Jonathan Demme directed numerous concert films such as Stop Making Sense, Neil Young: Heart of Gold, and Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids, and worked on several television series as both a producer and director.
23 Facts About Jonathan Demme
2.
Jonathan Demme was born on February 22,1944, in Baldwin, New York, the son of Dorothy Louise and Robert Eugene Jonathan Demme, a public relations executive.
3.
Jonathan Demme was raised in Rockville Centre, New York and Miami, where he graduated from Southwest Miami High School before attending the University of Florida.
4.
Jonathan Demme broke into feature film working for exploitation film producer Roger Corman early in his career, co-writing and producing Angels Hard as They Come, a motorcycle movie very loosely based on Rashomon, and The Hot Box.
5.
Jonathan Demme then moved on to directing three films for Corman's studio New World Pictures: Caged Heat, Crazy Mama, and Fighting Mad.
6.
Jonathan Demme ended up renouncing the finished product, and when the film was released in May 1984, it was generally panned by critics and neglected by moviegoers.
7.
Jonathan Demme formed his production company, Clinica Estetico, with producers Edward Saxon and Peter Saraf in 1987.
8.
Jonathan Demme co-directed the music video for Bruce Springsteen's Best Song Oscar-winning "Streets of Philadelphia" from the film's soundtrack.
9.
Jonathan Demme used several of the same actors for both movies.
10.
Jonathan Demme's art-house hit Rachel Getting Married was compared by many critics to Demme's films of the late 1970s and 1980s.
11.
In 2010, Jonathan Demme made his first foray into theater, directing Family Week, a play by Beth Henley.
12.
Jonathan Demme produced a compilation of Haitian music called Konbit: Burning Rhythms of Haiti that was released in 1989.
13.
Jonathan Demme was on the board of directors at Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, New York.
14.
Jonathan Demme was known for his use of recurring supporting players, including Charles Napier, Harry Northup, Tracey Walter, Ann Dowd, LisaGay Hamilton, Kimberly Elise, Paul Lazar, Dean Stockwell, Ted Levine, Paul Le Mat, Mary Steenburgen, Jason Robards and his former producer Roger Corman, as well as casting musicians and bands in roles.
15.
Jonathan Demme spent six years on the documentary I'm Carolyn Parker, which highlighted rebuilding efforts in New Orleans Lower Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina.
16.
Jonathan Demme was married twice, first to Evelyn Purcell and then Joanne Howard, with whom he had three children: Ramona, Brooklyn, and Jos.
17.
Jonathan Demme was the uncle of film director Ted Demme, who died in 2002.
18.
Jonathan Demme was a member of the steering committee of the Friends of the Apollo Theater, Oberlin, Ohio, along with Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman.
19.
Jonathan Demme was an avid collector and devotee of Haitian art; in particular of Hector Hyppolite; so much so that he called it "an addiction".
20.
Jonathan Demme died at his home in Manhattan on April 26,2017, from complications from esophageal cancer and heart disease; he was 73.
21.
Jonathan Demme was as quirky as his comedies and as deep as his dramas.
22.
Jonathan Demme was pure energy, the unstoppable cheerleader for anyone creative.
23.
Jonathan Demme is thanked in the credits of Spike Lee's 2020 concert film American Utopia starring David Byrne.