Quiet as it's kept, John Landis must be counted among the more important mainstream Hollywood filmmakers to come to prominence in the late 1970s and early 80s. Though enormously successful and influential, Landis rarely turns up in film reference books--an indication of the continuing critical disrespect that greets youth-oriented comedy. Part of the same post-countercultural movement as the laugh-a-minute screenwriting team of Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker, the creative staff of the original "Saturday Night Live" and National Lampoon, Landis translated this liberating sensibility to the big screen
At age four months, moved with family to Los Angeles
1969
Feature debut at age 18, worked uncredited as a production assistant and played the tallest nun in "Kelly's Heroes" (released 1970), shot in Yugoslavia
Remaining in Europe, worked as an extra and stunt man in "hundreds" of German action movies and Spanish-filmed spaghetti Westerns
Returned to the USA
1971
Feature debut as writer-director at age 21, the monster movie spoof "Schlock"; also starred (in gorilla suit) as the Sclockthropus; first collaboration with makeup effects designer Rick Baker; produced for $60,000 of his family's money (released 1973)
