Melvin Van Peebles
Known For
Acting
Born
1932-08-21 in Chicago, Illinois, USA
Died
2021-09-21
Biography
Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. His feature film debut, The Story of a Three-Day Pass (1967), was based on his own French-language novel La Permission and was shot in France, as it was difficult for a black American director to get work at the time. The film won an award at the San Francisco International Film Festival which gained him the interest of Hollywood studios, leading to his American feature debut Watermelon Man, in 1970. Eschewing further overtures from Hollywood, he used the successes he had so far to bankroll his work as an independent filmmaker. In 1971, he released his best-known work, creating and starring in the film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which led to the creation of the blaxploitation genre. although critic Roger Ebert did not consider this example of Van Peebles' work to be an exploitation film. He followed this up with the musical, Don't Play Us Cheap, based on his own stage play, and continued to make films, write novels and stage plays in English and in French through the next several decades; his final films include the French-language film Le Conte du ventre plein (2000) and the absurdist film Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha (2008). His son, filmmaker and actor Mario Van Peebles, appeared in several of his works and portrayed him in the 2003 biographical film Baadasssss!.
Most Known For
Girlfriends
as Kenneth Daly
Homicide: Life on the Street
as Bennett Jackson
Living Single
The Shining
as Richard Hallorann
Dream On
as Norman Green
Last Action Hero
as Self
Panther
as Old Jail Bird
Jaws: The Revenge
as Mr. Witherspoon
Posse
as Papa Joe
Boomerang
as Editor
Peeples
as Grandpa Peeples
American Swing
as Self
Blackout
as George
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Bucket
Terminal Velocity
as Noble
Fist of the North Star
as Asher
Calm at Sunset
as Mr. Bucket
O.C. and Stiggs
as Wino Bob
Sonny Spoon
Hard Luck
as Hospital Prophet