Vincent Peranio (born 1945) is a retired American

production designer In film and television, a production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Work ...

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

set designer Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including plays and musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, where it may be referred to as prod ...

, and actor. Peranio began his career designing film sets for

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

. Because of his work with Waters, he is considered one of the Dreamlanders, Waters' ensemble of regular cast and crew members.

Biography

Peranio was born in 1945 in Baltimore, and received a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

degree from the

Maryland Institute College of Art The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a Private university, private art school, art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, it is regarded as one of ...

in 1968. He is of Italian ancestry. Peranio's first credited project is the creation of ''Lobstora'', a room-sized rapacious

lobster Lobsters are Malacostraca, malacostracans Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the family (biology), family Nephropidae or its Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on th ...

in Waters' '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970). After ''Multiple Maniacs'', Peranio developed a successful career creating the sets for all subsequent films of Waters and other films and TV shows, including

Barry Levinson Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Levinson won the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Rain Man'' (1988). His other best-known works are ''Diner'' (1982), '' The Natural'' (1984 ...

's ''

Liberty Heights ''Liberty Heights'' is a 1999 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Barry Levinson. The film is a semi-autobiographical account of his childhood growing up in Baltimore in the 1950s. The film portrays the racial injustices experienc ...

'' and the

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

s, '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', ''

The Corner ''The Corner'' is a 2000 HBO drama television miniseries based on the nonfiction book '' The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood'' (1997) by David Simon and Ed Burns, and adapted for television by David Simon and David M ...

'', and the

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 ...

television production ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

''. At times, Peranio's brother Ed Peranio assisted with prop construction and creating effects, as well as portraying minor roles in the early Waters films. Peranio retired in 2016.

Personal life

Peranio and his wife, designer Dolores Deluxe, moved to

Tavira Tavira (), officially the City of Tavira (), is a Portuguese town and municipality, capital of the ''Costa do Acantilado'', situated in the east of the Algarve on the south coast of Portugal. It is east of Faro and west of Huelva across the riv ...

, Portugal, in 2019. They had previously lived on Dallas Street in

Fell's Point, Baltimore Fell's Point is a historic waterfront neighborhood in southeastern Baltimore, Maryland, established around 1763 along the north shore of the Baltimore Harbor and the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River. Located 1.5 miles east of Baltimore's d ...

, where they gradually bought four adjoining rowhouses and merged them, modeling the property after an Italian villa, which was eventually dubbed the "Palace on Dallas".

Filmography

Cinema

Production design

*'' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970) (designer of ''Lobstora'') *''

Pink Flamingos ''Pink Flamingos'' is a 1972 American surrealist independent black comedy film by John Waters. It is part of what Waters has labelled the "Trash Trilogy", which also includes '' Female Trouble'' (1974) and '' Desperate Living'' (1977). The f ...

'' (1972) (also Set Design/Art Direction/Technical Assistant) *''

Female Trouble ''Female Trouble'' is a 1974 American independent dark comedy film written, produced and directed by John Waters. It stars Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, and Edith Massey, and follows delinquent high school student Da ...

'' (1974) (also Art Direction) *'' Desperate Living'' (1977) (as Set Designer) *'' The Hitter'' (1979) (as Set Designer) *''

Polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...

'' (1981) *''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * Hairspray (1988 film), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...

'' (1988) (also Art Direction) *''

Cry-Baby ''Cry-Baby'' is a 1990 American teen musical romantic comedy film written and directed by John Waters. The film stars Johnny Depp as 1950s teen rebel Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker, and also features a large ensemble cast that includes Amy Locane, ...

'' (1990) *''

Serial Mom ''Serial Mom'' is a 1994 American satirical black comedy crime film directed and written by John Waters and starring Kathleen Turner as the title character along with Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, and Suzanne Somers. It tells the story of a housew ...

'' (1994) *'' Pecker'' (1998) *''

'' (1999) *''

Cecil B. DeMented ''Cecil B. Demented'' is a 2000 black comedy film written and directed by John Waters. The film stars Melanie Griffith as a snobby A-list Hollywood actress who is kidnapped by a band of terrorist filmmakers; they force her to star in their u ...

'' (2000) *'' Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2'' (2000) *'' Replay'' (2003) *''

A Dirty Shame ''A Dirty Shame'' is a 2004 American satirical sex comedy film written and directed by John Waters and starring Tracey Ullman, Johnny Knoxville, Selma Blair, and Chris Isaak. It follows a community in suburban Baltimore divided between people ...

'' (2004) *''

This Filthy World ''This Filthy World'' is a one-man show/documentary film by John Waters about his life and career. A filmed version of the show was directed by Jeff Garlin, recorded at the Harry DeJour Playhouse in New York City in 2006, and released later that ...

'' (2006) *''

Bay of Pigs The Bay of Pigs () is an inlet of the Gulf of Cazones, located on the southern coast of Cuba. By 1910 it was included in Santa Clara Province, and then to Las Villas Province by 1961, but in 1976, it was reassigned to Matanzas Province, when ...

'' (2008)

Art direction

*''

The Prize Fighter ''The Prize Fighter'' is an American comedy film starring Tim Conway and Don Knotts. Directed by Michael Preece, it was written by Tim Conway and John Myhers, based on a story by Conway. It was released by New World Pictures in November 1979. Pl ...

'' (1979) *'' The Private Eyes'' (1980) *'' Ruckus'' (1981) *''

The House on Sorority Row ''The House on Sorority Row'' is a 1982 American slasher film written and directed by Mark Rosman in his directorial debut, produced by John G. Clark, and starring Eileen Davidson and Kathryn McNeil. The plot follows a group of sorority sisters ...

'' (1983) *'' The Adventure of the Action Hunters'' (1987)

Actor

*'' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970) as Freak *''

'' (1972) as Musician at Party *''

Love Letter to Edie ''Love Letter to Edie'' is a 1975 American short documentary by Robert Maier. The film is about actress Edith Massey who starred in many John Waters films such as ''Desperate Living'', ''Pink Flamingos'', '' Multiple Maniacs'', and ''Female Tro ...

'' (1975) as Sailor in Bar *'' The Adventure of the Action Hunters'' (1987) as 1st

Television production design

*'' Darrow'' (1991) *'' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (84 episodes from 1993–1999) *''

'' (2000) *''

Young Americans ''Young Americans'' is the ninth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 7March 1975 through RCA Records. A departure from the glam rock style of previous albums, the record showcased Bowie's interest in soul and R&B. ...

'' (2000) (unknown episodes) *''

Shot in the Heart ''Shot in the Heart'' is a 1994 memoir written by Mikal Gilmore, then a senior contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', about his tumultuous childhood in a dysfunctional family, and his brother Gary Gilmore's eventual execution by firing squad ...

'' (2001) *''

'' (51 episodes from 2002–2008) *''

Something the Lord Made ''Something the Lord Made'' is a 2004 American made-for-television biographical drama film about the black cardiac pioneer Vivien Thomas (1910–1985) and his complex and volatile partnership with white surgeon Alfred Blalock (1899–1964), the ...

'' (2004)

Other

*''

Edith's Shopping Bag ''Edith's Shopping Bag'' (1976) is an American short documentary video about the opening of Edith Massey's thrift store in Baltimore. Cast See also * ''Love Letter to Edie ''Love Letter to Edie'' is a 1975 American short documentary ...

'' (1976) (Himself) *'' The Bedroom Window'' (1987) (set buyer: Baltimore) *''

Divine Trash ''Divine Trash'' is a 1998 American documentary film directed by Steve Yeager about the life and work of filmmaker John Waters, and the making of the 1972 film ''Pink Flamingos'', which is written and directed by Waters and stars Divine. ''Divi ...

'' (1998) (himself) *'' Anatomy of a 'Homicide: Life on the Street''' (1998) (as himself) *'' It Came from Baltimore'' (2005) (Himself) *'' All the Dirt on 'A Dirty Shame''' (2005) (Himself) *'' The Wire: It's All Connected'' (2006) (Himself) *'' The Roots of 'Hairspray''' (2007) (Himself)

References

External links

*
Dreamland Website

''Baltimore's Setting Son'': Interview with Vincent Peranio at Citypaper Online

New York Times Filmography

Interview from the Preparation of ''Fell's Point Out of Time
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peranio, Vincent 1945 births 20th-century American artists 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American artists American art directors American expatriates in Portugal American production designers American people of Italian descent Artists from Baltimore Living people Male actors from Baltimore Maryland Institute College of Art alumni People from Tavira