Mary Lambert (director) facts for kids

Mary Lambert Gary (born October 13, 1951) is an American film director. She is famous for directing many music videos, TV shows, and movies. She has worked on many popular projects, especially in the horror movie world.

About Mary Lambert

Mary Lambert was born in Helena, Arkansas, a state in the U.S. Her dad, Jordan Bennett Lambert III, was a farmer. Her younger sister is Blanche Lincoln, who used to be a U.S. Senator for Arkansas. Mary went to the Rhode Island School of Design and earned a special degree called a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

Directing Music Videos

Mary Lambert has directed music videos for some of the biggest music stars!

Early Music Video Success

Mary Lambert directed the first music video for singer Chris Isaak, called "Dancin'". This video was nominated for two awards at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards. She was also nominated for directing "Ways to Be Wicked" by Lone Justice. Mary was the only woman nominated that year in those categories!

Working with Madonna

Mary Lambert directed several very famous music videos for the pop superstar Madonna in the 1980s. These videos helped shape Madonna's look and style.

• "Borderline" (1984): This was Mary's first video with Madonna. It showed Madonna trying to choose between love and her dreams in Los Angeles. The video mixed colorful scenes with black-and-white shots. Mary said they made it up as they went along, which means they were very creative!
• "Like a Virgin" (1984): This video was filmed in Venice, Italy, and New York. It showed Madonna in a wedding dress and riding in a gondola (a boat in Venice). Mary wanted to mix fantasy with real life in this video.
• "Material Girl" (1985): For this video, Mary paid tribute to a famous scene from the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, where Marilyn Monroe sings "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend." This video became one of Madonna's most well-known works.
• "La Isla Bonita" (1987): In this video, Mary directed Madonna playing two different characters: a religious woman and a lively Flamenco dancer. It explored Latin culture and religious ideas.
• "Like a Prayer" (1989): This video was also directed by Mary Lambert.

Mary Lambert played a huge part in creating the visual stories for Madonna's songs, helping her become a global star.

Working with Janet Jackson

Mary Lambert also directed two iconic music videos for Janet Jackson: "Nasty" and "Control."

The "Control" video is famous for its story about Janet becoming independent from her parents. It was filmed at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Making this video was quite challenging! The audience thought they were coming to a free concert, but instead, they watched Janet lip-sync the song many times.

Janet was also in the process of changing managers, and her father, Joe Jackson, was still involved. Mary and the producer, Sharon Oreck, faced difficulties with him. Despite these challenges, Mary successfully finished the video. In 1988, "Control" won a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video!

Other Music Video Collaborations

Mary Lambert has directed videos for many other famous artists, including:

• Annie Lennox ("Walking on Broken Glass")
• Mick Jagger ("Just Another Night")
• The Go-Go's ("Turn to You")
• Whitney Houston ("So Emotional")
• Alison Krauss ("When You Say Nothing at All")
• Live ("I Alone")
• Mötley Crüe ("Smokin' in the Boys Room")
• Queensrÿche ("The Lady Wore Black")
• Sting ("Russians")
• Debbie Harry ("I Want That Man")
• Tom Tom Club ("Genius of Love")

Directing Films

Mary Lambert has directed several feature films, especially in the horror genre.

In 1987, she released her first movie, Siesta, which starred Ellen Barkin and Jodie Foster. It was nominated for an award for Best First Feature Film.

She is well-known to horror fans for directing the 1989 movie Pet Sematary, which was based on a book by Stephen King. She also directed its sequel, Pet Sematary Two.

More recently, Mary directed Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005) and the TV horror movie Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (2011). She also directed a video game called Double Switch in 1993.

Making Pet Sematary (1989)

In 1989, Mary Lambert directed Pet Sematary, a scary movie based on Stephen King's book. Stephen King himself wrote the movie's script! The film starred Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Blaze Berdahl, Fred Gwynne, and Miko Hughes as Gage Creed.

The movie was a big success when it came out on April 21, 1989. It made a lot of money at the box office. Because it was so popular, Mary Lambert also directed the second movie, Pet Sematary Two, which came out in 1992.

Stephen King wanted the movie to be filmed in Maine, where his book was set. Mary Lambert filmed in places like Ellsworth, Bangor, and Mount Hope Cemetery. Stephen King was very involved and worked closely with Mary to make sure the movie felt like his book.

Mary Lambert had to fight for her choices when casting the actors. She really wanted two-year-old Miko Hughes to play Gage Creed, even though the studio preferred using twins (which is common for child roles). Mary felt Miko had a special talent. She also pushed to cast Fred Gwynne as Jud Crandall, even though some worried he was too known for his role as Herman Munster.

Mary also made a creative choice for the character of Zelda, Rachel Creed's sister. Instead of a young actress, she cast Andrew Hubatsek to make the character more unsettling.

The movie's ending was changed at the request of the studio. Mary had filmed a more unclear ending, but the studio wanted a scarier, more direct ending.

The movie's soundtrack included music by the band Ramones, who were one of Stephen King's favorite bands. Mary Lambert knew the band from directing their music videos and asked them to write the song "Pet Sematary" for the movie's end credits.

Personal Life

Mary Lambert is married to Jerome Gary. They have a son named Jordan.

Selected Works

Here are some of the films and TV shows Mary Lambert has directed:

• Siesta (1987)
• Pet Sematary (1989)
• Pet Sematary Two (1992)
• Double Switch (1993) - a video game!
• Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001)
• Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005)
• Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (2011) - a TV movie
• A Castle for Christmas (2021)
• Best. Christmas. Ever! (2023)

She has also directed episodes for TV shows like:

• Tales from the Crypt (1989)
• Arrow (2017)
• The Goldbergs (2021)

See also

In Spanish: Mary Lambert para niños