Melvin Van PeeblesBirth Place: Chicago, Illinois, USA Date of Birth: August 21, 1932 Heritage: American Contact Melvin Van Peebles | 
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Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song Background: Multi-talented Melvin Van Peebles, father of famed director/actor Mario Van Peebles, is most famous as the director and writer of the revolutionary cult classic “Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song” (1971), which hailed a new era of African-American centered films. Three decades after the film's success, Mario directed, scripted and starred in the acclaimed “How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass” (2003), which told the story of the making of his dad's landmark movie. Starting out painting portraits in Mexico, he worked in theater in Holland and made his first feature length film, “The Story of a Three-Day Pass” (1968), while living in France, where he also began writing novels and released his first record, “Brer Soul” (1969). The movie received a major prize at the San Francisco Film Festival and became his Hollywood calling card. He created the movie after making his U.S. debut with “The Watermelon Man” (1970). Van Peebles also wrote the successful Broadway “Don't Play Us Cheap” (1972), scripted “Panther”(1995), a controversial film about the Black Panther Party which is directed by and starred Mario, wrote and helmed the award-winning “Conte du ventre plein, Le/Bellyful” (2000). Recently, he wrote the screenplay and directed “Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha” (2008) and won a Daytime Emmy Award after writing the teleplay for “The Day They Came to Arrest the Book”, a presentation of “CBS Schoolbreak Specials” in 1987. As an actor, Van Peebles appeared with Mario in the short-lived series “Sonny Spoon” (1987-1990), “Identity Crisis” (1989), “Posse” (1993), directed by Mario, and the Jonathan Kesselman “The Hebrew Hammer” (2003). TV audiences recently recognized him playing Melvin Woods in an episode of “All My Children” (2008). Van Peebles was handed a Jack Smith Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1999 Chicago Underground Film Festival. He also received the Byron E. Lewis Trailblazer Award from the 2000 Acapulco Black Film Festival and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2004 Los Angeles Pan African Film Festival. Van Peebles became the subject of the documentary “How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)” (2005). Commenting about the film, he stated, “I loved it. I had a good time. It tickled me. I think they did a great job. It was about eight years when (director) Joe (Angio) approached me. At the time I was doing a movie and making a new album. But I never interfered one iota. It’s not my vision of me. I wanted to see it because it was their vision of an outsider.” Van Peebles is divorced from wife Maria Marx. They have three children.
Childhood and Family: Melvin Van Peebles was born Melvin Peebles on August 21, 1932, in Chicago, Illinois, to an African-American tailor. He enrolled at West Virginia State College before transferring to Ohio Wesleyan University. Shortly after completing his BA in 1953, he began his service with the US Air Force Strategic Air Command. He served three years. Married in 1956, Melvin is now divorced from wife Maria Marx. They have one daughter, Megan, and two sons, Max and Mario. Mario is a celebrated movie actor and director.
Career: Chicago native Melvin Van Peebles moved to Mexico after serving three years with the U.S. Air Force. After briefly working as a portrait painter, he returned to the United States and stayed in San Francisco, where he earned a living driving cable cars, an experience which became the basis of his first book, “The Big Heart” (1957). He was also a post office worker. During that same period, he got his early taste of making film with the shorts “Pickup Men for Herrick” and “Sunlight” (both 1957). Van Peebles left the U.S. for Europe in 1959. He worked for the Dutch National Theater and was invited to Paris by the founder of the Cinematheque Franceise, Henry Langlois, who admired his short films. In Paris, he wrote novels and took a job as a crime reporter to make ends meet. It was here that he made his feature film debut, “La Permission/The Story of a Three-Day Pass” (1968), adapted from his novel about a black American soldier and a French white girl. The romance, in which he also co-composed the music, was chosen as the French entry to the San Francisco Film Festival in 1968 and brought the writer/director notice from Hollywood. After releasing his debut album, “Br'er Soul” (1969), Van Peebles returned to the United States to direct his first American film, “The Watermelon Man” (1970), for Columbia Pictures. The comedy also spawned an album of the same name, which he co-composed. Also that year, Melvin released the album “Ain't Supposed To Die A Natural Death.” Van Peebles' big breakthrough came in the form of “Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song” (1971), a controversial exploitation art film he independently produced, directed, penned, scored and starred in. It received mixed reviews upon opening, but later grossed more than $14 million. After the success, Van Peebles emerged as a booming stage director in the 1970s thanks largely to “Don't Play Us Cheap,” a 1972 Broadway play he also produced and wrote. A motion picture based on his first play was produced in 1973 with Van Peebles directing, producing, writing the screenplay adaptation and scoring songs. The film enjoyed welfare screenings but was then shelved for nearly two decades. After a break, Van Peebles returned to script “Just an Old Sweet Song,” a TV-movie pilot for MTM Enterprises in 1976 in which he also wrote the title song. He followed it up with a screen writing gig for the 1977 sport-themed “Greased Lightning,” directed by Michael Schultz and starring Richard Pryor as racecar driver Wendell Scott, before reworking “Just an Old Sweet Song” into an hour long pilot called “Down Home.” In 1980, he made his TV acting debut in the based on-novel “The Sophisticated Gents,” in which he also served as scriptwriter and wrote the song “Greased Lightning.” He went on to act in such movies as the Robert Altman-directed “O.C. and Stiggs” (1985), Robert Downey Sr.'s “America” (1986), “Taking Care of Terrific” (1987, TV), Joseph Sargent's “Jaws: The Revenge” (1987), opposite Michael Caine, and his son Mario, and Mario's offbeat detective series, “Sonny Spoon,” where he portrayed the recurring role of bartender father Mel. He then returned to the director's chair with the 1989 comedy “Identity Crisis,” which was written by and starred Mario. As a writer, Van Peebles Sr. enjoyed a Daytime Emmy in the category of Outstanding Writing in a Children's Special for his work in “CBS Schoolbreak Special: The Day They Came to Arrest the Books,” adapted from Nat Hentoff's young adult novel. He also wrote the financial self-help guide book “Bold Money: A New Way to Play the Options Market” (1986). 1990 saw Van Peebles direct a sequel of “The Big Room/Carry a Big Schtick.” The same year, he also ended his recurring role on “Sonny Spoon” and appeared in an episode of “In the Heat of the Night.” More acting assignments ensued and Melvin was featured in “True Identity” (1991) and “Boomerang” (1992) and was cast by son Mario in the Western “Posse” (1993). He then teamed up with Charlie Sheen, Nastassja Kinski and James Gandolfini for “Terminal Velocity” (1994) and played the supporting role of Asher in the forgettable low-budget film “Fist of the North Star” (1995). It was his next film that brought Van Peebles back into the limelight. “Panther” (1995), a controversial film he scripted from his novel, was a box office dud and gained mixed reviews. Also that year, he directed, wrote, produced and scored the German-made short “Vrooom, Vrooom, Vrooom,” and released the album “Ghetto Gothic,” his first record since 1974's “What the....You Mean I Can't Sing?!” and “As Serious As A Heart-Attack.” The rest of the 1990s found Van Peebles co-directing with Mario, producing and playing the supporting role of Andre Speier in “Gang in Blue” (1996), writing and narrating the documentary “Classified X” (1998) and acting in movies like Mario's “Love Kills” (1998) and Francis Delia's “Time of Her Time (1999). He also appeared in such TV shows as “Living Single” and “Homicide: Life on the Street.” Van Peebles wrote, directed and produced “Conte du ventre plein, Le/Bellyful,” from which he took home a Black Film Award for Best International Film at the 2000 Acapulco Black Film Festival. He then appeared in French director/writer Pascal Légitimus’ comedy “Antilles sur Seine” (both 2000). Three years later, Melvin directed the short “The Real Deal,” was featured in Isaac Julien's short “Baltimore,” and reprised his noted role of Sweetback for Jonathan Kesselman's “The Hebrew Hammer,” which also starred Mario. Still in 2003, Van Peebles was played by son Mario in “How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass,” a half documentary/half homage to his 1971 film, “Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song.” In addition to acting, Mario also directed and wrote the movie based on his father's novel. Van Peebles had the recurring role of Kenneth Daly in two episodes of “Girlfriends” (2005), portrayed George in Jerry LaMothe's drama “Blackout” (2007) and guest starred as Melvin Woods in a 2008 episode of “All My Children.” 2008 also saw him direct Seth Austin, Paul Krasner and Scott Sortman in “Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha.”
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