Allan Arkush
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
A graduate of Roger Corman's school for future Hollywood directors, Allan Arkush debuted as editor and co-director (with Joe Dante) of "Hollywood Boulevard" (1976), an uneven but amusing study of an actress who goes to work for a Cormanesque director. His first solo effort was the enjoyable 50s spoof "Rock 'n' Roll High School" (1979) which centered on a rebellious teen who takes on her uptight principal played out against a soundtrack by the Ramones. "Heartbeeps" (1981), on the other hand, teamed Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters in a subpar comedy about two robots who fall in love; Stan Winston's Oscar-nominated makeup all but overpowered the film's gentle story. After helming the inferior sequel "Caddyshack II" (1988), Arkush abandoned features to concentrate on his burgeoning small screen career. He helmed numerous episodics including "St. Elsewhere," "L.A. Law," "Moonlighting," for which he earned an Emmy nomination, "I'll Fly Away" and more recently, "Ally McBeal" and "Dawson's Creek." Arkush also steered the New Jersey-set TV-movie "Young at Heart" (CBS, 1995) and the highly-regarded Showtime movie "Elvis Meets Nixon" (1997), which was based on a true story.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Editing (Feature Film)
Film Production - Unit (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Director (Special)
Life Events
1970
Student film, "Septuagenarian's Substitute Ball" won second prize at the National Student Film Festival
1979
First solo directing credit "Rock 'n' Roll High School"; also scripted
1988
Last feature to date, "Caddyshack II"
1994
Helmed "Shake, Rattle and Rock", one of the segments of Showtime's "Rebel Highway"
1997
Directed episodes of "Ally McBeal" (Fox)
1998
Helmed the well-received biographical miniseries "The Temptations" (NBC)
Family
Companions
