Sam Raimi Biography

SAM RAIMI

Date of Birth: October 23, 1959

This native of Franklin, Michigan was the second of five children and was raised in a Detroit suburb. Having spent much of his youth reading Spider-Man comics and playing baseball, Raimi first fiddled with an 8mm camera he had bought at the age of 13. As he learned to use it, he acted out some of his wildest fantasies.

Although he attended Michigan State University as an English major, Raimi left college to form Renaissance Pictures with Rob Tapert and their longtime friend, actor Bruce Campbell. The trio worked towards financing his first feature, The Evil Dead, with investments from local business people and doctors. The over-the-top horror film became a hit at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival and had a very successful theatrical and video life.

Raimi switched to slapstick comedy with Crimewave (1985), a wild Detroit-based crime caper co-scripted by Raimi's friends, Joel and Ethan Coen. Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn (1987) suffered from the same fate as most sequels, but Raimi was back in form with Darkman (1990), a comic-book inspired fantasy/adventure representing the director's second biggest production budget to date.

Raimi not only directs but also acts, taking on cameos such as a reporter in Maniac Cop or as a security man in Spies Like Us. He has also appeared in more serious films such as two Coen Brothers films: The Hudsucker Proxy (which he also co-wrote) and Miller's Crossing.

Besides acting, screenwriting and directing, Raimi is also a successful producer. He's been a driving force behind the popular Hercules and Xena TV series. Raimi also produced two Jean-Claude Van Damme movies, the hit Timecop and John Woo's first American feature, Hard Target.

Raimi is a huge fan of The Three Stooges, and many of his super-8 films resemble classic Stooge shorts, including Stooge-like sequences. He often lists a character called "Shemp" in the credits of his films, as an homage to The Three Stooges.

With the combination of childhood and life work, much of it mired in the production of fantasy and horror, the vast experience will serve his future films well. In 2005, he won an Empire Award for his work in Spider-Man 2.

Filmography (director):

The Evil Dead (2010)
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Spider-Man (2002)
Doomsday Man (2000)
The Gift (2000)
For Love of the Game (1999)
A Simple Plan (1998)
The Quick and the Dead (1995)
Army of Darkness (1993)
Darkman (1990)
Evil Dead II (1987)
Crimewave (1985)
The Evil Dead (1982)
Clockwork (1978)
Within the Woods (1978)
It's Murder! (1977)

Filmography (actor):

Galaxis (1995)
The Flintstones (1994)
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
Army of Darkness (1993) (uncredited)
Indian Summer (1993)
Innocent Blood (1992)
Miller's Crossing (1990)
Maniac Cop 2 (1990)
Intruder (1988)
Maniac Cop (1988)
Evil Dead II (1987) (uncredited)
Stryker's War (1985)
Spies Like Us (1985)
Hefty's (1983)
The Evil Dead (1982) (uncredited)