Frank Zappa
Acting
🎂 1940-12-21
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. Â
Cast credits(113)
The Pope (voice)
1991
Self
1967
Mario Fuente
1984
Attilla
1982
Self - Musical Guest
1975
Self - Host & Musical Guest
1975
1966
Self
1965
Self (archive footage)
1997
Self (archive footage)
2020
Himself
Himself
1967
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2021
Self (archive footage)
2006
Self (archive footage)
2025
Himself (archive Footage)
2014
Himself (archive footage)
2014
The Critic
1968
Self (archive footage)
2005
Self (archive footage)
2020
Himself
2015
Self (guitar, vocals)
2025
Member of Mothers of Invention (uncredited)
1971
Self (archive footage)
2016
Self (archive footage)
2008
Attila
1984
Self (archive footage)
2014
Self (archive footage)
2019
Self
1967
Self (archive footage)
2018
Self
1972
Self
1979
Self (uncredited)
1965
Self (archive footage)
2007
Self (archive footage)
2014
Self (archive footage)
2017
Himself
1993
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2019
Self
1989
Self
1982
Self
1988
Himself
2005
Self (archive footage)
2005
1970
Self (archive footage)
2022
Self
1987
Himself
2013
Self
1968
Self
1988
Self
1991
Himself
2010
1971
Self
2008
Frank Zappa
1991
Self (archive footage)
2008
Self (archive footage)
2019
Self
1985
Self
1982
Self
2008
Self
1991
1968
Self (archive footage)
2010
Self
2008
Himself
1983
1973
Self (archive footage)
1972
Self (archive footage)
2002
Self / The Imaginary Director
1987
1967
Mike Nesmith (archive footage)
1997
Self - Subject (archive footage)
2021
Self (archive footage)
2019
Self
1971
2007
Self
1991
1988
Self
2012
Himself
2004
Self (archive footage)
2015
Guitarist (archive footage)
Self
1971
Himself (archive footage)
2018
Self (archive footage)
2022
2024
Self
1992
Self (archive footage)
2021
Self - Subject (archive footage)
2016
Self (archive footage)
2000
Himself
2009
Self (archive footage)
1994
Himself (archive footage)
1997
Self
1993
Self (archive footage)
2021
Self - Musician (archive footage)
2023
Self (archive footage)
2016
Self (archive footage)
2002
Self (archive footage)
1997
Self
1980
Self (archive footage)
2016
Self
1970
Self
1967
Self
2021
1973
Self (archive footage)
1989
Self
2016
Self
1987
Self
1969
Self
1978
Self
1967
Self (archive footage)
2006
Himself
2014
2007
Self
1985
Crew (1)
Sound (29)
Music
1994
Music
2014
Music
2020
Music
2015
Songs
2025
Music
1971
Music Arranger
1971
Music
1979
Music
1988
Music
1987
Music
2013
Music
1990
Original Music Composer
1962
Music
1991
Music
2008
Music
1985
Music
1982
Music
1993
Music
2002
Music
1971
Original Music Composer
1965
Music
2024
Conductor
1992
Music
1992
Music
2016
Music
2012
Music
1987
Music
1969
Music
2014
