Photo by James Minchin III

Born in Valparaiso, IN. Raspy-voiced singer-songwriter whose down-at-the-heels musical persona and colorful, jazz-tinged narratives have led to a second, successful career as a film composer and actor. Waits cut his first critically praised album, Closing Time, in 1973, made his screen debut in PARADISE ALLEY (1978) and subsequently played supporting roles in a number of movies, notably several by Francis Ford Coppola: ONE FROM THE HEART (1982), RUMBLE FISH and THE OUTSIDERS (both 1983), THE COTTON CLUB (1984) and BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA (1992). Waits was aptly cast as Jack Nicholson's hobo sidekick Rudy the Kraut in IRONWEED (1987) and was the subject of the film BIG TIME (1988), an unfortunate attempt to juxtapose concert footage with "dramatized" sequences inspired by his songs. Other screen appearances include CANDY MOUNTAIN (1988), COLD FEET and MYSTERY TRAIN (voice) (both 1989), QUEENS LOGIC, THE FISHER KING and AT PLAY IN THE FIELDS OF THE LORD (both 1991), COFFEE AND CIGARETTES III and SHORT CUTS (both 1993), MYSTERY MEN (1999), DOMINO (2005), WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY (2006) and THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS (scheduled for 2009). Waits's songs have highlighted films ranging from Coppola's ONE FROM THE HEART, to Jean-Luc Godard's FIRST NAME: CARMEN (1983), which makes mesmerizing use of "Ruby's Arms," to Jim Jarmusch's DOWN BY LAW (1986), in which Waits also turned in a fine comic performance. Other films that have used his songs include STREETWISE (1984), SEA OF LOVE (1989), AMERICAN HEART (1992), SMOKE (1995), FIGHT CLUB (1999), GUN SHY, CONDO PAINTING, KEEPING THE FAITH, THE PERFECT STORM, MAELSTRÖM and POLLOCK (all 2000), IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL, JERSEY GIRL, HELLBOY and SHREK 2 (all 2004), and ROBOTS, THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS, DOMINO and JARHEADS (all 2005).  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Best Original Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score) 1982: ONE FROM THE HEART - Song Score 1 nomination