Hampton Lansden Fancher (born July 18, 1938)
is an American
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
,
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
, and
filmmaker
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
, best known for co-writing the 1982
neo-noir
Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...
science fiction film
Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...
''
Blade Runner
''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...
'' and its 2017 sequel ''
Blade Runner 2049
''Blade Runner 2049'' is a 2017 American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. A sequel to the 1982 film ''Blade Runner'', the film stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, w ...
,'' based on the novel ''
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' (retroactively retitled ''Blade Runner: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' in some later printings) is a dystopian science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in 1968. Th ...
'' by
Philip K. Dick. His 1999 directorial debut, ''
The Minus Man
''The Minus Man'' is a 1999 thriller film starring Owen Wilson and Janeane Garofalo. It is based on the novel by Lew McCreary, and directed by Hampton Fancher, who also wrote the screenplay. The film centers on a serial killer whom Fancher desc ...
,'' won the Special Grand Prize of the Jury at the
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Internat ...
.
He lives in the
Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, an ...
district of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Early life
Fancher was born to a Mexican-Danish mother and an English-American father, a physician, in
East Los Angeles, California
East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010 United States Cen ...
. At 15, he ran away to Spain to become a
flamenco
Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...
dancer and renamed himself "Mario Montejo". Following the breakup of his marriage to Joann McNabb, he was married to
Sue Lyon from 1963 to 1965.
Career
In 1959, Fancher appeared in the episode "Misfits" of the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
television series ''
The Rebel''.
Fancher played Deputy Lon Gillis in seven episodes of the ABC western ''
Black Saddle
''Black Saddle'' is an American Western television series starring Peter Breck that aired 44 episodes on NBC from January 10, 1959, to May 6, 1960. The half-hour program was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television, and the original backdoo ...
'' with
Peter Breck
Joseph Peter Breck (March 13, 1929 – February 6, 2012) was an American character actor. The rugged, dark-haired Breck played the gambler and gunfighter Doc Holliday on the ABC/Warner Bros. Television series ''Maverick'' as well as Victoria Bark ...
. He guest-starred on other westerns: ''
Have Gun, Will Travel'', ''
Tate
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
'', ''
Stagecoach West
Stagecoach West is the trading name of Cheltenham & Gloucester Omnibus Company Limited, a bus operator providing services in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Swindon, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, North Somerset and Herefordshire, in the West of England. ...
'', ''
Outlaws'', ''
Maverick
Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to:
History
* Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick
Aviation
* AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design
* General Aviation Design Burea ...
'' (in the fourth-season episode "
Last Stop: Oblivion"), ''
Lawman'', ''
Temple Houston'', ''
Cheyenne
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...
'' (1961 episode "Incident at Dawson Flats"), and also ''
Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...
'' (1966 episode "A Dollar's Worth of Trouble").
Fancher appeared in two
Troy Donahue
Troy Donahue (born Merle Johnson Jr., January 27, 1936 – September 2, 2001) was an American film and television actor and singer. He was a popular sex symbol in the 1950s and 1960s.
Biography Early years
Born in New York City, Donahue was ...
films, 1961's ''
Parrish'' and 1962's ''
Rome Adventure
''Rome Adventure'', also known as ''Lovers Must Learn'', is a 1962 romantic drama film, based on the 1932 novel ''Lovers Must Learn'' by Irving Fineman. It was directed by Delmer Daves and stars Troy Donahue, Angie Dickinson, and Suzanne Pleshet ...
'', and was cast as Larry Wilson in the 1963 episode "Little Richard" of the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
anthology series
An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...
''
GE True
''GE True'' (also known as ''General Electric True'') is a 33-episode, American anthology series sponsored by General Electric. Telecast on CBS, the series presented stories previously published in ''True'' magazine. Articles from the magazine ...
'', hosted by
Jack Webb
John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, Television director, director, and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Joe Friday, Sgt. Joe Friday in the Dragnet (franchise) ...
. In 1965, he played the role of Hamp Fisher in the ''
Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...
'' episode "The Case of the Silent Six." Fancher acted in more than 50 movies and television shows. During this time, he also had relationships with a variety of women, including
Barbara Hershey
Barbara Lynn Herzstein, better known as Barbara Hershey (born February 5, 1948), is an American actress. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including weste ...
and
Teri Garr
Teri Ann Garr (born December 11, 1944) is an American former actress, dancer, and comedian. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spans four decades and includes over 140 credits in film and television. Her accola ...
. Although he showed interest in screenwriting, it took until 1977 for Fancher to transition fully into it. He continues to act occasionally.
After trying to option
Philip K. Dick's 1968
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
novel ''
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' (retroactively retitled ''Blade Runner: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' in some later printings) is a dystopian science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in 1968. Th ...
'' in 1975, when the rights were not available, Fancher sent his friend
Brian Kelly, a prospective film producer, to negotiate with Dick. Dick agreed, and Fancher was brought on to write a screenplay before Kelly would later enlist the support of producer
Michael Deeley
Michael Deeley (born 6 August 1932) is an Academy Award-winning British film producer known for such motion pictures as ''The Italian Job'' (1969), ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), and ''Blade Runner'' (1982). He is also a founding member and Honora ...
. This made Fancher the executive producer, which led to disagreements with eventual director
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...
, who then brought in
David Peoples
David Webb Peoples (born February 9, 1940) is an American screenwriter who wrote ''Blade Runner'' (1982), ''Unforgiven'' (1992), and ''12 Monkeys'' (1995). He was nominated for Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA awards. He won the best screenplay a ...
to continue reworking the script. Scott and Fancher had already clashed concerning the movie, as Scott felt the original script did not sufficiently explore the world of the movie, choosing instead to focus on the interior drama. Fancher's rewriting process was too slow for the production crew, which nicknamed him "Happen Faster". The movie was ultimately filmed and released as ''
Blade Runner
''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...
'' (1982).
Fancher wrote two films following ''Blade Runner''. ''
The Mighty Quinn'' (1989) starred
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...
and ''
The Minus Man
''The Minus Man'' is a 1999 thriller film starring Owen Wilson and Janeane Garofalo. It is based on the novel by Lew McCreary, and directed by Hampton Fancher, who also wrote the screenplay. The film centers on a serial killer whom Fancher desc ...
'' (1999) starred
Owen Wilson
Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has had a long association with filmmaker Wes Anderson with whom he shared writing and acting credits for '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and '' The Royal ...
. Fancher also directed the latter. More recently, he wrote the story and co-wrote, with
Michael Green, the screenplay for ''
Blade Runner 2049
''Blade Runner 2049'' is a 2017 American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. A sequel to the 1982 film ''Blade Runner'', the film stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, w ...
'' (2017), a sequel to the 1982 film.
In the early 1980s, Fancher lived outside of Los Angeles in
Topanga Canyon
Topanga () (Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow s ...
. Fancher appeared in a cameo role in the independent film ''Tonight at Noon'' (2009), directed by
Michael Almereyda
Michael Almereyda (born April 7, 1960) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer.
Early work
Almereyda studied art history at Harvard but dropped out after three years to pursue filmmaking. He acquired a Hollywood agent on ...
and starring
Rutger Hauer
Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century.
Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...
.
In 2019, Fancher published ''The Wall Will Tell You'', a
screenwriting
Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession.
Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, devel ...
manual.
The book draws from his personal experiences.
Later work
Fancher provided voiceover commentary for
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
edition DVD extras of the
film noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...
adaptations of
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
's short story "
The Killers
The Killers are an American rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingd ...
", which included the
1946
Events January
* January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
* January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
,
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...
and
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
versions.
His life was the subject of ''Escapes'', a documentary directed by
Michael Almereyda
Michael Almereyda (born April 7, 1960) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer.
Early work
Almereyda studied art history at Harvard but dropped out after three years to pursue filmmaking. He acquired a Hollywood agent on ...
and executive-produced by
Wes Anderson
Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by so ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
Salon.com– The flamenco man: Hampton Fancher
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fancher, Hampton
American male film actors
American male television actors
American film directors of Mexican descent
Film producers from California
American male screenwriters
Hugo Award-winning writers
Living people
Male actors from Los Angeles
Film directors from California
Western (genre) television actors
Screenwriters from California
Screenwriting instructors
Writers of books about writing fiction
American people of Danish descent
American male actors of Mexican descent
1938 births