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Richard "Rick" Elfman (born March 6, 1949, in Los Angeles, California) is an American film director, writer and actor, best known amongst cult film fans for his 1980 film Forbidden Zone.
Elfman spent his high school years doing track and field, learning Afro-Latin percussion music and instruments, boxing, and writing editorials for zines. Taking his self-taught musical knowledge, Elfman traveled to Paris and became a street performer. There he was a member of Jerome Savary's Le Grande Magic Circus. He was later joined by his younger brother, Danny Elfman, who also became a member.
After returning to the States, Richard Elfman created a musical theatre troupe known as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. The group reflected his eclectic tastes in music and was partially created in order to perform old music that one could no longer hear and see live anymore. His brother soon joined them as a fire breather and they went on to perform at such places as Madam Wong's West and The Gong Show.
Elfman's directorial debut began when he produced his first movie, Forbidden Zone, which was also brother Danny's first foray into music composition for film. Forbidden Zone received a cult following similar to that of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It has now been released on DVD with a remastered soundtrack.
Sometime after the movie, the Mystic Knights broke apart to become rock band Oingo Boingo, fronted by Danny; Elfman meanwhile went on to write scripts for his movies, as well as adapting some novels to movies written by his mother, Blossom Elfman, Emmy-winning novelist.
Filmography
- Forbidden Zone 1980
- Private Life (music video)
- Shrunken Heads 1994
- Modern Vampires 1998
- Date or Disaster (short) 2003
Currently in production are:
- Trio
- The Sixth Dimension (Attack on Chedrania)
- Forbidden Zone 2: Dead Man's Party
Elfman has also acted in several films, sometimes under the stage name Aristide Sumatra, and is known to make obscure cameos in his own films.
External links
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