Ted Demme Biography

Producer, director. Born October 26, 1963 in New York City. Demme, the nephew of famed Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme, began his career as a production assistant at MTV before creating the cable network's seminal hip-hop show Yo! MTV Raps in the late '80s.

Demme's film career had a somewhat shaky start when he directed MTV personalities Ed Lover and Dr. Dre in Who's the Man? One critic called the film, "nepotism at its worst." However, he answered back in 1994 with the cult comedy hit The Ref, starring slash-and-burn comic Dennis Leary as a burglar who takes hostage of a neurotic couple. He also created the romantic ensemble comedy Beautiful Girls and the prison comedy Life starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence. In 2000, his acclaimed film Blow told the story of notorious drug trafficker George Jung and starred Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz.

Demme turned his talents toward the small screen in 1999, and earned an Emmy for coproducing the TV-movie A Lesson Before Dying.

Demme died on January 13, 2002, after suffering a heart attack during a celebrity basketball game. He was 38.

Demme was married to Amanda Scheer-Demme. They have a daughter and a son.

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