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Danny Peary

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Danny Peary
Born
Dannis Peary[1]

(1949-08-08)August 8, 1949(age 74)
Philippi,West Virginia,U.S.
Alma mater
Occupations
Years active1971–present
Known for

Dannis Peary(born August 8, 1949)[1]is an Americanfilm critic[2]andsports writer.[3]He has written and edited many books oncinemaand sports-related topics. Peary is most famous for his bookCult Movies(1980), which spawned two sequels,Cult Movies 2(1983) andCult Movies 3(1988) and are all credited for providing more public interest in thecult moviephenomenon.[4]

He is the brother of film critic, columnist, actor, and documentary filmmakerGerald Peary.[5]

Early life and education

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Peary was born inPhilippi, West Virginia,to Laura Chaitan and Joseph Y. Peary, a professor.[1]During his childhood, he moved toSouth Carolina,[6]and thenNew Jersey.[7]In 1971, he earned aB.A.in history from theUniversity of Wisconsin in Madison.[1]He also worked as a film critic for theDaily Cardinalstudent newspaper.[8]In 1975, he earned anM.A.in cinema, with honors, at theUniversity of Southern California.[1][7]While attending USC, he worked as thefine artsandsportseditor forL.A. Panorama.[1]

Personal life

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Since 1977, Peary has lived inNew York City.[7]He and his wife Suzanne have a daughter, Zoe.[7]

Career

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Film criticism

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Over the years, his film criticism has been published inFilmInk,Movieline,Satellite Direct,OnDirect TV,TV Guide,CanadianTV Guide,Cosmopolitan,The New York Times,theNew YorkDaily News,The Boston Globe,Sports Collectors Digest,theSoHo News,The Philadelphia Bulletin,Films in Focus,Films and Filming,Slant,L.A. Panorama,Memories and Dreams,The East Hampton Independent,andCountry Weekly,[9]as well asThe Velvet Light TrapandNewsday,[10]and theSag Harbor Express.[11]He conducts celebrity interviews forDan's Papers,in a column called "Danny Peary Talks To..."[12]

Cult Moviesbooks

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In 1981, Peary released his bookCult Movies.He followed it up withCult Movies 2in 1983 andCult Movies 3in 1989.(See bibliography)These books cover critically ignored (at the time)cult films.[8]Each book contained an essay for each film (100 in the first volume,[4]50 in the second,[13]and 50 in the third),[14]including production details and information gleaned from Peary's interviews with various producers, directors and actors. Each volume contained an essay by contributor Henry Blinder.[15][16]

Peary also wroteGuide for the Film Fanatic(1986), reviewing a wider range of films.[17]

Peary'sCult Moviestrilogy, along with other touchstones such as Michael Weldon'sPsychotronic Videomagazine and books, helped establish a foundation for critical analysis of low-budget genre movies. As theAustin Film Societywrote,

There is what we might consider the Danny Peary faction. An excellent writer, Peary lionized a particular kind of “cult" criticism in his multiple volumes of theCult Moviesbooks. Never dismissive, Peary celebrates these films for their unique qualities and their advocacy of outsider voices. Peary is a fan of the subversive and the humanistic and the books are essential reading for anyone interested in what lies just outside the bounds of the canon.[18]

Sportswriting

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Peary has co-authored books with Major League baseball player-sportscastersRalph KinerandTim McCarver;writer Tom Clavin; Olympic gold medalist and cancer survivorShannon Milleron her memoir; andMuhammad Ali's daughterHana Alion a book about the origins of her father's greatest quotes. He has edited sports books includingBaseball ImmortalDerek Jeter:A Career in QuotesandJackie Robinson in Quotes: The Remarkable Life of Baseball's Most Significant Player.(See bibliography)

Television career

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Animated series

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Peary wrote an episode of the 1985-1989 animated seriesThunderCats,titled "The Mountain."[19]He wrote an episode ofSilverHawks,titled "Undercover", that aired October 28, 1986.[20]

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Peary was a writer for the nationally syndicated sports-interview TV showThe Tim McCarver Show[21]

Media appearances

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Peary was interviewed for the 2010 documentaryMachete Maidens Unleashed!.The director of the film,Mark Hartley,has said that, "I'd worn my copies ofCult Movies 1,2and3into the ground from constant re-reading so meeting author Danny Peary was a pleasure. "[22]He appears in James Westby's documentaryAt the Video Store(2019),[23]and in the cult-movie documentaryTime Warp(2020.[24]

Bibliography

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Books

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  • Peary, Danny (1981).Cult movies: the classics, the sleepers, the weird and the wonderful.Dell Publishing.ISBN 0440516471 and 978-0440516477
  • — (1983).Cult Movies 2.Dell Publishing.ISBN978-0-440-51632-3.ISBN 0440516323 and 978-0440516323
  • — (1986).Guide for the Film Fanatic.Simon & Schuster.ISBN 0671610813 and 978-0671610814
  • — (1989).Cult Movies 3.Fireside Books.ISBN 0671648101 and 978-0671648107
  • — (1991).Cult Movie Stars.Simon & Schuster.ISBN 0671749242 and 978-0671749248
  • — (1993).Alternate Oscars.Delta.ISBN 0385303327 and 978-0385303323
  • — (2004).1,001 Reasons to Love Baseball.Stewart, Tabori & Chang.ISBN 1584793546 and 9781584793540

Co-author

  • with Bruce Chadwick (1989).How to Buy, Trade and Invest in Baseball Cards & Collectibles.Fireside Books.ISBN 067167580X and 978-0671675806
  • with Tim McCarver (1998).Tim McCarver's Baseball for Brain Surgeons and other Fans: Understanding and Interpreting the Game So You Can Watch It Like a Pro.Villard Books.ISBN 0375753400 and 978-0375753404
  • withTim McCarver(1999).The Perfect Season: Why 1998 Was Baseball's Greatest Year.Villard Books.ISBN 0375503307 and 978-0375503306
  • with Harry Sheehy (2002).Raising a Team Player: Teaching Kids Lasting Values on the Field, on the Court and on the Bench.Storey Publishing.ISBN 1580174477 and 978-1580174473
  • withRalph Kiner(2004).Baseball Forever: Reflections on Sixty Years in the Game.Triumph Books.ISBN 1572435976 and 978-1572435971
  • with Tom Clavin (2010).Roger Maris: Baseball's Reluctant Hero.Atria Books.ISBN 1416589287 and 978-1416589280
  • with Tom Clavin (2012).Gil Hodges: The Brooklyn Bums, the Miracle Mets and the Extraordinary Life of a Baseball Legend.New American Library.ISBN 9780451235862)
  • withShannon Miller(2015).It's Not About Perfect: Competing for My Country and Fighting for My Life.Thomas Dunne Books.ISBN 1250049865 and 978-1250049865
  • withHana Ali(2018).Ali on Ali: Why He Said What He Said When He Said It.Workman Publishing.ISBN 1523503467 and 978-1523503469

Editor

  • Close-Ups: The Movie Star Book(1978)
  • Omni's Screen Flights/Screen Fantasies: The Future According to Science Fiction Cinema(1984)
  • Cult Baseball Players: The Greats, the Flakes, the Weird and the Wonderful(1990)
  • We Played the Game: 65 Players Remember Baseball's Greatest Era, 1947-1964(1994)
  • Super Bowl: The Game of Their Lives(1997)
  • — (2015).Baseball ImmortalDerek Jeter:A Career in Quotes.Page Street Publishing.ISBN 1624141625 and 978-1624141621
  • — (2016).Jackie Robinsonin Quotes: The Remarkable Life of Baseball's Most Significant Player.Page Street Publishing.ISBN 1624142443 and 978-1624142444

Co-editor

  • The American Animated Cartoon: A Critical Anthology(1980), with Gerald Peary
  • Great Golf: 150 Years of Essential Instruction from the Best Players, Teachers, and Writers of All Time(2005), with Allen Richardson
  • Tim McCarver's Diamond Gems(2008), with Tim McCarver and Jim Moskovitz

References

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  1. ^abcdef"Peary, Dannis 1949-".Contemporary Authors,New Revision Series.RetrievedAugust 24,2021– viaEncyclopedia.com.
  2. ^Miller, Michael (March 3, 2014)."Miller: Not much to be disappointed about on Oscar Sunday".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedAugust 23,2019.
  3. ^"Authors: Danny Peary".Workman Publishing Company.RetrievedAugust 27,2021.
  4. ^abWloszczyna, Susan (April 21, 2016)."Share Your Love: Author Danny Peary on 'Cult Movies'".RogerEbert.com.RetrievedAugust 21,2019.
  5. ^Peary, Gerald(January 29, 2015)."Fuse Book Review: 'Silver Screen Fiend' — A Remembrance of Movie Madness Past".The Arts Fuse.RetrievedAugust 27,2021....he relied on brilliant tomes penned by my film historian brother, Danny Peary.
  6. ^"Carbone, Jones, and Varnson Don't Hide Their Smiling Faces".Danny Peary official blog. May 13, 2013.RetrievedSeptember 30,2021.I grew up in South Carolina.
  7. ^abcdPeary, Danny."About Danny Peary".Amazon.com.RetrievedSeptember 30,2021.I was born in West Virginia, grew up in South Carolina and New Jersey.... I have been living in New York City since 1977 with my wife Suzanne (our married daughter Zoe...
  8. ^abLindbergh, Ben (January 7, 2021)."'Cult Movies' at 40: Danny Peary on Constructing the Cult Canon and Cult Movies in the Internet Age ".The Ringer.RetrievedJanuary 28,2021.Long before broadband or dial-up, there wasCult Movies,a landmark book by critic Danny Peary. Peary, 71, has authored, coauthored, or edited more than two dozen books, mostly about movies or baseball. None of his work has resonated with readers more than the 1980s trilogy that began withCult Movies(1981) and continued withCult Movies2 (1983) andCult Movies 3(1988). InCult Movies,an oversized, 400-page paperback that remains revered by film buffs, Peary defined the inchoate concept of cult cinema and highlighted 100 'special films which for one reason or another have been taken to heart by segments of the movie audience, cherished, protected, and most of all, enthusiastically championed.'
  9. ^"Danny Peary".Simon & Schuster.RetrievedSeptember 30,2021.
  10. ^"Author Spotlight: Danny Peary".The Criterion Collection.RetrievedSeptember 30,2021.
  11. ^"(A list of articles by Danny Peary)".Sag Harbor Express.Archived fromthe originalon September 30, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 30,2021.
  12. ^"danny-peary Archives".Dan's Papers.RetrievedAugust 21,2019.
  13. ^Peary, Danny (June 1989).Cult Movies 2: Fifty More of the Classics, the Sleepers, the Weird, and the Wonderful.Delta.ISBN038529753X.
  14. ^Peary, Danny (1988).Cult Movies 3: 50 More of the Classics, the Sleepers, the Weird and the Wonderful.Simon & Schuster.ISBN0671648101.
  15. ^Gordon, Robert, and Jubin, Olaf, editor."Footnotes".The Oxford Handbook of the British Musical.Oxford University Press.2016. p. 326.ISBN978-0-19-998876-1.43. Henry Blinder, 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory', in Danny Peary, 'Cult Movies 2' (London: Vermillion, 1984), 169ISBN 0199988749 and 978-0199988747.
  16. ^"Seconds(1966) ".FilmFanatic.June 17, 2015.RetrievedOctober 3,2021.In Peary'sCult Movies 3,he includes an extended essay onSecondswritten by Henry Blinder, who interviewed [John] Randolph, screenwriter John Carlino, composer Jerry Goldsmith, and producer Edward Lewis.
  17. ^Peary, Danny (1986).Guide for the Film Fanatic.Simon & Schuster.ISBN0671610813.
  18. ^"A Complete Run of the Best Cult Film Magazine Ever – Free".Austin Film Society.October 2017.RetrievedOctober 16,2021.
  19. ^Smith, Bruce."The Mountain".ThunderCats.org.RetrievedOctober 3,2021.
  20. ^"SilverHawksEpisode Guide ".ThunderCats.org.RetrievedOctober 3,2021.
  21. ^"Credits".The Tim McCarver Show.Executive Producer: Jim Moskovitz; Director: Jeff Mitchell; Producers: Jim Moskovitz & Gregg Foster; Writers: Danny Peary & Jim Moskovitz
  22. ^Brown, Todd (September 12, 2010)."5 Questions with 'Machete Maidens Unleashed' director Mark Hartley".TIFFMidnightMadness.blogspot.com.RetrievedAugust 21,2019.
  23. ^"At the Video Store:2019, Directed by James Westby ".Letterboxd.RetrievedOctober 3,2021.
  24. ^Shearer, Andrew (April 23, 2020)."Film review: 'Time Warp' is an open invitation to cult movies".The Augusta Chronicle.RetrievedOctober 3,2021....the presence of author Danny Peary ('Cult Movies "' book series) showed that the creative forces behind 'Time Warp' weren't trying to define cult film as much as celebrate it.
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