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Peter Foldy

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Peter Foldy
Birth namePeter Foldy
BornBudapest, Hungary
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • screenwriter
  • film producer
  • film director
Years active1973–present
LabelsKanata (1973–75)
Capitol-EMI (1975–77)
Free Flight Records (1977–81)
Pacemaker (2003–present)

Peter Foldy is a Hungarian-born recording artist, film producer, director and screenwriter. He has been nominated for two Juno Awards and has had multiple top-ten hits across Canada and the U.S., most notably with his first song "Bondi Junction" which reached number one on the Canadian charts. He has written and directed numerous feature films working with actors such as Paul Rudd, Eugene Levy and Academy Award winner, Louise Fletcher.

Early life

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Peter Foldy was born in Budapest, Hungary but soon fled from the then Communist regime with his parents and sister. The family moved to Sydney, where Foldy attended high school and worked as an actor in television commercials. During this time, he also forged a friendship with three young brothers who would later find worldwide success as the Bee Gees.

After a family move to Toronto, Foldy enrolled in film school at York University, once again landing occasional work in Canadian TV commercials. He also formed a rock band that performed in various bars and lounges throughout the city.

Career

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Music

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Kanata records

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Foldy soon began writing songs and quickly landed a recording contract as an artist with a small indie label, Kanata Records. His first single, "Bondi Junction", was released in 1973 and the record eventually reached number one on RPM magazine's Adult Contemporary chart[1] on July 7, 1973. Foldy was also featured on the cover of RPM that same week. The record received two Juno Award nominations, including Canadian Pop Music Single of the Year.[2] He was also awarded a 1973 BMI Canada Certificate of Honour from BMI Canada for "Bondi Junction" which was a legitimate national hit across Canada.

Foldy was suddenly appearing on Canadian TV shows, on radio station charts and on the pages of music magazines, including the popular U.S. teen publication, 16 Magazine. "Bondi Junction" was also released in the U.S. on Playboy Records, a label started by Hugh Hefner, where it penetrated the U.S. market place. Cash Box reviewed the song as "a super commercial track that will immediately influence the teen set." The record also peaked at number 113 in Billboard.

Capitol-EMI and Polydor

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In 1975, Foldy was signed by Capitol-EMI of Canada alongside a deal with Polydor in the U.S. His follow-up recordings, "Roxanne" and "Julie-Ann" also reached top-ten status on many charts across Canada, as well as in the U.S.

In 1976, he again received a BMI Canada Certificate of Honour for "Roxanne" and once again made the cover of RPM Weekly on July 3, 1976 (volume 25 #14).

Free Flight records

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On the advice of his manager, Foldy left his deal with Capitol with the promise of bigger things in the United States which, unfortunately, failed to materialize. However, a pop label started by RCA Records in Los Angeles called Free Flight Records signed him a couple of years later. The move to Los Angeles allowed Foldy to continue his musical momentum with the self-written singles "Love City" and "School of Love", songs he co-produced with music producer, Tony Brown.

Bronte Road Music

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In 2016, Foldy released a 10-track CD featuring all-new music entitled Nine Lives. All songs were written and produced by Foldy. The CD received favorable reviews and radio airplay, particularly the single, "Carly". The album has received critical acclaim by both the Toronto Star[3] and Cashbox Canada.[4]

A new single, "Toxic World" was released in 2019. Written by Foldy, it was co-produced with Miklos Malek. In 2020 he released the single, "This Christmas" co-produced with Gerry Stober and in 2021, another single, "Friend-Zone" was released through Foldy's Bronte Road Music label, also co-produced by Foldy and Miklos Malek.

Film

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When Free Flight Records abruptly closed its doors in 1981, Foldy turned his attention back to film, quickly selling his first screenplay, Hot Moves,[5] which became a considerable theatrical and video hit in the mid-1980s. In more recent pop culture, the film has been dubbed as the possible inspiration[6] for the 1999 Hollywood blockbuster American Pie.

More screenplays followed and in the early 1990s, Foldy started directing.

His feature film credits include:

Current projects

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Foldy is in development on several feature films as well as two plays, Spin and Liverpool Lads. Spin is a humorous look at the resistance received by Canadian artists when Canadian content regulations were introduced in the early 1970s, while Liverpool Lads is the true story of the first songwriters signed to the Beatles company, Apple, after a random meeting with Paul McCartney in London's High Park. It is based on the book, All You Need Is Luck... Or How I Got a Record Deal by Meeting Paul McCartney, written by Paul Tennant. McCartney has added a glowing quote to the back of the book.

An avid photographer, Foldy has exhibited his black and white photographs.

Discography

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Albums

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Year Title Record label
1974 Peter Foldy Kanata
2009 Bondi Junction and Other Hits Pacemaker/EMI
2014 Nine Lives Bronte Road Music
2014 Peter Foldy 4 Christmas Bronte Road Music

Singles

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Year Title Record label
1973 "Bondi Junction" / "Alice Mary Jane MacPherson" (#17[13])(#1AC) Kanata/Quality
1973 "I'll Never Know" / "Yes, Operator" (#61[14])(#55AC[15]) Kanata/Quality
1974 "When I Am So in Love" / "Remember" (#63[16])(#18AC[17]) Kanata/Quality
1974 "Christmas Eve with You" / "Spanky" (#21AC[18]) Kanata/Quality
1975 "Hollywood" / "Paris Bound" Capitol/EMI
1976 "Roxanne" / "Funny" (#39[19])(#13AC[20]) Capitol/EMI
1977 "Julie Ann" / "Paris Bound" Capitol/EMI
1979 "Love City" / "Turn It Up" (#10AC[21]) Free Flight/RCA – U.S.
1982 "School of Love" / "Love City" (#25AC[22]) Rio
1982 "My Christmas Wish for You" / [Instrumental] (#29AC[23]) Nightflite
1988 "Desperately" (duet with Mona Lisa Young) / [Instrumental] (#26AC[24]) Filmstreet – U.S.
1988 "Is There Love in Your Heart" / "Desperately" (#25AC[25]) Southside
2003 "All I Want for Christmas Is You" Pacemaker
2009 "Change Your World" (with Róbert Gulya) Pacemaker
2019 "Toxic World" Bronte Road Music
2020 "This Christmas" Bronte Road Music
2021 "Friend-Zone" Bronte Road Music

Filmography

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Year Title Class Position Starring Awards/notes
1985 Hot Moves Feature film Co-writer/associate producer Jill Schoelen RIAA Gold Video Award
1992 Homeboys Feature film Writer/co-producer Todd Bridges
1992 Jamie's Secret Dramatic short subject Writer/director Paul Rudd Best Director/Best Film – ICVM Awards 1993
Cine Golden Eagle Award Winner 1993
1992 Question of Ethics Dramatic short subject Writer/director Paul Rudd Cine Golden Eagle Award Winner 1993
1993 Desperate Measures Dramatic short subject Writer/director Best Youth Film – ICVM Awards
Cine Golden Eagle Award Winner 1994
1993 Midnight Witness Feature film Writer/director/producer Maxwell Caulfield and Jan-Michael Vincent
1994 Tryst Feature film Writer/director Barbara Carrera, David Warner and Louise Fletcher Aired on Showtime Network USA
1995 Widow's Kiss Feature film Co-writer/director Starring Beverly D'Angelo HBO World Premier 1995
1996 US Customs Classified Television Segment director Aired on FOX
1996 Seeds of Doubt Feature film Director Peter Coyote
1996 Irresistible Impulse Feature film Director Doug Jeffrey and Kathy Shower
1997 Oomba Makoomba Television Segment director Walt Disney Channel
1998 Conversations in Limbo Dramatic short subject Director Jason Priestley and Costas Mandylor Toronto Short Film Festival Award Winner 1999
1999 More to Love Misc. Music supervisor Maxwell Caulfield Winner New York International Film Festival 2000
2000 Silver Man Feature film Director Eugene Levy, Joey Pantoliano, Daniel Baldwin and Louise Fletcher Winner Best Film, Best Director Planet Indie 2000 (Toronto)
Winner Jury Prize, Best Feature – Tambay Film Festival (Florida)
2003 My First Time Television Co-creator/co-producer Reality series
2003 Incredible Mrs. Ritchie Feature film Associate producer Gena Rowlands and James Caan Multiple Emmy Award Winner
2006 Out of Omaha Misc. Music supervisor Dave Foley and Lea Thompson
2007 Head, Heart & Balls Dramatic short subject Writer/director/music Adam Carolla
2010 The Wheeler Boys Feature film Co-producer Bill Campbell, Portia Doubleday and Alex Frost
2014 The Christmas Switch Feature film Music supervisor Natasha Henstridge and Brian Krause
2015 Fair Haven Feature film Music supervisor Tom Wopat, Michael Grant and Gregory Harrison
2019 Love on Repeat Feature film Director Jen Lilly, Jonathan Bennett, Andrew Lawrence
2019 A Thousand Little Cuts Feature film Producer Marina Sirtis, Andrew Creer, Rebecca Liddiard
2021 Black Bags Feature film Producer Laura Vandervoort, Olesya Rulin
2021 Help Wanted Feature film Director Sarah Fisher, Conner Floyd, Preston Ward
2021 Looking For Dr. Love Feature film Director Anna Marie Dobbins, Julian Shaw
2021 House of Lies Feature film Producer Katerina Eichenberger, Rib Hillis, Colt Prattes

References

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  1. ^ "RPM AC Playlist - July 7, 1973" (PDF).
  2. ^ 1974 Juno Awards
  3. ^ Toronto Star Article, 08/29/2014 at the Toronto Star
  4. ^ Cashbox Canada article, 08/07/2014 at Cashbox Canada
  5. ^ Hot Moves at the Internet Movie Database
  6. ^ Canada.com news "Aussies behind American Pie raunch"
  7. ^ Tryst at the Internet Movie Database
  8. ^ Widow's Kiss at the Internet Movie Database
  9. ^ Seeds of Doubt at the Internet Movie Database
  10. ^ Silver Man at Rotten Tomatoes
  11. ^ "Love on Repeat". IMDb. February 14, 2020.
  12. ^ "Help Wanted". IMDb.
  13. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - July 7, 1973" (PDF).
  14. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - February 2, 1974 - Page 15" (PDF).
  15. ^ "RPM Top AC Singles - February 2, 1974" (PDF).
  16. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - March 23, 1974 - Page 15" (PDF).
  17. ^ "RPM Top AC Singles - April 13, 1974" (PDF).
  18. ^ "RPM Top AC Singles - December 28, 1974" (PDF).
  19. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - November 20, 1976" (PDF).
  20. ^ "RPM Top AC Singles - November 13, 1976 - Page 26" (PDF).
  21. ^ "RPM Top AC Singles - December 1, 1979" (PDF).
  22. ^ "RPM Top AC Singles - August 14, 1982" (PDF).
  23. ^ "RPM Top AC Singles - December 25, 1982" (PDF).
  24. ^ "RPM Top AC Singles - August 7, 1989" (PDF).
  25. ^ "RPM Top AC Singles - August 20, 1988" (PDF).
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