Steven Spielberg Biography (1947?-)

Born December 18, 1947 (some sources cite 1946), in Cincinnati, OH; raised inNew Jersey, Arizona, and California; son of Arnold Spielberg (a computer engineer) and Leah Adler (a concert pianist and restaurateur; maiden name, Posner); brother of Anne Spielberg (a writer and producer); married Amy Irving (anactress), November 27, 1985 (divorced, 1989); married Kate Capshaw (an actress), October 12, 1991; children: (first marriage) Max Samuel; (second marriage) Jessica, Theo, Sasha, Sawyer, Mikaela George, Destry Allyn.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Director, producer, cinematographer, screenwriter, editor, actor, creative consultant
Birth Details: December 18, 1947?; Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Famous Works

CREDITS
Film Appearances
Voice on the radio, Jaws, Universal, 1975
Cook County clerk, The Blues Brothers, Universal, 1980
Himself, The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981
Himself, Chambre 666, 1982
Himself in archival footage, Coming Soon, 1982
Man in electric wheelchair, Gremlins, Warner Bros., 1984
Tourist at airport, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Paramount, 1984
Himself, Citizen Steve, 1987
Presenter of the 1989 reconstructed and restored version (original version released in 1962), Lawrence of Arabia, 1989
Himself, Listen Up (also known as Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones), Warner Bros., 1990
Himself, Making Close Encounters, 1990
Himself, The Magical World of Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1992
Himself, The Making of Jurassic Park, 1995
Himself, The Making of Steven Spielberg's Jaws, 1995
Himself, Your Studio and You, 1995
Himself, The Making of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1996
Himself, The Making of 1941, 1996
Popcorn-eating man, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (also known as Jurassic Park 2, Lost World, and The Lost World), DreamWorks SKG, 1997
Himself, The Making of Lost World, 1997
Himself ("Liberian Girl" video), Michael Jackson: History on Film--Volume II, 1997
Himself (as the director and producer), Into the Breach: Saving Private Ryan, 1998
Himself, The Making of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1998
Himself, Forever Hollywood (documentary), Esplanade Productions, 1999
Himself, Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures, Warner Bros., 2001
Film Work
Director
(And editor) The Last Gun, 1959
(And editor) Battle Squad, 1961
(And cinematographer and editor) Escape to Nowhere, 1962
(And cinematographer, editor, and creator of visual effects) Firelight, 1965
(Unfinished) Slipstream, 1967
Amblin' (short film), 1969
The Sugarland Express, Universal, 1974
Jaws, Universal, 1975
(And creator of special visual effects concept) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (also known as Watch the Skies), Columbia, 1977, special edition released in 1980
1941, Universal, 1979
Raiders of the Lost Ark (also known as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark), Paramount, 1981
Duel (expanded theatrical version of the television movie), Universal, 1982
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (also known as A Boy's Life andE.T.), Universal, 1982
(And editor) Poltergeist, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1982
"Kick the Can," Twilight Zone--The Movie, Warner Bros., 1983
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Paramount, 1984
The Color Purple, Warner Bros., 1985
Empire of the Sun, Warner Bros., 1987
Always, Universal, 1989
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Paramount, 1989
(With Douglas Day Stewart) The Visionary, [Germany], 1990
Hook, TriStar, 1991
Jurassic Park (also known as JP), Universal, 1993
Schindler's List (also known as Schindler's Ark), Universal, 1993
Amistad, DreamWorks SKG, 1997
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (also known as Jurassic Park 2, Lost World, and The Lost World), DreamWorks SKG, 1997
Saving Private Ryan, DreamWorks SKG, 1998
(And editor) The Unfinished Journey, 1999
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (also known as Artificial Intelligence: AI), Warner Bros., 2001
Catch Me If You Can, DreamWorks SKG, 2002
Minority Report, DreamWorks SKG, 2002
Executive Producer
I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Universal, 1978
(With John Milius) Used Cars, Columbia, 1980
(With Bernie Brillstein and Jack Rosenthal) Continental Divide, Universal, 1981
(With Frank Marshall) Twilight Zone--The Movie, Warner Bros., 1983
(With Kathleen Kennedy and Marshall) Gremlins, Warner Bros., 1984
(With Kennedy and Marshall) Back to the Future, Universal, 1985
(With Kennedy and Marshall; and editor and second unit director) The Goonies, Warner Bros., 1985
(With Kennedy and Marshall) Young Sherlock Holmes (also known as Pyramid of Fear), Paramount, 1985
(With Kennedy, David Kirschner, and Marshall) An American Tail (animated), Universal, 1986
(With David Glier and Kennedy) The Money Pit, Universal, 1986
(With Kennedy and Marshall) *batteries not included, Universal, 1987
(With Peter Guber and Jon Peters) Innerspace, Warner Bros., 1987
(With George Lucas) The Land before Time (animated; also known asThe Land before Time Began), Universal, 1988
(With Kennedy) Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Buena Vista, 1988
(With Kennedy and Marshall) Back to the Future II, Universal, 1989
(With Kennedy and Marshall) Dad, Universal, 1989
(With Marshall; and second unit director) Arachnophobia, Buena Vista, 1990
(With Kennedy and Marshall) Back to the Future III, Universal, 1990
(With Kennedy and Marshall) Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Warner Bros., 1990
(With Kennedy and Marshall) Joe versus the Volcano, Warner Bros.,1990
(International version) Yume (also known as Akira Kurosawa's Dreams, Dreams, I Saw a Dream Like This, Such Dreams I Have Dreamed, and Konna yume wo mita), 1990
(With Kennedy and Marshall) We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (animated), Universal, 1993
(As Steven Spielrock) The Flintstones, Universal, 1994
Yakko's World: An Animaniacs Singalong (animated), 1994
(With Kennedy and Bonnie Radford) Balto (animated; also known as Snowballs), Universal, 1995
(With Gerald R. Molen and Jeffrey A. Montgomery) Casper (animated;also known as Casper, the Friendly Ghost), Universal, 1995
(With Molen, Laurie MacDonald, and Walter Parkes) Twister, WarnerBros., 1996
Amistad, DreamWorks SKG, 1997
Men in Black (also known as MiB), Sony Pictures Entertainment, 1997
(With Joan Bradshaw) Deep Impact, Paramount, 1998
The Last Days (documentary), October Films, 1998
(And second unit director) The Haunting (also known as La maldicion), DreamWorks SKG, 1999
A Holocaust szemei (also known as Eyes of the Holocaust), Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, 2000
Evolution, DreamWorks SKG, 2001
Jurassic Park III (also known as JP3), Universal, 2001
Shrek (animated), DreamWorks SKG, 2001
Men in Black 2 (also known as MiB 2), Sony Pictures Entertainment, 2002
Executive Producer; Animated Short Films
Tummy Trouble, Buena Vista, 1989
Rollercoaster Rabbit, Buena Vista, 1990
(With Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall) Trail Mix-Up, Buena Vista, 1993
I'm Mad, Warner Bros., 1994
Producer
(With Kathleen Kennedy) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (also known asA Boy's Life and E.T.), Universal, 1982
(With Frank Marshall) Poltergeist, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1982
(With John Landis) Twilight Zone--The Movie, Warner Bros., 1983
(With Peter Guber, Jon Peters, Quincy Jones, Kennedy, and Marshall) The Color Purple, Warner Bros., 1985

(With Kennedy and Marshall) Empire of the Sun, Warner Bros., 1987
(With Kennedy and Marshall) Always, Universal, 1989
Joe versus the Volcano, Warner Bros., 1990
(With Robert Watts) An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (animated),Universal, 1991
(With Branko Lustig and Gerald R. Molen) Schindler's List (also known as Schindler's Ark), Universal, 1993
Saving Private Ryan, DreamWorks SKG, 1998
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (also known as Artificial Intelligence: AI), Warner Bros., 2001
Catch Me If You Can, DreamWorks SKG, 2002
Assistant to the Director
Fandango, Warner Bros., 1985
Return to Oz (also known as The Adventures of the Devil from the Sky and Oz), Buena Vista, 1985
Other
Production assistant, Faces, Continental Distributing, 1968
Supervising editor, Taxi Driver, 1976
Television Work
Executive Producer; Series
(And creator) Amazing Stories (also known as Steven Spielberg'sAmazing Stories), NBC, 1985-1987
(With David J. Burke and Patrick Hasburg) seaQuest DSV (also knownas seaQuest 2032), NBC, 1993-1995
ER (also known as Emergency Room), NBC, beginning in 1994
(Producer) Earth 2, NBC, 1994-1995
(And creator with others) High Incident, ABC, beginning in 1995
Executive Producer; Animated Series
Tiny Toon Adventures (also known as Steven Spielberg Presents ... Tiny Toon Adventures, Tiny Toons, and Tiny Tunes), syndicated, 1990-1992, Fox, beginning in 1992
The Plucky Duck Show, Fox, 1992
Animaniacs (also known as Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs), Fox, 1992-1995 then the WB, 1995-2000
(And creator with Tim Burton) Family Dog, CBS, 1993
Steven Spielberg Presents Freakazoid! (animated; also known as Freakazoid!), The WB, beginning in 1995
Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky and the Brain (animated; also known as Pinky and the Brain), The WB, beginning in 1995
Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain (also known as Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain), The WB, 1998-1999
Toonsylvania (also known as Steven Spielberg Presents Toonsylvania), Fox, 1998-1999
Director of Introduction and Conclusion; Series
Strokes of Genius, PBS, 1984
Executive Producer; Miniseries
Band of Brothers, HBO, 2001
Taken, Sci-Fi Channel, 2002
Executive Producer; Movies
(Producer) The Habitation of Dragons, 1992
(With Michael Brandman) The Water Engine, 1992
Class of '61, ABC, 1993
(And editor) Shooting War, 2000
Director; Movies
Duel, ABC, 1971
"Something Evil," CBS Friday Night Movie, CBS, 1972
Executive Producer and Producer; Specials
Survivors of the Holocaust (also known as Survivors of the Shoah), TBS, 1996
Executive Producer; Animated Specials
(With Berkeley Breathed, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, and Paul B. Stickland) A Wish for Wings That Work, 1991
It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special, Fox, 1992
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (also known as How I Spent My Vacation and Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation), Fox, 1993
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures: Spring Break Special, Fox, 1993
Steven Spielberg Presents A Pinky & the Brain Christmas Special (also known as A Pinky & the Brain Christmas Special), USA Network, 1995
(And producer) Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toons' Night Ghoulery (also known as Tiny Toon Adventures: Night Ghoulery), Fox, 1995
Director; Episodic
"L.A. 2017," The Name of the Game, NBC, 1968
"The Daredevil Gesture" (also known as "Daredevil Gesture"), Marcus Welby, M.D., ABC, 1969
"Make Me Laugh," Night Gallery (also known as Rod Serling's Night Gallery), NBC, 1970
"Eulogy for a Wide Receiver," Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, ABC, 1971
"Murder by the Book," Columbo, NBC, 1971
"Par for the Course," The Psychiatrist, NBC, 1971
"The Private World of Martin Dalton," The Psychiatrist, NBC, 1971
Night Gallery, NBC, various episodes from 1971 to 1973
Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, ABC, various episodes from 1971 to 1974
"Ghost Train," Amazing Stories (also known as Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories), NBC, 1985
"The Mission," Amazing Stories (also known as Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories), NBC, 1985
Also the assistant editor of episodes of Wagon Train (also known as Major Adams, Trail Master), NBC and ABC.
Director; Pilots
"Eyes," Night Gallery, NBC, 1969
(And editor) Savage (also known as Watch Dog), NBC, 1973
Executive Producer; Pilots
Tiny Toon Adventures: The Looney Beginning, CBS, 1990
seaQuest DSV (also known as seaQuest 2032), NBC, 1993
Semper Fi, NBC, 2001
Television Appearances
Movies
"Something Evil," CBS Friday Night Movie, CBS, 1972
Specials
The Making of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1977
Himself, Great Movie Stunts: Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981
Himself, The Making of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 1984
Himself, A China Odyssey: Empire of the Sun: A Film by Steven Spielberg (documentary), CBS, 1987
Funny, You Don't Look 200: A Constitution Vaudeville, ABC, 1987
Himself, Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toontown, 1988
Premiere: Inside the Summer Blockbusters, Fox, 1989
Himself, The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson, CBS, 1990
Martin Scorsese Directs (documentary), PBS, 1990
Siskel & Ebert: The Future of the Movies with Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Martin Scorsese (also known as Siskel & Ebert: TheFuture of Movies), syndicated, 1990
Host, Shattered Lullabies, 1992
Host, Here's Looking at You, Warner Bros., TNT, 1993
"George Lucas: Heroes, Myths, and Magic," American Masters, PBS, 1993
Rolling Stone '93: The Year in Review, Fox, 1993
Barbara Walters Presents The Ten Most Fascinating People of 1994,ABC, 1994
Himself, Hollywood Stars: A Century of Cinema, The Disney Channel,1995
Himself, The Siskel and Ebert Interviews, CBS, 1996
Himself, Survivors of the Holocaust (also known as Survivors ofthe Shoah), TBS, 1996
The Universal Story, Encore and Starz!, 1996
Himself, AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies, CBS, 1998
Himself, AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies: In Search of, CBS, 1998
Himself, From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic, 1999
Himself, People Profiles: Steven Spielberg, 1999
Himself, Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens, a Life in Animation, PBS, 2000
Himself, AFI's 100 Years, 100 Thrills: America's Most Heart-Pounding Movies, 2001
Awards Presentations
The 59th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1987
The 18th Annual American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award: ASalute to Sir David Lean, ABC, 1990
The 62nd Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1990
The Movie Awards, CBS, 1991
Presenter, The 64th Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1992
The 20th Annual People's Choice Awards, 1994
Presenter, The 67th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1995
Himself, The American Film Institute Salute to Steven Spielberg (also known as The 23rd Annual American Film Institute Life Achievement Award: A Salute to Steven Spielberg), NBC, 1995
Presenter, The 68th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1996
Himself, A Salute to Clint Eastwood (also known as The 24th Annual American Film Institute Life Achievement Award: A Salute to Clint Eastwood), ABC, 1996
Honoree, 31st NAACP Image Awards, 2000
Episodic
"The Gate," The Tracey Ullman Show, Fox, 1989
"The Real Jurassic Park," Nova, PBS, 1993
Himself, American Cinema, PBS, 1995
"Blacks and Jews," P.O.V., PBS, 1997
Himself, Inside the Directors Studio, Bravo, 1999
The Directors, Encore, 1999
Appeared in episodes of other series, including Evening at Pops, PBS; and Fame, NBC and syndicated.
Episodic; Animated Series
Voice of himself, "Buster and Babs Go Hawaiian," Tiny Toon Adventures (also known as Steven Spielberg Presents ... Tiny Toon Adventures, Tiny Toons, and Tiny Tunes), syndicated, 1991
Voice, Animaniacs (also known as Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs), Fox, 1993
RECORDINGS
Music Videos
Director of the music video "Liberian Girl," by Michael Jackson. Appearedin the music video "Goonies R Good Enough," by Cyndi Lauper.
Video Games
Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair, 1999
Also director of Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair.
WRITINGS
Screenplays
Battle Squad, 1961
(As Steve Spielberg) Escape to Nowhere, 1962
(As Steve Spielberg) Firelight, 1965
Amblin' (short film), 1969
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (also known as Watch the Skies), Columbia, 1977, special edition released in 1980
(With Michael Grais and Mark Victor) Poltergeist, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1982
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (also known as Artificial Intelligence: AI), Warner Bros., 2001
Stories for Films
Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1973
(With Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins) The Sugarland Express, Universal, 1974
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (also known as Watch the Skies), Columbia, 1977, special edition released in 1980
Poltergeist, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1982
The Goonies, Warner Bros., 1985
Film Music
Firelight, 1965
Teleplays
Episodic
"Vanessa in the Garden," Amazing Stories (also known as StevenSpielberg's Amazing Stories), NBC, 1985
Wrote stories for several episodes of the animated series Animaniacs (also known as Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs), Fox and The WB.
Video Games
The Dig, 1995
Medal of Honor, DreamWorks SKG/Electronic Arts, 1999
Other Writings
(With Patrick Mann) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (novel based on the film of the same name), Delacorte (New York City), 1977
(Author of introduction) Letters to E.T., Putnam (New York City),1983
(With Roger Ebert, Gene Siskel, Martin Scorsese, and George Lucas) TheFuture of the Movies: Interviews with Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, andGeorge Lucas, Andrews and McMeel (Kansas City, MO), 1991
Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs (sound recording), Kid Rhino,1993
(With Mariana Cook and others) Mothers and Sons: In Their Own Words (pictorial essay), 1996

Further Reference

ADAPTATIONS

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was adapted for print by William Kotzwinkle, illustrated by David Wiesner, and published as E.T., the Storybook of the Green Planet: A New Storybook, Putnam, 1985.

OTHER SOURCES

Books

Baxter, John, Steven Spielberg, HarperCollins, 1997
Brode, Douglas, The Films of Steven Spielberg, Citadel Press (Secaucus, NJ), 2000
Collins, Tom, Steven Spielberg Creator of E.T., Dillon (Minneapolis, MN), 1983
Conklin, Thomas, Meet Steven Spielberg, Bullseye Biography/RandomHouse, 1994
Contemporary Authors, Volume 77-80, Gale, 1979
Contemporary Heroes and Heroines, Book 1, Gale, 1990
Contemporary Literary Criticism, Volume 20, Gale, 1982
Encyclopedia of World Biography, second edition, Gale, 1998
Ferber, Elizabeth, Steven Spielberg, 1997
Leather, Michael, The Picture Life of Steven Spielberg, F. Watts (New York City), 1984
Mabery, D. L., Steven Spielberg, Lerner (Minneapolis, MN), 1986
McBride, Joseph, Steven Spielberg: A Biography, De Capo Press, 1999
Mott, Donald R. and Cheryl McAllister Saunders, Steven Spielberg,Twayne (Boston, MA), 1986
Newsmakers 1997, Issue 4, Gale, 1997
Sanello, Frank, Spielberg: The Man, the Movies, the Mythology, 1996

Periodicals

American Film, June, 1988, pp. 12, 14-16
Cosmopolitan, July, 1996, pp. 200-06
Entertainment Weekly, December 31, 1993, pp. 16-18; March 31, 1994, pp. 96-97; December 13, 1996, p. 16; April 25, 1997, p. 77; May 4, 2001, p.74
Esquire, December, 1996, pp. 56-62
Film Comment, March/April, 1994, pp. 51-56
Forbes, September 24, 1994, pp. 104-05
Fortune, November 28, 1994, p. 200
Interview, April, 1994, p. 72
NEA Today, November, 1994, p. 7
New Statesman, September 20, 1996, p. 16
Newsweek, November 21, 1994, p. 98; May 29, 1995, p. 56
New Yorker, March 21, 1994, pp. 96-108
New York Times, January 10, 1988, pp. 21, 30; March 15, 1997, p. 28
Premiere, August, 1996, p. 42
Reader's Digest, April, 1996, pp. 71-76
Time, February 6, 1995, p. 79; April 7, 1997, p. 22; May 19, 1997,
Times (London), March 11, 1990, pp. 1, 6
TV Guide, October 28, 1995, pp. 33-35
USA Today, September, 2001, p. 67
Vanity Fair, April, 1995, pp. 96-102
Variety, December 12, 1994, p. 27; October 30, 1995, pp. 8-9

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