Jerry Stahl
Encyclopedia
Jerry Stahl is an American
novelist and screenwriter
, He is best known for his memoir of addiction Permanent Midnight
. A film adaptation followed with Ben Stiller
in the lead role.
Stahl has worked extensively in film and television. He has one daughter named Stella, who is a senior at Northwestern University and is studying theater and political science.
. His father, a Jewish immigrant from Russia, became a federal judge, though his working-class roots include a stint as a coal miner.
After the untimely loss of his father, Stahl’s education proved to be a commanding culture shock. He moved from being a kid educated in a lower class of Pittsburgh neighborhood, to a fish out of water, suddenly shipped away to a private boarding school and a world far removed from anything he had ever known. He is a graduate of Columbia University. Post-college found Stahl living abroad in Greece – in caves outside of Matala, on Crete. He also traveled the streets of Paris, then London, where he landed a job as a bartender at a working-class Irish pub. Once stateside, Jerry found himself in New York with a burgeoning career as a writer.
, and made a living writing for magazines and doing porn stories for cash. One writing job as humor editor for Hustler
meant moving to Columbus, Ohio
and living at the YMCA
until the magazine moved its headquarters to California. Stahl lost his job six months to the day after taking it and ended up on unemployment in California, alongside an escalating heroin dependency, which eventually led to his contracting hepatitis C
.
He would go on to become a writer for the 1980s TV series ALF
, Thirtysomething, and Moonlighting
. In 1990 he would also write an episode for Twin Peaks
and Northern Exposure
.
Permanent Midnight
, his 1995 memoir, was adapted by Stahl into a 1998 film of the same name starring Ben Stiller
that raised Stahl's profile and set the stage for his ongoing work in film. He wrote the screenplay for Bad Boys II
, which starred Will Smith
and Martin Lawrence
. His most recent film collaboration is with actor Johnny Depp
who is producing his celebrated novel I, Fatty
, the fictional autobiography of legendary movie comedian Roscoe Arbuckle.
Stahl has also written a number of CSI
episodes which deal with transgressive topics and have been some of the most controversial but also gained some of the highest ratings. He introduced the dominatrix
character Lady Heather
who has appeared in a number of episodes, the first of which, "Slaves of Las Vegas", featured viewer discretion advisory warning, due to nudity and sexual content. Stahl has been criticised for his inaccurate portrayal of furries
in "Fur and Loathing
". However, while earlier episodes of CSI had been criticised for the treatment of transgender people, his episode "Ch-Ch-Changes" was highlighted as offering a sensitive portrayal of the topic. It also got the largest audience to date, 31.5 million, with his "King Baby" being the second most watched that season. That episode dealt with infantilism and the Parents Television Council
declared it was the worst television show of the week.
In June 2010 it was announced that Stahl and Barbara Turner
had written a screenplay for an HBO film about Ernest Hemingway and his relationship with Martha Gellhorn entitled Hemingway & Gellhorn
that Clive Owen
and Nicole Kidman
will star in. James Gandolfini
will serve as executive producer to the film, which will be directed by Philip Kaufman
and will reportedly begin shooting next year.
As Herbert W. Day:
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
novelist and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, He is best known for his memoir of addiction Permanent Midnight
Permanent Midnight
Permanent Midnight is a 1998 biographical romantic comedy-drama film directed by David Veloz starring Ben Stiller. The film is based on Jerry Stahl's autobiographical book of the same name, and tells the story of Stahl's rise from a small-time television writer to his success as a comedy writer...
. A film adaptation followed with Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
in the lead role.
Stahl has worked extensively in film and television. He has one daughter named Stella, who is a senior at Northwestern University and is studying theater and political science.
Early life
Stahl grew up in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. His father, a Jewish immigrant from Russia, became a federal judge, though his working-class roots include a stint as a coal miner.
After the untimely loss of his father, Stahl’s education proved to be a commanding culture shock. He moved from being a kid educated in a lower class of Pittsburgh neighborhood, to a fish out of water, suddenly shipped away to a private boarding school and a world far removed from anything he had ever known. He is a graduate of Columbia University. Post-college found Stahl living abroad in Greece – in caves outside of Matala, on Crete. He also traveled the streets of Paris, then London, where he landed a job as a bartender at a working-class Irish pub. Once stateside, Jerry found himself in New York with a burgeoning career as a writer.
Career
Stahl began publishing short fiction, won a Pushcart PrizePushcart Prize
The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to 6 works they have featured....
, and made a living writing for magazines and doing porn stories for cash. One writing job as humor editor for Hustler
Hustler
Hustler is a monthly pornographic magazine aimed at men and published in the United States. It was first published in 1974 by Larry Flynt. It was a step forward from the Hustler Newsletter which was cheap advertising for his strip club businesses at the time. The magazine grew from a shaky start to...
meant moving to Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
and living at the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
until the magazine moved its headquarters to California. Stahl lost his job six months to the day after taking it and ended up on unemployment in California, alongside an escalating heroin dependency, which eventually led to his contracting hepatitis C
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease primarily affecting the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus . The infection is often asymptomatic, but chronic infection can lead to scarring of the liver and ultimately to cirrhosis, which is generally apparent after many years...
.
He would go on to become a writer for the 1980s TV series ALF
ALF (TV series)
ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...
, Thirtysomething, and Moonlighting
Moonlighting (TV series)
Moonlighting is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 3, 1985, to May 14, 1989. The network aired a total of 66 episodes...
. In 1990 he would also write an episode for Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
and Northern Exposure
Northern Exposure
Northern Exposure is an American television series that ran on CBS from 1990 to 1995, with a total of 110 episodes.-Overview:The series was given a pair of consecutive Peabody Awards: in 1991–92 for the show's "depict[ion] in a comedic and often poetic way, [of] the cultural clash between a...
.
Permanent Midnight
Permanent Midnight
Permanent Midnight is a 1998 biographical romantic comedy-drama film directed by David Veloz starring Ben Stiller. The film is based on Jerry Stahl's autobiographical book of the same name, and tells the story of Stahl's rise from a small-time television writer to his success as a comedy writer...
, his 1995 memoir, was adapted by Stahl into a 1998 film of the same name starring Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
that raised Stahl's profile and set the stage for his ongoing work in film. He wrote the screenplay for Bad Boys II
Bad Boys II
Bad Boys II is a 2003 action/comedy film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. It is a sequel to the 1995 film Bad Boys. The film is about two police detectives investigating the flow of ecstasy into Miami...
, which starred Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
and Martin Lawrence
Martin Lawrence
Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence is an American actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and stand up comedian. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor, most notably the films Bad Boys, Blue Streak, and Big Momma's House...
. His most recent film collaboration is with actor Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
who is producing his celebrated novel I, Fatty
I, Fatty
I, Fatty is a novel by American writer Jerry Stahl published in 2004. The book is a fictionalized autobiography of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, the famous silent film comedian, and probes his early life in vaudeville, his rise to fame in the movies, and his crash into infamy following a false murder...
, the fictional autobiography of legendary movie comedian Roscoe Arbuckle.
Stahl has also written a number of CSI
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
episodes which deal with transgressive topics and have been some of the most controversial but also gained some of the highest ratings. He introduced the dominatrix
Dominatrix
Dominatrix or mistress is a woman or women who takes the dominant role in bondage, discipline and sadomasochism, or BDSM. A common form of address for a submissive to a dominatrix is "mistress", "ma'am", "domina" or "maîtresse"...
character Lady Heather
Lady Heather
Heather Kessler, also known as Lady Heather, is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, portrayed by Melinda Clarke....
who has appeared in a number of episodes, the first of which, "Slaves of Las Vegas", featured viewer discretion advisory warning, due to nudity and sexual content. Stahl has been criticised for his inaccurate portrayal of furries
Furry fandom
Furry fandom is a fandom for fictional anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, the ability to speak, walk on two legs, and wear clothes...
in "Fur and Loathing
Fur and Loathing
"Fur and Loathing" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.A grisly collision between a Mercury Sable and an eighteen-wheeler leads to a murder investigation at a furry convention...
". However, while earlier episodes of CSI had been criticised for the treatment of transgender people, his episode "Ch-Ch-Changes" was highlighted as offering a sensitive portrayal of the topic. It also got the largest audience to date, 31.5 million, with his "King Baby" being the second most watched that season. That episode dealt with infantilism and the Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
declared it was the worst television show of the week.
Barbara Turner
Barbara Turner is an American screenwriter and former actress.-Life and career:Turner was born in New York. She was married to actor Vic Morrow – with whom she had two daughters, actress Jennifer Jason Leigh and Carrie Ann Morrow – from 1957 to 1964, and to Iranian television director Reza Badiyi...
had written a screenplay for an HBO film about Ernest Hemingway and his relationship with Martha Gellhorn entitled Hemingway & Gellhorn
Hemingway & Gellhorn
Hemingway & Gellhorn is an upcoming HBO film about the lives of journalist Martha Gellhorn and her husband, writer Ernest Hemingway. It will be directed by Philip Kaufman. The film began shooting in San Francisco in March 2011...
that Clive Owen
Clive Owen
Clive Owen is an English actor, who has worked on television, stage and film. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for portraying the lead in the ITV series Chancer from 1990 to 1991...
and Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
will star in. James Gandolfini
James Gandolfini
James J. Gandolfini, Jr. is an Italian American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony Soprano in the HBO TV series The Sopranos, about a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia...
will serve as executive producer to the film, which will be directed by Philip Kaufman
Philip Kaufman
Philip Kaufman is an American film director and screenwriter. His movies have adapted novels of widely different types – from Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being to Michael Crichton’s Rising Sun; from Tom Wolfe’s heroic epic The Right Stuff to the erotic writings of Anaïs Nin’s...
and will reportedly begin shooting next year.
Writing style
Stahl’s books tend to address dysfunction and self-destruction. His characters are people who, for the most part, are victims of hedonism and/or emotional instability.Novels
- Perv: A Love Story (1999)
- Plainclothes Naked (2002)
- I, FattyI, FattyI, Fatty is a novel by American writer Jerry Stahl published in 2004. The book is a fictionalized autobiography of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, the famous silent film comedian, and probes his early life in vaudeville, his rise to fame in the movies, and his crash into infamy following a false murder...
(2005) - Pain Killers (2009)
Films
Film work includes:- Dr. CaligariDr. Caligari (film)Dr. Caligari is a 1989 cult film by Stephen Sayadian starring Madeleine Reynal, Laura Albert, Gene Zerna, David Parry and Jennifer Balgobin. The film details a disturbed doctor and her illegal experiments on her patients....
(19891989 in film-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
) - Permanent MidnightPermanent MidnightPermanent Midnight is a 1998 biographical romantic comedy-drama film directed by David Veloz starring Ben Stiller. The film is based on Jerry Stahl's autobiographical book of the same name, and tells the story of Stahl's rise from a small-time television writer to his success as a comedy writer...
(19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
) - Bad Boys IIBad Boys IIBad Boys II is a 2003 action/comedy film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. It is a sequel to the 1995 film Bad Boys. The film is about two police detectives investigating the flow of ecstasy into Miami...
(20032003 in filmThe year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...
)
As Herbert W. Day:
- NightdreamsNightdreamsNightdreams is a 1981 American pornographic film that is often noted for its vastly surrealistic plot and scenes.The film was co-written by Jerry Stahl , who's also known for writing episodes of ALF.-Plot:...
(1981) - Café FleshCafé FleshCafé Flesh is a 1982 post-apocalyptic cult pornographic science fiction film designed and directed by Stephen Sayadian and co-written by Sayadian and Jerry Stahl...
(1982)
Television
- ALFALF (TV series)ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...
:- "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue?" (1986)
- "La Cuckaracha" (1987)
- "Mind Games" (1989)
- thirtysomething:
- "Born to Be Mild" (1988)
- "Politics" (1989)
- MoonlightingMoonlighting (TV series)Moonlighting is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 3, 1985, to May 14, 1989. The network aired a total of 66 episodes...
:- "Plastic Fantastic Lovers" (1989)
- "Perfetc" (1989)
- Twin PeaksTwin PeaksTwin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
: "Laura's Secret Diary" (1990) - Northern ExposureNorthern ExposureNorthern Exposure is an American television series that ran on CBS from 1990 to 1995, with a total of 110 episodes.-Overview:The series was given a pair of consecutive Peabody Awards: in 1991–92 for the show's "depict[ion] in a comedic and often poetic way, [of] the cultural clash between a...
: "Soapy Sanderson" (1990) - CSICSI: Crime Scene InvestigationCSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
:- "Justice Is Served" (2001)
- "Slaves of Las Vegas" (2001)
- "Felonious Monk" (2002)
- "The Hunger Artist" (2002)
- "Fur and LoathingFur and Loathing"Fur and Loathing" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.A grisly collision between a Mercury Sable and an eighteen-wheeler leads to a murder investigation at a furry convention...
" (2003) - "Getting Off" (2004)
- "Ch-Ch-Changes" (2004)
- "King Baby" (2005)
- "Pirates of the Third Reich" (2006)
- "Way To Go" (2006)
- Hemingway & GellhornHemingway & GellhornHemingway & Gellhorn is an upcoming HBO film about the lives of journalist Martha Gellhorn and her husband, writer Ernest Hemingway. It will be directed by Philip Kaufman. The film began shooting in San Francisco in March 2011...
(2011 HBO movie)
External links
- Radio interview on KPFAKPFAKPFA is a listener-funded progressive talk radio and music radio station located in Berkeley, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area. KPFA airs public news, public affairs, talk, and music programming. The station signed on-the-air April 15 1949, as the first Pacifica Station...
's Cover to Cover (April 30, 2009) - LA Weekly article
- New Angeles Monthly interview published June 29, 2007
- Print interview, July 12, 2007
- Asylum.com, Jerry Stahl's Guide to Being Psychotic and Productive, April 2009