From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peter Farrelly (born 1956) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and novelist from Cumberland, Rhode Island.

He graduated from Providence College which he described himself as a relatively poor student who partied hard, before moving onto a salesman job in Boston, Massachusetts. Ashamed of his profession, Farrelly dreamed of being a writer and spent many sales trips out on the road thinking up stories. According to Farrelly, he had been partying hard in Las Vegas with a friend of his, when he woke up the next morning with a hangover and found himself on the steps of a church and looking down at a used condom. Farrelly came to the realization that he needed to seriously consider a career and headed back to the east coast. He finally 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 didn't 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 lead him to directing, which was a career decision made by him after seeing many of his works sold but unproduced.

Together with his brother, Bobby Farrelly, he has written, directed, and produced several comedy films including There's Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, Shallow Hal, Me, Myself and Irene and Stuck on You. While having been associated with gross out comedies, the duo have managed to stray away from that and direct comedies with a heart like the recent Fever Pitch, set, like many of their films around New England. They also conceived the Seinfeld episode "The Virgin" (4.10).

His most recent work was the film The Ringer, which he produced with his brother. The film, staring Johnny Knoxville and Katherine Heigl, is about a man who tries to fix the Special Olympics. Although the film may sound offensive to the mentally handicapped, it was recently approved by the Special Olympics.

In 2006, Farrelly directed a series of television commercials for the Miller Lite beer brand, which featured actor Burt Reynolds, American football player Jerome Bettis, and professional wrestler Triple H.^[1]

Peter Farrelly is also a published novelist, with works including Outside Providence and The Comedy Writer.

Additional Writing Partners

Dumb and Dumber was also written by Bennett Yellin. Yellin has been credited with contributing to numerous other Farrelly Brothers films as well.

• Peter Farrelly at the Internet Movie Database