CineScope
Tom Waits picture

Tom Waits

Acting
Known For

75 Years Old

Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during the 1970s, but his music since the 1980s has reflected greater influence from blues, rock, vaudeville, and experimental genres. Waits was born and raised in a middle-class family in Whittier, California. Inspired by the work of Bob Dylan and the Beat Generation, he began singing on the San Diego folk music circuit as a young boy. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1972, where he worked as a songwriter before signing a recording contract with Asylum Records. His first albums were the jazz-oriented Closing Time (1973) and The Heart of Saturday Night (1974), which reflected his lyrical interest in nightlife, poverty, and criminality. He repeatedly toured the United States, Europe, and Japan, and attracted greater critical recognition and commercial success with Small Change (1976), Blue Valentine (1978), and Heartattack and Vine (1980). He produced the soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola's film One from the Heart (1981), and subsequently made cameo appearances in several Coppola films. In 1980, Waits married Kathleen Brennan, split from his manager and record label, and moved to New York City. With Brennan's encouragement and frequent collaboration, he pursued a more experimental and eclectic musical aesthetic influenced by the work of Harry Partch and Captain Beefheart. This was reflected in a series of albums released by Island Records, including Swordfishtrombones (1983), Rain Dogs (1985), and Franks Wild Years (1987). He continued appearing in films, notably starring in Jim Jarmusch's Down by Law (1986), and also made theatrical appearances. With theatre director Robert Wilson, he produced the musicals The Black Rider (1990) and Alice (1992), first performed in Hamburg. Having returned to California in the 1990s, his albums Bone Machine (1992), The Black Rider (1993), and Mule Variations (1999) earned him increasing critical acclaim and multiple Grammy Awards. In the late 1990s, he switched to the record label ANTI-, which released Blood Money (2002), Alice (2002), Real Gone (2004), and Bad as Me (2011). Despite a lack of mainstream commercial success, Waits has influenced many musicians and gained an international cult following, and several biographies have been written about him. In 2015, he was ranked at No. 55 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time". He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. Description above from the Wikipedia article Tom Waits, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Born

Pomona, California, USA on 7th December 1949

All Credits

The Daily Show Image
The Daily Show
Self
The Simpsons Image
The Simpsons
Lloyd (voice)
The Mike Douglas Show Image
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
Late Night with Conan O'Brien Image
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Musical Guest
Saturday Night Live Image
Saturday Night Live
Self - Musical Guest
Austin City Limits Image
Austin City Limits
Self
Rockpalast Image
Rockpalast
Bram Stoker's Dracula Image
Bram Stoker's Dracula
R.M. Renfield
The Book of Eli Image
The Book of Eli
Engineer
Fishing with John Image
Fishing with John
Self
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Image
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Prospector (segment "All Gold Canyon")
Ultra City Smiths Image
Ultra City Smiths
The Narrator (voice)
Licorice Pizza Image
Licorice Pizza
Rex Blau
The Outsiders Image
The Outsiders
Buck Merrill
The Absence of Eden Image
The Absence of Eden
Hunley
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Image
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Devil
Seven Psychopaths Image
Seven Psychopaths
Zachariah Rigby
The Dead Don't Die Image
The Dead Don't Die
Hermit Bob
Mystery Men Image
Mystery Men
Doc Heller
Mystery Train Image
Mystery Train
Radio DJ (voice)
Domino Image
Domino
Wanderer
Rumble Fish Image
Rumble Fish
Benny
The Cotton Club Image
The Cotton Club
Irving Stark
Coffee and Cigarettes Image
Coffee and Cigarettes
Tom (segment "Somewhere in California")
Wristcutters: A Love Story Image
Wristcutters: A Love Story
Kneller
The Fisher King Image
The Fisher King
Disabled Vet (uncredited)
Twixt Image
Twixt
Narrator (voice)
Down by Law Image
Down by Law
Zack
Motherless Brooklyn Image
Motherless Brooklyn
News Stand Owner (uncredited)
Short Cuts Image
Short Cuts
Earl Piggot
The Old Man & the Gun Image
The Old Man & the Gun
Waller
The Two Jakes Image
The Two Jakes
Plainclothes Policeman (uncredited)
One from the Heart Image
One from the Heart
Trumpet player (uncredited)
Paradise Alley Image
Paradise Alley
Mumbles
The Tiger and the Snow Image
The Tiger and the Snow
Self / Sè stesso
Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night Image
Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night
Self - Organ/Guitar
Wolfen Image
Wolfen
Drunken Bar Owner (uncredited)
Until the End of the World Image
Until the End of the World
Singer in Bar
Queens Logic Image
Queens Logic
Monte
Ironweed Image
Ironweed
Rudy
Father Mother Sister Brother Image
Father Mother Sister Brother
Father
Keith Richards: Under the Influence Image
Keith Richards: Under the Influence
Self
At Play in the Fields of the Lord Image
At Play in the Fields of the Lord
Wolf
Wildwood Image
Wildwood
(voice)
Cold Feet Image
Cold Feet
Kenny
Candy Mountain Image
Candy Mountain
Al Silk
The Stone Boy Image
The Stone Boy
Petrified man at carnival (uncredited)
Coffee and Cigarettes III Image
Coffee and Cigarettes III
Tom
Wild Horse Nine Image
Wild Horse Nine
Tom Waits: Tales from a Cracked Jukebox Image
Tom Waits: Tales from a Cracked Jukebox
Self
Bukowski: Born Into This Image
Bukowski: Born Into This
Self
Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country Image
Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country
Self
The Monster of Nix Image
The Monster of Nix
Virgil (Voice)
Big Time Image
Big Time
Self
One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur Image
One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur
Self
Robert Wilson: The Beauty of the Mysterious Image
Robert Wilson: The Beauty of the Mysterious
Self
The Making of 'One from the Heart' Image
The Making of 'One from the Heart'
Self
Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter Image
Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter
Self
Tom Waits: Glitter and Doom Concert Experience Image
Tom Waits: Glitter and Doom Concert Experience
Self
A Brief History of John Baldessari Image
A Brief History of John Baldessari
Narrator
Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale Image
Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale
Silva
This Is Sparklehorse Image
This Is Sparklehorse
Self
Poetry in Motion Image
Poetry in Motion
Self
Guy Maddin: Waiting for Twilight Image
Guy Maddin: Waiting for Twilight
Narrator (voice)
Greasy Lake Image
Greasy Lake
Narrator
Tom Waits - Burma Shave [Live Concert] Image
Tom Waits - Burma Shave [Live Concert]
Self
No Image
Tom Waits - Bridge School Benefit
Self
No Image
The Laughing Heart
Narrator
No Image
Tom Waits: A Day in Vienna
Self
Roy Orbison: Black and White Night 30 Image
Roy Orbison: Black and White Night 30
Self
Tom Waits: Rockpalast '77 Image
Tom Waits: Rockpalast '77
Self
Star.Wav Image
Star.Wav
The Caller
No Image
Tom Waits for No One
Self
Human Nature in Eleven Parts Image
Human Nature in Eleven Parts
Narrator "Laughing Heart" (archive footage)
The Moon’s Milk Image
The Moon’s Milk
Captain Millipede (voice)
Tom Waits - No Visitors After Midnight Image
Tom Waits - No Visitors After Midnight
Self
No Image
John Lurie: A Lounge Lizard Alone
Zack (Archive footage)
Tom Waits - Live On The Tube Image
Tom Waits - Live On The Tube
Self
Tom Waits: Romeo Bleeding - Live from Austin Image
Tom Waits: Romeo Bleeding - Live from Austin
Self
No Image
Tom Waits: Under Review
Self
No Image
Tom Waits - Elephant Beer Blues - Songs After Closing Time
Self
No Image
Tom Waits: VH1 Storytellers
Self
Tom Waits at Theatre le Palace Image
Tom Waits at Theatre le Palace
Self
Temptation Image
Temptation
Tom Waits - Live at Premio Tenco in Sanremo Italy Image
Tom Waits - Live at Premio Tenco in Sanremo Italy
Himself
No Image
Tom Waits - One Star Shining : The First Decade
Self