Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Barry Gifford (born October 18, 1946) is an American author, poet, and screenwriter known for his distinctive mix of American landscapes and film noir- and Beat Generation-influenced literary madness. He is best known for his series of novels about Sailor and Lula, two sex-driven, star-crossed protagonists on the road. The first of the series, Wild at Heart, was adapted by director David Lynch for the 1990 film of the same title. Gifford went on to write ...
Known For
Complete Filmography
My Last Martini
2025
Story
One evening at an elegant cocktail lounge, a frustrated writer impulsively breaks a self-imposed rule and decides to have a third martini. Moments lat...
Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago
2020
as Himself
Author Barry Gifford's gritty autobiographical stories of growing up in 1950s Chicago provide the backdrop for an impressionistic documentary portrait...
Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago
2020
Original Story
Author Barry Gifford's gritty autobiographical stories of growing up in 1950s Chicago provide the backdrop for an impressionistic documentary portrait...
Nelson Algren Live
2016
as Nelson Algren
A performance of some of Nelson Algren's greatest and least known works, performed live at the Steppenwolf theatre in Algren's hometown, Chicago.
Nelson Algren Live
2016
Writer
A performance of some of Nelson Algren's greatest and least known works, performed live at the Steppenwolf theatre in Algren's hometown, Chicago.
The Phantom Father
2012
as Jack
American professor Robert Traum embarks on an adventurous and amusing journey through Bucovina to find Sami the projectionist, the only person alive t...
The Phantom Father
2012
Story
American professor Robert Traum embarks on an adventurous and amusing journey through Bucovina to find Sami the projectionist, the only person alive t...
The Long Haul of A.I. Bezzerides
2005
as Narrator (voice)
Filled with humor and defining experiences in both his own life and in the lives of some of his closest friends, William Faulkner and Robert Aldrich, ...
City of Ghosts
2002
Screenplay
A con man who is on the run from law enforcement in the U.S. travels to Cambodia to collect his share in an insurance scam but discovers more than he...
Fernanda Pivano: A Farewell to Beat
2001
as Se stesso
Dance with the Devil
1997
Screenplay
She's sexy, shameless and loves taking people to their limit. She's a dangerous young woman who dreams about a jaguar that licks her naked body and sl...
Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch
1997
as Self
An in-depth look at artist/filmmaker David Lynch's movies, paintings, drawings, photographs, and various other works of art. Features interview footag...
Lost Highway
1997
Writer
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transfo...
Wild at Heart
1990
Novel
Young lovers Sailor and Lula hit the road to start a new life together away from the wrath of Lula’s deranged, disapproving mother, who has hired a te...
You Can't Win
N/A
Screenplay
A drama set in the 1920s hobo underworld and centered on the unusual friendship between an adventurer and a young prostitute alongside Black's life on...
Tropico
N/A
Writer
Raymond is hired to spy on Mark, an American businessman, in a steamy coastal town in Northern Brazil. However, things get complicated when he falls s...