Frank Zappa
Acting
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band The Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. While in his teens, he acquired a taste for percussion-based avant-garde composers such as Edgard Varèse and 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands; he later switched to electric guitar. He was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often impossible to categorize. His 1966 debut album with The Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was one of rock, jazz or classical. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs, which—often humorously—reflected his iconoclastic view of established social and political processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for freedom of speech, self-education, political participation and the abolition of censorship. Zappa was a highly productive and prolific artist and gained widespread critical acclaim. Many of his albums are considered essential in rock and jazz history. He is regarded as one of the most original guitarists and composers of his time. He also remains a major influence on musicians and composers. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and for most of his career was able to work as an independent artist. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Zappa was married to Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman from 1960 to 1964. In 1967, he married Adelaide Gail Sloatman, with whom he remained until his death from prostate cancer in 1993. They had four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. Gail Zappa manages the businesses of her late husband under the name the Zappa Family Trust. Description above from the Wikipedia article Frank Zappa, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
Acting111
movieNova '78
2025
Self (archive footage)
movieFrank Zappa: Cheaper Than Cheep
2025
Self (guitar, vocals)
movieLadies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
2025
Self (archive footage)
movieCover Your Ears
2023
Self - Musician (archive footage)
movieSteve Vai - His First 30 Years: The Documentary
2022
Self (archive footage)
movieRock this Town
2022
Self (archive footage)
movieKalvøyafestivalen - 50 år siden første riff
2021
Self (archive footage)
movieThe Velvet Underground
2021
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
movieThe Art of Dissent
2021
Self - Subject (archive footage)
movieLarry Flynt for President
2021
Self (archive footage)
movieZappa
2020
Self (archive footage)
tvLaurel Canyon
2020
Self (archive footage)
Stupor Mundi: Book 3, The Most Dangerous Encounter
2019
Self (archive footage)
movieLinda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
2019
Self (archive footage)
movieManson: Music from an Unsound Mind
2019
Self (archive footage)
movieEcho in the Canyon
2019
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
movieMarian Briozzo
2018
Himself (archive footage)
movieTake Your Pills
2018
Self (archive footage)
movieEat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words
2016
Self (archive footage)
Stupor Mundi: Livre 1, Rituel de décapitation du pape
2016
Self (archive footage)
Stupor Mundi: Livre 2, Les Hommes qui mangèrent la montagne
2016
Self (archive footage)
Zapped: Frank Zappa par Frank Zappa
2016
Self - Subject (archive footage)
movieFeats First: The Life and Music of Lowell George
2015
Self (archive footage)
movieLed Zeppelin Played Here
2014
Self (archive footage)
movieFrank Zappa – Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily
2014
Himself (archive Footage)
movieMade in Japan: The Rise of Deep Purple Mk II
2014
Self (archive footage)
movieCheepnis
2014
Himself
movieSuper Duper Alice Cooper
2014
Self (archive footage)
movieHart & Soul - The Hart Family Anthology
2010
Self (archive footage)
movieThe Wrecking Crew
2008
Self (archive footage)
movieFrank Zappa: Music In Review
2008
Self (archive footage)
movieClassic Albums: Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (') Over-Nite Sensation
2007
Self (archive footage)
movieFuck
2006
Self (archive footage)
EAV Rarities
2006
Self (archive footage)
tvGirls and Boys - Sex and British Pop
2005
Self (archive footage)
movieDerailroaded
2005
Self (archive footage)
movieHollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s
2002
Self (archive footage)
Frank Zappa: Phase II - The Big Note
2002
Self (archive footage)
Frank Zappa: The Present-Day Composer Refuses To Die
2000
Self (archive footage)
movieThe Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart
1997
Himself (archive footage)
tvClassic Albums
1997
Self (archive footage)
Porridge and kerosene
1997
Self (archive footage)
movieHey, Hey, We're The Monkees
1997
Mike Nesmith (archive footage)
An American Dissident: un tributo a Frank Zappa
1994
Self (archive footage)
tvThe Ren & Stimpy Show
1991
The Pope (voice)
moviePražákům, těm je hej
1991
Frank Zappa
movieDecade
1989
Self
Služební cesta podporučíka Svěráka
1989
Self (archive footage)
movieFunny
1988
Self
movieUncle Meat
1987
Self / The Imaginary Director
tvMiami Vice
1984
Mario Fuente
movieCocaine Blues
1983
Himself
tvFaerie Tale Theatre
1982
Attilla
tvSaturday Night Live
1975
Self - Musical Guest / Self - Host & Musical Guest
movieDeep Purple: Made In Japan
1972
Self (archive footage)
movie200 Motels
1971
Member of Mothers of Invention (uncredited)
movieHead
1968
The Critic
tvOmnibus
1967
Self
tvThe Monkees
1966
Self (uncredited)
movieThe Big T.N.T. Show
1965
Self (uncredited)
tvBeat-Club
1965
Self
tvLate Night Line-Up
1964
Himself
The Male Swagger
Guitarist (archive footage)
Sound30
movieZappa
2020
Music
movieCheepnis
2014
Music
tvDuckman
1994
Music
movieBeasts
1993
Music
movieThe Yellow Shark
1992
Conductor, Music
movie200 Motels
1971
Music Arranger, Original Music Composer
movieFrank Zappa
1971
Music
movieRun Home Slow
1965
Original Music Composer
movieThe World's Greatest Sinner
1962
Original Music Composer
Directing13
movieCheepnis
2014
Director
movieFrank Zappa: Roxy, 1973
2007
Director
movieVideo from Hell
1987
Director
movieUncle Meat
1987
Director
movie200 Motels
1971
Director
movieBurnt Weeny Sandwich
1969
Director
Production10
Writing10
Editing3
Crew2
movieThe Residents - A Documentary
2024
Compositor
tvDuckman
1994
In Memory Of
Art1
Camera1
movieVideo from Hell
1987
Camera Operator