Rusty Cundieff
Born (1960-12-13) December 13, 1960
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Occupation(s)Actor, film director, producer, writer

George Arthur "Rusty" Cundieff (born December 13, 1960) is an American film and television director, actor, and writer known for his work on Fear of a Black Hat (1993), Tales from the Hood (1995), and Chappelle's Show (2003–2006).[1]

Biography

Cundieff was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Christina and John A. Cundieff.[2] He studied journalism at Loyola University in New Orleans and the philosophy of religion at the University of Southern California.[1] While at USC, Cundieff became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically African American fraternity.[3]

He is married to Trina Davis Cundieff, with whom he has two children: Simone Christina and Thelonious Jon Davis.[4]

Film career

After graduating from USC in 1982, Cundieff performed stand-up comedy in Los Angeles while looking for opportunities to act.[1] His first major role was a year-long run as Theo Carver on Days of Our Lives in 1985.[1] In 1988, he played Big Brother Chucky in Spike Lee's School Daze.[5] Cundieff was inspired by his experience working with Lee on the film to pursue writing and directing in addition to acting, and at age 29 he wrote, directed, and starred in the well-received 1993 rap parody Fear of a Black Hat.[6]

He directed and co-wrote the 1995 horror anthology Tales from the Hood. He directed sequels in 2018 and 2020, Tales from the Hood 2 and Tales from the Hood 3, projects that he said he had been trying to make for 20 years, but that the success of Get Out had opened the door for.[7]

Cundieff was also a correspondent on Michael Moore's comic TV magazine show TV Nation in the mid-1990s.[8]

In 2013, along with 12 others he received a Razzie Award for Worst Director for directing a segment in the anthology comedy film Movie 43.

Filmography

Actor

Film credits
Year Film Role Notes
1984 Welcome to the Fun Zone Host TV movie
1986 3:15 M-16's
1987 Hollywood Shuffle Audition Actor / Slave #1 / Zombie Pimp
1988 School Daze Big Brother Chucky
1992 Eddie Presley Guard
1993 Fear of a Black Hat Ice Cold Also writer and director.
1995 Tales from the Hood Richard Also writer and director.
1997 Sprung Montel Also writer and director.
2003 The Devon Taylor Show Ice Cold TV movie
2018 Tales from the Hood 2 Press Conference Reporter Also writer and director.
Television credits
Year Show Role Notes
1985 Days of Our Lives Theo Carver
1985 What's Happening Now! J.B. Whitney 1 episode
1985 MacGruder and Loud Perry 1 episode
1990 thirtysomething Student #5 1 episode
2003 Chappelle's Show Ystur Feidnuc D.D.S. / Richard Pryor 2 episodes

Director

Film and television director
Year Film Notes
1993 Fear of a Black Hat
1995 Tales from the Hood
1996 Clueless 1 episode
1997 Sprung
2000 The New Adventures of Spin and Marty: Suspect Behavior TV movie
2005 Bitch House
2006 The Bernie Mac Show 1 episode
2006 So Notorious 1 episode
2003-2006 Chappelle's Show 25 episodes
2006 The Brandon T. Jackson Show TV movie
2006 Campus Ladies 1 episode
2007 Human Giant 3 episodes
2008 Somebodies 4 episodes
2008 Chocolate News Segment director, 12 episodes
2009-2010 The Wanda Sykes Show Segment director, 21 episodes
2013 Movie 43 Segment director, "Victory's Glory"
2013 Second Generation Wayans 3 episodes
2013 The Devon Taylor Show TV movie
2013 The Hustle 2 episodes
2018 Tales from the Hood 2 director
2020 Tales from the Hood 3 director
2023 57 Seconds director

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Donalson, Melvin (2010). Black Directors in Hollywood. University of Texas Press. pp. 261. ISBN 978-0-292-70179-3.
  2. ↑ "Rusty Cundieff: Biography". IMDB. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Parks, Gregory (2011). Alpha Phi Alpha: A Legacy of Greatness, The Demands of Transcendence. The University Press of Kentucky. p. 364. ISBN 978-0813134215.
  4. ↑ "Marriages, Births, and Deaths". USC Trojan Family Magazine. University of Southern California. Spring 2004. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Rusty Cundieff: Filmography". IMDB. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Levine, Robert (2 June 1994). "Meet the Ice Cold King of Gagsta Rap : Rusty Cundieff's 'Fear of a Black Hat' Was Inspired by 'Spinal Tap'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  7. ↑ Kohn, Eric (13 July 2018). "'Tales From the Hood' Director Rusty Cundieff: Why It Took 20 Years to Make a Sequel to His Black Horror Anthology". IndieWire. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  8. ↑ "TV Nation Episodes". tvguide.com. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
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