Matt Cimber (born Thomas Vitale Ottaviano; 1936)
is an American
producer,
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
,
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
, and occasional actor in films, television, and theatre. He is known for directing
genre films
Genre Films, usually credited as Kinberg Genre, is a production company founded by screenwriter-producer-director Simon Kinberg.
History
Genre Films in April 2010 signed a first-look deal with 20th Century Fox, which gave Fox "direct access" ...
including ''
The Candy Tangerine Man
''The Candy Tangerine Man'' is a 1975 American action-adventure blaxploitation film starring John Daniels, Eli Haines and Tom Hankason. Distributed by Moonstone Entertainment, it follows the story of the powerful "Black Baron" (Daniels), both a ...
,
The Witch Who Came from the Sea
''The Witch Who Came from the Sea'' is a 1976 American psychological horror film produced and directed by Matt Cimber and starring Millie Perkins, Lonny Chapman, Vanessa Brown, Peggy Feury, Rick Jason, George Buck Flower, and Roberta Collins. The ...
,'' ''
Hundra
''Hundra'' is a 1983 Italian-American-Spanish fantasy film co-written and directed by Matt Cimber and starring Laurene Landon.
Plot
Hundra belongs to a tribe of Amazons. She is the only tribe member of her age who has never been with a man. ...
,'' and the controversial drama ''
Butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
.'' Cimber has been called "an unsung hero of 70s exploitation cinema.
" He was co-founder and director of the
Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW) professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...
and syndicated television series. Cimber was also the last husband of actress
Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...
, directing her on stage and in the film ''
Single Room Furnished'' (1968), which was released after her death''.''
Career
Theater
Cimber began his directing career in the early 1960s at the Londonderry Theater Workshop in Vermont, followed by Off-Broadway plays including ''Young and Beautiful'', an adaptation of the short stories of
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...
, the U.S. premiere of works by
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...
''(Antigone, Orphee, The Holy Terrors,'' ''Intimate Relations'')'','' as well as ''The Little Hut,
The Voice of the Turtle, The Ignorants Abroad,'' and ''
The Moon is Blue
''The Moon Is Blue'' is a play by F. Hugh Herbert. A comedy in three acts, the play consists of one female and three male characters.
Performance history
''The Moon Is Blue'' premiered at The Playhouse in Wilmington, Delaware on February 16, 19 ...
''.
In addition, he adapted ''
Burning Bright
''Burning Bright'' is a 1950 novella by John Steinbeck written as an experiment with producing a play in novel format. Rather than providing only the dialogue and brief stage directions as would be expected in a play, Steinbeck fleshes out the ...
'' by
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...
, which introduced future
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
winner
Sandy Dennis
Sandra Dale Dennis (April 27, 1937 – March 2, 1992) was an American actress. She made her film debut in the drama ''Splendor in the Grass'' (1961). For her performance in the comedy-drama film ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1966), she rec ...
to audiences.
Regionally, Cimber's credits include
''The Country Girl'', ''Send Me No Flowers, Susan Slept Here'', and ''
The Tender Trap'.''
![Jayne Mansfield with husband Matt and family leaving hospital with their newborn son](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Jayne_Mansfield_with_husband_Matt_and_family_leaving_hospital_with_their_newborn_son.jpg)
He met his future wife, Jayne Mansfield, directing a 1964 revival of
William Inge's ''Bus Stop'', and would direct and occasionally co-star with her in ''The Rabbit Habit'' and ''Champagne Complex''. Another of Cimber's Off-Broadway credits, ''Walk-Up'', would be adapted as a film vehicle for Mansfield, ''Single Room Furnished''.
Film
Cimber made his cinematic directorial debut (credited as "Matteo Ottaviano")
with ''
Single Room Furnished'' (1968). The film was noted for its cinematography by
László Kovács, a pioneer of the "American New Wave" films of the 1970s, an introduction by
Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and co ...
, and Mansfield "in some surprisingly moving moments" in what would be her last principal role onscreen.
Cimber proceeded to direct a string of
"sexploitation films" under the pseudonyms "Gary Harper" and "Rinehart Segway," including ''Man and Wife'' (1969), ''Sex and Astrology'' (1971), and ''The Sensually Liberated Female'' (1970), which was based on a best-selling book, ''
The Sensuous Woman
''The Sensuous Woman'' is a book written by Terry Garrity and issued by Lyle Stuart. Published first during 1969 with the pseudonym "J", it is a detailed instruction manual concerning sexuality for women. It is notable for greater frankness in dis ...
'' by
Joan Garrity
Joan Theresa Garrity (1940 – January 30, 2022) was an American author, best known as the author of ''The Sensuous Woman''.
Background and education
Garrity was raised in Lee's Summit, Missouri, and studied at Palm Beach Junior College in Flor ...
.
Cimber helmed three "
Blaxploitation films" of the mid-70s: ''
The Black Six
''The Black Six'' is a 1974 American blaxploitation and outlaw biker film written by George Theakos and directed by Matt Cimber. It starred several National Football League stars in the title roles. It was one of the first all-black biker films.
...
'' (1973), ''
Lady Cocoa
''Lady Cocoa'' (also known as ''Pop Goes the Weasel'') is a 1975 low-budget American blaxploitation crime drama that was directed by Matt Cimber. With Lola Falana in the title role, the film also featured Millie Perkins, Alex Dreier, Gene Washin ...
'' (1975) starring
Lola Falana
Loletha Elayne Falana or Loletha Elaine Falana (born September 11, 1942), better known by her stage name Lola Falana, is an American singer, dancer, and actress.
Early life
Lola Falana was born in Camden, New Jersey. She was the third of si ...
, and ''
The Candy Tangerine Man
''The Candy Tangerine Man'' is a 1975 American action-adventure blaxploitation film starring John Daniels, Eli Haines and Tom Hankason. Distributed by Moonstone Entertainment, it follows the story of the powerful "Black Baron" (Daniels), both a ...
'' (1975), the last of which
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him ...
and
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
have cited among their favorite films.
In 1976, Cimber ventured into psychological thrillers with ''
The Witch Who Came from the Sea
''The Witch Who Came from the Sea'' is a 1976 American psychological horror film produced and directed by Matt Cimber and starring Millie Perkins, Lonny Chapman, Vanessa Brown, Peggy Feury, Rick Jason, George Buck Flower, and Roberta Collins. The ...
,'' starring
Millie Perkins
Millie Perkins (born May 12, 1938) is an American film and television actress known for her debut film role as Anne Frank in ''The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 film), The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959), and for her supporting actress roles in two 19 ...
and
Lonny Chapman
Lon Leonard Chapman (October 1, 1920 – October 12, 2007) was an American actor best known for his numerous guest star appearances on television drama series.
Early years
Chapman was the son of Elmer and Eunice Chapman, He was born on Oc ...
, with cinematography by Oscar nominee
Dean Cundey
Dean Raymond Cundey, A.S.C. (born March 12, 1946) is an American cinematographer and film director. He is known for his collaborations with John Carpenter, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, as well as his extensive work in the horror genre, ...
.
Vice Magazine
''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...
cited it "One of the Top 10 Greatest Banned Films" and "a bit of a masterpiece" and review aggregator ''
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
'' voted it one of "90 Best '70s Horror Films."
Cimber's next film, ''
A Time to Die,'' was a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
thriller based on a novel by ''
The Godfather
''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...
''
's
Mario Puzo
Mario Francis Puzo (; ; October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author, screenwriter, and journalist. He is known for his crime novels about the Italian-American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia, most notably ''The Godfather'' (1969), which ...
starring
Rod Taylor
Rodney Sturt Taylor (11 January 1930 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including ''The Time Machine'' (1960), ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961), '' The Birds'' (1963), and ''In ...
and
Rex Harrison
Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play ''French Without Tears'', in what ...
is his final screen performance. The film was shot in 1979 and released in 1982.
In 1982, Cimber teamed with
Pia Zadora
Pia Zadora (born Pia Alfreda Schipani, May 4, 1954) is an American actress and singer. After working as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater, and in the film ''Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'' (1964), she came to national attention ...
on the "handsomely produced and swiftly directed"
caper film
The heist film or caper film is a subgenre of crime film focused on the planning, execution, and aftermath of a significant robbery.
One of the early defining heist films was ''The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950), which ''Film Genre 2000'' wrote "alm ...
''
Fake-Out
''Fake-Out'' (also released as ''Nevada Heat'') is a 1982 American crime comedy film directed by Matt Cimber, written by Cimber and John F. Goff, and starring Pia Zadora, Telly Savalas, Desi Arnaz Jr., and Larry Storch.
Cast
*Pia Zadora as Bobb ...
'', which premiered at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
and also starred
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...
and
Desi Arnaz, Jr.
Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV (born January 19, 1953), known professionally as Desi Arnaz Jr., is an American actor and musician. He is the son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
Early life
Arnaz was born on January 19, 1953, at Cedars-Sinai Medical ...
, and the crime drama ''
Butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
,'' featuring
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
and
Stacy Keach
Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor and narrator. He has played mainly dramatic roles throughout his career, often in law enforcement or as a private detective. His most prominent role was as Mickey Spillane's fictiona ...
, based on the novel ''The Butterfly'' by
James M. Cain
James Mallahan Cain (July 1, 1892 – October 27, 1977) was an American novelist, journalist and screenwriter. He is widely regarded as a progenitor of the hardboiled school of American crime fiction.
His novels ''The Postman Always Rings Twice ...
. Welles and composer
Ennio Moriccone were nominated for Golden Globe Awards, as was Zadora, who won the
Golden Globe Award for Best Female Newcomer for her performance. This was followed by allegations that the award had been "bought" by her husband,
Meshulam Riklis
Meshulam Riklis ( he, משולם ריקליס; 2 December 1923 – 25 January 2019) was an Israeli financier and businessman.
Early years
Born in Istanbul to a Russian-Jewish family, Riklis grew up in Tel Aviv, and attended the Herzliya Hebrew ...
.
The following year, Cimber collaborated with actress
Laurene Landon
Laurene Landon Coughlin (born March 17, 1957) is a Canadian film and television actress. She first began appearing in movies in the 1980s. She is best known for her roles in ''Maniac Cop'' and ''Maniac Cop 2'', ''I, the Jury'', ''Hundra'', '' A ...
on the adventure films ''
Hundra
''Hundra'' is a 1983 Italian-American-Spanish fantasy film co-written and directed by Matt Cimber and starring Laurene Landon.
Plot
Hundra belongs to a tribe of Amazons. She is the only tribe member of her age who has never been with a man. ...
'', which also premiered at
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
and featured a score by
Ennio Moriccone, and ''Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold''.
Television
In 1986, Cimber co-created
''GLOW: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling'', and served as executive producer and director of the syndicated television program. The show lasted for four seasons. It later inspired the fictionalized
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
series ''
GLOW''. On that series, the character played by
Marc Maron
Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than forty ...
is inspired by Cimber.
Later career
Cimber wrote and directed the documentaries ''An American Icon: Coca-Cola, The Early Years'' (1997) and ''The History of United Nations'' (1996). He created and wrote the eight-minute intro for visitors to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
, for which he received a special commendation from the U.N.
After a 20-year absence from feature films, he wrote and directed ''Miriam'' (2006), based on the real-life story of Holocaust survivor Miriam Schafer. According to reviews,
Ariana Savalas
Ariana Savalas is an American actress, singer, songwriter, burlesque performer, and the daughter of actor Telly Savalas. She is a resident headlining performer and emcee for Postmodern Jukebox. She was one of the original members of the group a ...
as Schafer offered "a powerful performance" in "a forgotten piece of history worth recounting.".
Personal life
Cimber married
Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...
in 1964 and managed her career during their marriage.
They had one son, Antonio ("Tony", b. 1965) and divorced in 1966.
Awards and nominations
Cimber's ''Butterfly'' was nominated for three
Golden Raspberry Awards
The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...
;
Worst Picture
The Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture is an award given out at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst film of the past year. Over the 39 ceremonies that have taken place, there have been 202 films nominated for Worst Picture and 42 ...
,
Worst Director, and
Worst Screenplay.
Filmography
References
External links
*
Matt Cimber and Kliph Nesteroff – Behind the Scenes of Candy Tangerine Man
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cimber, Matt
1936 births
Living people
American film directors
American film directors of Italian descent
Jayne Mansfield
Place of birth missing (living people)
20th-century American male actors