Peter Foldy is a Hungarian-born recording artist, film producer, director and screenwriter. He has been nominated for two

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

s and has had multiple top-ten hits across Canada and the U.S., most notably with his first song "Bondi Junction" which reached number one on the Canadian charts. He has written and directed numerous feature films working with actors such as

Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. Rudd studied theatre at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before making his acting debut in 1991. He was included on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 li ...

Eugene Levy Eugene Levy (born December 17, 1946) is a Canadian actor and comedian. Known for portraying flustered and unconventional figures, Levy has won multiple accolades throughout his career including four Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and ...

and Academy Award winner,

Louise Fletcher Estelle Louise Fletcher (July 22, 1934 – September 23, 2022) was an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of the antagonist Nurse Ratched in the film '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), which earned her numero ...

Early life

Peter Foldy was born in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary but soon fled from the then Communist regime with his parents and sister. The family moved to Sydney, where Foldy attended high school and worked as an actor in television commercials. During this time, he also forged a friendship with three young brothers who would later find worldwide success as the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

. After a family move to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Foldy enrolled in film school at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

, once again landing occasional work in Canadian TV commercials. He also formed a rock band that performed in various bars and lounges throughout the city.

Career

Music

Kanata records

Foldy soon began writing songs and quickly landed a recording contract as an artist with a small indie label, Kanata Records. His first single, "Bondi Junction", was released in 1973 and the record eventually reached number one on ''RPM'' magazine's Adult Contemporary chart on July 7, 1973. Foldy was also featured on the cover of ''RPM'' that same week. The record received two Juno Award nominations, including Canadian Pop Music Single of the Year.> 1974 Juno Awards He was also awarded a 1973 BMI Canada Certificate of Honour from BMI Canada for "Bondi Junction" which was a legitimate national hit across Canada. Foldy was suddenly appearing on Canadian TV shows, on radio station charts and on the pages of music magazines, including the popular U.S. teen publication, ''

16 Magazine ''16'' was a fan magazine published in New York City. Origins Founded in 1956, the first issue of ''16'' hit the newsstands in May 1957, with Elvis Presley on the cover. Its longtime editor-in-chief, former fashion model and subscriptions cler ...

''. "Bondi Junction" was also released in the U.S. on

Playboy Records Playboy Records was an American record label, based in Los Angeles, California, and a unit of Playboy Enterprises. Artists recording for the label included Al Wilson, Barbi Benton, Blue Ash, Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, The Weapons of Peac ...

, a label started by Hugh Hefner, where it penetrated the U.S. market place. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' reviewed the song as "a super commercial track that will immediately influence the teen set." The record also peaked at number 113 in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''.

Capitol-EMI and Polydor

In 1975, Foldy was signed by

Capitol-EMI Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

of Canada alongside a deal with

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

in the U.S. His follow-up recordings, "Roxanne" and "Julie-Ann" also reached top-ten status on many charts across Canada, as well as in the U.S. In 1976, he again received a BMI Canada Certificate of Honour for "Roxanne" and once again made the cover of ''RPM Weekly'' on July 3, 1976 (volume 25 #14).

Free Flight records

On the advice of his manager, Foldy left his deal with Capitol with the promise of bigger things in the United States which, unfortunately, failed to materialize. However, a pop label started by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

in Los Angeles called Free Flight Records signed him a couple of years later. The move to Los Angeles allowed Foldy to continue his musical momentum with the self-written singles "Love City" and "School of Love", songs he co-produced with music producer, Tony Brown.

Bronte Road Music

In 2016, Foldy released a 10-track CD featuring all-new music entitled ''Nine Lives''. All songs were written and produced by Foldy. The CD received favorable reviews and radio airplay, particularly the single, "Carly". The album has received critical acclaim by both the ''Toronto Star''2br>Toronto Star Article, 08/29/2014
at th
Toronto Star
/ref> and ''Cashbox Canada''.3br>Cashbox Canada article, 08/07/2014
a
Cashbox Canada
/ref> A new single, "Toxic World" was released in 2019. Written by Foldy, it was co-produced with Miklos Malek. In 2020 he released the single, "This Christmas" co-produced with Gerry Stober and in 2021, another single, "Friend-Zone" was released through Foldy's Bronte Road Music label, also co-produced by Foldy and Miklos Malek.

Film

When Free Flight Records abruptly closed its doors in 1981, Foldy turned his attention back to film, quickly selling his first screenplay, ''

Hot Moves ''Hot Moves'' is an American 1984 comedy film by director Jim Sotos starring Michael Zorek and Jill Schoelen. Synopsis Four friends, annoyed at how almost everyone else they know is having sex but them, agree to do what they can to help each ot ...

'',br>Hot Moves
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Internet Movie Database
/ref> which became a considerable theatrical and video hit in the mid-1980s. In more recent pop culture, the film has been dubbed as the possible inspirationbr>Canada.com news "Aussies behind American Pie raunch"
/ref> for the 1999 Hollywood blockbuster '' American Pie''. More screenplays followed and in the early 1990s, Foldy started directing. His feature film credits include: * 1993: ''Midnight Witness'' starring

Jan-Michael Vincent Jan-Michael Vincent (July 15, 1944 – February 10, 2019) was an American actor. He emerged as a leading man in the 1970s, playing notable roles in films like '' Going Home'' (1971), which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Sup ...

and

Maxwell Caulfield Maxwell Caulfield (born Maxwell P.J. Newby; 23 November 1959) is a British actor. He has appeared in ''Grease 2'' (1982), ''Electric Dreams (film), Electric Dreams'' (1984), ''The Boys Next Door (1985 film), The Boys Next Door'' (1985), ''The S ...

* 1994: ''Tryst''br>Tryst
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Internet Movie Database
/ref> with

Barbara Carrera Barbara Kingsbury Carrera is a Nicaraguan-born American actress, model and painter. She is a two-time Golden Globe Award nominee, New Star of the Year – Actress for '' The Master Gunfighter'' (1975) and Best Supporting Actress – Motion Pi ...

David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to: Sports * Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor * David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier * David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer Othe ...

and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

winner

* 1996: ''Widow's Kiss''br>Widow's Kiss
at th
Internet Movie Database
/ref> with former Foldy background singer,

Beverly D'Angelo Beverly Heather D'Angelo (born November 15, 1951) is an American actress who starred as Ellen Griswold in the '' National Lampoon's Vacation'' films (1983–2015). She has appeared in over 60 films and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for ...

* 1998: ''Seeds of Doubt''0br>Seeds of Doubt
at th
Internet Movie Database
/ref> with

Peter Coyote Peter Coyote (born Robert Peter Cohon; October 10, 1941) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, and narrator of films, theater, television, and audiobooks. He worked on films, such as ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), '' C ...

* 2000: ''Silver Man''1br>Silver Man
a
Rotten Tomatoes
/ref> starring

and

Joe Pantoliano Joseph Peter Pantoliano (born September 12, 1951) is an American actor who has played over 150 roles across film, television, and theater. He is best known for portraying Francis Fratelli in '' The Goonies'' (1985), Captain Conrad Howard in th ...

* 2019: ''Love on Repeat'' starring

Jen Lilley Jennifer Lilley (born August 4, 1984) is an American actress and singer. Lilley played a supporting role in the 2011 film '' The Artist'', temporarily portrayed Maxie Jones on the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'' from September 2011 to Augus ...

* 2021: ''Help Wanted'' ' with Sarah Fisher, Conner Floyd and Preston Ward.

Current projects

Foldy is in development on several feature films as well as two plays, ''Spin'' and ''Liverpool Lads''. ''Spin'' is a humorous look at the resistance received by Canadian artists when Canadian content regulations were introduced in the early 1970s, while ''Liverpool Lads'' is the true story of the first songwriters signed to the Beatles company, Apple, after a random meeting with

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

in London's High Park. It is based on the book, ''All You Need Is Luck... Or How I Got a Record Deal by Meeting Paul McCartney'', written by Paul Tennant. McCartney has added a glowing quote to the back of the book. An avid photographer, Foldy has exhibited his black and white photographs.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Filmography

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foldy, Peter Living people Hungarian emigrants to Canada Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian male screenwriters Film producers from Ontario Film directors from Toronto Writers from Budapest Screenwriters from Toronto 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian screenwriters Year of birth missing (living people)