Peter Markle
About
Biography
Biography
Peter Markle won praise for his debut feature "The Personals" (1982), a sincere study of a man re-entering the dating world after his wife leaves him, and had a surprise hit with the middling teen comedy "Hot Dog...The Movie" (1984). He used his own experiences as a member of the US National Hockey Team as the basis for "Youngblood" (1986), an earnest but pedestrian behind the scenes look at the sport that featured Rob Lowe and Keanu Reeves. Markle had perhaps his best shot with "BAT 21" (1988), a Vietnam War drama about an American officer (Gene Hackman) caught behind enemy lines and the effort to rescue him. Despite earning respectable reviews, few offers for features followed. Instead, Markle turned to the small screen handling the directing chores on a number of made-for-cable efforts including "Nightbreaker" (TNT, 1989), about American soldiers unknowingly used as subjects in atomic tests, and "El Diablo" (HBO, 1990), about a legendary Texas outlaw. By the 90s, he had added TV series to his resume with well-received episodes of "Homicide: Life on the Street," "EZ Streets" and "Moloney."
Markle's feature career in the 90s seems to be cursed. He returned to the big screen with the comedy "Wagons East!" (1994), but the result was marred by the death of star John Candy during filming. "The Last Days of Frankie the Fly" (1996), with Dennis Hopper, was a muddle romance between a low-level hood and a porn actress that received festival screenings before being consigned to HBO. In 1997, Markle was hired to helm "A Night at the Roxbury," adapted from the on-going "Saturday Night Live" skit featuring Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan as wannabe club-goers. After just over two weeks of shooting, however, the director was replaced after clashing with writer-producer Amy Heckerling.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cinematography (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Life Events
1982
Feature directorial debut, "The Personals"; also wrote and served as co-director of photography
1984
Had unexpected hit with the teen comedy "Hot Dog... The Movie"
1986
Used his experiences as a hockey player as the basis of "Youngblood", starring Rob Lowe; wrote story and screenplay and served as camera operator
1987
Directed first TV-movie, "Desperate" (ABC)
1988
Helmed the Vietnam War drama "Bat 21"
1989
Won praise for the TNT TV-movie "Nightbreaker"; earned CableACE Award nomination as Best Director
1993
Directed an episode of the acclaimed NBC drama "Homicide: Life on the Street"
1994
Returned to features as director of "Wagons East!"; project ran into difficulties when lead John Candy died during filming
1996
Directed "The Last Days of Frankie the Fly"; premiered on HBO in 1997 after festival screenings
1997
Directed episodes of the Fox shows, "Millennium" and "The X Files"
1997
Hired to direct "A Night at the Roxbury", a comedy adapted from a skit on "Saturday Night Live"; left production after 16 days and was replaced by John Fortenberry
2001
Helmed epidoes of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS)
2003
Directed the NBC TV-movie "Saving Jessica Lynch"
2005
Helmed the A&E original movie "Faith of My Fathers," the story of John McCain's experience as a Vietnam War POW
2006
Directed the A&E TV movie "Flight 93," which chronicles the events aboard United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001; earned a nomination for the Directors Guild of America
