Sean Sexton Cunningham (born December 31, 1941) is an American film director, producer, and writer. He is best known for directing and producing several horror films, beginning in the early 1970s. Raised in Connecticut, Cunningham graduated from Franklin & Marshall College before earning an MFA from Stanford University. After completing his education, he worked as a manager for various theater companies, including New York City's

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

and the

Oregon Shakespeare Festival The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional Repertory, repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and conte ...

. While working for a documentary company in New York, Cunningham made his feature film directorial debut with '' The Art of Marriage'' (1970). While editing his second film, he met

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 ...

, with whom he collaborated as a producer of Craven's exploitation horror film '' The Last House on the Left'' (1972). Cunningham went on to co-create and direct the

slasher film A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic ...

'' Friday the 13th'' (1980), which was a major box-office success. He produced several horror films throughout the 1980s, including ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

'' (1985) and its sequel '' House II: The Second Story'' (1987).

Early life

Cunningham was born in New York City on December 31, 1941 and raised in Connecticut. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Franklin & Marshall College and later earned an MFA from Stanford University.

Career

Cunningham's first jobs after graduating from Stanford included managing theater companies such as New York's Lincoln Center, the Mineola Theater on Long Island, as well as the

, the latter of where he briefly studied. He is a member of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

and the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of Film director, film and Television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dir ...

. While working for a documentary company in New York City in the late 1960s, Cunningham made his directorial debut with '' The Art of Marriage'' (1970). While editing ''

Together ''ToGetHer'' (, aka Superstar Express) is a 2009 Taiwanese drama starring Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit, Rainie Yang and George Hu. It was produced by Comic International Productions ( 可米國際影視事業股份有限公司) and directed by Linzi ...

'', he met

, who was working as an editor at the time. The two collaborated on Craven's directorial debut, the exploitation film '' The Last House on the Left'' (1972), which Cunningham produced. Cunningham is best known for his involvement of multiple films in the '' Friday the 13th'' franchise, which introduced the fictional mass murderer

Jason Voorhees Jason Voorhees () is a fictional character and the antagonist of the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-kil ...

. Of the 12 films in the series, the ones that had Cunningham's involvement were the original, '' Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'', '' Jason X'', '' Freddy vs. Jason'', and the 2009 reboot. He has also produced many horror films, such as the ''

'' series and

's debut feature, '' The Last House on the Left''. He is the founder and CEO of Crystal Lake Entertainment. Cunningham was set to produce

the CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

series adaption of '' Friday the 13th'' before that project fell through, and served as a producer of '' Friday the 13th: The Game''. As of 2015, he is also a member of the board of advisers for the Hollywood Horror Museum.

Filmography

Film

Short film

Acting roles

* 2013 '' Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th'' - Himself (Documentary film)

Notes

References

Works cited

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Sean S. 1941 births Living people 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American screenwriters American chief executives Film directors from Connecticut Film directors from New York City American horror film directors Stanford University alumni Mass media people from Connecticut Franklin & Marshall College alumni