35 Facts About Paul Bartel

Paul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director.

Paul Bartel was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he co-wrote, starred in and directed.

Paul Bartel frequently co-starred with friend and former Warhol girl Mary Woronov; the pair appeared in 17 films together, often as husband and wife.

Paul Bartel directed 11 low-budget films, many of which he acted in or wrote.

Paul Bartel started in 1968 with the short The Secret Cinema, a paranoid delusional fantasy of self-referential cinema.

Paul Bartel graduated to features in 1972 with the horror-comedy Private Parts.

Paul Bartel would go on to direct such cult films as Death Race 2000, Eating Raoul, Lust in the Dust and Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills.

Paul Bartel studied film and theatre at UCLA, and spent a year on a Fulbright scholarship at the Centro Sperimentale film school in Rome, before returning to the US.

Paul Bartel fulfilled his military service by talking his way into the Army Signal Corps Pictorial Center in Long Island City and later made films for the United States Information Agency.

Paul Bartel followed it with another short he wrote and directed, Naughty Nurse.

Paul Bartel co-wrote the feature Utterly Without Redeeming Social Value, starring in the lead.

Gene Corman's brother, Roger, ran a production company, New World Pictures, and hired Paul Bartel to be second unit director on Big Bad Mama, an action film.

Paul Bartel wrote a script with Richard Blackburn, Eating Raoul.

Paul Bartel managed to raise the finance and starred in the film along with Woronov.

Paul Bartel had small roles in White Dog, directed by Sam Fuller and produced by New World alumni Jon Davison, Trick or Treats, Heart Like a Wheel for Kaplan, and Get Crazy for Arkush.

The success of Eating Raoul enabled Paul Bartel to raise $3 million in finance for a screwball comedy he had co written and wanted to direct, Not for Publication.

Paul Bartel continued to be in demand as an actor, appearing in Frankenweenie, a short for Tim Burton, Into the Night for John Landis, European Vacation for Amy Heckerling, and Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird.

Paul Bartel directed The Longshot based on a script by Tim Conway who starred.

Paul Bartel said he was a "director for hire" on the project.

Paul Bartel appeared in an episode of Fame directed by Arkush, and reprised his Raoul character in Chopping Mall for Jim Wynorski produced by Julie Corman.

Paul Bartel appeared in "The Jar", an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents directed by Burton, as well as the film Killer Party.

Paul Bartel directed two episodes of Amazing Stories, both from his own scripts, both featuring him as an actor: "Secret Cinema" and "Gershwin's Trunk".

Paul Bartel had roles in Munchies, Amazon Women on the Moon, an episode of Crime Story, Baja Oklahoma, and Shakedown.

Paul Bartel was an executive producer on Out of the Dark, in which he had a small role.

Paul Bartel had a role in Caddyshack II directed by Arkush.

Paul Bartel directed Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, based on a story of his.

Paul Bartel wrote a sequel to Eating Raoul called Bland Ambition, where Paul and Mary wind up running for Governor of California.

Paul Bartel had a large supporting role in The Pope Must Diet, directed by Peter Richardson of The Comic Strip, and was in The Living End from Gregg Araki, Soulmates, and Posse.

Paul Bartel appeared in some episodes of The Comic Strip Presents.

Paul Bartel was in Acting on Impulse, Tales of the City and Grief.

Paul Bartel appeared in Twin Sitters, The Usual Suspects, and The Jerky Boys.

Paul Bartel directed 2 episodes of Clueless, "We Shall Overpack" and "Cher Inc".

Paul Bartel was openly gay; this influenced his career choice, as he found himself more accepted and afforded more opportunities within the independent film industry than he would have in Hollywood.

Paul Bartel died May 13,2000, of a heart attack two weeks after liver cancer surgery; he was 61 years old.

Paul Bartel's final screen appearance was a posthumous role as "Dad" alongside Mary Woronov in the 2001 independent film Perfect Fit.