Barry Sonnenfeld

Barry Sonnenfeld net worth is $60 Million. Also know about Barry Sonnenfeld bio, salary, height, age weight, relationship and more …

Barry Sonnenfeld Wiki Biography

Barry Sonnenfeld was born on 1 April 1953, in New York City USA, into a Jewish family, and is the man behind such productions as “When Harry Met Sally”, “The Addams Family”, and the “Men in Black” trilogy. Sonnenfeld started his career in the film industry as a cinematographer in the late 1970s, however, he later changed his career path and started directing movies.

One may wonder how rich is Barry Sonnenfeld and how did he become so wealthy? A successful career allowed Barry Sonnenfeld to build a net worth estimated by sources at over $60 million. Sonnenfeld accumulated such net worth through acting as well as directing and producing films. Therefore, Sonnenfeld is not only talented and successful but also extremely rich.

Barry Sonnenfeld spent his childhood and teenage years in New York City. Barry studied at Hampshire College, and then New York University, and after graduation started working in the film industry, initially as a cinematographer – Barry’s first job was to shoot the material for the documentary “In Our Water”. Barry’s talent was highly appreciated, and the documentary was nominated for an Oscar. This impressive start led Barry to another successful project, when Joel and Ethan Coen invited Sonnenfeld to shoot their first movie “Blood Simple”. Later Barry did cinematography work for the movies “Compromising Positions”, “Three O’clock High”, and “Throw Momma from the Train”. In 1987 Sonnenfeld reunited with the Coen Brothers and shot their 1987 film “Raising Arizona”, featuring Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter. Following this Barry shot four successful movies, namely “Big” starring Tom Hanks, “Misery”, with James Caan and Kathy Bates, “When Harry Met Sally”, featuring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, and a gangster film “Miller’s Crossing?, directed by the Coen brothers. These films made Barry Sonnenfeld considerably rich.

However, as a talented cinematographer Sonnenfeld wanted to try his luck in film directing. The first films Barry directed were “The Addams Family” and its sequel “Addams Family Values”, both of which proved successful. As a result, Barry Sonnenfeld’s net worth continued to grow, and he become more acclaimed as well, and so decided to continue directing films., including “For Love or Money”, “Get Shorty”, and “The Wild Wild West”. Sonnenfeld was also the director of the films “Men in Black” trilogy, another series of commercial successes – the third was the most commercially successful – with the director further increasing his net worth.

Sonnenfeld has also directed advertisements featuring The Puttermans family, as well as producing films. For instance, he was the executive producer of the movies “Out of Sight”, and “The Tick”, as well as the television series “Pushing Daisies”, and “Suburban Shootout”.

Moreover, Barry Sonnenfeld played small parts in several of the aforementioned films, including “The Addams Family”, “Get Shorty”, “Men in Black II”, and “RV”. So the multi-talented Barry Sonnenfeld has accumulated his impressive net worth being a cinematographer, film director, producer and actor, apparently relatively effortlessly. Moreover, Barry  has been nominated for many awards and even won a Primetime Emmy for the television series Pushing Daisies.

In 1989 Barry Sonnenfeld married Susan Ringo. They have a daughter Chloe Sonnenfeld, who has also become an actress.

IMDB Wikipedia $60 Million 1953 Actor Addams Family Addams Family Values and Men in Black 3 April 1 Barrington Sonnenfeld III Barry Barry Sonnenfeld Barry Sonnenfeld Net Worth Billy Crystal Buddy films Chloe Sonnenfeld Cinema of the United States Cinematographer Coen Brother Coen brothers Directors Ethan Coen Film Film director Film producer Holly Hunter James Caan Joel Coen Kathy Bates Kelly Sonnenfeld Meg Ryan Men in Black Men in Black 3 Men in Black II New York New York City Nicolas Cage Pushing Daisies RV Secret Agent Man Sonny Sonnenfeld Susan Ringo Susan Ringo (m. 1989) Television Director Television Producer The Addams Family Tom Hanks United States United States of America When Harry Met Sally…

Barry Sonnenfeld Quick Info

Full Name Barry Sonnenfeld
Net Worth $60 Million
Date Of Birth April 1, 1953
Place Of Birth New York City, New York, United States
Profession Film director, Cinematographer, Film Producer, Actor, Television producer, Television Director
Education New York University, Hampshire College
Nationality American
Spouse Susan Ringo (m. 1989)
Children Chloe Sonnenfeld
Parents Kelly Sonnenfeld, Sonny Sonnenfeld
Nicknames Barrington Sonnenfeld III
IMDB http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001756
Awards Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series, Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Nominations Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography, Saturn Award for Best Director
Movies Men in Black, Men in Black 3, Nine Lives, The Addams Family, Men in Black II, Wild Wild West, Get Shorty, Addams Family Values, RV, Big Trouble, Blood Simple, For Love or Money, Enchanted, Raising Arizona, When Harry Met Sally…, Misery, Miller’s Crossing, Throw Momma from the Train, The Ladykiller…
TV Shows Secret Agent Man

Barry Sonnenfeld Trademarks

  1. Known for his sense of physical comedy and slapstick scenes.
  2. Often casts Carel Struycken in his films.
  3. Often shoots from below eye-level for comic effect
  4. Frequently casts Siobhan Fallon Hogan
  5. Directs mainstream films that have an offbeat quality to them

Barry Sonnenfeld Quotes

  • [on directing Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones] Although Will would always be deferential and charming he’s an eight-month-old Great Dane puppy, and he’s got way too much energy, way too much joy, too much karmic perfection. And I think that may have affected Tommy. But from the entire first movie [they] loved each other. Will genuinely feels Tommy’s one of the funniest people he’s ever met because Tommy is George Burns and Will is Gracie Allen. You need both.
  • [on what he took away from each “Men in Black” film] – The first one was unique because it was the first one in the series and we got to create this world. What we realized in the second movie is that we thought the first movie was a comedy, and we realized that it was funny, but not a comedy. And the second one was too, “funny” or “joke-y,” and we were trying for comic-beats as apposed to telling a great story. And the third Men in Black, we went back to the roots and it’s much more like the first Men in Black, which is that it’s really about emotion, character, and relationships. And if it’s funny, it’s funny because of those things, but we’re not cutting to singing dogs.
  • A director sits on the set 11 and a half hours a day. And for 30 minutes they get to direct.
  • About Men in Black (1997): “It’s basically a remake of The French Connection (1971) with aliens as a comedy.”

Barry Sonnenfeld Important Facts

  • East Hampton, Long Island, New York [April 2010]
  • Stepfather of Amelia A. Erwitt (born in 1981).
  • Was at one time attached to direct The Heartbreak Kid (2007).
  • Was set to direct Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), but bowed out citing personal reasons.
  • Has stated in many interviews that before making Men in Black (1997) he was considering doing a live-action film version of The Jetsons (1962). With Jim Carrey playing George Jetson and Nicole Kidman playing Jane Jetson.
  • Father of Chloe Sonnenfeld.
  • Nephew of Vaudeville and screen comedian Gus Schilling, whose voice likeness he inherited genetically.
  • One of his most embarrassing moments occurred when he was a teenager attending his first rock concert. His mom had the PA announcer say, “Barry Sonnenfeld, call your mother.”.
  • Has a private bathroom designed to look like a public bathroom, complete with stalls and urinals in his house in New York.
  • Was offered the job of directing Forrest Gump (1994), but declined. The job then went to Robert Zemeckis, who won an Academy Award for it.
  • Loves to eat smoked whitefish.
  • Lives in Long Island, NY.
  • NYU Film School Assistant to Elliott Erwitt.
  • Started his career as a cinematographer in porn films. He’s quoted in the January 26, 1998 Newsweek magazine (page 60) saying that he was depressed when he heard that Boogie Nights (1997) was being made (a film about making pornos) because he had wanted to make a movie about the time he shot 9 feature length pornos in nine days.
  • Was uninjured when a private jet he was travelling in collided with five empty ‘planes after a rough landing in Van Nuys, California. [February 1999]

Barry Sonnenfeld Filmography

Title Year Status Character Role
Disenchanted 2018 producer pre-production Producer
A Series of Unfortunate Events 2017 TV Series executive producer – 1 episode filming Producer
The Tick 2016 TV Series executive producer Producer
Independent Lens 2016 TV Series documentary executive producer – 1 episode Producer
An Honest Liar 2014 Documentary executive producer Producer
Notes from the Underbelly 2007-2010 TV Series executive producer – 23 episodes Producer
Pushing Daisies 2007-2009 TV Series executive producer – 22 episodes Producer
Play or Be Played 2008 TV Movie executive producer Producer
Space Chimps 2008 producer Producer
Enchanted 2007 producer Producer
A Series of Unfortunate Events 2004 executive producer Producer
Karen Sisco 2004 TV Series producer – 1 episode Producer
The Ladykillers 2004 producer Producer
Big Trouble 2002 producer Producer
The Tick 2001-2002 TV Series executive producer – 9 episodes Producer
The Crew 2000 producer Producer
Secret Agent Man 2000 TV Series executive producer – 12 episodes Producer
Wild Wild West 1999 producer Producer
Partners 1999 TV Movie executive producer Producer
Fantasy Island 1998-1999 TV Series executive producer – 13 episodes Producer
Maximum Bob 1998 TV Series executive producer – 1 episode Producer
Out of Sight 1998 executive producer Producer
Get Shorty 1995 executive producer Producer
A Series of Unfortunate Events 2017 TV Series 2 episodes filming Director
Nine Lives 2016/I Director
Dead Boss 2014 TV Movie Director
Beverly Hills Cop 2013 TV Movie Director
Men in Black 3 2012 Director
Funny in Farsi 2010 TV Series Director
The Bridget Show 2009 TV Movie Director
Play or Be Played 2008 TV Movie Director
Notes from the Underbelly 2007-2008 TV Series 6 episodes Director
Hackett 2008 TV Movie Director
Suburban Shootout 2008 TV Series Director
Pushing Daisies 2007 TV Series 2 episodes Director
RV 2006 Director
Men in Black II 2002 Director
Big Trouble 2002 Director
The Tick 2001 TV Series 1 episode Director
Wild Wild West 1999 Director
Maximum Bob 1998 TV Series 1 episode Director
Men in Black 1997 Director
Get Shorty 1995 Director
Addams Family Values 1993 Director
For Love or Money 1993 Director
The Addams Family 1991 Director
Misery 1990 director of photography Cinematographer
Miller’s Crossing 1990 director of photography Cinematographer
When Harry Met Sally… 1989 director of photography Cinematographer
Big 1988 director of photography Cinematographer
Throw Momma from the Train 1987 director of photography Cinematographer
Three O’Clock High 1987 Cinematographer
Raising Arizona 1987 Cinematographer
Classified Love 1986 TV Movie Cinematographer
Welcome Home, Bobby 1986 TV Movie Cinematographer
Doubletake 1985 TV Movie Cinematographer
Compromising Positions 1985 director of photography Cinematographer
ABC Afterschool Specials 1984 TV Series 1 episode Cinematographer
Blood Simple. 1984 director of photography Cinematographer
How to Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days 1983 TV Movie Cinematographer
In Our Water 1982 Documentary Cinematographer
Nine Lives 2016/I Additional Cat Voices (voice) Actor
Men in Black 3 2012 Husband Watching Launch Actor
RV 2006 Irv Actor
Men in Black II 2002 Neuralyzed Father Actor
Big Trouble 2002 Confused Sports Radio Call In (voice) Actor
Men in Black 1997 Alien on TV Monitor (uncredited) Actor
Get Shorty 1995 Doorman Actor
Addams Family Values 1993 Mr. Glicker Actor
The Addams Family 1991 Passenger on Gomez’s train (uncredited) Actor
Barton Fink 1991 Page Calling for Barton Fink (uncredited) Actor
Blood Simple. 1984 Marty’s Vomiting (voice, uncredited) Actor
Miller’s Crossing 1990 camera operator Camera Department
Three O’Clock High 1987 lighting consultant Camera Department
Wisdom 1986 additional photographer Camera Department
Home of the Brave: A Film by Laurie Anderson 1986 Documentary camera operator: second projection camera Camera Department
Violated 1984 additional photographer Camera Department
Secret Agent Man 2000 TV Series creator Writer
Misery 1990 second unit director Assistant Director
Shoot First and Pray You Live (Because Luck Has Nothing to Do with It) 2008 special thanks Thanks
Shooting ‘Miller’s Crossing’: A Conversation with Barry Sonnenfeld 2003 Video documentary short special thanks Thanks
Men in Black Training Video: Australia 2002 Video short special thanks Thanks
Men in Black Training Video: Germany 2002 Video short special thanks Thanks
Men in Black Training Video: Japan 2002 Video short special thanks Thanks
Men in Black Training Video: UK 2002 Video short special thanks Thanks
Squish, Splat, Sploosh: The Stellar Sounds of ‘Men in Black II’ 2002 Video documentary short special thanks Thanks
After the Fair: The Legacy of the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair 2014 Documentary Himself Self
Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show 2013 TV Series Himself – Guest Self
Made in Hollywood 2012 TV Series Himself Self
Cinema 3 2012 TV Series Himself Self
Días de cine 2012 TV Series Himself Self
Good Morning America 2012 TV Series Himself – Guest Self
Janela Indiscreta 2012 TV Series Himself Self
Late Show with David Letterman 1997-2012 TV Series Himself – Guest / Himself / Himself- Guest Self
The Big Picture 2012 TV Series Himself Self
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson 2006-2008 TV Series Himself – Guest Self
The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards 2008 TV Special Himself – Winner: Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series Self
Reinventando Hollywood 2008 TV Movie documentary Himself Self
Greatest Ever Romantic Movies 2007 TV Movie documentary Himself Self
Barry Sonnenfeld: The Kosher Cowboy 2006 Video documentary short Himself Self
Robin Williams: A Family Affair 2006 Video documentary short Himself Self
The Scoop on Poop 2006 Video documentary short Himself Self
Greatest Ever Comedy Movies 2006 TV Movie Himself Self
RV Nation: The Culture of Road Warriors 2006 Video documentary short Himself Self
Get Shorty: Going Again 2005 Video short Himself Self
Get Shorty: Look at Me 2005 Video documentary short Himself Self
Get Shorty: Wiseguys and Dolls 2005 Video documentary short Himself Self
Get Shorty Party Reel 2005 Video short Himself Self
Biography 2003 TV Series documentary Himself Self
Shooting ‘Miller’s Crossing’: A Conversation with Barry Sonnenfeld 2003 Video documentary short Himself Self
Barry Sonnenfeld’s Intergalactic Guide to Comedy 2002 Video documentary short Himself Self
Cosmic Symphonies: Elfman in Space 2002 Video documentary short Himself Self
Creature Featurettes 2002 Video documentary Himself Self
Design in Motion: The Look of ‘Men in Black II’ 2002 Video documentary short Himself Self
MIB ADR 2002 Video documentary short Himself Self
HBO First Look 1997-2002 TV Series documentary Himself Self
MIIB: Secret Files 2002 Video short Himself Self
Misery Loves Company 2002 Video documentary short Himself Self
Metamorphosis of ‘Men in Black’ 2000 Video documentary short Himself Self
Mundo VIP 1999 TV Series Himself Self
The 1998 Annual ShoWest Awards 1998 TV Special Himself Self
Charlie Rose 1995 TV Series Himself – Guest Self
The Making of ‘The Addams Family’ 1991 TV Movie documentary Himself Self

Barry Sonnenfeld Awards

Year Award Ceremony Nomination Movie Category
2008 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series Pushing Daisies (2007) Won
2008 DGA Award Directors Guild of America, USA Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series Pushing Daisies (2007) Won
2008 Gold Derby TV Award Gold Derby Awards Comedy Episode of the Year Pushing Daisies (2007) Won
2000 Razzie Award Razzie Awards Worst Director Wild Wild West (1999) Won
1998 Maverick Tribute Award Cinequest San Jose Film Festival Won
1998 Readers’ Choice Award Mainichi Film Concours Best Foreign Language Film Men in Black (1997) Won
1985 Daytime Emmy Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography ABC Afterschool Specials (1972) Won
2008 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series Pushing Daisies (2007) Nominated
2008 DGA Award Directors Guild of America, USA Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series Pushing Daisies (2007) Nominated
2008 Gold Derby TV Award Gold Derby Awards Comedy Episode of the Year Pushing Daisies (2007) Nominated
2000 Razzie Award Razzie Awards Worst Director Wild Wild West (1999) Nominated
1998 Maverick Tribute Award Cinequest San Jose Film Festival Nominated
1998 Readers’ Choice Award Mainichi Film Concours Best Foreign Language Film Men in Black (1997) Nominated
1985 Daytime Emmy Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography ABC Afterschool Specials (1972) Nominated