Peter John Farrelly

Background

Farrelly, Peter John was born on December 17, 1956 in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Robert Leo and Mariann (Neary) Farrelly.

Education

Bachelor, Providence College, 1979. Master of Fine Arts, Columbia University, 1987.

Career

The Farrelly brothers are mostly famous for directing and producing gross-out humor romantic comedy films such as Dumb and Dumber, Shallow Hal, Me, Myself and Irene, There's Something About Mary and the 2007 remake of The Heartbreak Kid. Farrelly decided to take a plunge and pursue writing full-time, which prompted him to quit his job and head to Cape Cod, Massachusetts where he got a job as a waiter. On one of the tables he was waiting, Farrelly struck up a conversation with a writing professor from UMass Amherst, who encouraged Farrelly to apply to graduate school.

Farrelly said he did not think his chances were good, considering he did poorly in college but the professor said not everything is judged by grades. With what would later be Outside Providence, Farrelly submitted the work and was pleasantly surprised that he was accepted. He studied writing for a while at UMass Amherst, but was ultimately dissatisfied with the program, and transferred to Columbia University in New York City, which Farrelly said he found very satisfying.

He later became interested in screenwriting, which led him to directing. They also conceived the Seinfeld episode "The Virgin" (410). In 2006, Farrelly directed the Man Laws series of television commercials for the Miller Lite beer brand, which featured actor Burt Reynolds, American football player Jerome Bettis, climber Aron Ralston, and professional wrestler Triple H. Peter did its first project away from Bobby in Movie 43, released in 2013 and produced by the siblings' long-time producer Charles B. Wessler.

He produced the anthology film and directed two of its segments. He is a published novelist, with works including Outside Providence and The Comedy Writer. He lives in Los Angeles, while Bobby remains in Massachusetts.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Kingpin Planet: The Golden Amazon Saga, Book Twelve

    (The Cosmic Crusaders are plunged into a strange new space...)

  • Bushwhacked! (Black Horse Western)

    (Black Pete Bowen could handle just about anything, but wh...)

  • Convictions: A Prosecutor's Battles Against Mafia Killers, Drug Kingpins, and Enron Thieves

    ( As an Assistant United States Attorney, John Kroger pur...)

  • Shallow Hal

    (Hal Larson doggedly tries to score with every gorgeous wo...)

  • Outside Providence

    (Outside Providence is a hilarious yet melancholy novel of...)

  • Outside Providence by Peter Farrelly (8-May-2001) Paperback

• Other Work

  • Author Outside Providence, 1988. Co-writer (television specialists) Our Planet Tonight, 1987, Paul Reiser: Out on a Whim, 1987. Writer (film) Dumb & Dumber, 1994, Bushwhacked, 1995, There's Something About Mary, 1998.
    
    Director (film) Dumb & Dumber, 1994, Kingpin, 1996, There's Something About Mary, 1998, Fever Pitch, 2005. Producer There's Something About Mary, 1998, Outside Providence, 1999. Writer, co-dir, producer: Me, Myself & Irene, 2000, Shallow Hal, 2002.
    
    Director, writer The Heartbreak Kid, 2007. Executive producer (television series) Oxxy & Drix, 2002. Writer, director, producer Stuck on You, 2003.

Membership

In addition to his extensive film career, Peter is also an acting board member of the online media company DeskSite. Farrelly is a board member of DeskSite.

Connections

Father:

Robert Leo Farrelly

Mother:

Mariann (Neary) Farrelly