Jonathan Demme

Beginning his career under B-movie producer Roger Corman, Demme made his directorial debut with the 1974 women-in-prison film Caged Heat, before becoming known for his casually humanist films such as Melvin and Howard (1980), Swing Shift (1984), Something Wild (1986), and Married to the Mob (1988). His 1991 psychological horror film The Silence of the Lambs, based on the novel of the same title, won five Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture. His subsequent films earned similar acclaim, notably the HIV/AIDS-themed drama Philadelphia (1993), the supernatural Gothic horror Beloved (1998), the conspiracy thriller The Manchurian Candidate (2004), and the independent drama Rachel Getting Married (2008). Demme also directed numerous concert films such as Stop Making Sense (1984), Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006), and Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids (2016), and worked on several television series as both a producer and director. Stop Making Sense, The Silence of the Lambs, and Philadelphia have been inducted into the National Film Registry.

• Name — Jonathan Demme • Birth Name — Robert Jonathan Demme • Born — 22 February 1944 • Birthplace — Baldwin, New York, U.S. • Died — 26 April 2017 • Place of death — New York City, U.S. • Education — University of Florida • Children — 3 • Occupation — * Director • producer • screenwriter • Relatives — * Robert W. Castle (cousin) • Ted Demme (nephew) • Works — Full list

Demme was born on February 22, 1944, in Baldwin, New York, the son of Dorothy Louise (Rogers) and Robert Eugene Demme, a public relations executive. He was raised in Rockville Centre, New York and Miami, where he graduated from Southwest Miami High School before attending the University of Florida.

Demme broke into feature film working for exploitation film producer Roger Corman early in his career, co-writing and producing Angels Hard as They Come (1971), a motorcycle movie very loosely based on Rashomon, and The Hot Box (1972). He then moved on to directing three films for Corman's studio New World Pictures: Caged Heat (1974), Crazy Mama (1975), and Fighting Mad (1976). After Fighting Mad, Demme directed the comedy film Handle with Care (originally titled Citizens Band, 1977) for Paramount Pictures. The film was well received by critics, but received little promotion, and performed poorly at the box office. He also directed a 1978 episode of Columbo. Demme's next film, Melvin and Howard (1980), did not get a wide release, but received a groundswell of critical acclaim and film award recognition, including Academy Award nominations, winning two of its three nominations (Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress – Mary Steenburgen, and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay – Bo Goldman). This acclaim led to the signing of Demme to direct the Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell star vehicle Swing Shift (1984). Intended as a prestige picture for Warner Bros. as well as a major commercial vehicle for Demme, it instead became a troubled production due to the conflicting visions of Demme and star Hawn. Demme ended up renouncing the finished product, and when the film was released in May 1984, it was generally panned by critics and neglected by moviegoers. After Swing Shift, Demme stepped back from Hollywood to make the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense (also 1984) which won the National Society of Film Critics Award for best documentary; the action-romantic comedy Something Wild (1986); a film-version of the stage production Swimming to Cambodia (1987), by monologist Spalding Gray; and the comedy Married to the Mob (1988). Demme formed his production company, Clinica Estetico, with producers Edward Saxon and Peter Saraf in 1987. They were based out of New York City for fifteen years.

Throughout 1986–2004, Demme was known for his dramatic close-ups in films. This style of close-ups involves the character looking directly into the camera during crucial moments. According to Demme, this was done to put the viewer into the character's shoes. Beginning with Rachel Getting Married (2008), Demme adopted a documentary style of filmmaking. He was known for his use of recurring supporting players, including Charles Napier, Harry Northup, Tracey Walter, Ann Dowd, LisaGay Hamilton, Kimberly Elise, Paul Lazar, Ron Vawter, Dean Stockwell, Obba Babatundé, Ted Levine, Paul Le Mat, Mary Steenburgen, Jason Robards, Scott Glenn, and his former producer Roger Corman, as well as casting musicians and bands in roles. These included Sister Carol, Chris Isaak, Tunde Adebimpe, the Feelies, Charles Aznavour, Steve Scales, the Flirtations, Manno Charlemagne, Bernie Worrell, David Johansen, Beau Sia, Q Lazzarus, Robyn Hitchcock, and Rick Springfield. In addition to Corman, Demme cast a number of other fellow directors in cameos, including John Sayles, Agnès Varda, George A. Romero, Sidney Lumet, and John Waters. Many of these performers received opening credits billing in films they appeared in, despite sometimes having only one or two lines. Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson has paid homage to Demme in his films and has cited him as a major influence in his work. In an interview, Anderson jokingly stated that the three filmmakers who inspired him the most are "Jonathan Demme, Jonathan Demme and Jonathan Demme." Other directors such as Alexander Payne and Wes Anderson have been known to be inspired by his close-ups in their own work.

Demme was involved in various political projects. In 1981, he directed a series of commercials for the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way. The spots, titled "Eggs", "Music", and "Sports", were produced by Norman Lear and featured Muhammad Ali, Carol Burnett, and Goldie Hawn celebrating Freedom of Expression. In 1985, he directed a video for Artists United Against Apartheid. The short, featured various international musicians including Afrika Bambaataa, Rubén Blades, Jimmy Cliff, Herbie Hancock, Little Steven, Run–D.M.C., and Bruce Springsteen, calling for a boycott of the South African luxury resort Sun City during Apartheid. His documentary Haiti Dreams of Democracy (1988) captured Haiti's era of democratic rebuilding after dictatorship, while his documentary The Agronomist (2008) profiled Haitian journalist and human rights activist Jean Dominique. Demme spent six years on the documentary I'm Carolyn Parker (2011), which highlighted rebuilding efforts in New Orleans Lower Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina.

Demme was married twice. His first marriage to Evelyn Purcell ended in divorce. In 1987, he married artist Joanne Howard, with whom he had three children. He was the uncle of film director Ted Demme, who died in 2002. Demme's cousin was the Rev. Robert Wilkinson Castle Jr., an Episcopal priest who appeared in some of Demme's films. Demme was a member of the steering committee of the Friends of the Apollo Theater, Oberlin, Ohio, along with Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman. In 2013, he returned to Oberlin as part of an alumni reunion during the class of 2013 graduation ceremony and received the award for Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts. In 2009, Demme signed a petition in support of director Roman Polanski, who had been detained while traveling to a film festival in relation to his 1977 sexual abuse charges, which the petition argued would undermine the tradition of film festivals as a place for works to be shown "freely and safely", and that arresting filmmakers traveling to neutral countries could open the door "for actions of which no-one can know the effects." Demme was an avid collector and devotee of Haitian art, in particular of Hector Hyppolite - so much so that he called it "an addiction". In 2014, he held an auction in Philadelphia selling thousands from his collection, much of which was donated to a cultural center in Port-au-Prince.

Demme died at his home in Manhattan on April 26, 2017, from complications from esophageal cancer and heart disease; he was 73. Jodie Foster's statement following Demme's death. Director Brady Corbet dedicated his 2018 film Vox Lux to Demme's memory, as did Luca Guadagnino with his 2018 film Suspiria and Paul Thomas Anderson with his 2017 film Phantom Thread starring Daniel Day-Lewis. Demme is thanked in the credits of Spike Lee's 2020 concert film American Utopia starring David Byrne. The album A Beginner's Mind by musicians Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine is dedicated to Demme, with one of its songs, "Cimmerian Shade", mentioning him and referencing The Silence of the Lambs within its lyrics.

Narrative features • Year — Title — Distribution • 1974 — Caged Heat — New World Pictures • 1975 — Crazy Mama • 1976 — Fighting Mad — 20th Century Fox • 1977 — Handle with Care — Paramount Pictures • 1979 — Last Embrace — United Artists • 1980 — Melvin and Howard — Universal Pictures • 1984 — Swing Shift — Warner Bros. • 1986 — Something Wild — Orion Pictures • 1988 — Married to the Mob • 1991 — The Silence of the Lambs • 1993 — Philadelphia — TriStar Pictures • 1998 — Beloved — Buena Vista Pictures • 2002 — The Truth About Charlie — Universal Pictures • 2004 — The Manchurian Candidate — Paramount Pictures • 2008 — Rachel Getting Married — Sony Pictures Classics • 2013 — A Master Builder — Abramorama • 2015 — Ricki and the Flash — Sony Pictures Releasing