Peter Coyote facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Peter Coyote
Coyote in 2019
Born	Robert Peter Cohon (1941-10-10) October 10, 1941 (age 83) New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	Grinnell College, B.A. 1964 San Francisco State University
Occupation	Actor director screenwriter author narrator
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 on October 10, 1941) is an American actor, director, writer, and narrator. He has worked in movies, on TV, and in theater. You might know his voice from many documentaries or his acting in films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Peter Coyote is also known for his voice work. He narrated the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics. He won an Emmy Award for narrating the PBS series The Pacific Century in 1992. In 2015, he won another Emmy for his narration in Ken Burns's documentary The Roosevelts: An Intimate History.

Before his acting career, Coyote was a founder of the Diggers. This was a group in Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, during the 1960s. They were known for their unique ways of helping the community.

Peter Coyote's Early Life and Education

Peter Coyote was born Robert Peter Cohon in New York City on October 10, 1941. His mother, Ruth, and father, Morris Cohon, raised him. His father was an investment banker, someone who helps companies raise money. His family had a rich background, with Jewish roots from different parts of the world.

He grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, and finished Dwight Morrow High School in 1960. Peter Coyote has said that his family's African-American housekeeper, Susie Nelson, greatly influenced him.

In 1961, while studying at Grinnell College, Peter Coyote helped organize a group of students. They traveled to Washington, D.C., during the Cuban Missile Crisis. This was a tense time when the U.S. and the Soviet Union had a standoff over missiles in Cuba. The students supported President John F. Kennedy's efforts for peace. President Kennedy even invited them to the White House, which was a big deal for protesters at the time.

After graduating from Grinnell College in 1964 with a degree in English literature, he moved to the West Coast. He started working on a master's degree in writing at San Francisco State University.

How Peter Coyote Got His Name

While still in college, Peter had a powerful experience that connected him to nature. A few years later, he saw a poetry magazine called Coyote's Journal with paw prints on it. He recognized these paw prints from his earlier experience.

Later, he met a spiritual teacher named Rolling Thunder. This teacher told him that his experience could be seen in two ways. It could be a simple dream, or it could be a moment when the universe revealed something important. Peter thought about this for months. He then decided to change his name to Coyote. He saw this as a step toward understanding the deeper meaning of his experience. This change helped him feel free from his past and open to new possibilities.

Peter Coyote's Counterculture Activities

After some time at the San Francisco Actor's Workshop, Peter Coyote joined the San Francisco Mime Troupe. This was a street theater group that performed plays with strong political messages. They often faced arrest for performing without permits. Coyote acted, wrote, and directed plays for the Mime Troupe. He even directed a controversial play that was shut down in several cities.

From 1967 to 1975, Peter Coyote was a key part of the counterculture in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury area. He was a founder of the Diggers, an anarchist group. This group worked without money and often anonymously. They created events to make people think about issues like private property and consumerism.

The Diggers famously fed almost 600 people every day for free. They had a "Free Store" where everything, even the management roles, was free. They also ran a Free Medical Clinic and a short-lived Free Bank. The Diggers later became known as the Free Family. This group set up communes, which are communities where people live together and share resources, across the Pacific Northwest and Southwest. Peter Coyote was a well-known resident of the Black Bear Ranch commune in California.

Peter Coyote's Zen Journey

Peter Coyote first learned about Zen Buddhism when he was a teenager. He read books by writers like Jack Kerouac and Gary Snyder, who were part of the Beat Generation. He later met Gary Snyder through the Diggers and was impressed by his wisdom.

In 1975, Coyote started practicing meditation. He became a dedicated follower of American Zen Buddhism. He even moved into the San Francisco Zen Center. He was later ordained as a lay priest in the Sōtō tradition of Zen. In 2015, he became a fully ordained Zen Priest.

Coyote has also recorded audiobooks of important Zen texts. These include Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki and Zen Flesh, Zen Bones by Paul Reps. He also narrated a documentary about the history of Zen Buddhism.

Peter Coyote's Film and Television Career

In 1978, Peter Coyote started acting again in plays at San Francisco's Magic Theatre. A Hollywood agent saw him perform and his film career began. His first movie was Die Laughing in 1980. He had supporting roles in films like Southern Comfort (1981). He became well-known as the mysterious scientist "Keys" in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).

He was even considered for the role of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Coyote's first main role was in the science fiction movie Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982). He also starred in Jagged Edge (1985) and Outrageous Fortune (1987).

Since then, he has appeared in over 120 movies and TV shows. He has worked with famous directors like Roman Polanski and Pedro Almodóvar. For his guest appearance on the TV series Road to Avonlea in 1990, he received his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

More recently, Peter Coyote has been in films like Sphere, A Walk to Remember, and Erin Brockovich. He has also acted in many made-for-television movies and miniseries. He had lead roles in TV series such as The 4400 (2004) and The Inside (2005). He later joined the cast of Commander in Chief as the Vice President of the United States. He also played a recurring role in Brothers & Sisters.

Peter Coyote's Narration Work

Peter Coyote is widely recognized for his narration skills. In 2005, he narrated important projects like 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.

In 2008, he narrated Torturing Democracy, a PBS documentary. This film looked at the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" during the George W. Bush administration. He also narrated the 12-hour Ken Burns series about the National Parks. He has narrated 15 episodes for the National Geographic Explorer series.

In 2014, he narrated Ken Burns's The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, which earned him his first 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's PBS documentary Country Music. He has also narrated audiobooks, including Trilogy - Three True Stories of Scoundrels and Schemers, which won an award in 2024.

Peter Coyote's Writing Career

Peter Coyote's political views are clear in his writing. He has written articles for Mother Jones magazine. His autobiography, Sleeping Where I Fall, shares many stories from his time in the counter-culture from 1967 to 1975. One of these stories, "Carla's Story," won the 1993–1994 Pushcart Prize. He also mentions being a close friend of singer Janis Joplin.

In April 2015, his memoir The Rainman's Third Cure: An Irregular Education was released. In this book, he writes about the mentors who influenced him. These included his father, a musician, a Mafia advisor, and the poet Gary Snyder, who introduced him to Zen.

In September 2021, a collection of Peter Coyote's poems called Tongue of a Crow was published. These poems cover five decades of his life as an activist, actor, and Zen Buddhist priest.

Filmography

Actor

Narrator

See also

In Spanish: Peter Coyote para niños