About Tim Burton

Full Name: Timothy William Burton
Date of Birth: August 25th, 1958
Place of Birth: Burbank, California
Parents: Bill and Jean Burton
Sibling(s): Daniel, better known as Danny Burton
Occupation: Director, Producer, Artist, Photographer, Poet
Education: California Institute of the Arts
Official Site: www.timburton.com
Fanlisting: The Tim Burton Fanlisting (go join if you’re a fan!)

Biography

Timothy William Burton was born on the 25 August, 1958 to Bill and Jean Burton, the oldest of two sons by three years (the others name was Daniel, also called Danny). Bill Burton worked for the Burbank Parks and Recreation Department, while his mother ran a gift shop called ‘Cats Plus’.
Growing up in Burbank, California, or what Tim calls ‘Suburbia’, little Timothy wasn’t exactly a ‘normal’ child. He was the quiet one, who didn’t quite fit in. The odd kid, who drew strange pictures and dreamed bizzare fantasies. Together with his friends he would create Super 8 movies, one of which was title ‘The Island of Doctor Agor’. He used to create tableaux of flying saucers attaking an army; he’d trick the neighbors into believing that aliens had landed; he’d watch sad little cheap horror films. He was a poor communicator and rarely associated with people.
In 1976 Burton became a student at the California Institute of the Arts, or CalArts. A branch of Disney, the institute was intended to train young and aspiring artists to become animators. Burton went there using a scholarship he had won, staying for three years before gaining a job with Disney. He began work on the film ‘The Fox and The Hound’. despite the fact that Burton was inable to draw the cute little foxes he had been assigned to. Burton was kept on, however, and picked up work as a conceptual artist on the film ‘The Black Cauldron’ (both movies quite unremarkable). Says Burton, “I was very strange back then. I could see I had problems. I was always perceived as weird. I would sit in a closet a lot of the time and not come out, or I would sit up on top of my desk, or under my desk, or do weird things like get my wisdom teeth out and bleed all over the hallways. But I’ve gotten over that. I don’t sit in a closet anymore. I was kept at arm’s length, but at the same time they let me be. I guess I did enough work not to get fired. I just had to do it fast, and because I couldn’t draw it anyway, it didn’t matter how much time I spent on it. I was weird at that stage. I was having emotional problems. I didn’t know who I was.” [from Burton on Burton].
After around 2 years Burton was given $60,000 by Tom Wilhite to produce Vincent, based on a poem Burton had written. That eventualy lead to other projects; Hansel and Gretel, Frankenweenie, and eventually his first big motion picture; Pee-Wee’s Big Adenture. After that, Burton became a hot sensation in Hollywood. He went on to make such movies as Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Today he has many plans for many other films, and he’s even published a book of poems, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories. He has many plans for the future, and from what it looks like his career is only just taking off.

Contact

Please note: I haven’t written to Tim myself, I can’t give you any guarantees that he’ll write back!

Tim Burton
c/o William Morris Agency
1325 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019-4701
USA

Tim Burton Productions
Warner Hollywood Studios
1041 N.Formosa Ave.
Writer’s Building Suite 10
West Hollywood, CA 90046

Tim Burton
5301 Loma Linda Avenue 8
Los Angeles, Ca 90027
USA

Filmography

Director

Big Fish (2003)
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Mars Attacks! (1996)
Ed Wood (1994)
Batman Returns (1992)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Batman (1989)
Beetlejuice (1988)
“Alfred Hitchcock Presents” (1985) TV Series (episode “Jar, The”)
Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
Frankenweenie (1984)
Hansel and Gretel (1982/II) (TV)
Vincent (1982)
“Faerie Tale Theatre” (1982) TV Series (episode “Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp”)
Stalk of the Celery (1979)
Island of Doctor Agor, The (1971)

Producer

Lost in Oz (2000) (TV) (executive producer)
Mars Attacks! (1996) (producer)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) (producer)
Batman Forever (1995) (producer)
Ed Wood (1994) (producer)
Cabin Boy (1994) (producer)
Nightmare Before Christmas, The (1993) (producer)
“Family Dog” (1993) TV Series (executive producer)
Batman Returns (1992) (producer)
Edward Scissorhands (1990) (producer)
“Beetlejuice” (1989) TV Series (executive producer)
Stalk of the Celery (1979) (producer)

Writer

“Point Blank” (2002) TV Series (writer)
Lost in Oz (2000) (TV) (story) (pilot)
Nightmare Before Christmas, The (1993) (story and characters)
Edward Scissorhands (1990) (story)
“Beetlejuice” (1989) TV Series (creator)
Beetlejuice (1988) (story) (uncredited)
Hansel and Gretel (1982/II) (TV) (idea)
Vincent (1982)
Stalk of the Celery (1979)
Island of Doctor Agor, The (1971)

Miscellaneous Crew

Nightmare Before Christmas, The (1993) (production designer)
“Family Dog” (1993) TV Series (character designer) (uncredited) (design consultant)
“Beetlejuice” (1989) TV Series (developed by)
“Amazing Stories” (1985) TV Series (character designer) (episode “Family Dog (1987)”)
Vincent (1982) (production designer)
Tron (1982) (animator) (uncredited)
Fox and the Hound, The (1981) (animator) (uncredited)
Stalk of the Celery (1979) (animator)
Lord of the Rings, The (1978) (inbetween artist) (uncredited)
Island of Doctor Agor, The (1971) (animator) (uncredited)