Tom Shadyac - Biography

Tom Shadyac meandered in Hollywood as a comedy gag writer and occasional actor for more than a decade before hitting pay dirt as the co-writer and director of "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective", the 1994 feature film that confirmed that Jim Carrey as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

It didn't do too badly for Shadyac either, who had arrived in Hollywood in 1983 and became what has been said to be the youngest gag writer ever on Bob Hope's staff. During the 80s, he occasionally won acting roles--on such series as "Magnum, P.I." and "Trapper John, M.D." and in the feature film, "Jocks" (1986). He attended the graduate school of UCLA, earning an MA in 1989. Armed with his degree and a short film called "Tom, Dick and Harry", Shadyac successfully began working as a writer, first doing rewrites for two George Carlin TV-movies on Fox, "Working Trash" and "Fraternity Girl" (both 1990). In 1991, he was given the chance to direct, resulting in "Frankenstein: The College Years" (Fox), which did well with the audience.

Also a stand-up comedian, Shadyac had become friendly with Carrey and the duo collaborated on the ribald, raucous "Ace Ventura", which Shadyac directed and co-wrote. The result grossed more than $200 million worldwide. In 1996, Eddie Murphy looked to Shadyac to helped give a new boost to his sagging career with the remake of "The Nutty Professor", which garnered positive notices and a healthy box office. Carrey and Shadyac reteamed for "Liar, Liar" (1997), about a lawyer forced to tell the truth as a result of his son's birthday wish. The film earned positive critical notices, particularly for Carrey (who was coming off the disastrous "The Cable Guy") and Shadyac's sure-footed direction. It also proved to be another box-office hit, passing the $100 million mark in just over two weeks.