Vernel Bagneris
Biography
Vernel Bagneris is a playwright, theater director and entertainer from New Orleans who began dancing and playing music as a child and moved to the stage while studying at Xavier University of Louisiana, where a role in The Taming of the Shrew led him to write, direct and produce plays as an undergraduate. After graduating in 1972 he studied experimental theater in Amsterdam and staged avant-garde work back home before writing One Mo' Time, his musical about Black Vaudeville performers in New Orleans, which opened at the Village Gate in New York in 1979 and ran for three and a half years; it earned a Grammy nomination for Best Cast Album in 1980. Jelly Roll! brought him a Lucille Lortel Award, a Drama Desk Award and an Obie Award in 1995. His films include Pennies from Heaven (1981), Down by Law (1986) and Ray (2004), and he had a recurring role on the HBO series Treme.
77years old
Turns 78 on July 31in 292 days
- Born New Orleans
- Star sign: LeoThe sign runs July 23 to August 22
- Also credited as Vernel Martin Bagneris
Movie Career
- Films
- 4
- Career span
- 33 years1976 to 2009
Every film, newest first
- 2009The Way of WarIMDb rating 3.2
- 1986Down by LawIMDb rating 7.6
- 1981Pennies from HeavenIMDb rating 6.5
- 1976J.D.'s RevengeIMDb rating 6.0
Genres
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Behind the camera
Vernel Bagneris wrote One Mo' Time, a musical based on Black Vaudeville performers in New Orleans, and the show opened at the Village Gate in New York in October 1979 and ran there for three and a half years.
Behind the camera
In 1976, after seeing Will Holt's Me and Bessie in New York City, a one-woman show about blues singer Bessie Smith, Bagneris chose to create a similar production, with the City of New Orleans as its central character.
Early training
Vernel Bagneris credits Pepsi Bethel, who led the Pepsi Bethel Authentic Jazz Dance Theater, with mentoring him in dance. From their first meeting onward, Bethel did the choreography for each show that Bagneris directed.
Beyond film
In 1993, Bagneris provided voices for several jazz figures on Public Radio International's Riverwalk Jazz program, portraying the lives of Bunk Johnson, Danny Barker, Jelly Roll Morton and others.
Vernel Bagneris movies on Netflix
Worked with
Vernel Bagneris made one film with each of them. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
J.K. Simmons's page
Christopher Walken's page
Cuba Gooding Jr.'s page
Louis Gossett Jr.'s page
Steve Martin's page
Ellen Barkin's page
All films by Jim Jarmusch
Herbert RossDirector, 1 film, 1981
All films by Herbert Ross
All films by John Carter
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.