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Jonathan Lynn

Highest Rated: 85% My Cousin Vinny (1992)

Lowest Rated: 13% The Distinguished Gentleman (1992)

Birthday: Apr 3, 1943

Birthplace: Bath, Somerset, England, UK

Perhaps best known for creating and writing the award-winning British TV series "Yes, Minister" (BBC2 1980-84) and "Yes, Prime Minister" (BBC2 1986-88), Jonathan Lynn honed his comedic skills as a member of the Cambridge Circus satirical revue in the mid-1960s. After acting on the New York and London stage as well as British TV, he branched out into directing in the early '70s, staging plays in the West End, for the RSC, the NT and on Broadway. Lynn wrote the screenplay for "The Internecine Project" (1974) and made a short film, "Mick's People" (1982), before directing his first feature, the cult favorite "Clue" (1985). Lynn's subsequent work included the cross-dressing comedy "Nuns on the Run" (1990) starring Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane; the fish-out-of-water hit "My Cousin Vinny" (1991), which garnered an Academy Award for supporting actress Marisa Tomei; Eddie Murphy's political satire "The Distinguished Gentleman" (1992); and the action comedy "The Whole Nine Yards" (1999), starring Robert De Niro and Matthew Perry, which was #1 at the box office for 3 weeks. Lynn's West End theater debut, aged 23, was as an actor in the role of Motel the Tailor in the original London cast of "Fiddler on the Roof. " His subsequent London directing credits include: "The Glass Menagerie"; "Songbook" (Best Musical, Olivier Award and Evening Standard Award); "Anna Christie" (RSC, Stratford and the Donmar); Joe Orton's "Loot"; "Pass The Butler" by Eric Idle, Shaw's "Arms And The Man" and "The Gingerbread Man" (Old Vic). At the National Theatre, he directed "A Little Hotel on the Side" by Georges Feydeau and Three Men on A Horse (Olivier Award, Best Comedy). As Artistic Director of the Cambridge Theatre Company, he directed 20 productions, producing 20 others, 9 of which transferred to the West End. His numerous awards include the BAFTA Writers Award, Writers Guild (twice), Broadcasting Press Guild (twice), NAACP Image Award, Environmental Media Award, Ace Award -Best Comedy Series on US cable, and a Special award from the Campaign For Freedom of Information.

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Highest-Rated Movies

85% 87% My Cousin Vinny
Watchlist 72% 86% Clue Watchlist
51% 50% Vanity Fair
Watchlist
51% 30% Trial and Error
Watchlist
43% 64% The Whole Nine Yards
Watchlist
42% 54% Nuns on the Run
Watchlist 42% 66% The Fighting Temptations Watchlist
32% 48% Greedy
Watchlist
31% 47% Sgt. Bilko
Watchlist
31% 56% Wild Target
Watchlist
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Jonathan Lynn

Jonathan Lynn THE FIGHTING TEMPTATIONS, Director Jonathan Lynn on the set, 2003, (c) Paramount THE FIGHTING TEMPTATIONS, Cuba Gooding Jr., Beyonce Knowles, director Jonathan Lynn on the set, 2003, (c) Paramount MY COUSIN VINNY, director Jonathan Lynn, Joe Pesci, on set, 1992. ©20th Century Fox GREEDY, Colleen Camp, Kirsten Dunst (front), Lisa Bradley (front), Bob Balaban, Siobhan Fallon, Sean Babb, Phil Hartman, Olivia D'Abo, Kirk Douglas, Nancy Travis, Michael J. Fox, Ed Begley Jr., Eric Lloyd (front), Mary Ellen Trianor, Jere Burns, Adam Hende View more photos

Filmography

Movies TV Shows
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Who Done It: The Clue Documentary 2022 Self Wild Target 31% 56% 2010 Director Vanity Fair 51% 50% 2004 Executive Producer The Fighting Temptations 42% 66% 2003 Director The Whole Nine Yards 43% 64% 2000 Director Trial and Error 51% 30% 1997 Director, Producer Sgt. Bilko 31% 47% 1996 Director Greedy 32% 48% 1994 Douglas Actor, Director The Distinguished Gentleman 13% 37% 1992 Director My Cousin Vinny 85% 87% 1992 Director Nuns on the Run 42% 54% 1990 Director, Screenwriter Suspicion 50% 1987 Actor Clue 72% 86% 1985 Director, Writer, Writer Outside Edge 1982 Kevin Actor
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