Tom Waits
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.
The Dead Don't Die
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The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
as Prospector (segment "All Gold Canyon")Vignettes weaving together the stories of six individuals in the old West at the end of the...
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The Outsiders
as Buck MerrillWhen two poor Greasers, Johnny and Ponyboy, are assaulted by a vicious gang, the Socs, and...
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The Cotton Club
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Paradise Alley
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Domino
as WandererThe story of the life of Domino Harvey, who abandoned her career as a Ford model to become a...
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A travelling theatre company has more to it than meets the eye.
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Mystery Train
as Radio DJ (voice)In Memphis, Tennessee, over the course of a single night, the Arcade Hotel, run by an eccentric...
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Short Cuts
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One from the Heart
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Twixt
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New York City, 1957. Lionel Essrog, a private detective living with Tourette syndrome, tries to...
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The Two Jakes
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Coffee and Cigarettes
as Tom (segment "Somewhere in California")Coffee And Cigarettes is a collection of eleven films from cult director Jim Jarmusch. Each film...
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Wolfen
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Wristcutters: A Love Story
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Rumble Fish
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The Old Man & the Gun
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At Play in the Fields of the Lord
as WolfMartin and Hazel Quarrier are small-town fundamentalist missionaries sent to the jungles of...
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Keith Richards: Under the Influence
as SelfA portrait of Keith Richards that takes us on a journey to discover the genesis of his sound as...
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The Absence of Eden
as HunleyAn ICE Agent struggling with the moral dilemmas of border security and an undocumented woman...
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Cold Feet
as KennyThree criminals run into complications when they attempt to smuggle emeralds across the Mexican...
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Queens Logic
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Coffee and Cigarettes III
as TomThis shortcut repeats the structure of Coffee and Cigarettes. This time, Iggy Pop and Tom Waits...
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Tom Waits: Tales from a Cracked Jukebox
as SelfTom Waits is one of the most original musicians of the last five decades. Renowned for his...
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The Stone Boy
as Petrified man at carnival (uncredited)12-year-old Arnold Hillerman and his 17-year-old brother Eugene live with their family on a farm...
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Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night
as Self - Organ/GuitarRecorded live at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, Roy is joined by an eclectic ensemble of rock...
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One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur
as Self"One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur" examines Jack Kerouac's escape from post "On The...
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Big Time
as SelfBringing his unique sense of humor to this bizarre and original piece of moviemaking, Tom Waits...
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Bukowski: Born Into This
as SelfDirector John Dullaghan’s biographical documentary about infamous poet Charles Bukowski,...
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Candy Mountain
as Al SilkA mediocre musician goes on the road in search of the world's greatest guitar maker
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The Moon’s Milk
as Captain Millipede (voice)At a time when the moon could be reached by ladder, Captain Millipede, his daughter, a deaf milk...
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Wildwood
as (voice)Set beyond Portland’s city limits, in Wildwood. You’re not supposed to go there. You’re not even...
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Robert Wilson: The Beauty of the Mysterious
as SelfWe look back at more than half a century of mysterious artistic creation while trying to crack a...
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Tom Waits: Glitter and Doom Concert Experience
as SelfA compilation of professional footage and fan films to reconstruct an entire Tom Waits concert...
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The Making of 'One from the Heart'
as SelfA short documentary on the Francis Ford Coppola musical One From the Heart.
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Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter
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Star.Wav
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Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale
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A Brief History of John Baldessari
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Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country
as SelfA documentary insight behind the scenes of Roberts Altman's Short Cuts.
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This Is Sparklehorse
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Guy Maddin: Waiting for Twilight
as Narrator (voice)Interviews with Guy Maddin and his pals are included in this documentary about the Canadian...
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Tom Waits - No Visitors After Midnight
as SelfTom Waits live: Chicago, IL, USA, PBS Soundstage 1975 & London, UK, BBC Studios, "Live in...
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The Monster of Nix
as Virgil (Voice)Life is good in the idyllic fairytale village of Nix... until an all-devouring monster appears....
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John Lurie: A Lounge Lizard Alone
as Zack (Archive footage)"Lounge Lizard" John Lurie — actor, performer, and musician — talks about love and life and...
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Poetry in Motion
as SelfMore than 20 contemporary North American poets recite, sing, and perform their work. Early in...
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Roy Orbison: Black and White Night 30
as SelfBlack and White Night 30 is a re-imagined, re-edited, remastered and expanded version of the...
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Tom Waits: Romeo Bleeding - Live from Austin
as SelfTaped in 1978, Waits and his band of Herbert Hardesty, Arthur Richardson, John Thomassie and...
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Tom Waits - Burma Shave [Live Concert]
as SelfSinger/songwriter extraordinaire Tom Waits has become an American musical institution over the...
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Tom Waits: Rockpalast '77
as SelfExcellent quality recording of Tom Waits, live at WDR Studios, in Koln, Germany on April 18th,...
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Tom Waits at Theatre le Palace
as SelfTom Waits performs at Theatre le Palace in Paris, France. It was recorded for French television...
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The Simpsons
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The Mike Douglas Show
as SelfThe Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that...
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The Daily Show
as SelfThe World's Fakest News Team tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and pop culture.
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Saturday Night Live
as Self - Musical GuestA late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The...
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Late Night with Conan O'Brien
as Self - Musical GuestLate Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that...
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Ultra City Smiths
as The Narrator (voice)Two detectives must contend with dangerous corruption as they investigate the mysterious...
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Austin City Limits
as SelfNow the longest-running music series in American television history, ACL showcases popular music...
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Fishing with John
as SelfMusician John Lurie knows nothing about fishing, but that doesn't stop him from embarking on...
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