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IMDbPro

Tom Waits(I)

  • Music Artist
  • Actor
  • Composer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Tom Waits
An ICE Agent struggling with the moral dilemmas of border security and an undocumented woman fighting to escape a ruthless cartel cross paths and work together to save the life of an innocent girl.
Play trailer2:22
The Absence of Eden (2023)
25 Videos
99+ Photos
Thomas Alan Waits was born in Pomona, California, to schoolteachers Alma Fern (Johnson) and Jesse Frank Waits. Described as one of the last beatniks of the contemporary music, Waits in fact has two separate careers. From 1973 (LP "Closing Time") to 1983 ("One From The Heart" soundtrack), he recorded nine LPs for Asylum Records, writing songs mainly in the manner of Tin Pan Alley, mixing them with jazz and blues. Extraordinarily, he never produced a hit, but he earned a cult following all over the world. In 1983, he signed with Island Records and released a series of albums that stunned the music world. Beginning with "Swordfishtrombones", he introduced a whole new orchestration, which included some of the instruments invented by Harry Partch. He found a new ground for his innovations, searching in sound fields that never before were searched. This second part of his career coincided with his marriage to Kathleen Brennan, a former writer for Francis Ford Coppola (Zoetrope (1999)). His LPs "Rain Dogs" (1985), "Big Time" (soundtrack) and "The Black Rider" are today what Kurt Weill's music was once. "The Black Rider" brings music written for the show directed by Bob Wilson and staged in Germany.
BornDecember 7, 1949
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornDecember 7, 1949
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 8 wins & 8 nominations total

    Photos103

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    + 99
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    Known for

    Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken, Tom Waits, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, Colin Farrell, Olga Kurylenko, and Bonny in Seven Psychopaths (2012)
    Seven Psychopaths
    7.1
    • Zachariah
    • 2012
    The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
    The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
    7.2
    • Prospector (segment "All Gold Canyon")
    • 2018
    Roberto Benigni, Tom Waits, and John Lurie in Down by Law (1986)
    Down by Law
    7.6
    • Zack
    • 1986
    Short Cuts (1993)
    Short Cuts
    7.6
    • Earl Piggot
    • 1993

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Actor



    • Father, Mother, Sister, Brother
      • Completed
      • 2025
    • Wildwood
      • Sterling Fox (voice)
      • In Production
      • 2026
    • Star.Wav
      • The Caller
      • Post-production
      • Short
    • Wild Horse Nine
      • In Production



    • Zoe Saldaña in The Absence of Eden (2023)
      The Absence of Eden
      4.7
      • Hunley
      • 2023
    • Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Christine Ebersole, Bradley Cooper, Harriet Sansom Harris, Maya Rudolph, Nate Mann, Cooper Hoffman, Benny Safdie, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Skyler Gisondo, and Alana Haim in Licorice Pizza (2021)
      Licorice Pizza
      7.1
      • Rex Blau
      • 2021
    • Ultra City Smiths (2021)
      Ultra City Smiths
      6.6
      TV Series
      • The Narrator (voice)
      • 2021
    • Bill Murray, Chloë Sevigny, Iggy Pop, Tilda Swinton, and Adam Driver in The Dead Don't Die (2019)
      The Dead Don't Die
      5.4
      • Hermit Bob
      • 2019
    • The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
      The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
      7.2
      • Prospector (segment "All Gold Canyon")
      • 2018
    • Robert Redford in The Old Man & the Gun (2018)
      The Old Man & the Gun
      6.7
      • Waller
      • 2018
    • The Moon's Milk (2018)
      The Moon's Milk
      8.2
      Short
      • Narrator (voice)
      • 2018
    • Citizen (2016)
      Citizen
      7.6
      TV Movie
      • Cesar
      • 2016
    • Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, and Yeardley Smith in The Simpsons (1989)
      The Simpsons
      8.6
      TV Series
      • Lloyd (voice)
      • 2013
    • Tom Waits in Tom Waits: Hell Broke Luce (2012)
      Tom Waits: Hell Broke Luce
      8.4
      Music Video
      • Tom Waits
      • 2012
    • The Laughing Heart
      7.3
      Short
      • Narrator
      • 2012
    • Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken, Tom Waits, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, Colin Farrell, Olga Kurylenko, and Bonny in Seven Psychopaths (2012)
      Seven Psychopaths
      7.1
      • Zachariah
      • 2012
    • Tom Waits in Tom Waits: Satisfied (2011)
      Tom Waits: Satisfied
      7.4
      Music Video
      • Tom Waits
      • 2011
    • Elle Fanning in Twixt (2011)
      Twixt
      4.8
      • Narrator (voice)
      • 2011
    • The Monster of Nix (2011)
      The Monster of Nix
      6.8
      Short
      • Virgil (voice)
      • 2011

    Composer



    • John Hammond in Language of the Night (2023)
      Language of the Night
      Short
      • Composer
      • 2023
    • In Case of an Emergency
      Short
      • Composer
      • 2020
    • Hold On (2018)
      Hold On
      Short
      • Composer
      • 2018
    • Nenad Vasic in Rain Dogs: God's Away on Business (2017)
      Rain Dogs: God's Away on Business
      Music Video
      • Composer (original music by)
      • 2017
    • Hell Broke Luce
      Short
      • Composer
      • 2016
    • No Translation (2015)
      No Translation
      Short
      • Composer
      • 2015
    • Shawn Colvin: Hold On
      Music Video
      • Composer
      • 2015
    • Yo y Maru 2012
      Short
      • Composer
      • 2013
    • Susret
      Short
      • Composer (music by)
      • 2011
    • Tom Waits in Tom Waits: Satisfied (2011)
      Tom Waits: Satisfied
      7.4
      Music Video
      • Composer
      • 2011
    • Breakfast with Bukowski (2011)
      Breakfast with Bukowski
      8.0
      Short
      • Composer
      • 2011
    • The Keeper
      Short
      • Composer
      • 2009
    • Ole & Jarl
      TV Series
      • Composer
      • 2009
    • Scarlett Johansson in Scarlett Johansson: Falling Down (2008)
      Scarlett Johansson: Falling Down
      5.2
      Music Video
      • Composer
      • 2008
    • Tom Waits: Lie to Me (2006)
      Tom Waits: Lie to Me
      Music Video
      • Composer
      • 2006

    Videos25

    How to Survive a Horror Movie in 2019
    Clip 2:35
    How to Survive a Horror Movie in 2019
    Bill Murray vs. Zombies? We're Dying for 'The Dead Don't Die'
    Clip 3:12
    Bill Murray vs. Zombies? We're Dying for 'The Dead Don't Die'
    Bill Murray vs. Zombies? We're Dying for 'The Dead Don't Die'
    Clip 3:12
    Bill Murray vs. Zombies? We're Dying for 'The Dead Don't Die'
    'Buster Scruggs': The Coen Bros.' Misunderstood, Misanthropic Masterwork
    Clip 3:23
    'Buster Scruggs': The Coen Bros.' Misunderstood, Misanthropic Masterwork
    The Book of Eli
    Clip 1:08
    The Book of Eli
    The Book of Eli
    Clip 1:18
    The Book of Eli
    The Book of Eli
    Clip 0:49
    The Book of Eli

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Official sites
      • Amazon Music
      • Anti Records
    • Alternative names
      • Mule Patterson
    • Height
      • 5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
    • Born
      • December 7, 1949
      • Pomona, California, USA
    • Spouse
      • Kathleen BrennanAugust 10, 1980 - present (3 children)
    • Parents
        Alma Fern Waits (Johnson)
    • Other works
      (3/31/90) Stage: Provided the music and lyrics for Robert Wilson / William S. Burroughs production of "The Black Rider", Hamburg, Germany.
    • Publicity listings
      • 6 Print Biographies
      • 7 Interviews
      • 18 Articles
      • 2 Pictorials
      • 7 Magazine Cover Photos

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      He converted a four-cubic-yard metal box (intended as a debris dumpster) into a musical instrument called a "Strata Dumpster" (aka "Dumpstalele"). He cut a two/foot hole into one side, and stretched seven piano strings across it, fastening them with two welded bridges. The strings can be plucked, strummed, or bowed. He describes the sound as "trainlike and huge, like trash day with a purpose.".
    • Quotes
      Champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends.
    • Trademarks
        Raspy, gravelly singing voice

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