Career
Shadyac moved to Los Angeles in 1983 and, at age 24, become the youngest staff joke writer ever for comedian Bob Hope. His father, Richard C. Shadyac, Sr., a Washington D.C. attorney, was a long time friend of comedian, actor and TV producer Danny Thomas. Thomas's charity and lifelong efforts were aimed at the founding and development of St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. The elder Shadyac served in many capacities relative to the hospital and served as CEO of St. Jude's fundraising arm, ALSAC, from 1992 to present.
Tom Shadyac had a brief acting career, appearing in an episode of Magnum, P.I. and in the 1987 film, Jocks. Also received his master's degree in film from UCLA in 1989 after completing the critically acclaimed short Tom, Dick and Harry. Subsequently he worked on movies-of-the-week, rewrote and directed for Fox. His hit films with Carrey include Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar, and the Ace Ventura: Pet Detective movie series. He collaborated with Eddie Murphy to write The Nutty Professor movie series. He directed Patch Adams starring Robin Williams and Dragonfly with Kevin Costner. He was also the executive producer to the ABC TV series 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.
He recently directed Evan Almighty, the sequel to Bruce Almighty. In October 2006, at a Virginia Film Festival event, he conceded that Evan Almighty would end up being the most expensive comedy ever made.
He frequently casts Jim Carrey in lead roles, often collaborates with Steve Oedekerk in working on a film and hires Don Zimmerman as the editor. Former boxer Randall "Tex" Cobb made a cameo in two of Shadyac's movies, Cobb played the "gruff man" in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and he made another cameo in Liar Liar as the bald man who offers Fletcher his jacket back in the opening scene. Steve Carell has also starred in two of Shadyac's films, Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty. Tom Shadyac's production company for films is Shady Acres Entertainment.
In his most recent film, the documentary I Am, Shadyac interviews scientists, religious leaders, environmentalists and philosophers – including Desmond Tutu, Noam Chomsky, Lynne McTaggart, Elisabet Sahtouris, Howard Zinn, and Thom Hartmann. The film asks two central questions: What’s Wrong With the World? and What Can We Do About it?. It is about "human connectedness, happiness, and the human spirit." The film received a twenty minute standing ovation at its first screening.
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