Peter Coyote facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Peter Coyote
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Coyote in 2019
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| Born |
Robert Peter Cohon
October 10, 1941 New York City, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Grinnell College, B.A. 1964 San Francisco State University |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1967–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Marilyn McCann
(m. 1975; div. 1998)Stefanie Pleet
(m. 1998; div. 2015) |
| Children | 2 |
Peter Coyote (born Robert Peter Cohon; October 10, 1941) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, and narrator. He has worked in films, theater, television, and audiobooks. Some of his well-known films include E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Jagged Edge (1985), Patch Adams (1998), and Erin Brockovich (2000).
Peter Coyote is also famous for his voice work. He narrated the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics. He won an Emmy in 1992 for the PBS series The Pacific Century. In 2015, he won another Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Narrator for his work on Ken Burns's documentary The Roosevelts: An Intimate History.
Coyote was a founder of the Diggers. This was a group active in Haight-Ashbury during the mid-1960s. They were known for creating free services for their community.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Peter Coyote was born Robert Peter Cohon on October 10, 1941, in New York City. His father was an investment banker. He grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, and finished Dwight Morrow High School in 1960.
In 1961, while at Grinnell College in Iowa, Coyote helped organize a group of students. They traveled to Washington, D.C., during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They supported President John F. Kennedy's efforts for peace. Kennedy invited the group to the White House, which was a first for protesters. They met with a top advisor for several hours. This event received a lot of attention from the news.
After graduating from Grinnell in 1964 with a degree in English literature, he moved to the West Coast. He began studying creative writing at San Francisco State University.
How He Chose His Name
While in college, Peter had a special experience that made him think deeply. A few years later, he saw a poetry magazine called Coyote's Journal. He recognized its logo from his earlier experience.
Later, he met a spiritual teacher named Rolling Thunder. This teacher helped him understand his experience better. Peter decided to change his last name to Coyote. This change helped him feel free from his past and open to new possibilities.
Community Activities and Zen Practice
After some training at the San Francisco Actor's Workshop, Peter Coyote joined the San Francisco Mime Troupe. This was a political street theater group. Members were sometimes arrested for performing without permits. Coyote acted, wrote, and directed plays for the Mime Troupe.
From 1967 to 1975, Coyote was a key member of the San Francisco Haight-Ashbury counterculture community. He helped start the Diggers. This group worked without money and created "free" events. They wanted people to think about ideas like private property and consumerism. They fed almost 600 people daily for free. They also ran a Free Store and a Free Medical Clinic. The Diggers later became the Free Family, which set up communes in the Pacific Northwest and Southwest. Coyote lived at the Black Bear Ranch commune in Siskiyou County, California.
In 1975, Coyote started practicing Zen meditation. He became a dedicated follower of American Zen Buddhism. He even moved into the San Francisco Zen Center. In 2015, he was ordained as a Zen Priest. He has recorded audiobooks of important Zen texts like Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind.
Acting Career in Film and Television
In 1978, Peter Coyote started acting again in plays at San Francisco's Magic Theatre. A Hollywood agent saw him perform. His film career began with Die Laughing (1980). He played supporting roles in films like Southern Comfort (1981). He was also the mysterious scientist "Keys" in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Coyote's first main role was in the science fiction adventure Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982). He also starred in Jagged Edge (1985) and Outrageous Fortune (1987). He has appeared in over 120 films and television shows. He has worked with famous directors like Roman Polanski (Bitter Moon) and Pedro Almodóvar (Kika). In 1990, he received his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his role in the TV series Road to Avonlea.
More recently, Coyote has appeared in films such as Sphere, A Walk to Remember, and Erin Brockovich. He has also been in many made-for-television movies and miniseries. He had lead roles in TV series like The 4400 (2004) and The Inside (2005). He later joined the cast of ABC's Commander in Chief as the Vice President of the United States. He also appeared in Brothers & Sisters.
Narration Work
Peter Coyote is a very well-known narrator. In 2005, he narrated the documentary film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. He also narrated the National Geographic documentary based on Jared Diamond's book Guns, Germs, and Steel. He narrated an episode of the TV series Lost in 2006.
In 2008, he narrated Torturing Democracy, a PBS documentary. He also narrated the 12-hour Ken Burns series about National Parks. He narrated 15 episodes for the National Geographic Explorer series. In 2014, he narrated Burns' The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2017, he narrated the long Ken Burns and Lynn Novick PBS documentary series The Vietnam War. In 2019, he narrated Burns' PBS documentary Country Music. He has also narrated several commercials and audiobooks.
Writing and Books
Peter Coyote has written articles for Mother Jones magazine. His autobiography, Sleeping Where I Fall, was published in 1998. This book shares many stories from his time in the counter-culture from 1967 to 1975. One story from his book, "Carla's Story," won the 1993–1994 Pushcart Prize. He also has a website that features his movies and writing.
In April 2015, his memoir The Rainman's Third Cure: An Irregular Education was released. In this book, he writes about important people who influenced him. These include his father and poet Gary Snyder, who introduced him to Zen.
In September 2021, a collection of Coyote's poetry called Tongue of a Crow was published. These poems cover five decades of his life as an activist, actor, and Zen Buddhist priest.
In March 2024, Zen in the Vernacular: Things As It Is was published. This book is based on lectures Coyote gave online during the COVID-19 pandemic. It connects the ideas of Buddhism to social awareness in a calm and sensible way.
Selected Filmography
Actor
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) as Keys
- Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982) as Porter Reese
- Jagged Edge (1985) as Thomas Krasny
- Outrageous Fortune (1987) as Michael Sanders
- Road to Avonlea (1991) as Romney Penhallow
- Bitter Moon (1992) as Oscar
- Kika (1993) as Nicholas
- Sphere (1998) as Captain Harold C. Barnes
- Patch Adams (1998) as Bill Davis
- Erin Brockovich (2000) as Kurt Potter
- A Walk to Remember (2002) as Rev. Sullivan
- Femme Fatale (2002) as Watts
- Bon Voyage (2003) as Alex Winckler
- The 4400 (2004–2006) as Dennis Ryland
- Commander in Chief (2005–2006) as Warren Keaton
- The Disappearance (2017) as Henry Sullivan
- The Comey Rule (2020) as Robert Mueller
Narrator
- Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (1988)
- The West (1996) produced by Ken Burns
- In the Light of Reverence (2001)
- Out of the Blue (2002)
- Oil on Ice (2004)
- Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
- National Geographic: Guns, Germs, and Steel (2005)
- The War Prayer (2006)
- Torturing Democracy (2008)
- The National Parks: America's Best Idea (2009) directed by Ken Burns
- Prohibition (2011) by Ken Burns
- The Dust Bowl (2012) Host and narrator of PBS miniseries directed by Ken Burns
- The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (2014) by Ken Burns
- The Vietnam War (2017) by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick
- Country Music (2019) by Ken Burns
- The Phenomenon (2020)
- Hemingway (2021) by Ken Burns
- Benjamin Franklin (2022) by Ken Burns
- The U.S. and the Holocaust (2022) by Ken Burns
- The American Buffalo (2023) by Ken Burns
- Bad Faith (2024)
See also
In Spanish: Peter Coyote para niños
