The Census Taker | |
---|---|
Written by | Bruce R. Cook William Kerwin W. Gordon Smith |
Directed by | Bruce R. Cook |
Starring | Greg Mullavey Meredith MacRae Garrett Morris Timothy Bottoms |
Music by | Jay Seagrave The Residents |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producer | Robert Bealmer |
Cinematography | Tom Jewett |
Editor | Bruce R. Cook |
Running time | 95 minutes |
Production company | Argentum Productions |
Original release | |
Release | July 1984 |
The Census Taker is a 1984 black comedy directed by Bruce R. Cook. It stars Greg Mullavey, Meredith MacRae, Timothy Bottoms, and Garrett Morris. [1] [2] The film was The Residents' first film soundtrack commission when their participation was suggested by Penn Jillette to Cook. [3] [4] It was released by Trans World Entertainment on VHS in 1989 under the title Husbands, Wives, Money & Murder. [5] [6]
When George (Greg Mullavey) and Martha (Meredith MacRae) let Harvey (Garrett Morris), an annoying census taker, into their home, they find themselves under a barrage of increasingly abusive questions. Furious at his intrusiveness, and at their wit's end, they kill the census taker and with the help of their friends Pete (Timothy Bottoms) and Eva (Austen Tayler), must hide the body from a determined investigator.
Garrett Isaac Morris is an American actor. He was part of the original cast and was the first Black cast member of the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live, appearing from 1975 to 1980. He also played Jimmy on The Jeffersons (1983–1984). Morris had one of the starring roles, as Junior "Uncle Junior" King, on the sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show, which aired from 1996 to 2001. Morris also had a starring role as Earl Washington on the CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls, from 2011 to 2017. He is also known for his role in the sitcom Martin as Stan Winters, from 1992 to 1995, until he suffered an injury. Also, he made two guest appearances on The Wayans Bros. in season one, episode one as himself and again on episode ten as the brothers' uncle Leon (1995). He played a concerned teacher in the film Cooley High (1975), Slide in Car Wash (1976), and Carl in The Census Taker (1984).
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Timothy James Bottoms is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the lead in Johnny Got His Gun (1971); Sonny Crawford in The Last Picture Show (1971), where he and his fellow co-stars, Cybill Shepherd and Jeff Bridges, rose to fame; and as James Hart, the first-year law student who battles with Prof. Kingsfield, in the film adaptation The Paper Chase (1973). He is also known for playing the main antagonist in the disaster film Rollercoaster (1977) and for playing President George W. Bush multiple times, including on the sitcom That's My Bush!, the comedy film The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course and the docudrama DC 9/11: Time of Crisis.
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Greg Mullavey is an American film and television actor who has had roles as Tom Hartman in the television series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and Carly and Spencer's grandfather in iCarly. He has appeared on and off Broadway, and continues to act on stage, having appeared in over a hundred theatre productions across North America.
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