1. John Landis is best known for directing comedy films such as The Kentucky Fried Movie, National Lampoon's Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, Three Amigos, Coming to America and Beverly Hills Cop III, and horror films such as An American Werewolf in London and Innocent Blood.
John Landis directed the music videos for Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and "Black or White".
John Landis directed several episodes of the 2000s horror anthology series Masters of Horror and Fear Itself, as well as commercials for DirecTV, Taco Bell, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Kellogg's and Disney.
In 2008, John Landis won an Emmy Award for the documentary Mr Warmth: The Don Rickles Project.
In 1982, John Landis became the subject of controversy when three actors, including two children, died on set while filming his segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie.
John Landis was born into a Jewish American family in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Shirley Levine and Marshall John Landis, an interior designer and decorator.
When John Landis was a young boy, he watched The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, which inspired him to become a director:.
John Landis began his film career working as a mailboy at 20th Century-Fox.
John Landis worked as a "go-fer" and then as an assistant director during filming Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Kelly's Heroes in Yugoslavia in 1969; he replaced the film's original assistant director, who became ill and was sent home.
Schlock has since gained a cult following, but John Landis has described the film as "terrible".
John Landis was then hired to direct The Kentucky Fried Movie after David Zucker saw his Tonight Show appearance.
The rivalry might have been a friendly one, as Spielberg makes a cameo appearance in Blues Brothers and John Landis had made a cameo in 1941 as a messenger.
In 1981, John Landis wrote and directed another cult-status film, the comedy-horror An American Werewolf in London.
John Landis insisted that the deaths of Morrow, Le and Chen were the result of an accident.
However, camera operators filming the scene testified to John Landis being a very imperious director, and a "yeller and screamer" on set.
The prosecutors demonstrated that John Landis was reckless and had not warned the parents, cast or crew of the children's and Morrow's proximity to explosives, or of limitations on their working hours.
John Landis admitted that he had violated California law regulating the employment of children by using the children after hours, and conceded that that was wrong, but still denied culpability.
In 1988, John Landis was reprimanded by the Directors Guild of America for unprofessional conduct on the set of the film and the California Labor Commission fined him $5,000 for violating child labor laws.
John Landis's next film, Spies Like Us, was an homage to the Road to.
Hope made a cameo in the John Landis film, portraying himself.
In 1986, John Landis directed Three Amigos, which featured Chevy Chase, Martin Short and Steve Martin.
John Landis then co-directed and produced the 1987 satirical comedy film Amazon Women on the Moon, which parodies the experience of watching low-budget films on late-night television.
John Landis next directed the 1988 Eddie Murphy film Coming to America, which was hugely successful, becoming the third-most-popular movie of 1988 at the US box office.
In 1991, John Landis directed Sylvester Stallone in Oscar, based on a Claude Magnier stage play.
In 1994, John Landis directed Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop III, their third collaboration following Trading Places and Coming to America.
John Landis was the executive producer on the comedy horror film Some Guy Who Kills People.
John Landis was approached by Michael Jackson to make a video for his song "Thriller".
In 2009, John Landis sued the Jackson estate in a dispute over royalties for the video; he claimed to be owed at least four years' worth of royalties.
In 1991, John Landis collaborated again with Michael Jackson on the music video for the song "Black or White".
John Landis has been active in television as the executive producer of the series Dream On, Weird Science, Sliders, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Campus Cops, The Lost World, Masters of Horror, and various episodes of Psych.
John Landis made commercials for DirecTV, Taco Bell, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Kellogg's, and Disney.
In June 2020, John Landis signed on to direct and executive produce the streaming series Superhero Kindergarten.
John Landis made his first documentary, Coming Soon, in 1982; it was only released on VHS.
John Landis was friends with Christopher Lee and he appeared in the documentary The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee.
John Landis' moving image collection is held at the Academy Film Archive.