnicity, and institutions like UCLA to provide financial assistance for African-American students to study filmmaking. This combined with Hollywood adopting a less restrictive rating system in 1968. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president of the Beverly Hills–Hollywood NAACP branch. He claimed the genre was "proliferating offenses" to the black community in its perpetuation of stereotypes often involved in crime. After the race films of the 1940s and 1960s, the genre emerged as one of the first in which black characters and communities were protagonists, rather than sidekicks, supportive characters, or victims of brutality. The genre's inception coincides with the rethinking of race relations in the 1970s.
Carl Gordon was an American actor who entered the acting profession later in life and was best known for his role in the Fox TV series Roc, in addition to a wide range of roles in film, on stage and television as a character actor.
Mandela Van Peebles is an American actor and producer who has appeared in films such as We the Party, Baadasssss!, and Jigsaw, and the television series Reginald the Vampire.
How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It), is a 2005 documentary film directed and written by Joe Angio, and produced by Michael Solomon. The film follows Melvin Van Peebles through his illustrious musical, acting, and directing career. The name comes from a controversial article that Van Peebles wrote, but never got published. Joe Angio, the director received four nominations for his film. Three of these nominations were for best documentary at the Chicago International film festival, and one nomination was at the Los Angeles Film Festival for best documentary feature.
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