Melvin Van Peebles
Known for: Acting
Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. His feature film debut, The Story of a Three-Day Pass (1967), was based on his own French-language novel La Permission and was shot in France, as it was difficult for a black American director to get work at the time. The film won an award at the San Francisco International Film Festival which gained him the interest of Hollywood studios, leading to his American feature debut Watermelon Man, in 1970. Eschewing further overtures from Hollywood, he used the successes he had so far to bankroll his work as an independent filmmaker. In 1971, he released his best-known work, creating and starring in the film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which led to the creation of the blaxploitation genre. although critic Roger Ebert did not consider this example of Van Peebles' work to be an exploitation film. He followed this up with the musical, Don't Play Us Cheap, based on his own stage play, and continued to make films, write novels and stage plays in English and in French through the next several decades; his final films include the French-language film Le Conte du ventre plein (2000) and the absurdist film Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha (2008). His son, filmmaker and actor Mario Van Peebles, appeared in several of his works and portrayed him in the 2003 biographical film Baadasssss!.
Filmography
Series
Girlfriends
Kenneth Daly
2000
Series
Homicide: Life on the Street
Bennett Jackson
1993
Series
Living Single
1993
Series
Dream On
Norman Green
1990
Series
The Shining
Richard Hallorann
1997
Film
Last Action Hero
Self
1993
Series
Hollywood Black
Self (archive footage)
2024
Series
Pour le plaisir
Self
1964
Film
Jaws: The Revenge
Mr. Witherspoon
1987
Film
Panther
Old Jail Bird
1995
Film
American Swing
Self
2009
Film
Posse
Papa Joe
1993
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Bucket
1951
Film
Peeples
Grandpa Peeples
2013
Film
Boomerang
Editor
1992
Series
Seize millions de jeunes
Self
1964
Series
Sonny Spoon
1988
Film
Terminal Velocity
Noble
1994
Series
The Sophisticated Gents
Walter 'Moon' Porter
1981
Film
Fist of the North Star
Asher
1995
Sex: The Revolution
Self
2008
Making 'Do the Right Thing'
Self
1989
Film
Farewell, Babylon!
Self
1993
Film
Hard Luck
Hospital Prophet
2006
Film
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
Sweetback
1971
Film
O.C. and Stiggs
Wino Bob
1987
Film
BaadAsssss Cinema
Self
2002
Film
The Hebrew Hammer
Sweetback
2003
Film
True Identity
Taxi Driver
1991
Film
Watermelon Man
Sign Painter (uncredited)
1970
Film
Gang in Blue
Andre Speier
1996
Film
Armed
Grandpa V.
2018
Film
Sweet Black Film: The Birth of the Black Hero in Hollywood
Self
2022
Film
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
Self (voice)
2011
Film
Riot
Vernon
1997
Film
How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)
2005
Film
Calm at Sunset
Mr. Bucket
1996
Film
Wattstax
Self
1973
Film
Oscar Micheaux: The Superhero of Black Filmmaking
Self
2021
Film
Satchmo: The Life of Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong (voice)
1992
Film
Redemption Road
Elmo
2011
Film
Blackout
George
2007
Film
René Vautier, le rebelle
Self
2000
Film
The Black List: Volume Two
Self
2009
Film
America
Man Interviewed
1986
Film
Love Kills
Able
1999
Film
Identity Crisis
The Inspector
1989
Film
Classified X
Self
1998
Film
Taking Care of Terrific
Hawk
1988
Film
Directors on Directing
Self
2009
Film
Midnight Blue, Vol. 3: Celebrities Edition
Self (archive footage)
2006
Confessions of a Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha
Melvin Van Peebles
2008
Film
Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat by the Door
2011
Film
SMUT
Elmoore
2006
Film
The Real Deal: What It Is
Self
2003
Film
Sunlight
1957
Unstoppable
Self
2005
Film
Salty Dog Blues
Self (Interviewee)
2012