Richard Elfman

Richard "Rick" Elfman (born March 6, 1949 in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles, California) is an American film actor, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and magazine publisher.

He is the son of novelist Blossom Elfman and the brother of composer Danny Elfman.

Family
Richard is the son of novelist Blossom Elfman (aka "Clare Elfman"), and the older brother of musician and film composer Danny Elfman, with whom he founded Oingo Boingo, an eclectic band popular in the 1980s and 1990s. Richard is brother-in-law of Danny's wife, Bridget Fonda, father of Bodhi Elfman and Louis Elfman, father-in-law of Bodhi's wife, Jenna Elfman, and father and business partner in Buzzine Networks with son Louis Elfman. Richard currently resides in the Hollywood Hills. He is Jewish.

Theatre
Elfman was a member of Jérôme Savary's musical theatre company, Le Grand Magic Circus, in Paris.

Richard acted in and directed the L.A. Drama Critics Award winning stage production of Igor Stravinski's L'Histoire du Soldat (History of a Soldier).

Music
Elfman formed the musical theatre troupe known as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo in 1972. The group was inspired by Richard's time in Paris with Le Grand Magic Circus. Richard's wife, Marie-Pascale, high school friend Gene Cunningham and brother Danny helped Richard found the group. Original performances of the group consisted of upward of 15 musicians, often dressed in garish clown makeup, performing classics from the 1920s, 30s and 40s, as well as avant-garde originals by Danny Elfman. The band appeared on The Gong Show as well as in the 1977 movie I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. Richard left the group in 1979 to pursue filmmaking, leaving Danny as music director. Danny eventually changed the theatrical nature of the band into a steady 8 piece touring act that became Oingo Boingo.

Film
Elfman's first directing project was the cult film Forbidden Zone released in 1980. It was a black and white film version of the theatrical show, starring band members and friends, including Danny singing a modified version of Cab Calloway's Minnie the Moocher as Satan with lyrics modified for the plot. Richard also appears in the film singing "The Yiddishe Charleston" from the 1920s.

Forbidden Zone had its New York color premiere March 20, 2010 at the Museum of Modern Art, in conjunction with the Tim Burton exhibition.

Forbidden Zone: Live in the 6th Dimension was adapted as a stage musical, running at the Sacred Fools Theater Company in Los Angeles in May and June 2010.

Elfman also made Shrunken Heads (1994; some footage and scenery from this film was later reused for the best effects sequences in the film Zarkorr! The Invader) and Modern Vampires (1998). Elfman said in a 2009 interview that he has also done pseudonymous film work under names such as "Aristide Sumatra" and "Mahatma Kane Sumatra".

Mixed media
Rocky Horror Picture Show "shadow cast" companies have begun performing screenings of Elfman’s cult film, Forbidden Zone. Elfman sometimes participates doing characters in these live performances. He enters in a clown suit beating a big bass drum and accompanied by a Brazilian percussion ensemble—reminiscent of his former group, the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.

The Syfy Channel has run a teaser piece musical number, “Princess Polly” from Forbidden Zone 2: The Forbidden Galaxy on its show Monster Man, starring Cleve Hall. Elfman opens the Forbidden Zone shadow cast shows (after the march in) with Erin Holt singing Princess Polly live in front of her screened “monster” image on stage.

Filmography

 * The Easy Life (1973) (actor)
 * I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977) (actor)
 * Forbidden Zone (1980) (actor, director, producer)
 * Private Life (1989) (music video) (director)
 * Shrunken Heads (1994) (director, actor)
 * Streets of Rage (1994) (director)
 * (under pseudonym Lt. Col. Aristide Pierre Lafite Sumatra, of the Ton Ton Macoute, ret.)
 * Bone Chillers (1995) (ABC TV series) (director)
 * George of the Jungle (1997) (actor)
 * Modern Vampires (1998) (TV) (actor, director, producer)
 * Scarecrow (2002) (V) (actor)
 * Date or Disaster (2004) (actor, director, producer)
 * 28 Days to Vegas (2008) (director, producer)
 * Forbidden Zone in Color! (2008) (actor, director, producer)
 * 30 Days to Vegas (2009) (director, producer)
 * Buzzine Celebrity Interviews (2009 to present) (director/producer)