John Carpenter Biography (1948-)

Full name, John Howard Carpenter; born January 16, 1948, in Carthage, NY (raised in Bowling Green, KY); son of Howard Ralph (a music professor) and MiltonJean (maiden name, Carter) Carpenter; married Adrienne Barbeau (an actress),January 1, 1979 (divorced November, 1988); married Sandy King (a producer),December 1, 1990; children: (first marriage) John Cody. Addresses: Agent: William Morris Agency, One William Morris Place, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.; Publicist: Guttman Associates PR, 118 S. Beverly Dr., Suite 201, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.; Contact: c/o Big Deal Productions, Inc., 5632 Van Nuys Blvd.,#376, Van Nuys, CA 91411.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Director, producer, actor, screenwriter, composer
Birth Details: January 16, 1948; Carthage, New York, United States

Famous Works

CREDITS
Film Work
Director, Revenge of the Colossal Beasts (short film), 1962
Director, Terror from Space (short film), 1963
(As Johnny Carpenter) Director, The Warrior and the Demon (short film), 1969
Director, Sorcerer from Outer Space (short film), 1969
Director, Gorgo versus Godzilla (short film), 1969
Director, Gorgon, the Space Monster (short film), 1969
Editor, The Resurrection of Bronco Billy (short film), Universal,1970
Producer, director, and music director, Dark Star, Jack H. Harris,1974
Director and (as John T. Chance) editor, Assault on Precinct 13 (also known as John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13), Turtle Releasing Company, 1976
Director and (uncredited) producer, Halloween (also known as John Carpenter's Halloween), Compass, 1978
Director, The Fog (also known as John Carpenter's The Fog),Avco Embassy, 1980
Director, Escape from New York (also known as John Carpenter'sEscape from New York), Avco Embassy, 1981
(With Debra Hill) Producer, Halloween II (also known as Halloween II: The Nightmare Isn't Over!), Universal, 1981
(With Hill) Producer, Halloween III: Season of the Witch (also known as Season of the Witch), Universal, 1982
Director, The Thing (also known as John Carpenter's The Thing), Universal, 1982
Director, Christine (also known as John Carpenter's Christine), Columbia, 1983
Executive producer, The Philadelphia Experiment, New World, 1984
Director, Starman (also known as John Carpenter's Starman),Columbia, 1984
Director, Big Trouble in Little China (also known as John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1986
Executive producer, Black Moon Rising, 1986
(As Martin Quatermass) Director, Prince of Darkness (also known asJohn Carpenter's Prince of Darkness), Universal, 1987
(As Frank Armitage) Director, They Live (also known as John Carpenter's They Live and They Live!), Universal, 1988
Director, Memoirs of an Invisible Man (also known as Les aventures d'un homme invisible), Warner Bros., 1992
Director, In the Mouth of Madness (also known as John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness), New Line Cinema, 1995
Director, Village of the Damned (also known as John Carpenter'sVillage of the Damned), Universal, 1995
Director, Escape from L.A. (also known as John Carpenter's Escape from L.A.), Paramount, 1996
Director, John Carpenter's Vampires (also known as Vampiresand Vampire$), Sony Pictures, 1998
Director, musician, and orchestrator, Ghosts of Mars (also known as John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars), Screen Gems, 2001
Director and executive producer, Vampires: Los Muertos (also knownas John Carpenter's Vampires: Los Muertos and John Carpenter Presents Vampires: Los Muertos), Sony Pictures Entertainment, 2002
Film Appearances
No Place to Land, 1958
(Uncredited) Voice of Paul, Annie's boyfriend, Halloween (also known as John Carpenter's Halloween), Compass, 1978
(Uncredited) Bennett, church janitor, The Fog (also known as John Carpenter's The Fog), Avco Embassy, 1980
(Uncredited) Voice of Secret Service #2 and helicopter pilot, Escape from New York (also known as John Carpenter's Escape from New York), Avco Embassy, 1981
(Uncredited) Norwegian in video footage, The Thing (also known asJohn Carpenter's The Thing), 1982
(Uncredited) Man in helicopter, Starman (also known as John Carpenter's Starman), 1984
(With the Coupe de Villes) The Boy Who Could Fly, 1986
(Uncredited) Worker in Chinatown, Big Trouble in Little China (also known as John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1986
(As Rip Haight) Helicopter pilot, Memoirs of an Invisible Man (also known as Les aventures d'un homme invisible), Warner Bros., 1992
Trench Coat Man, The Silence of the Hams (also known as Il silenzio dei prosciutti), 1994
(As Rip Haight) Man at phone booth, Village of the Damned (also known as John Carpenter's Village of the Damned), Universal, 1995
Himself, After Sunset: The Life & Times of the Drive-In Theater, 1995
Himself, 100 Years of Horror: Witchcraft and Demons, 1996
Himself, 100 Years of Horror: Sorcerers, 1996
Himself, 100 Years of Horror: Maniacs, 1996
Himself, Unmasking the Horror, 1998

Himself, "Halloween" Unmasked 2000, Anchor Bay Entertainment, 1999
Himself, Scoring Ghosts of Mars, Columbia TriStar Home Video, 2001
Himself, Red Desert Nights: Making "Ghosts of Mars," Columbia TriStar Home Video, 2001
Himself, Tales from the Mist: Inside "The Fog," Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists Home Entertainment, 2002
(In archive footage) Himself, Scoring Resident Evil, Columbia TriStar Home Video, 2002
Television Work
Movies
Director, Someone's Watching Me! (also known as High Rise),NBC, 1978
Director, Elvis, ABC, 1979
Executive producer, El diablo, 1990
Executive producer and segment director, "The Gas Station," and "Hair," John Carpenter Presents Body Bags (also known as Body Bags), Showtime, 1993
Television Appearances
Movies
Coroner, "The Morgue," John Carpenter Presents Body Bags (also known as Body Bags), Showtime, 1993
Miniseries
Himself, A-Z of Horror (also known as Clive Barker's A-Z of Horror), 1997
Specials
Fear in the Dark, 1991
Himself, Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects, 1994
Himself, The Reality Trip, 1997
Masters of Fantasy: John Carpenter, Sci-Fi Channel, 1998
Himself, Faces of Evil, TNT, 2000
The American Nightmare, Independent Film Channel, 2000
Himself, Guns for Hire: The Making of "The Magnificent Seven," Channel 4, 2000
Himself, Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre, 2000
Himself, Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror, Independent Film Channel, 2000
Himself, AFI's 100 Years, 100 Thrills: America's Most Heart-Pounding Movies, CBS, 2001
(Uncredited) Himself, Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties, TCM, 2001
Himself, Scream: The E! True Hollywood Story, E! Entertainment Television, 2001
Interviewee, Masters of Horror, 2002
Episodic
Appeared in episodes of Firstworks and The Directors, Encore.
WRITINGS
Film Writings
(With Jim Rokos) Screenplay and score composer, The Resurrection of Bronco Billy (short film), Universal, 1970
(With Dan O'Bannon) Screenplay and score composer, Dark Star, JackH. Harris, 1974
Screenplay and score composer, Assault on Precinct 13 (also knownas John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13), Turtle Releasing Company,1976
(With David Zelag Goodman) Screenplay, The Eyes of Laura Mars, Columbia, 1978
(With Debra Hill) Screenplay and score composer, Halloween (also known as John Carpenter's Halloween), Compass, 1978
(With Hill) Screenplay and score composer, The Fog (also known asJohn Carpenter's The Fog), Avco Embassy, 1980
(With Nick Castle) Screenplay and (with Alan Howarth) score composer, Escape from New York (also known as John Carpenter's Escape from New York), Avco Embassy, 1981
(With Hill) Screenplay and (with Howarth) score composer, Halloween II (also known as Halloween II: The Nightmare Isn't Over!), Universal, 1981
(With Howarth) Composer, Halloween III: Season of the Witch (alsoknown as Season of the Witch), Universal, 1982
(With Howarth) Composer, Christine (also known as John Carpenter's Christine), Columbia, 1983
(With Howarth) Composer, Big Trouble in Little China, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1986
(With Desmond Nakano and William Gray) Screenplay, Black Moon Rising, New World, 1986
(As Martin Quatermass) Screenplay and (with Howarth) score composer, Prince of Darkness (also known as John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness), Universal, 1987
(As Frank Armitage) Screenplay and score composer, They Live (alsoknown as John Carpenter's They Live and They Live!), Universal, 1988
(With Howarth) Composer, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers(also known as Halloween 5), Galaxy International, 1989
(With Jim Lang) Composer, In the Mouth of Madness (also known as John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness, New Line Cinema, 1995
(With Dave Davies) Composer, Village of the Damned (also known asJohn Carpenter's Village of the Damned), Universal, 1995
Screenplay and (with Shirley Walker) score composer, Escape from L.A. (also known as John Carpenter's Escape from L.A.), Paramount, 1996
Theme composer, "Halloween," Halloween: H2O (also known as Halloween H2O: Twenty Years Later), Miramax, 1998
Composer, John Carpenter's Vampires (also known as Vampiresand Vampire$), Sony Pictures, 1998
Screenplay, Meltdown, 1999
Composer, "Halloween" Unmasked 2000, Anchor Bay Entertainment, 1999
Screenplay, Ghosts of Mars (also known as John Carpenter's Ghost of Mars), Screen Gems, 2001
(With Hill) Screenplay, Halloween: Resurrection 2002, Dimension Films, 2002
Television Movies
(With William A. Schwartz) Zuma Beach, NBC, 1978
Someone's Watching Me! (also known as High Rise), NBC, 1978
(With Greg Strangis) Better Late Than Never, NBC, 1979
El Diablo, 1990
Blood River, 1991
John Carpenter Presents Body Bags (also known as Body Bags), Showtime, 1993
Silent Predators, TBS, 1999
Scores
(With Jim Lang), John Carpenter Presents Body Bags (also known asBody Bags), Showtime, 1993
Video Game Scores
Sentinel Returns, 1998

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

Cumbow, Robert C., Order in the Universe: The Films of John Carpenter, Scarecrow, 2000
International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 2: Directors, St. James Press, 1996
Muir, John Kenneth, The Films of John Carpenter, McFarland & Company, 2000

Periodicals

Entertainment Weekly, November/December, 1997, pp. 98-103
Film Comment, September/October, 1996, pp. 50-54; January, 1999, p. 26
Hollywood Reporter, October 26, 1998, p. 13

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