Paul Bartel Movies and Career Information

Paul Bartel (August 6, 1938 – May 13, 2000) was an American actor, writer and director. Bartel was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he wrote, starred in and directed. Bartel was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jesse and William Bartel, who was an advertising executive. Bartel was openly gay; this influenced his career choice, as he found himself more accepted and afforded more opportunities within the independent film industry than he would have in Hollywood. In 1979, he was a member of the jury at the 29th Berlin International Film Festival. Bartel directed 11 low-budget films, including three which attained modest celebrity: Eating Raoul (1982), Lust in the Dust (1985) and Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills (1989), two of which featured co-star and fellow Brooklynite, Mary Woronov. Perhaps the most exciting preview of Bartel's eccentric genius was the short film "The Secret Cinema" a paranoid delusional fantasy masterpiece of self-referential cinema. Bartel and Woronov appeared together in 17 different films, including the 1975 cult film Death Race 2000, which he also directed; the 1979 cult classic Rock 'n' Roll High