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{{short description|American director, producer, and actor (1963–2002)}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Ted Demme
| birth_name         = Edward Kern Demme
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1963|10|26}}
| birth_place        = [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2002|1|13|1963|10|26}}
| death_place        = [[Santa Monica, California]], U.S.
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Amanda Demme|Amanda Scheer]]|1994}}
| occupation         = Film director, film producer, actor
| years_active       = 1988–2002
| children           = 2
| relatives          = [[Jonathan Demme]] (uncle)
}}

'''Edward Kern Demme'''<ref name="independent">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ted-demme-729674.html|title=Ted Demme|date=January 17, 2002|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=November 22, 2008|location=London}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɛ|m|i}} {{respell|DEM|ee}};<ref>[https://www.loc.gov/nls/other/sayhow/abcd.html#d NLS Other Writings, Say How: A, B, C, D &ndash; Library of Congress.]</ref> October 26, 1963 – January 13, 2002) was an American director, producer, and actor.<ref name=NYT>{{cite web|title=Ted Demme, 38, Director for TV And for Movies, Including 'Blow'|date=January 16, 2002|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/16/arts/ted-demme-38-director-for-tv-and-for-movies-including-blow.html}}</ref>

==Early life==
Demme was born in New York City, the son of Gail (née Kern) and Frederick Rogers Demme.<ref>[http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/a/l/l/Bonnie-B-Allen/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0070.html Familytreemaker.genealogy.com]</ref> He grew up in [[Rockville Centre, New York]] on [[Long Island]] and attended [[South Side High School (Rockville Centre, New York)|South Side Senior High School]]. He graduated from SUNY-Cortland in 1985. He was the nephew of film producer and director [[Jonathan Demme]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,193745,00.html|title=He Was the Man|last=Susman|first=Gary|date=January 14, 2002|publisher=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=November 22, 2008|archive-date=September 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906182759/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,193745,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Career==
Demme's media career may have begun with a radio show at [[WSUC-FM]] (SUNY-Cortland), a mix of comedy and talk radio with the usual sidekick, as well as some music and was widely listened to on and off campus.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} He began his career as a production assistant at MTV. He later became a producer in the On-Air Promotions Department, created the cable network's hip-hop show ''[[Yo! MTV Raps]]'' (with Peter Dougherty), and directed other projects for MTV, including the black-and-white rants starring then-unknown comedian [[Denis Leary]].

Over the course of his career, he established a group of actors that he chose to work with on more than one occasion. The most frequently used of these was Leary, whom he directed as a lead or star in Leary's stand-up specials ''[[No Cure for Cancer]]'' and ''Lock n' Load'', as well as the films ''[[Who's the Man?]]'', ''[[The Ref]]'', and ''[[Monument Ave. (film)|Monument Ave.]]'' <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/filmgrph/denis_leary.htm | title=Denis Leary Filmography | access-date=March 30, 2024 | work=The Washington Post Entertainment Guide}}</ref> Leary produced the 2001 crime drama film ''[[Blow (film)|Blow]]'', which starred [[Johnny Depp]] as George Jung and was directed by Demme.<ref name="New York Post (April 2001)">{{cite news |last1=Turner |first1=Megan |title=Just Say 'Blow': Director Ted Demme Captures the Glitz and the Agony of a Big-Time Drug Dealer |url=https://nypost.com/2001/04/01/just-say-blow-director-ted-demme-captures-the-glitz-and-the-agony-of-a-big-time-drug-dealer-2/ |access-date=January 18, 2020 |work=New York Post |date=April 1, 2001}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Demme was married to [[Amanda Demme|Amanda Scheer]], with whom he had two children.<ref name="independent" /> Scheer later opened several popular Los Angeles bars, including Teddy's at the [[Roosevelt Hotel (Hollywood)|Roosevelt Hotel]], named in honor of her late husband.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jun-23-wk-roosevelt23-story.html|title=Invitations are being sent|last=Baltin|first=Steve |date=June 23, 2005|newspaper=The L.A. Times|access-date=November 22, 2008}}</ref> He was a fan of the [[Green Bay Packers]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 31, 2019 |title=Ted Demme Biography, Life, Interesting Facts |url=https://www.sunsigns.org/famousbirthdays/profile/ted-demme/ |access-date=June 26, 2025 |website=Famous Birthdays By SunSigns.Org |language=en}}</ref>

==Death==
On January 13, 2002, while playing a celebrity basketball game, Demme collapsed and died of a heart attack which may have been related to [[cocaine]] later found in his system during an autopsy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/1798961.stm|title=Demme took cocaine, says coroner|date=February 3, 2002 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=November 22, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.michigandaily.com/content/cardiac-arrest-claims-life-blow-director-ted-demme |title=Cardiac arrest claims life of ''Blow'' director Ted Demme |author=Andy Taylor-Fabe |newspaper=[[The Michigan Daily]] |date=January 15, 2002 |access-date=April 11, 2016}}</ref> Demme was cremated and his ashes were given to his family.<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 7, 2013|title=Why Is Ted Demme's Widow Taking His Ashes Around Hollywood?|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ted-demme-documentary-why-his-418676|access-date=March 25, 2021|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en}}</ref>

== Tributes ==
Much of one edition of the [[Independent Film Channel|IFC]] program ''[[Dinner for Five]]'' was given over to a description of Demme's last night and fond reminiscences about his life, mostly by [[Denis Leary]] and the show's host [[Jon Favreau]]. This touched on Demme's being a fan of the [[Green Bay Packers]] and his fondness for playing practical jokes.

At the [[2002 Golden Globes|2002 Golden Globe]] awards show, one week following Demme's death, [[Kevin Spacey]] wore a picture of Demme on his suit jacket.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/bal-artslife-globes-backstage-jan20,0,3056397.story | work=Chicago Tribune | first=Beth | last=Harris | title=Awards return glitz to Hollywood}}</ref> He was also in the [[74th Academy Awards]] In Memoriam tribute that was also presented by Kevin Spacey.

''[[The Truth About Charlie]]'', his uncle [[Jonathan Demme]]'s remake of ''[[Charade (1963 film)|Charade]]'', was dedicated in his memory.

The 2003 album ''[[Blackberry Belle]]'' by [[The Twilight Singers]] led by [[Greg Dulli]], was written in tribute to Demme, Dulli's close friend. Dulli had been working on another project, titled ''[[Greg Dulli's Amber Headlights|Amber Headlights]]'' (which would later see the light of day in 2005), but abandoned those sessions due to Demme's death. The recordings which followed, fueled in part by the memory of Demme, resulted in ''Blackberry Belle''.

The 2002 film ''[[Punch-Drunk Love]]'', written and directed by [[Paul Thomas Anderson]], is dedicated to Demme.

== Filmography ==
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}

=== Actor ===
* ''[[Gun (TV series)|Gun]]'' (1 episode, 1997)
* ''[[Blow (film)|Blow]]'' (2001)
* ''[[John Q.]]'' (2002) Himself (Cameo) (Posthumously released)

=== Director ===
* ''[[Yo! MTV Raps]]'' (1988, Unknown episodes)
* ''APAB: Oh My God... It's the News!'' (1991)
* ''[[The Bet (1992 film)|The Bet]]'' (1992)
* ''[[No Cure for Cancer]]'' (1992)
* ''[[Who's the Man?]]'' (1993)
* ''[[The Ref]]'' (1994)
* ''[[Beautiful Girls (film)|Beautiful Girls]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Homicide: Life on the Street]]'' (2 episodes, 1994–1996)
* ''[[Gun (TV series)|Gun]]'' (1 episode, 1997)
* ''[[Subway Stories]]: Tales from the Underground'' (Segment: "Manhattan Miracle," 1997)
* ''[[Denis Leary]]: Lock 'n Load'' (1997)
* ''[[Monument Ave. (film)|Monument Ave.]]'' (1998)
* ''[[Life (1999 film)|Life]]'' (1999)
* ''[[Action (TV series)|Action]]'' (1 episode, 1999)
* ''[[Blow (film)|Blow]]'' (2001)
* ''[[A Decade Under the Influence (film)|A Decade Under the Influence]]'' (Posthumously released, 2003)
{{Col-2}}

=== Producer ===
* ''[[Yo! MTV Raps]]'' (1988, Unknown episodes)
* ''Hangin' w/MTV'' (1992, Executive producer)
* ''[[Monument Ave. (film)|Monument Ave.]]'' (1998)
* ''[[Rounders (film)|Rounders]]'' (1998)
* ''[[Tumbleweeds (1999 film)|Tumbleweeds]]'' (1999, Executive producer)
* ''[[A Lesson Before Dying (film)|A Lesson Before Dying]]'' (1999, Executive producer)
* ''[[Action (TV series)|Action]]'' (1 episode, Executive producer, 1999)
* ''[[Blow (film)|Blow]]'' (2001)
* ''[[A Decade Under the Influence (film)|A Decade Under the Influence]]'' (Posthumously released, 2003)
{{Col-end}}

== Awards and nominations ==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Result
! Category
! Film
|-
| 1996
| [[San Sebastián International Film Festival]]
| '''Nominated'''
| [[Golden Shell]]
| ''Beautiful Girls''
|-style="background-color: #EAEAEA;"
| 1999
| rowspan=2|[[Primetime Emmy Award|Emmy Award]]
| '''Won'''
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie|Outstanding Made for Television Movie]]
| ''A Lesson Before Dying'' <small>(Shared with Robert Benedetti, Ellen Krass, and Joel Stillerman)</small>
|-
| 2001
| '''Nominated'''
| Outstanding Nonfiction Special
| ''A Decade Under the Influence'' <small>(Shared with Alison Palmer Bourke, [[Caroline Kaplan]], [[Jerry Kupfer]], Gini Reticker, and Jonathan Sehring)</small>
|-
| 2001
| [[Karlovy Vary International Film Festival#Awards|Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]]
| '''Nominated'''
| Crystal Globe
| ''Blow''
|-
| 2003
| [[National Board of Review of Motion Pictures]]
| '''Nominated'''
| William K. Everson Film History Award
| ''A Decade Under the Influence'' <small>(Shared with [[Richard LaGravenese]])</small>
|-
| 2003
| [[Sundance Film Festival]]
| '''Nominated'''
| Grand Jury Prize
| ''A Decade Under the Influence'' <small>(Shared with Richard LaGravenese)</small>
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|1130|Ted Demme}}

{{Ted Demme}}
{{Yo! MTV Raps}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demme, Ted}}
[[Category:1963 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:Film directors from New York City]]
[[Category:Film producers from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American television directors]]
[[Category:Television producers from New York City]]
[[Category:Cocaine-related deaths in California]]
[[Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:People from Rockville Centre, New York]]
[[Category:Male actors from New York City]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:South Side High School (Rockville Centre) alumni]]