George Arthur "Rusty" Cundieff (born December 13, 1960) is an American film and television director, actor, and writer known for his work on ''

Fear of a Black Hat ''Fear of a Black Hat'' is a 1993 American mockumentary film on the evolution and state of American hip hop music. The film's title is derived from the 1990 Public Enemy album '' Fear of a Black Planet''. First screened at Sundance Film Festiva ...

'' (1993), ''

Tales from the Hood ''Tales from the Hood'' is a 1995 American comedy horror anthology film directed by Rusty Cundieff and executive-produced by Spike Lee. The film presents four short urban-themed horror stories based on problem concepts that affect the African-Am ...

'' (1995), and ''

Chappelle's Show ''Chappelle's Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedians Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show and starring in the majority of its sketches. Chappelle, Brennan, and Michele Armour were t ...

'' (2003–2006).

Biography

Cundieff was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

to Christina and John A. Cundieff. He studied journalism at Loyola University in New Orleans and the philosophy of religion at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. While at USC, Cundieff became a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities , historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

, a historically African American fraternity. He is married to Trina Davis Cundieff, with whom he has two children: Simone Christina and Thelonious Jon Davis.

Film career

After graduating from USC in 1982, Cundieff performed stand-up comedy in Los Angeles while looking for opportunities to act. His first major role was a year-long run as Theo Carver on ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. The soap, which aired on ...

'' in 1985. In 1988, he played Big Brother Chucky in

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

's ''

School Daze ''School Daze'' is a 1988 American musical comedy-drama film, written and directed by Spike Lee, and starring Laurence Fishburne (credited as Larry Fishburne), Giancarlo Esposito, and Tisha Campbell. Based in part on Spike Lee's experiences a ...

''. Cundieff was inspired by his experience working with Lee on the film to pursue writing and directing in addition to acting, and at age 29 he wrote, directed, and starred in the well-received 1993 rap parody ''

''. He directed and co-wrote the 1995 horror anthology ''

''. He directed sequels in 2018 and 2020, ''

Tales from the Hood 2 Tales may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Tales'' (album), a 1995 album by Marcus Miller * ''Tales'' (film), a 2014 Iranian film * ''Tales'' (TV series), an American television series * ''Tales'' (video game), a 2016 point-and-click adventure ...

'' and ''

Tales from the Hood 3 ''Tales from the Hood 3'' is a 2020 American horror- comedy anthology film written and directed by Rusty Cundieff and Darin Scott and executive-produced by Spike Lee. The film is the sequel to Cundieff and Scott's 2018 horror anthology ''Tales f ...

'', projects that he said he had been trying to make for 20 years, but that the success of ''

Get Out ''Get Out'' is a 2017 American psychological horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, LaKeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landr ...

'' had opened the door for. Cundieff was also a correspondent on

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ...

's comic TV magazine show ''

TV Nation ''TV Nation'' is a satirical news magazine television series written, co-produced, directed and hosted by Michael Moore that was co-funded and originally broadcast by NBC in the United States and BBC2 in the United Kingdom. The show blended humor ...

'' in the mid-1990s. In 2013, along with 12 others he received a Razzie Award for Worst Director for directing a segment in the anthology comedy film ''

Movie 43 ''Movie 43'' is a 2013 American anthology comedy film conceived by producer Charles B. Wessler. The film features fourteen different storylines, each one by a different director, including Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundie ...

''.

Filmography

Actor

Director

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cundieff, Rusty 1960 births Living people Male actors from Pittsburgh American male film actors African-American film directors African-American television directors American film directors American television directors Television producers from Pennsylvania University of Southern California alumni Writers from Pittsburgh African-American male actors American male television actors 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people