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Bill Weeden

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Bill Weeden
Born (1940-08-08) August 8, 1940 (age 84)
Melbourne, Florida, U.S.
Alma materYale University
Years active1965–present
Spouse
Dolores McDougal
​
(m. 1995)​

Bill Weeden (born August 8, 1940[1]) is an American film[2] and stage actor,[3] comedy writer, and songwriter.[4]

Early life

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Weeden was born on August 8, 1940, in Melbourne, Florida[1] He graduated from Yale University in 1962.[5]

Film and television career

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Weeden is known for his work in genre film, starring in a number of Troma productions and other indie films, including playing the lead villain, Reginald Stuart, in Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1990),.[6] He was called the "Troma Olivier" by the New York Post for the performance.[7]

Weeden starred in Rachel Mason's rock-opera The Lives of Hamilton Fish (2013) as the serial killer Hamilton Fish, whose life is contrasted with the lawmaker with the same name.[8]

Weeden is the only actor in the "slow cinema" film Byron Jones.[9]

In 2020, Weeden starred as the protagonist, Dr. ZOOmis, alongside Kansas Bowling in the parody film Psycho Ape!.[10][11]

In 2021, Weeden received a Best Actor award[12] for his leading performance as a conflicted war veteran in the suspense-drama short film RedSin.[13][14]

Weeden stars in the mockumentary film The Once and Future Smash, which premiered at FrightFest in London in August 2022[15] and at Screamfest in Los Angeles in October 2022.[16]

Weeden also stars in the film Special Needs Revolt as the villain President Kruger, which he also co wrote with filmmakers Adrian Esposito and Curt Markham. The film premiered at the Amazing Fantasy Festival in Buffalo, NY September 19 2024.

Stage career

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Weeden is the composer of the Broadway show Hurry, Harry (opened 1972)[17] and composed additional material for the Broadway show I'm Solomon (opened 1968).[18]

Weeden played Hucklebee in the final cast of the original Sullivan Street production of The Fantasticks,[19] which closed in 2002.[20][21] He was also featured in Try to Remember: The Fantasticks, a documentary examining the history of the show.[22]

He created two original musical revues with performing and writing partners David Finkle and Sally Fay (as Weeden, Finkle & Fay) for the New York production company Playwrights Horizons[23][24] and a children's musical, Babar's Birthday, for Theatreworks/USA.[25] The trio also toured as major market performers for a show organized by Fortune Magazine specifically to entertain and court potential advertisers,[26] even receiving front-page coverage for the act in the Wall Street Journal.[27] The trio also wrote the musical Move It and It’s Yours, which has been performed numerous times in regional theater.[28]

The musical revue Into the Weeds: Selections from the Bill Weeden Songbook features Weeden's songs, including his various collaborations.[29][30]

Weeden has also performed in a number of off-Broadway and touring shows, including an East Village outdoor production of As You Like It, George Bataille's Bathrobe,[31] The Magnificent Ambersons,[32] an Atlantic City production of Little Shop of Horrors,[32] The Rocky Horror Show,[33] The Wizard of Oz,[34] and Damn Yankees.[35]

Weeden (with Finkle and Fay) contributed several songs to The No-Frills Revue, the 1987 off-Broadway musical conceived by Martin Charnin.[36]

Comedy

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Weeden has written comedy material, often with writing partner David Finkle, for Lily Tomlin,[37] Carol Channing,[38][39] Stiller & Meara,[40] Dick Shawn,[41][42] Madeline Kahn,[43][44] and others.

Weeden, Finkle & Fay's "Part of the Problem (The Inflation Song)" was released on 7" on MCA Records in 1980.[45][46]

Weeden has often collaborated with Upright Citizens Brigade,[47][48] including the comedy video "Author Wrote a F***ing Book," a parody of James Patterson's commercials, written by Achilles Stamatelaky and directed by Ryan Hunter.[49]

Weeden played the father of correspondent/comedian Jordan Klepper on a 2015 episode of "The Daily Show."[50]

Other work

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He has narrated a number of audio books, often paired with his wife Dolores McDougal.[51]

The song "One Big Team" was written and performed by Weeden for the 1988 New York Yankees' Old Timer's Day,[29] and in 2006 by Tony-winning Broadway star James Naughton on the YES Network's Yankees Magazine.[52]

Weeden joins other horror filmmakers and performers, such as Larry Fessenden and Amy Seimetz, voicing the horror "radio" series Tales from Beyond the Pale.[53]

Select filmography

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Weeden, Bill, 1940- - LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies | Library of Congress, from LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies (Library of Congress)". The Library of Congress. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Bill Weeden". TV Guide.
  3. ^ "Bill Weeden theatre profile". www.abouttheartists.com.
  4. ^ "Bill Weeden". AllMusic.
  5. ^ "Yale '62 - Not Home for the Holidays - Bill Weeden". yale62.org.
  6. ^ Holden, Stephen (22 May 1996). "FILM REVIEW;A Superhero Lethal With Chopsticks". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Adams, Thelma. "Received-3151941778465352". New York Post.
  8. ^ Gorce, Tammy La (17 January 2015). "Both Were Born Hamilton Fish, but Their Paths Differed". The New York Times.
  9. ^ "Tao film selection and other news". 17 September 2017.
  10. ^ Lanier, Hunter (17 October 2020). "Psycho Ape! | Film Threat".
  11. ^ "Watching Movies - Psycho Ape - Without Your Head". withoutyourhead.com.
  12. ^ Ortiz, Christopher. "THE WINNERS OF THE OCTOBER (2021) SESSION". Europe Film Festival U.K. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  13. ^ Ortiz, Christopher (9 January 2021). "RedSin (2021) Suspense-Drama Short Film". YouTube. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  14. ^ Ortiz, Christopher (28 February 2021). "RedSin: Suspense-Drama on Hero-Making". www.indieshortsmag.com. Indie Shorts Mag. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  15. ^ "THE ONCE AND FUTURE SMASH + END ZONE 2 [FrightFest 2022]". 29 August 2022.
  16. ^ "Screamfest: The Once And Future Smash & End Zone 2".
  17. ^ "Bill Weeden". Playbill.
  18. ^ "I'm Solomon Broadway @ Mark Hellinger Theatre - Tickets and Discounts". Playbill.
  19. ^ "thefantasticks – The Fantasticks Official Website". 4 July 2019.
  20. ^ "Fantastick Voyage to End | TheaterMania". www.theatermania.com. 5 September 2001.
  21. ^ "The Fantasticks Bids Farewell, Jan. 13, After 42 Years on Sullivan Street". Playbill. January 13, 2002.
  22. ^ "Try to Remember: The Fantasticks". IMDb. 14 May 2003.
  23. ^ Wilson, John S. (15 January 1979). "Song: A Satirical Threesome". The New York Times.
  24. ^ Holden, Stephen (1 May 1983). "REVUE: TRIO IN 'TRUST US' AT WEST BANK". The New York Times.
  25. ^ "Piano Man – Central Jersey Archives". 7 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-07.
  26. ^ Elliott, Stuart (8 March 2010). "Good Housekeeping Puts on a Show to Celebrate Women". The New York Times.
  27. ^ Kwitny, Jonathan (September 22, 1986). "Satirizing Companies Can Be Rewarding When They Foot Bill". The Wall Street Journal.
  28. ^ Cooperman, Deb (November 2005). "Review: 'Move It and It's Yours'". Community News.
  29. ^ a b "Into the Weeds Spotlights Songs of Bill Weeden in August". Broadway World.
  30. ^ "Felicia Finley and Stephanie D'Abruzzo Will Go Into the Weeds | TheaterMania". www.theatermania.com. 21 August 2006.
  31. ^ Saltz, Rachel (12 August 2009). "Language, the Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial View". The New York Times.
  32. ^ a b Varley, Eddie. "BWW INTERVIEWS: GEORGE BATAILLE'S BATHROBE Star Bill Weeden". Broadway World.
  33. ^ "Credits for The Rocky Horror Show (Non-Equity Tour, 1993)". Ovrtur.
  34. ^ "The Wizard of Oz (Non-Equity Tour, 1994)". Ovrtur.
  35. ^ "Bill Weeden". Playwrights Horizons.
  36. ^ Holden, Stephen (18 October 1987). "Stage: For Comedy 'The No-Frills Revue'". The New York Times.
  37. ^ Shepard, Richard F. (15 March 1982). "Going Out Guide". The New York Times.
  38. ^ "The Essential Jewishness Of Carol Channing — And Lorelei Lee". The Forward. January 16, 2019.
  39. ^ "Carol Channing: Larger Than Life (2012) - Soundtrack.Net". www.soundtrack.net.
  40. ^ Shepard, Richard F. (15 March 1982). "Going Out Guide". The New York Times.
  41. ^ Dietz, Dan (10 April 2014). The Complete Book of 1960s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-3072-9.
  42. ^ "Theater: 'Musical Fable'; I'm Solomon' Arrives at the Mark Hellinger". The New York Times.
  43. ^ Warren, Rod; Audy, Robert; Cohen, Michael; Morris, Edward; Graubaut, Judy (1966). Upstairs at the Downstairs presents Mxide duobels = (Mixed doubles) : a new musical revue. Playbill.
  44. ^ Dietz, Dan (10 March 2010). Off Broadway Musicals, 1910-2007: Casts, Credits, Songs, Critical Reception and Performance Data of More Than 1,800 Shows. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-5731-1.
  45. ^ "Weeden, Finkle & Fay – Part Of The Problem (The Inflation Song) (Vinyl)". Discogs.
  46. ^ "Weeden, Finkle And Fay - Part Of The Problem (The Inflation Song)" – via www.45cat.com.
  47. ^ "100% All-Natural, Organic, Pure, Simple Juice Commercial | by Pocketwatch". YouTube. 25 May 2015.
  48. ^ "UCB Comedy Round Up ft. Brandon Gulya & Bill Weeden". YouTube. 25 October 2013.
  49. ^ "Author Wrote a Fucking Book: A COMMERCIAL PARODY by UCB's SCRAPS". YouTube. 14 October 2013.
  50. ^ "Melissa McCarthy". June 3, 2015 – via IMDb.
  51. ^ "Audiobooks narrated by Bill Weeden | Audible.com". www.audible.com.
  52. ^ "Naughton Recording of Yankees Song Featured on YES".
  53. ^ Tales from Beyond the Pale, Season One, Volume 5.
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