Hampton Fancher facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hampton Fancher
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Fancher in 2017
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| Born |
Hampton Lansden Fancher
July 18, 1938 |
| Other names | Mario Montejo |
| Occupation |
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| Known for | Blade Runner Blade Runner 2049 The Minus Man |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Awards | Montreal Special Grand Prize of the Jury |
Hampton Lansden Fancher (born July 18, 1938) is an American actor, screenwriter, and filmmaker. He is best known for helping to write the famous 1982 science fiction film Blade Runner. He also co-wrote its sequel, Blade Runner 2049, released in 2017. Both movies are based on the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.
Hampton Fancher also directed his first movie, The Minus Man, in 1999. This film won a special award at the Montreal World Film Festival. Today, he lives in Brooklyn Heights, a neighborhood in New York City.
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Hampton Fancher's Early Life
Fancher was born in East Los Angeles, California. His mother was Mexican-Danish, and his father was an English-American doctor. When he was 15, Fancher ran away to Spain. He wanted to become a flamenco dancer and even changed his name to "Mario Montejo" for a while. He was married to Joann McNabb, and later to actress Sue Lyon from 1963 to 1965.
Hampton Fancher's Film Career
Hampton Fancher started his acting career in 1959. He appeared in an episode of the ABC Western TV series The Rebel. He played Deputy Lon Gillis in seven episodes of another ABC Western called Black Saddle.
Fancher also appeared as a guest star in many other Western TV shows. These included Have Gun, Will Travel, Maverick, and Bonanza. In 1967, he was a guest star on the show Mannix.
He acted in two films with Troy Donahue: Parrish (1961) and Rome Adventure (1962). In 1965, he played Hamp Fisher in an episode of Perry Mason. Overall, Fancher acted in more than 50 movies and television shows.
Becoming a Screenwriter
Even though he was acting, Fancher was very interested in writing movie scripts. It took until 1977 for him to fully switch to screenwriting. He still acts sometimes, but writing became his main focus.
In 1975, Fancher wanted to make a movie based on Philip K. Dick's science fiction book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. He couldn't get the rights to the book himself. So, he sent his friend Brian Kelly, who wanted to be a film producer, to talk to Dick. Dick agreed, and Fancher started writing the script.
Later, producer Michael Deeley joined the project. This made Fancher an executive producer, which meant he helped oversee the movie's creation. However, he had disagreements with the director, Ridley Scott. Scott felt Fancher's first script didn't explore the movie's world enough. He wanted more focus on the setting, not just the characters' feelings.
Fancher's writing process was slow, and the production team even nicknamed him "Happen Faster." Eventually, David Peoples was brought in to help rewrite the script. The movie was finally filmed and released as Blade Runner in 1982.
Later Writing and Directing Work
After Blade Runner, Fancher wrote two more films. One was The Mighty Quinn (1989), which starred Denzel Washington. The other was The Minus Man (1999), starring Owen Wilson. Fancher also directed The Minus Man, which was his first time directing a full movie.
More recently, he wrote the original story for Blade Runner 2049 (2017). He also co-wrote the screenplay for this sequel with Michael Green.
In 2019, Hampton Fancher published a book called The Wall Will Tell You. This book is a guide on how to write movie scripts, based on his own experiences in Hollywood. He also provided commentary for special DVD versions of movies based on Ernest Hemingway's short story "The Killers".
Filmography
Hampton Fancher has worked on many films and TV shows. Here are some of his notable works:
Film Roles
- Parrish (1961)
- Rome Adventure (1962)
- The Other Side of the Mountain (1975)
- Survive! (1976)
- Tonight at Noon (2009) - He appeared as himself in a small role.
Writing and Directing Credits
- Blade Runner (1982) - Writer and executive producer
- The Mighty Quinn (1989) - Writer
- The Minus Man (1999) - Director and writer
- 2036: Nexus Dawn (2017) - Writer (short film)
- 2048: Nowhere to Run (2017) - Writer (short film)
- Blade Runner 2049 (2017) - Writer
Television Roles
Hampton Fancher appeared in many TV shows, especially Westerns, during his acting career.
- Have Gun - Will Travel (1958-1960) - 3 episodes
- Black Saddle (1959-1960) - 7 episodes
- Gunsmoke (1959-1965) - 4 episodes
- Maverick (1961)
- Lawman (1961)
- Rawhide (1962-1964) - 3 episodes
- Perry Mason (1965)
- Bonanza (1966)
- Mannix (1967-1972) - 2 episodes
See also
In Spanish: Hampton Fancher para niños
