John Lurie

John Lurie (born December 14, 1952) is an American musician, painter, actor, director, and producer. He co-founded the Lounge Lizards jazz ensemble and has acted in 19 films, including Stranger than Paradise and Down by Law. Lurie has also composed and performed music for 20 television and film works and produced, directed, and starred in the Fishing with John television series. His soundtrack for Get Shorty was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1996 and his album The Legendary Marvin Pontiac: Greatest Hits received critical acclaim. Since 2000, Lurie has been dealing with symptoms attributed to chronic Lyme disease and has shifted his focus to painting. His artwork has been exhibited globally and gained further popularity when his primitivist painting, Bear Surprise, became an internet meme in Russia in 2006. His television series, Painting with John, debuted on HBO in January 2021 and ran for three seasons. Lurie's 1980s NYC memoir, The History of Bones, was published by Penguin Random House in August 2021. Lurie was born in Minneapolis and raised with his brother Evan and sister Liz in New Orleans, Louisiana and Worcester, Massachusetts. After high school, he hitchhiked across the United States to Berkeley, California. He moved to New York City in 1974, then briefly visited London, where he performed his first saxophone solo at the Acme Gallery. Lurie has been painting since the 1970s. Most of his early works were in watercolor and pencil. The Museum of Modern Art has acquired some of his work for their permanent collection.