Peter Farrelly
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| Peter Farrelly | |
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| Born | December 17, 1956 Phoenixville, Pennsylvania |
Peter John Farrelly (born December 17, 1956) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and novelist. The Farrelly brothers are mostly famous for directing and producing gross-out humor romantic comedy films such as, Dumb and Dumber, Me, Myself and Irene, There's Something About Mary and The Heartbreak Kid.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Farrelly was born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, the son of Mariann (née Neary), a nurse practitioner, and Robert Leo Farrelly, a doctor.[1] He was raised in Cumberland, Rhode Island and graduated from Providence College, which he described himself as a relatively poor student who partied hard, before moving onto a salesman job in Boston, Massachusetts. Ashamed of his profession, Farrelly dreamed of being a writer and spent many sales trips out on the road thinking up stories. According to Farrelly, he had been partying hard in Las Vegas with a friend of his, when he woke up the next morning with a hangover and found himself on the steps of a church and looking down at a used condom. Farrelly came to the realization that he needed to seriously consider a career and headed back to the east coast.
[edit] Career
Farrelly decided to take a plunge and pursue writing full time, which prompted him to quit his job and head to Cape Cod, Massachusetts where he got a job as a waiter. On one of the tables he was waiting, Farrelly struck up a conversation with a writing professor from UMass Amherst, who encouraged Farrelly to apply to graduate school. Farrelly said he didn't think his chances were good, considering he did poorly in college but the professor said not everything is judged by grades. With what would later be Outside Providence, Farrelly submitted the work and was pleasantly surprised that he was accepted. He studied writing for a while at UMass-Amherst, but was ultimately dissatisfied with the program, and transferred to Columbia University in New York City, which Farrelly said he found very satisfying. He later became interested in screenwriting which lead him to directing, which was a career decision made by him after seeing many of his works sold but unproduced.
Together with his brother, Bobby Farrelly, he has written, directed, and produced several comedy films including There's Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, Shallow Hal, Me, Myself and Irene, Stuck on You, and Fever Pitch. They also conceived the Seinfeld episode "The Virgin" (4.10). Dumb and Dumber was also written by Bennett Yellin. Yellin has been credited with contributing to numerous other Farrelly Brothers films as well.
In 2006, Farrelly directed a series of television commercials for the Miller Lite beer brand, which featured actor Burt Reynolds, American football player Jerome Bettis, and professional wrestler Triple H.[2]
Farrelly is also a published novelist, with works including Outside Providence and The Comedy Writer.
[edit] References
- ^ Bobby Farrelly Biography (1958?-)
- ^ "Burt Reynolds may star in Miller Lite ad". The Business Journal. Accessed on July 2, 2006
