Director Joel Shumacher was born August 29, 1939. He died of cancer June 22, 2020, only a few weeks before his 81st birthday. He is well known for his directorial work, having helmed The Lost Boys, The Phantom of the Opera, 8MM, Batman and Robin, and Batman Forever among many others.
It seems unfair that in a life and career that spanned eight decades, he will be remembered in some circles more for being the man who put nipples on the Batman’s batsuit than directing 35 movies and TV shows, writing 12 scripts, or producing 9 TV shows and movies, or for being costume designer for six films.
Variety reported “For Batman Forever, the openly gay Schumacher introduced nipples to the costumes worn by Batman and Robin, leaning into the longstanding latent homoeroticism between the two characters.”
Shumacher wrote the script for The Wiz, the all-Black musical reinterpretation of The Wizard of Oz. He wrote the comedy classic Car Wash, co-wrote Sparkle (a musical loosely based on the career of the Supremes), and co-wrote and directed The Phantom of the Opera.
Schumacher also directed the Lily Tomlin vehicle, The Incredible Shrinking Woman. He directed the popular vampire film The Lost Boys and the techno-horror film Flatliners. His two contributions to Batman in the movies were Batman Forever with Willow‘s Val Kilmer and Batman and Robin with Tomorrowland‘s George Clooney.
I think I’m one of the luckiest people that ever lived. I got my dream. I got it so much bigger than even I could have dreamed it. You know, I’m just a kid whose parents died very young who was on his own and grew up behind a movie theater before TV, and I wanted to tell those stories, and look what happened.
– Joel Schumacher
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Susan Macdonald is the author of the children’s book “R is for Renaissance Faire”, as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in “Alternative Truths”, “Swords and Sorceress #30”, Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, “Cat Tails” “Under Western Stars”, and “Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid”. Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio’s web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions, Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.
