Robert B. Weide (born June 20, 1959) is an American screenwriter and television producer who served as director and executive producer of the television series ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', also known colloquially simply as ''Curb'', is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premiered on HBO with an hour-long special in October 17, 1999, followed by 12 seasons broadcast from Oc ...

'' from 1999 to 2004. He has also directed several documentaries, four of which are based on the lives of comedians W. C. Fields,

Mort Sahl Morton Lyon Sahl (May 11, 1927 – October 26, 2021) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, and social Satire, satirist, considered the first modern comedian. He pioneered a style of social satire that pokes fun at political and current e ...

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of come ...

, and

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

; his latest, '' Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time'' (2021), explores the life and works of

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...

. Weide has received 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 ...

nomination and

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

win for '' Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth'' (1999). He also received Emmy Awards for ''W. C. Fields: Head Up'' (1986), and ''

''.

Early work and education

Weide began working with film at an early job inspecting 16 mm educational films at the Fullerton Public Library in Orange County, California. In 1978, while taking film production courses at

Orange Coast College Orange Coast College (OCC) is a Public college, public community college in Costa Mesa, California, Costa Mesa in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948. It provides Associate of Ar ...

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...

, Weide decided to produce a documentary film on the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...

, inspired by his love of their work. Undeterred by repeated rejections of his applications to the

USC School of Cinema-Television The USC School of Cinematic Arts is an academic unit of the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles. With a history that dates to the first years of talkies, the school descends from America's first program to confer a college degree i ...

, he worked on the project on his own time and with help from Charles H. Joffe got the rights to clips necessary to make the film. ''The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell'' was broadcast in 1982 on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

and became "one of the highest-rated programs in PBS history".

Career

''W. C. Fields: Straight Up'' (1986)

Weide co-wrote ''W. C. Fields: Straight Up'' (1986) with Joseph Adamson and Ronald J. Fields. Adamson directed it, and

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. He first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writer-perf ...

narrated. In an interview with ''

The Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the larges ...

'', Weide said: "The film is 94 minutes long. We had access to all of his feature films, and clips from 1915 on. We have newsreel footage, outtakes, and material never seen before. We also have interviews with people who knew and/or worked with Fields, or have special knowledge of him, including Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Will Fowler, Madge Kennedy, who played in the 1923 stage production of ‘Poppy’ and co-starred in the movie,

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

, Ronald J. Fields, propman Harry Caplan and an audio interview with the grown-up Baby Leroy."

''Mort Sahl: The Loyal Opposition'' (1989)

Weide's next project concerned the career of

. The project was part of the

American Masters ''American Masters'' is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and those who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the U ...

documentary series, which originally ran on

in 1989.

''Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth'' (1998)

In 1998, Weide directed the documentary '' Swear to Tell the Truth'', which received a nomination for the

Academy Award for Best Documentary The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Special Awards to '' Kukan'' and '' Target for Tonight''. They have since been bes ...

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

narrated it, and it featured interviews with Bruce's ex-wife Honey, mother Sally Marr and former TV host

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television and radio personality, comedian, musician, composer, writer, and actor. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and ...

, who had Bruce on his show a few times. The film debuted 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 ...

''Curb Your Enthusiasm''

From 2000 to 2005, Weide served as principal director and an executive producer of

Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He is known for his dry wit, portrayals of awkward social situations, and brutally honest takes on everyday life. He has received two Prim ...

comedy series ''

''. He became involved in the series after receiving a script by David titled "Prognosis Negative". In 1998 David told Weide that HBO was interested in doing a comedy special about David's return to stand-up—"ostensibly a documentary with some behind-the-scenes footage. And he told me he wanted me to direct it." The special turned out to be the beginning of the series. Since then David and Weide have often collaborated, with Weide serving as a director and executive producer. Weide returned with the show in 2007, directing "The Anonymous Donor", and has continued to guest direct since. Weide received several

nominations for his work on the show, and won an Emmy in 2003 for his work as director during its third season. His ending credit on the show has become part of an

internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

''How to Lose Friends & Alienate People''

Weide's first feature film as director, '' How to Lose Friends & Alienate People'', was released in October 2008, to generally unfavorable reviews, though it topped the United Kingdom's box office during its opening weekend.

''Woody Allen: A Documentary'' (2011)

Weide's next documentary, '' Woody Allen: A Documentary'', explored the career of filmmaker and comedian

as part of PBS's

series. The film takes a look at Allen's nearly seven-decade career as a director and comedian. It features interviews with Allen,

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. The List of highest-paid film actors, world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100, ''F ...

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He first gained prominence for his stand-up routines in the 1980s in which he tackled subjects including race relations, human sexuality, and obse ...

Owen Wilson Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has frequently worked with filmmaker Wes Anderson, with whom he has shared writing and acting credits on the films '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and ''T ...

Penelope Cruz Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or , ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius and Asterodia. Penelope is known for he ...

, and

. It received favorable reviews, earning a 90% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

based on 21 reviews. The website's critical consensus states: "Driving aside the most polemical aspects of the director's biography, ''Woody Allen: A Documentary'' draws an interesting picture of the filmmaker's opus while allowing some glimpses of his intense personal life." ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' critic

Richard Brody Richard Brody (born January 22, 1958) is an American film critic, filmmaker and author. Background Brody grew up in Roslyn, New York. He is Jewish and has personally identified as an atheist. Brody attended Princeton University, receiving a B ...

wrote: "It's a close look at how Allen's career was shaped, from his Brooklyn youth to his precocious launch as a comedy writer, his rise to local fame as a standup comedian and to national celebrity on television, his move from screenwriter to director of the 'early, funny' films to internationally lionized auteur to pariah and, gradually, back again." Weide was the director and main writer for '' Mr. Sloane'', a 2014 British comedy series.

Work with Kurt Vonnegut

Weide wrote and produced the 1996 film adaptation of

's ''

Mother Night ''Mother Night'' is a novel by American author Kurt Vonnegut, first published in February 1962. The novel takes the form of the fictional memoirs of Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American, who moved to Germany in 1923 at age 11, and later became a ...

''. With Vonnegut's support, Weide chronicled him on film starting in 1988 and has obtained footage of him from 16 mm home movies dating back to 1925. Weide was also working on a film adaptation of ''The Sirens of Titan'' until the film rights were sold to another producer. Writing under the pseudonym ''Wyaduck'' (a Marx Brothers reference), Weide was a frequent poster to

Usenet Usenet (), a portmanteau of User's Network, is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose UUCP, Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Elli ...

group alt.books.kurt-vonnegut, where he reported on the progress of the ''Mother Night'' project. He was mentioned in Vonnegut's ''

Timequake ''Timequake'' is a 1997 semi-autobiographical work by Kurt Vonnegut. Marketed as a novel, the book was described as a "stew" by Vonnegut, in which he summarizes a novel he had been struggling with for a number of years. Plot summary Vonnegut u ...

''. In 2001, Weide directed a revival of Vonnegut's play ''Happy Birthday, Wanda June'' starring his wife, Linda Bates, as Penelope.

Filmography

As writer As director

Awards and nominations

Personal life

Weide married actress Linda Bates. His marriage to her and her subsequent issues with

progressive supranuclear palsy Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a late-onset neurodegenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific volumes of the brain, linked to 4-repeat tau pathology. The condition leads to symptoms including Balance di ...

are chronicled in '' Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time''.

References

External links

*
Biography
from the

website
40-Minute audio interview with Robert Weide
on

The Sound of Young America ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weide, Robert B. 1959 births Place of birth missing (living people) American documentary filmmakers American film producers American male screenwriters American television directors American television producers American television writers Primetime Emmy Award winners Living people Directors Guild of America Award winners American male television writers