Tom Waits
Birthday: 1949-12-07
Place of Birth: Pomona, California, USA
Synopsis
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car." With this trademark growl, his incorporation of pre-rock music styles such as blues, jazz, and vaudeville, and experimental tendencies verging on industrial music, Waits has built up a distinctive musical persona. He has worked as a composer for movies and musical plays and as a supporting actor in films, including Down By Law, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Wristcutters: A Love Story. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his soundtrack work on One from the Heart.
Lyrically, Waits' songs frequently present atmospheric portrayals of grotesque, often seedy characters and places – although he has also shown a penchant for more conventional ballads. He has a cult following and has influenced subsequent songwriters despite having little radio or music video support. His songs are best-known to the general public in the form of cover versions by more visible artists: "Jersey Girl", performed by Bruce Springsteen, "Ol' 55", performed by the Eagles, and "Downtown Train", performed by Rod Stewart. Although Waits' albums have met with mixed commercial success in his native United States, they have occasionally achieved gold album sales status in other countries. He has been nominated for a number of major music awards and has won Grammy Awards for two albums, Bone Machine and Mule Variations. In 2010, Waits was chosen to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.
Waits currently lives in Sonoma County, California with his wife, Kathleen Brennan, and three children.
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Acting
Licorice Pizza
as Rex Blau
The story of Gary Valentine and Alana Kane growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.
Ultra City Smiths
as The Narrator (voice)
Two detectives must contend with dangerous corruption as they investigate the mysterious disappearance of the last honest politician in their dark city. A group of unlikely suspects emerges - each with the last name of Smith.
The Dead Don't Die
as Hermit Bob
In a small peaceful town, zombies suddenly rise to terrorize the town. Now three bespectacled police officers and a strange Scottish morgue expert must band together to defeat the undead.
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The Old Man & the Gun
as Waller
The true story of Forrest Tucker, from his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public. Wrapped up in the pursuit are a detective, who becomes captivated with Forrest’s commitment to his craft, and a woman, who loves him in spite of his chosen profession.
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Keith Richards: Under the Influence
as Self
A portrait of Keith Richards that takes us on a journey to discover the genesis of his sound as a songwriter, guitarist and performer.
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Seven Psychopaths
as Zachariah Rigby
A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.
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The Monster of Nix
as Virgil (Voice)
Life is good in the idyllic fairytale village of Nix... until an all-devouring monster appears. Young Willy has to fight it. Alone.
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The Book of Eli
as Engineer
A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.
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The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
as Devil
A travelling theatre company has more to it than meets the eye. It is an imaginary world commanded by the mind of Doctor Parnassus and the audience is in for more than just a show.
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Tom Waits: Romeo Bleeding - Live from Austin
as Self
Taped in 1978, Waits and his band of Herbert Hardesty, Arthur Richardson, John Thomassie and Greg Cohen were in Austin to support the release of Blue Valentine. We get a first-hand look as Waits transforms from more jazz-based compositions to bluesy grunts. There’s also a Christmas carol, Tom Waits style, as the singer-songwriter treats the audience to “Silent Night / Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis.”
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Tom Waits: Under Review
as Himself
.It's almost 40 years since Tom Waits' debut record, and during a career that, for most fans, has quite simply gotten better, more exciting and more challenging with each new release, he is surely the only performer and writer from the rock age to be consistently satisfying while remaining as difficult to predict as the weather. This double DVD set, with the aid of plentiful archive footage, interviews with the man himself and contributions from his nearest colleagues, reviews Tom's career from the beginning when he worked as a struggling songwriter to stardom and his most recent records.
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The Tiger and the Snow
as Himself / Sè stesso
Love and injury in time of war. Attilio de Giovanni teaches poetry in Italy. He has a romantic soul, and women love him. But he is in love with Vittoria, and the love is unrequited. Every night he dreams of marrying her, in his boxer shorts and t-shirt, as Tom Waits sings. Vittoria travels to Iraq with her friend, Fuad, a poet; they are there with the second Gulf War breaks out. Vittoria is injured. Attilio must get to her side, and then, as war rages around him, he must find her the medical care she needs. In war, does love conquer all?
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Coffee and Cigarettes
as Tom (segment "Somewhere in California")
Coffee And Cigarettes is a collection of eleven films from cult director Jim Jarmusch. Each film hosts star studded cast of extremely unique individuals who all share the common activities of conversing while drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.
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Bukowski: Born Into This
as Self
Director John Dullaghan’s biographical documentary about infamous poet Charles Bukowski, Bukowski: Born Into This, is as much a touching portrait of the author as it is an exposé of his sordid lifestyle. Interspersed between ample vintage footage of Bukowski’s poetry readings are interviews with the poet’s fans including such legendary figures such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Joyce Fante (wife of John), Bono, and Harry Dean Stanton. Filmed in grainy black and white by Bukowski’s friend, Taylor Hackford, due to lack of funding, the old films edited into this movie paint Bukowski’s life of boozing and brawling romantically, securing Bukowski’s legendary status.
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Bram Stoker's Dracula
as R.M. Renfield
In 19th century England, Count Dracula travels to London and meets Mina Harker, a young woman who appears as the reincarnation of his lost love.
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Queens Logic
as Monte
When childhood friends Al, Dennis and Eliot get together for Ray's wedding, which may or may not happen, they end up on a roller-coaster ride through reality. During one tumultuous, crazy weekend, they face adulthood and each other with new found maturity and discover what Queens Logic is all about. This comedy takes a look at friendship, loyalty, and love.
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At Play in the Fields of the Lord
as Wolf
Martin and Hazel Quarrier are small-town fundamentalist missionaries sent to the jungles of South America to convert the Indians. Their remote mission was previously run by the Catholics, before the natives murdered them all. They are sent by the pompous Leslie Huben, who runs the missionary effort in the area but who seems more concerned about competing with his Catholic 'rivals' than in the Indians themselves. Hazel is terrified of the Indians while Martin is fascinated. Soon American pilot Lewis Moon joins the Indian tribe but is attracted by Leslie's young wife, Andy. Can the interaction of these characters and cultures, and the advancing bulldozers of civilization, avoid disaster?
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Cold Feet
as Kenny
Three criminals run into complications when they attempt to smuggle emeralds across the Mexican border.
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Big Time
as Self
Bringing his unique sense of humor to this bizarre and original piece of moviemaking, Tom Waits takes the audience through a musical journey with his jazzy, quirky, bluesy tunes presented as you would never, ever, ever expect.
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Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night
as Self - Organ/Guitar
Recorded live at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, Roy is joined by an eclectic ensemble of rock and roll superstars including Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, T-Bone Burnett, J.D. Souther, Jennifer Warnes, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits.
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Ironweed
as Rudy
Albany, New York, Halloween, 1938. Francis Phelan and Helen Archer are bums, back in their birth city. She was a singer on the radio, he a major league pitcher. Death surrounds them: she's sick, a pal has cancer, he digs graves at the cemetery and visits the grave of his infant son whom he dropped; visions of his past haunt him, including ghosts of two men he killed. That night, out drinking, Helen tries to sing at a bar. Next day, Fran visits his wife and children and meets a grandson. He could stay, but decides it's not for him. Helen gets their things out of storage and finds a hotel. Amidst their mistakes and dereliction, the film explores their code of fairness and loyalty.
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Paradise Alley
as Mumbles
Three Italian-American brothers, living in the slums of 1940's New York City, try to help each other with one's wrestling career using one brother's promotional skills and another brother's con-artist tactics to thwart a sleazy manager.
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Tom Waits: A Day in Vienna
as Self
Short documentary film on the great and powerful Tom Waits, including clips from live performances and interviews.
