Rowdy Herrington
Biography
Biography
Pittsburgh native who worked behind the scenes on TV, documentary, and feature projects before specializing in Hollywood action filmmaking. Herrington entered the big-budget action arena as the director and co-screenwriter of "Striking Distance" (1993), a Bruce Willis cop vehicle set in the streets and rivers of the filmmaker's beloved hometown.
After majoring in TV production at Penn State, Herrington worked at the local Pittsburgh public TV station in a variety of production capacities before moving on to stage managing numerous TV series including "Alice" and "Entertainment Tonight." After 14 years working as a gaffer on in film and TV, Opportunity knocked when fellow techie and future collaborator Tim Moore brought Herrington's script for "Jack's Back," an updated Jack the Ripper tale, to Elliot Kastner's Cinema Group, which purchased it and allowed Herrington to direct. He followed up with directing assignments on "Road House" (1989), a fun actioner detailing the rough and tumble life of an erudite bar bouncer, starring Patrick Swayze and Kelly Lynch and "Gladiator" (1992), an inner city teen boxing film with James Marshall, Cuba Gooding Jr and Brian Dennehy.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Film Production - Main (Feature Film)
Director (Special)
Life Events
1988
Feature directorial and screenwriting debut, "Jack's Back", a thriller starring James Spader
1989
Directed Patrick Swayze in "Road House"
1992
Directed James Marshall and Cuba Gooding Jr. in "Gladiator," a story of two teenagers trapped in the world of illegal underground boxing
1993
Wrote and directed "Striking Distance," which starred Bruce Willis and Sarah Jessica Parker
2004
Wrote and directed the story of golf legend Bobby Jones, starring James Caviezel, Claire Forlani and Jeremy Northam
