Personal details
- Birth Date: 1948-02-05
- Birth Location: Hewlett, Long Island, New York, USA
- Children: (1 child) Hamilton Morris
- Professions: Director, Producer, Writer
Errol Morris basically shook up the documentary world in the 1980s, but the Oscars acted like he didn’t exist until The Fog of War dropped in 2003. Before that, he’d already made cult classics like Gates of Heaven and Vernon, Florida. Fun fact: Vernon, Florida was supposed to be about “Nub City,” where folks were literally chopping off limbs for insurance payouts, but after some serious death threats, Morris had to pivot and focus on the town’s other oddballs instead. Funding dried up after those first two films, so Morris ended up moonlighting as a private detective in New York. Yeah, seriously. That real-life detective gig actually fed straight into his filmmaking, especially with The Thin Blue Line, which not only changed the game for true crime movies but also helped free a guy who’d been wrongly locked up for killing a cop. Morris convinced the actual killer to talk, which… wild. Stylistically, Morris isn’t your average doc guy. He’s all about dramatic scores (Philip Glass, no less), moody reenactments, and switching up perspectives in ways that get compared to Rashōmon. He even invented the Interrotron, a weird camera setup where the interviewer and subject stare directly into each other’s eyes, making interviews feel way more personal. Morris’s stuff swings from totally bonkers to deeply political. He’s drawn to people with weird obsessions, like Temple Grandin or Fred Leuchter—the guy who became infamous for his bizarre Holocaust denial “research.” Morris doesn’t shy away from controversy or tough subjects, and he’s not afraid to inject his own dry, offbeat sense of humor into every story.
So, here’s a wild bit of film nerd lore: Werner Herzog, the legendary director, actually made a bet he'd eat his own shoe if Errol Morris finished his documentary Gates of Heaven. Like, literally eat his shoe. Morris did finish it (it’s a cult classic now), and Herzog, being a man of his word and, let’s be honest, a bit of a mad genius, cooked up his boot with a bunch of garlic and herbs and chowed down at the film’s premiere. Les Blank caught the whole thing on camera in his 1980 short Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe. It’s part hilarious, part performance art, and pure Herzog. The movie’s not just about the shoe-eating—it’s also a weirdly sincere look at artistic dedication, stubbornness, and friendship. Plus, watching Herzog wax philosophical while gnawing on leather is just... priceless. If you love oddball film history moments, this one’s absolutely legendary.
Yeah, so here’s the thing—I did actually direct a dramatic feature, but man, the timing? Absolutely brutal. Everything that could’ve gone sideways, did. Someone cornered me later, all serious, “Why’d you even do it?” Like, come on, as if there’s some deep, noble reason. I just shrugged and told them straight up: vanity and greed, same as everyone else grinding in Hollywood. That’s the actual engine running this town—nobody’s out here for their health. I mean, sure, maybe a few people are chasing some “artistic vision,” but let’s be real, most of us want recognition and a fat check. Still, after all the chaos, I’m not totally burned out. I’m planning to jump right back in and make more movies. Guess I’m a glutton for punishment—or maybe I just love the madness. Either way, I’m not done yet.
February 5, 1948
Konidela Ram Charan
Hewlett, Long Island, New York, USA
Yes, Hamilton Morris
77 years old