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Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is a multifaceted American artist. He is primarily known as a film actor, but is also a painter, filmmaker, author, musician, and collector and archivist of esoterica. Crispin Glover is known to portray rather eccentric people on screen such as George McFly in Back to the Future or Willard Stiles in Willard.
Born in New York City, Glover moved to Los Angeles at the age of four. As a child, he attended the Mirman School for the academically gifted. His father, Bruce Glover, was a character actor best remembered for playing the offbeat S.P.E.C.T.R.E. assassin Mr. Wint in the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever, and the hood Duffy in Chinatown. Glover appeared in several sitcoms as a teenager, including Happy Days and Family Ties. His first film role was in 1983's My Tutor. That led to Teachers (1984) and The Final Chapter (1984).
His breakout role was as George McFly in Robert Zemeckis's Back to the Future. Glover refused to participate in the film's two sequels, reportedly because he wanted more money and his salary demands were not met. Nevertheless, Zemeckis used previously filmed footage and body prosthetics on another actor, Jeffrey Weissman, to simulate Glover on screen. Glover then sued the producers (including Steven Spielberg) and won a landmark victory setting a precedent for how actors' images may be used in films. * At the same time, the suit put somewhat of a dark mark on Glover's reputation.
Back to the Future was an international box office smash following its release in 1985. Glover followed it with The Orkly Kid, in which he portrayed a young man whose obsession with Olivia Newton-John raises the ire of his small-town neighbors. From that point, Glover pursued a defiantly individualistic path. His characters were notable for the peculiar personality tics and unconventional thought processes. He played Andy Warhol in Oliver Stone's The Doors in (1991). He has continued to play exceedingly eccentric types, e.g. the title characters in Bartleby (2001) and Willard (2003). He has received some considerable mainstream attention recently as the "Thin Man" in the Charlie's Angels films.
In 1987, Glover appeared on Late Night with David Letterman to promote his new movie River's Edge, wearing a long wig and platform shoes (see video clip). His bizarre appearance was exceeded only by his strange behavior, which was thought by some to have been influenced by drugs, while others say it was a combination of staying in-character with the role he had last played, as well as being very nervous. After a failed attempt to challenge Letterman to an arm wrestling match, Glover feigned a karate kick. At that point Letterman ended the segment and cut to commercial. Glover later explained his behavior while appearing on the show as simply keeping in the character of his latest role, the character Rubin from Rubin and Ed, which can be seen in the similarity between the character's style of dress and mannerisms in comparison to the clothes worn by Glover on the show and the actions he engaged in (the character appears again in the video for Clowny clown clown). It is also noted that in the film The Final Chapter Glover, when asked to perform a dance, performed a wild dance resembling an epileptic fit. However, this probably increased his popularity and made him a candidate for "Back to the Future" as George McFly was a rather eccentric character.
Music
In 1989, during a hiatus from films, Glover released an album called The Big Problem ≠ The Solution. The Solution = Let It Be (1989) through Restless Records. The album features Clowny Clown Clown (which has its own music video), a cover of Lee Hazlewood's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," a cover of Charles Manson's "Never Say Never To Always," several original songs, and readings from his art books Rat Catching and Oak-Mot (Glover modified old books by adding or deleting pictures, text, and drawings). He included his home phone number with copies of the album, encouraging listeners to phone when they had "solved" his puzzle. Glover later commented that he was rather surprised how many people figured it out.
The music itself is similar to outsider music, with seemingly absurd, dream-like lyrics.
In 2003, he recorded a version of the Michael Jackson classic "Ben" to coincide with the release of the film Willard. In the eccentric music video for the song, he sings to a rat named Ben, it can be seen on the DVD of the film.
There have also been at least three songs written about him, titled "Crispin Glover," one by a New Jersey-based band Children In Adult Jails, the band Scarling, as well as Wesley Willis. The Colorado band Warlock Pinchers also released a song entitled "Where the hell is Crispin Glover?".
What Is It? film trilogy
What Is It?
Glover made his directorial debut with 2005's What Is It?, a strange and surreal art film similar in style to the work of Alejandro Jodorowsky and has been described as "The adventures of a young man whose principle interests are snails, salt, a pipe, and how to get home, and is tormented by a hubristic, racist inner psyche." The movie's budget was a mere $125,000 and took almost a decade to complete, originally intending it to be a short film with shooting beginning in Los Angeles. Most of the primary footage was shot in 12 days, stretched over a two-and-a-half year period. From the late-1990s in to the early 2000's, he toured with prints of the film, showing parts of it before it was completed, along with various slides and read excerpts from his works. Production was mostly funded by the actor's roles in Willard and the Charlie's Angels films.The film boasts an eclectic and unusual cast. Porn stars Kiva, Muffy and Karin Odell appear naked with animal heads. Most of the principal actors are young and have Down syndrome. Fairuza Balk lends her voice to a real snail, and Glover's role in the film is officially described as "Dueling Demi-God Auteur and The young man's inner psyche.". It features swastikas, Shirley Temple in the nude, songs by cult-leader Charles Manson and deals with many types and symbols of racism and prejudice. He defended his choices of imagery in a 2005 interview: "It's really a film to help start these kinds of discussions. Why are these things taboo, and what does that mean for the culture itself? A culture will die a death of stupidity if it doesn't have different points of view." * Glover made clear when touring with the film that he had no plans to sell it to a major studio nor release it for home viewing. He also revealed his plans on releasing it as part of a trilogy at some point in the future by including the titles of the next two films in the credits for What Is It?.
It is Fine. Everything is Fine!
The second film, It is Fine. Everything is Fine! has already wrapped on production and is now assumed to be in the editing phase. The film was written by Utah writer-actor Steven C. Stewart, who also appears in What Is It? and It is Fine. He died of complications from cerebral palsy in 2001, only one month after principal filming wrapped. Glover said in an online chat that "it's an autobiographical, psycho-sexual, fantastical retelling of point-of-view of life." It is Fine. Everything is Fine! was shot entirely at David Brother's sound stage in Salt Lake City, Utah. Glover has stated that it is "probably the best film I'll ever work on in my entire career." [http://www.utahcityguide.com/entertainment/878.asp No release date has yet been declared for It is Fine.It is Mine
It is Mine, the final film of the trilogy, is an original screenplay written by Ryan Page, Mike Pallagi, and Glover. Glover has stated that Stewart "wanted to show that handicapped people are human, sexual horrible, and It Is Mine will be much more sexual than the other two." [http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/media/paper244/news/2005/02/28/AE/Not-A.Jaunt.Down.The.Yellow.Brick.Road-879842.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.dailyutahchronicle.comFilmography
External links
- Official site
- TV Tome bio and filmography
- Crispin Glover's Essay, What is It? from Apocalypse Culture II (Feral House).
- Willard-era interview, film stills
- The Cult of Crispin
- Crispin Hellion Glover Resource Center
- Crispin Glover Encyclopedia
- Excerpt from Snails and Retards and Crispin Glover--Interview
- Transcript of Glover's notorious first appearance on Late Night with David Letterman
- Recording of Glover's appearance on Late Night with David Letterman
- Obsessive CHG fan site
1964 births | Living people | American film actors | American film directors | American male singers | American poets | Transgressive artists | Back to the Future actors | Friday the 13th actors | English-language film directors | Film actors
Crispin Glover | Crispin Glover | Crispin Glover | Crispin Glover | クリスピン・グローヴァー
"Crispin Glover"