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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] He reprised his role in the 2024 sequel, Psycho Ape: Part II - The Wrath of Kong.[12]

In 2021, Weeden received a Best Actor award[13] for his leading performance as a conflicted war veteran in the suspense-drama short film RedSin.[14][15]

Weeden stars in the mockumentary film The Once and Future Smash, which premiered at FrightFest in London in August 2022[16] and at Screamfest in Los Angeles in October 2022.[17]

Weeden starred in the 2024 film Special Needs Revolt as the villain, President Kruger. The film premiered at the Amazing Fantasy Festival in Buffalo, NY in September.[18]

Stage career

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Weeden is the composer of the Broadway show Hurry, Harry (opened 1972)[19] and composed additional material for the Broadway show I'm Solomon (opened 1968).[20]

Weeden played Hucklebee in the final cast of the original Sullivan Street production of The Fantasticks,[21] which closed in 2002.[22][23] He was also featured in Try to Remember: The Fantasticks, a documentary examining the history of the show.[24]

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[25][26] and a children's musical, Babar's Birthday, for Theatreworks/USA.[27] The trio also toured as major market performers for a show organized by Fortune Magazine specifically to entertain and court potential advertisers,[28] even receiving front-page coverage for the act in the Wall Street Journal.[29] The trio also wrote the musical Move It and It’s Yours, which has been performed numerous times in regional theater.[30]

The musical revue Into the Weeds: Selections from the Bill Weeden Songbook features Weeden's songs, including his various collaborations.[31][32]

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,[33] The Magnificent Ambersons,[34] an Atlantic City production of Little Shop of Horrors,[34] The Rocky Horror Show,[35] The Wizard of Oz,[36] and Damn Yankees.[37]

Weeden (with Finkle and Fay) contributed several songs to The No-Frills Revue, the 1987 off-Broadway musical conceived by Martin Charnin.[38]

Comedy

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Weeden has written comedy material, often with writing partner David Finkle, for Lily Tomlin,[39] Carol Channing,[40][41] Stiller & Meara,[42] Dick Shawn,[43][44] Madeline Kahn,[45][46] and others.

Weeden, Finkle & Fay's "Part of the Problem (The Inflation Song)" was released on 7" on MCA Records in 1980.[47][48]

Weeden has often collaborated with Upright Citizens Brigade,[49][50] 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.[51]

Weeden played the father of correspondent/comedian Jordan Klepper on a 2015 episode of "The Daily Show."[52]

Other work

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He has narrated a number of audio books, often paired with his wife Dolores McDougal.[53]

The song "One Big Team" was written and performed by Weeden for the 1988 New York Yankees' Old Timer's Day,[31] and in 2006 by Tony-winning Broadway star James Naughton on the YES Network's Yankees Magazine.[54]

Weeden joins other horror filmmakers and performers, such as Larry Fessenden and Amy Seimetz, voicing the horror "radio" series Tales from Beyond the Pale.[55]

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. ^ LePire, Bobby. "Psycho Ape: Part 2 – The Wrath Of Kong".
  13. ^ Ortiz, Christopher. "THE WINNERS OF THE OCTOBER (2021) SESSION". Europe Film Festival U.K. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  14. ^ Ortiz, Christopher (9 January 2021). "RedSin (2021) Suspense-Drama Short Film". YouTube. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  15. ^ Ortiz, Christopher (28 February 2021). "RedSin: Suspense-Drama on Hero-Making". www.indieshortsmag.com. Indie Shorts Mag. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  16. ^ "THE ONCE AND FUTURE SMASH + END ZONE 2 [FrightFest 2022]". 29 August 2022.
  17. ^ "Screamfest: The Once And Future Smash & End Zone 2".
  18. ^ "Amazing Fantasy Fest 2024 Review Round-Up: Damnation, Tales from the End!, More".
  19. ^ "Bill Weeden". Playbill.
  20. ^ "I'm Solomon Broadway @ Mark Hellinger Theatre - Tickets and Discounts". Playbill.
  21. ^ "thefantasticks – The Fantasticks Official Website". 4 July 2019.
  22. ^ "Fantastick Voyage to End | TheaterMania". www.theatermania.com. 5 September 2001.
  23. ^ "The Fantasticks Bids Farewell, Jan. 13, After 42 Years on Sullivan Street". Playbill. January 13, 2002.
  24. ^ "Try to Remember: The Fantasticks". IMDb. 14 May 2003.
  25. ^ Wilson, John S. (15 January 1979). "Song: A Satirical Threesome". The New York Times.
  26. ^ Holden, Stephen (1 May 1983). "REVUE: TRIO IN 'TRUST US' AT WEST BANK". The New York Times.
  27. ^ "Piano Man – Central Jersey Archives". 7 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-07.
  28. ^ Elliott, Stuart (8 March 2010). "Good Housekeeping Puts on a Show to Celebrate Women". The New York Times.
  29. ^ Kwitny, Jonathan (September 22, 1986). "Satirizing Companies Can Be Rewarding When They Foot Bill". The Wall Street Journal.
  30. ^ Cooperman, Deb (November 2005). "Review: 'Move It and It's Yours'". Community News.
  31. ^ a b "Into the Weeds Spotlights Songs of Bill Weeden in August". Broadway World.
  32. ^ "Felicia Finley and Stephanie D'Abruzzo Will Go Into the Weeds | TheaterMania". www.theatermania.com. 21 August 2006.
  33. ^ Saltz, Rachel (12 August 2009). "Language, the Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial View". The New York Times.
  34. ^ a b Varley, Eddie. "BWW INTERVIEWS: GEORGE BATAILLE'S BATHROBE Star Bill Weeden". Broadway World.
  35. ^ "Credits for The Rocky Horror Show (Non-Equity Tour, 1993)". Ovrtur.
  36. ^ "The Wizard of Oz (Non-Equity Tour, 1994)". Ovrtur.
  37. ^ "Bill Weeden". Playwrights Horizons.
  38. ^ Holden, Stephen (18 October 1987). "Stage: For Comedy 'The No-Frills Revue'". The New York Times.
  39. ^ Shepard, Richard F. (15 March 1982). "Going Out Guide". The New York Times.
  40. ^ "The Essential Jewishness Of Carol Channing — And Lorelei Lee". The Forward. January 16, 2019.
  41. ^ "Carol Channing: Larger Than Life (2012) - Soundtrack.Net". www.soundtrack.net.
  42. ^ Shepard, Richard F. (15 March 1982). "Going Out Guide". The New York Times.
  43. ^ Dietz, Dan (10 April 2014). The Complete Book of 1960s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-3072-9.
  44. ^ "Theater: 'Musical Fable'; I'm Solomon' Arrives at the Mark Hellinger". The New York Times.
  45. ^ 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.
  46. ^ 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.
  47. ^ "Weeden, Finkle & Fay – Part Of The Problem (The Inflation Song) (Vinyl)". Discogs.
  48. ^ "Weeden, Finkle And Fay - Part Of The Problem (The Inflation Song)" – via www.45cat.com.
  49. ^ "100% All-Natural, Organic, Pure, Simple Juice Commercial | by Pocketwatch". YouTube. 25 May 2015.
  50. ^ "UCB Comedy Round Up ft. Brandon Gulya & Bill Weeden". YouTube. 25 October 2013.
  51. ^ "Author Wrote a Fucking Book: A COMMERCIAL PARODY by UCB's SCRAPS". YouTube. 14 October 2013.
  52. ^ "Melissa McCarthy". June 3, 2015 – via IMDb.
  53. ^ "Audiobooks narrated by Bill Weeden | Audible.com". www.audible.com.
  54. ^ "Naughton Recording of Yankees Song Featured on YES".
  55. ^ Tales from Beyond the Pale, Season One, Volume 5.
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