Robert Houston (actor): Difference between revisions

| name = Robert Houston

| birth_place = [[California]], U.S.

| other_names = Robert Huston

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1955}}

| image =

| known_for = ''[[The Hills Have Eyes (1977 film)|The Hills Have Eyes]]'' (1977)<br/>''[[Mighty Times: The Children's March]]'' (2004)

| awards = [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film]] (2005)

| occupation = [[Film actor]], [[Film director|director]]

'''Robert "Bobby" Houston''' (born 1955) is an American [[filmmaker]] and [[actor]]. He made his acting debut in ''[[The Hills Have Eyes (1977 film)|The Hills Have Eyes]]'' (1977) before becoming a [[film director]] and [[screenwriter]]. His films include ''[[Shogun Assassin]]'' (1980) and ''[[Bad Manners (1984 film)|Bad Manners]]'' (1984). Later in his career, Houston became a successful documentarian. He won an [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film]] for the film ''[[Mighty Times: The Children's March]]'' in 2005.

== Career ==

Houston first came to prominence with his performance of the character Bobby in [[Wes Craven]]'s 1977 horror film ''[[The Hills Have Eyes (1977 film)|The Hills Have Eyes]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Berns |first=Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S3fREAAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA60&dq=The+Hills+Have+Eyes+robert+huston&hl=en |title=A Critical Companion to Wes Craven |last2=Darowski |first2=John |date=2023-08-08 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-6669-1907-3 |pages=60 |language=en}}</ref> He would reprise his role in the sequel ''[[The Hills Have Eyes Part II]]'' (1984).

In 1977, Houston modeled for pop artist [[Andy Warhol]] at his [[The Factory|Factory]] in New York. Warhol's [[Screen printing|silkscreen]] painting ''Torso'' (1977) is based on a [[Instant film|Polaroid photo]] he took of Houston as part of his "landscapes" series depicting nude males.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Andy Warhol 12 March - 15 November 2020: Large Print Guide |url=https://www.tate.org.uk/documents/1627/tm_exh_0068_andy_warhol_lpg_web_aw.pdf |journal=Tate |pages=126}}</ref> In the book ''[[The Andy Warhol Diaries]]'', Warhol mentioned in a November 7, 1977 entry that Houston was writing a movie he had assigned to him about "kids who commit suicide."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Warhol |first=Andy |url=http://archive.org/details/andywarholdiarie00warh |title=The Andy Warhol Diaries |last2=Hackett |first2=Pat |date=1989 |publisher=Warner Books |others= |isbn=978-0-446-51426-2 |location=New York |pages=86 |postscript=Entry date: November 7, 1977}}</ref>

Houston and film producer [[David Weisman]] acquired the rights for the film ''Baby Cart at the River Styx'', which had been adapted from the [[Lone Wolf & Cub]] Japanese action film.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Eden |first=David |date=1980-11-28 |title='Assassin' executes gore tale with style |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-minneapolis-star-shogun-assassin-fil/148090834/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |work=The Minneapolis Star |pages=2B}}</ref> They re-edited, re-scored, and co-wrote a script for the English-dubbed film they retitled ''[[Shogun Assassin]]'' (1980). Houston also wrote and directed several independent films in the 1980s, including the teen comedy ''[[Bad Manners (1984 film)|Bad Manners]]'' (1984).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Blowen |first=Michael |date=1984-09-28 |title='Bad Manners': Some fun in bad taste |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-bad-manners-film-review/148091174/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |work=The Boston Globe |pages=36}}</ref>

Houston is also the author of the novel ''Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday'', which served as the basis for the 1986 film ''[[A Killing Affair (1986 film)|A Killing Affair]]''.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Houston and his partner [[Robert Hudson (producer)|Robert Hudson]] formed their own company, Tell The Truth Pictures, to promote and distribute the documentary film ''Rock The Boat'' (1998).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Indiewire |date=1999-03-02 |title=Houston and Hudson “Rock the Boat” in HIV Endurance Race |url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/houston-and-hudson-rock-the-boat-in-hiv-endurance-race-82356/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}}</ref> It had screened at film festivals titled ''The Human Race''. The film follows a crew of [[HIV|HIV+]] sailors who enter the [[Transpacific Yacht Race|Trans-Pacific Yacht Race]] from Los Angeles to Hawaii.<ref name=":0" />

He would go on to direct ''[[Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks]]'' (2002) and ''[[Mighty Times: The Children's March]]'' (2004). Both films were nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film]], which the latter won.<ref name="NY Times">{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/320073/Mighty-Times-The-Children-s-March/details |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520035706/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/320073/Mighty-Times-The-Children-s-March/details |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-05-20 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2011 |title=New York Times: Mighty Times: The Children's March |accessdate=2008-05-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Photo: 77TH ACADEMY AWARDS - LAP20050227262 - UPI.com |url=https://www.upi.com/News_Photos/view/upi/f7096860209750ce20bf5368ea766447/77TH-ACADEMY-AWARDS/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref>

Houston's partner died of [[AIDS]] in 1995.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

Houston won an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for the documentary film ''[[Mighty Times: The Children's March]]'' (2004) in the category [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film|Documentary Short Film]] at the [[77th Academy Awards]] in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vaughn |first=Cliff |date=2005-04-05 |title=Oscar-Winning Documentary Subject of Ethics Complaints |url=https://goodfaithmedia.org/oscar-winning-documentary-subject-of-ethics-complaints-cms-5580/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=Good Faith Media |language=en}}</ref>

! width="60" |Actor

! width="60" |Director

! width="60" |Writer

|credited at Robert Huston

|credited as Bobby Houston

| based on a novel by Houston

[[Category:LGBT people from California]]

[[Category:American LGBT screenwriters]]

[[Category:20th-century American screenwriters]]

[[Category:20th-century American LGBT people]]

[[Category:21st-century American LGBT people]]

[[Category:Directors of Best Documentary Short Subject Academy Award winners]]