Frank Zappa

Acting

Frank Zappa

Born 1940-12-21 · Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.

Frank Vincent Zappa  (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band The Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. While in his teens, he acquired a taste for percussion-based avant-garde composers such as Edgard Varèse and 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands; he later switched to electric guitar. He was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often impossible to categorize. His 1966 debut album with The Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was one of rock, jazz or classical. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs, which—often humorously—reflected his iconoclastic view of established social and political processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for freedom of speech, self-education, political participation and the abolition of censorship. Zappa was a highly productive and prolific artist and gained widespread critical acclaim. Many of his albums are considered essential in rock and jazz history. He is regarded as one of the most original guitarists and composers of his time. He also remains a major influence on musicians and composers. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and for most of his career was able to work as an independent artist. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Zappa was married to Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman from 1960 to 1964. In 1967, he married Adelaide Gail Sloatman, with whom he remained until his death from prostate cancer in 1993. They had four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. Gail Zappa manages the businesses of her late husband under the name the Zappa Family Trust. Description above from the Wikipedia article Frank Zappa, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.  

Acting credits

Fuck poster
6.4

A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.

Fuck

2006

Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words poster
7.4

Utilizing potent TV interviews and many forgotten performances from his 30-year career, we are immersed into Frank Zappa’s world while experiencing two distinct facets of his complex character. At once Zappa was both a charismatic composer who reveled in the joy of performing and, in the next moment, a fiercely intelligent and brutally honest interviewee whose convictions only got stronger as his career ascended.

Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words

2016

Nova '78 poster
NR

Resurrected through UK-led archival restoration NOVA 78' shows never-before-seen footage of the legendary Nova Convention where William Burroughs, Patti Smith, Zappa, Ginsberg and more collided in an explosion of ideas, art and rebellion.

Nova '78

2026

Deep Purple: Made In Japan poster
10.0

Made in Japan was recorded live over three nights during 15–17 August 1972 at Festival Hall, Osaka and at Budokan, Tokyo, Japan. Four of the tracks come from the album Machine Head which had been released earlier that year. The album was at first seen as somewhat unimportant by the band members, and only Roger Glover and Ian Paice showed up to mix it. The release in the US was delayed, until April 1973, because Warner Bros. wanted to release Who Do We Think We Are first. The three concerts recorded were later released as Live in Japan 3-CD box set (1993). According to the liner notes for that set, unlike many live albums, there are no overdubs or studio additions to the original album.

Deep Purple: Made In Japan

1972

Head poster
6.2

In this surrealistic and free-form follow-up to the Monkees' television show, the band frolic their way through a series of musical set pieces and vignettes containing humor and anti-establishment social commentary.

Head

1968

Zappa poster
7.3

With the help of more than 10,000 dedicated Zappa fans, this is the long-awaited definitive documentary project of Alex Winter documenting the life and career of enigmatic groundbreaking rock star Frank Zappa. Alex also utilizes in this picture thousands of hours of painstakingly digitized videos, photos, audio, writing, and everything in between from Zappa's private archives. These chronicles have never been brought to a public audience before, until now.

Zappa

2020

Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music poster
7.7

Untold stories behind the culture-defining and newsmaking musical performances, sketches and cameos of the past 50 years.

Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music

2025

The Wrecking Crew poster
7.4

A celebration of the musical work of a group of session musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew." a band that provided back-up instrumentals to such legendary recording artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, and Bing Crosby.

The Wrecking Crew

2008

Hart & Soul - The Hart Family Anthology poster
8.0

Hart & Soul: The Hart Family Anthology is a documentary produced and released by WWE Home Video in collaboration with Hart family members. The DVD chronicles the lineage of the Hart family beginning with the biography of patriarch Stu Hart. It gives a brief accounting of the lives of all twelve Hart children as well as parents Stu and Helen growing up in Calgary. It describes the deaths of Stu, Helen, Dean, Matthew, Owen, Brian Pillman and Davey Boy Smith with recollections from their loved ones. The DVD concludes with a feature on the Hart Dynasty and their future in WWE.

Hart & Soul - The Hart Family Anthology

2010

Led Zeppelin Played Here poster
8.0

1969. Man lands on the moon. Half a million strong at Woodstock....and Led Zeppelin perform in the gym of the Wheaton Youth Center in front of 50 confused teenagers. Or did they? Filmmaker Jeff Krulik chronicles an enduring Maryland legend, of the very night this concert was alleged to have taken place, January 20, 1969, during the first Presidential Inauguration of Richard Nixon. Led Zeppelin Played Here presents a mid-Atlantic version of what was happening nationwide as the rock concert industry took shape. Featuring interviews with rock writers, musicians, and fans, and several who claim they were witnessing history that night.

Led Zeppelin Played Here

2014

Super Duper Alice Cooper poster
7.1

Emerging from the Detroit music scene of the 1970s in a flurry of long hair and sequins, Alice Cooper restored hard rock with a sense of showmanship, while simultaneously striking fear into the hearts of Middle America with the chicken-slaughtering, dead-baby-eating theatrics that would cement his identity as a glam metal icon. Meticulously crafted from rare archival footage, Super Duper Alice Cooper tells the story of the man behind the makeup, Vincent Furnier, the son of a preacher, who got caught in the grip of his own monster.

Super Duper Alice Cooper

2014

The Velvet Underground poster
6.8

Experience the iconic rock band's legacy in the first major documentary to tell their story. Directed with the era’s avant-garde spirit by Todd Haynes, this kaleidoscopic oral history combines exclusive interviews with dazzling archival footage.

The Velvet Underground

2021

Cosmic Debris poster
NR

Influential animator, Hungarian immigrant and lifelong Frank Zappa enthusiast Gábor Csupó recounts his chance meeting and eventual friendship with the musician himself.

Cosmic Debris

2018

Take Your Pills poster
6.5

In a hypercompetitive world, drugs like Adderall offer students, athletes, coders and others a way to do more -- faster and better. But at what cost?

Take Your Pills

2018

No artwork available
NR

The 1990s to the present, through the main wars of the last decades - from Iraq to Libya - but also the influence of the East on modern Western musicians (Eyvind Kang, Jessika Kenney, Trey Spruance)

Stupor Mundi: Book 3, The Most Dangerous Encounter

2019

Mondo Hollywood poster
6.7

A documentary analyzing the social, political and cultural climate of Hollywood in the mid-1960s.

Mondo Hollywood

1967

Echo in the Canyon poster
6.8

A look at the roots of the historic music scene in L.A.'s Laurel Canyon featuring the music of iconic music groups such as The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas and the Papas.

Echo in the Canyon

2019

The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers poster
6.5

An intelligent, fearless boy living in a superstitious Transylvanian village goes out into the world to figure out what everyone else is afraid of, "the shivers." A king hires him to rid his castle of ghosts and evil spirits, expecting him to die like all who have tried before him, but the boy is more fearless than he could have known.

The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers

1984

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice poster
7.6

With one of the most memorably stunning voices that has ever hit the airwaves, Linda Ronstadt burst onto the 1960s folk rock music scene in her early twenties.

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice

2019

The Big T.N.T. Show poster
8.5

Live performances by some of the top rock-and-roll acts of the mid 60s. Includes Ray Charles, The Byrds, Joan Baez, Ike and Tina Turner, Donovan, The Lovin' Spoonful, and several more.

The Big T.N.T. Show

1965

No artwork available
NR

This recording is a rarity documentary about the EAV. The recording was released in 2006 on the DVD "100 Years EAV".

EAV Rarities

2006

200 Motels poster
5.1

"Touring makes you crazy," Frank Zappa says, explaining that the idea for this film came to him while the Mothers of Invention were touring. The story, interspersed with performances by the Mothers and the Royal Symphony Orchestra, is a tale of life on the road. The band members' main concerns are the search for groupies and the desire to get paid.

200 Motels

1971

The Revenge of the Dead Indians poster
7.0

This is a full-length documentary honoring the life and work of American composer and artist John Cage. Cage is considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. This documentary features interviews with various personalities from different fields as they introduce us to the life and work of this great American artist.

The Revenge of the Dead Indians

1993

No artwork available
NR

A mental journey - historical, political, musical and metaphysical - in contemporary times, from the Sixties until nowadays.

Stupor Mundi: Livre 1, Rituel de décapitation du pape

2016

Behind the camera

200 Motels poster
5.1

"Touring makes you crazy," Frank Zappa says, explaining that the idea for this film came to him while the Mothers of Invention were touring. The story, interspersed with performances by the Mothers and the Royal Symphony Orchestra, is a tale of life on the road. The band members' main concerns are the search for groupies and the desire to get paid.

200 Motels

1971

200 Motels poster
5.1

"Touring makes you crazy," Frank Zappa says, explaining that the idea for this film came to him while the Mothers of Invention were touring. The story, interspersed with performances by the Mothers and the Royal Symphony Orchestra, is a tale of life on the road. The band members' main concerns are the search for groupies and the desire to get paid.

200 Motels

1971

Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy: The Movie poster
6.8

A Frank Zappa show goes way beyond a mere concert – it is an experience…a flight of improvisation, musicianship, and cerebral cynicism. An unparalleled Composer and Guitarist, Zappa redefined rock n roll paradigms by introducing into the mix his favorite influences from classical music, jazz, blues, Doo-wop, traditional and non-traditional music. And he did so with unparalleled humor and audacity. But it was the music itself that influenced generations of musicians and, quite frankly, blew minds. Roxy: The Movie, filmed over three nights in December 1973, at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, CA, is a powerful display of this experience, and reveals what made him such a pioneering musical revolutionary.

Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy: The Movie

2015

Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy: The Movie poster
6.8

A Frank Zappa show goes way beyond a mere concert – it is an experience…a flight of improvisation, musicianship, and cerebral cynicism. An unparalleled Composer and Guitarist, Zappa redefined rock n roll paradigms by introducing into the mix his favorite influences from classical music, jazz, blues, Doo-wop, traditional and non-traditional music. And he did so with unparalleled humor and audacity. But it was the music itself that influenced generations of musicians and, quite frankly, blew minds. Roxy: The Movie, filmed over three nights in December 1973, at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, CA, is a powerful display of this experience, and reveals what made him such a pioneering musical revolutionary.

Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy: The Movie

2015

Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy: The Movie poster
6.8

A Frank Zappa show goes way beyond a mere concert – it is an experience…a flight of improvisation, musicianship, and cerebral cynicism. An unparalleled Composer and Guitarist, Zappa redefined rock n roll paradigms by introducing into the mix his favorite influences from classical music, jazz, blues, Doo-wop, traditional and non-traditional music. And he did so with unparalleled humor and audacity. But it was the music itself that influenced generations of musicians and, quite frankly, blew minds. Roxy: The Movie, filmed over three nights in December 1973, at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, CA, is a powerful display of this experience, and reveals what made him such a pioneering musical revolutionary.

Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy: The Movie

2015

Frank Zappa: Peefeeyatko poster
8.0

For the past ten years Zappa in composing has turned away from Rock and Roll music - for which he first became famous - and has been working on new, contemporary, orchestral electronic music; in solitude and beyond any commercial conventions or commitments. It is the first time that Zappa has allowed a film crew to study him during compositional work, actually filming the first moments of a new compositional process. By contrast, in a staged interview Zappa gives comments on music. This film seeks to reveal the sensetivities of Zappa's personality and character also beyond narrative content.

Frank Zappa: Peefeeyatko

1991

Video from Hell poster
7.3

In a little over an hour, 'VIDEO FROM HELL' provides a preview of current and projected Honker releases, including 'BABY SNAKES', 'THE TRUE STORY OF 200 MOTELS' and 'UNCLE MEAT' (all 1987 releases) along with segments of 1988 shows still in preparation ('YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE'- which will be released after the multi-CD package, 'I NEED YOUR LOVE' - the homespun philosophy of Al Malkin, and 'AN AMERICAN DISSIDENT' - the homespun philosophy of Frank Zappa).

Video from Hell

1987

Video from Hell poster
7.3

In a little over an hour, 'VIDEO FROM HELL' provides a preview of current and projected Honker releases, including 'BABY SNAKES', 'THE TRUE STORY OF 200 MOTELS' and 'UNCLE MEAT' (all 1987 releases) along with segments of 1988 shows still in preparation ('YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE'- which will be released after the multi-CD package, 'I NEED YOUR LOVE' - the homespun philosophy of Al Malkin, and 'AN AMERICAN DISSIDENT' - the homespun philosophy of Frank Zappa).

Video from Hell

1987

Video from Hell poster
7.3

In a little over an hour, 'VIDEO FROM HELL' provides a preview of current and projected Honker releases, including 'BABY SNAKES', 'THE TRUE STORY OF 200 MOTELS' and 'UNCLE MEAT' (all 1987 releases) along with segments of 1988 shows still in preparation ('YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE'- which will be released after the multi-CD package, 'I NEED YOUR LOVE' - the homespun philosophy of Al Malkin, and 'AN AMERICAN DISSIDENT' - the homespun philosophy of Frank Zappa).

Video from Hell

1987

The Amazing Mr. Bickford poster
5.8

Several pieces of Frank Zappa's music are set against clay animation by Bruce Bickford.

The Amazing Mr. Bickford

1987

The Amazing Mr. Bickford poster
5.8

Several pieces of Frank Zappa's music are set against clay animation by Bruce Bickford.

The Amazing Mr. Bickford

1987

The Amazing Mr. Bickford poster
5.8

Several pieces of Frank Zappa's music are set against clay animation by Bruce Bickford.

The Amazing Mr. Bickford

1987

The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels poster
7.3

A one-hour documentary on the making of Frank Zappa's bizarre 1971 comic musical. Vintage private footage from Frank's personal archives plus behind-the-scenes of the actual shooting and recording. With Ringo Starr, Theodore Bikel, Keith Moon and such songs as "Sleeping in a Jar," and "Strictly Genteel." The inside history of the first feature-length film to be shot on video in 6 days.

The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels

1988

The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels poster
7.3

A one-hour documentary on the making of Frank Zappa's bizarre 1971 comic musical. Vintage private footage from Frank's personal archives plus behind-the-scenes of the actual shooting and recording. With Ringo Starr, Theodore Bikel, Keith Moon and such songs as "Sleeping in a Jar," and "Strictly Genteel." The inside history of the first feature-length film to be shot on video in 6 days.

The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels

1988

The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels poster
7.3

A one-hour documentary on the making of Frank Zappa's bizarre 1971 comic musical. Vintage private footage from Frank's personal archives plus behind-the-scenes of the actual shooting and recording. With Ringo Starr, Theodore Bikel, Keith Moon and such songs as "Sleeping in a Jar," and "Strictly Genteel." The inside history of the first feature-length film to be shot on video in 6 days.

The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels

1988

Uncle Meat poster
6.3

This is a documentary about an unfinished movie. Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention try to film the sci-fi epic "Uncle Meat."

Uncle Meat

1987

Uncle Meat poster
6.3

This is a documentary about an unfinished movie. Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention try to film the sci-fi epic "Uncle Meat."

Uncle Meat

1987

Uncle Meat poster
6.3

This is a documentary about an unfinished movie. Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention try to film the sci-fi epic "Uncle Meat."

Uncle Meat

1987

Frank Zappa: Roxy, 1973 poster
NR

On April 1, 2007, Zappa.com unveiled a redesigned website, which included the 30-minute segment from the Roxy performances, which had been used at the Zappa Plays Zappa concerts, on its new videos page. The clip for "Montana" was included as a bonus feature of the Classic Albums: Apostrophe(')/Over-Nite Sensation DVD, which was released on May 1, 2007. Neither song was included in ROXY the Movie

Frank Zappa: Roxy, 1973

2007

Baby Snakes poster
6.6

Rock artist Frank Zappa hosts a concert in New York City. This movie contains tons of on-stage footage, off-stage footage, and animation.

Baby Snakes

1979

Baby Snakes poster
6.6

Rock artist Frank Zappa hosts a concert in New York City. This movie contains tons of on-stage footage, off-stage footage, and animation.

Baby Snakes

1979

Baby Snakes poster
6.6

Rock artist Frank Zappa hosts a concert in New York City. This movie contains tons of on-stage footage, off-stage footage, and animation.

Baby Snakes

1979

Frank Zappa: Does Humor Belong in Music? poster
8.1

Frank Zappa and his band in a digitally recorded live performance at "The Pier" in New York, NY on August 26, 1984.

Frank Zappa: Does Humor Belong in Music?

1985

Frank Zappa: Does Humor Belong in Music? poster
8.1

Frank Zappa and his band in a digitally recorded live performance at "The Pier" in New York, NY on August 26, 1984.

Frank Zappa: Does Humor Belong in Music?

1985