Robert Houston (actor)
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Robert "Bobby" Houston (born 1955) is an American
filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
and
actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
. He made his acting debut in '' The Hills Have Eyes'' (1977) before becoming a
film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
and
screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
. His films include ''
Shogun Assassin ''Shogun Assassin'' is a 1980 film directed by Robert Houston. It was edited and compiled from the first two films in the ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' series, using 12 minutes of the first film, '' Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance'' (''Kozure Å ...
'' (1980) and ''
Bad Manners Bad Manners are an English Two-tone (music genre), two-tone and ska Musical ensemble, band led by frontman Buster Bloodvessel. Early appearances included ''Top of the Pops'' and the live film documentary ''Dance Craze'' (1981). They were at ...
'' (1984). Later in his career, Houston became a successful documentarian. He won an Emmy Award for the film '' Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks'' (2002) and an
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 ...
for the film '' Mighty Times: The Children's March'' (2004) in 2005.


Life and career

Houston first came to prominence with his performance of the character Bobby in
Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. Amongst his Wes Craven filmography, prolific filmography, Craven worked primarily in the Horror film, horror genre, particularly sla ...
's 1977 horror film '' The Hills Have Eyes''. He would reprise his role in the sequel ''
The Hills Have Eyes Part II ''The Hills Have Eyes Part II'' is a 1985 American horror film written and directed by Wes Craven. The film stars Tamara Stafford, Kevin Spirtas, John Bloom (actor), John Bloom, Michael Berryman, Penny Johnson Jerald, Penny Johnson, Janus Blyt ...
'' (1984). In 1977, Houston modeled for pop artist
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
at his
Factory A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...
in New York. Warhol's
silkscreen Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen in a "flood stroke" ...
painting ''Torso'' (1977) is based on a Polaroid photo he took of Houston as part of his "landscapes" series depicting nude males. In the book ''
The Andy Warhol Diaries ''The Andy Warhol Diaries'' is the dictated memoir of the American artist Andy Warhol and edited by his longtime friend and collaborator Pat Hackett. The book was published posthumously by Warner Books with an introduction by Hackett. The 807-p ...
'', Warhol mentioned in a November 7, 1977 diary entry that Houston was writing a movie he had assigned to him about "kids who commit suicide." Houston and film producer
David Weisman David Weisman (born March 11, 1942 – died October 9, 2019) was an American film producer, author, and graphic artist, most noted for his films ''Ciao! Manhattan'' and ''Kiss of the Spider Woman''. He was the brother of film director Sam Wei ...
acquired the rights for the film ''Baby Cart at the River Styx'', which had been adapted from the
Lone Wolf & Cub is a Japanese manga series created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. It was serialized in Futabasha's manga magazine ''Weekly Manga Action'' from September 1970 to April 1976, with its chapters collected in 28 ' volumes. The ...
Japanese action film. They re-edited, re-scored, and co-wrote a script for the English-dubbed film they retitled ''
Shogun Assassin ''Shogun Assassin'' is a 1980 film directed by Robert Houston. It was edited and compiled from the first two films in the ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' series, using 12 minutes of the first film, '' Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance'' (''Kozure Å ...
'' (1980). Houston also wrote and directed several independent films in the 1980s, including the teen comedy ''
Bad Manners Bad Manners are an English Two-tone (music genre), two-tone and ska Musical ensemble, band led by frontman Buster Bloodvessel. Early appearances included ''Top of the Pops'' and the live film documentary ''Dance Craze'' (1981). They were at ...
'' (1984). Houston is also the author of the novel ''Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday'', which served as the basis for the 1986 film '' A Killing Affair''. Houston studied documentary filmmaking at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
before moving to Los Angeles. He transitioned from writing to directing until his partner died of
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
in 1995. He then opened up a bookstore in
Ojai, California Ojai ( ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east– ...
, and to finance the store he would direct documentaries. Houston and his partner Robert Hudson formed their own company, Tell The Truth Pictures, to promote and distribute the documentary film ''Rock The Boat'' (1998). It had screened at film festivals titled ''The Human Race''. The film follows a crew of HIV+ sailors who enter the Trans-Pacific Yacht Race from Los Angeles to Hawaii. He would go on to direct '' Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks'' (2002) and '' Mighty Times: The Children's March'' (2004). Both films were nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film This is a list of films by year that have received an Academy Award together with the other nominations for best documentary short film. Following the Academy's practice, the year listed for each film is the year of release: the awards are announ ...
, which the latter won in 2005. ''The Legacy of Rosa Parks'' won the
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Special The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Special was an Emmy award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are ...
after airing on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
in 2005. After he was fired from HBO, he moved to the
Berkshires The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...
. There he met his current partner Eric Shamie, owner of Moon in the Pond Farm in
Sheffield, Massachusetts Sheffield is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,327 at the 2020 census. Sheffield is home to Berkshire School, a private preparatory schoo ...
. Houston started buying homes and fixing them up. He also developed The Green Houses, a sustainable co-housing community, and opened Scout House, a boutique in
Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a New England town, town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Bot ...
.


Awards

Houston won an
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 ...
for the documentary film '' Mighty Times: The Children's March'' (2004) in the category Documentary Short Film at the
77th Academy Awards The 77th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on February 27, 2005, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. Durin ...
in 2005.


Filmography


Bibliography

*''Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday'' (novel)


References


External links

* Living people American male film actors Male actors from California LGBTQ people from California Film directors from California 1955 births American LGBTQ male actors American LGBTQ film directors American LGBTQ screenwriters 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American LGBTQ people {{US-film-director-1950s-stub 21st-century American LGBTQ people Directors of Best Documentary Short Subject Academy Award winners