Peter Foldy is a Hungarian-born recording artist, film producer, director and screenwriter. He has been nominated for two Juno Awards and has had multiple top-ten hits across Canada and the U.S., most notably with his first song "Bondi Junction" which reached number one on the Canadian charts. He has written and directed numerous feature films working with actors such as Paul Rudd, Eugene Levy and Academy Award winner, Louise Fletcher.
Early life Peter Foldy was born in Budapest, Hungary but soon fled from the then Communist regime with his parents and sister. The family moved to Sydney, where Foldy attended high school and worked as an actor in television commercials. During this time, he also forged a friendship with three young brothers who would later find worldwide success as the Bee Gees.
After a family move to Toronto, Foldy enrolled in film school at York University, once again landing occasional work in Canadian TV commercials. He also formed a rock band that performed in various bars and lounges throughout the city.
Career Music Kanata records Foldy soon began writing songs and quickly landed a recording contract as an artist with a small indie label, Kanata Records. His first single, "Bondi Junction", was released in 1973 and the record eventually reached number one on RPM magazine's Adult Contemporary chart on July 7, 1973. Foldy was also featured on the cover of RPM that same week. The record received two Juno Award nominations, including Canadian Pop Music Single of the Year.1974 Juno Awards He was also awarded a 1973 BMI Canada Certificate of Honour from BMI Canada for "Bondi Junction" which was a legitimate national hit across Canada.
Foldy was suddenly appearing on Canadian TV shows, on radio station charts and on the pages of music magazines, including the popular U.S. teen publication, 16 Magazine. "Bondi Junction" was also released in the U.S. on Playboy Records, a label started by Hugh Hefner, where it penetrated the U.S. market place. Cash Box reviewed the song as "a super commercial track that will immediately influence the teen set." The record also peaked at number 113 in Billboard.
Capitol-EMI and Polydor In 1975, Foldy was signed by Capitol-EMI of Canada alongside a deal with Polydor in the U.S. His follow-up recordings, "Roxanne" and "Julie-Ann" also reached top-ten status on many charts across Canada, as well as in the U.S.
In 1976, he again received a BMI Canada Certificate of Honour for "Roxanne" and once again made the cover of RPM Weekly on July 3, 1976 (volume 25 #14).
Free Flight records On the advice of his manager, Foldy left his deal with Capitol with the promise of bigger things in the United States which, unfortunately, failed to materialize. However, a pop label started by RCA Records in Los Angeles called Free Flight Records signed him a couple of years later. The move to Los Angeles allowed Foldy to continue his musical momentum with the self-written singles "Love City" and "School of Love", songs he co-produced with music producer, Tony Brown.
Bronte Road Music In 2016, Foldy released a 10-track CD featuring all-new music entitled Nine Lives. All songs were written and produced by Foldy. The CD received favorable reviews and radio airplay, particularly the single, "Carly". The album has received critical acclaim by both the Toronto StarToronto Star Article, 08/29/2014 at the Toronto Star and Cashbox Canada.Cashbox Canada article, 08/07/2014 at Cashbox Canada
A new single, "Toxic World" was released in 2019. Written by Foldy, it was co-produced with Miklos Malek. In 2020 he released the single, "This Christmas" co-produced with Gerry Stober and in 2021, another single, "Friend-Zone" was released through Foldy's Bronte Road Music label, also co-produced by Foldy and Miklos Malek.
Film When Free Flight Records abruptly closed its doors in 1981, Foldy turned his attention back to film, quickly selling his first screenplay, Hot Moves,Hot Moves at the Internet Movie Database which became a considerable theatrical and video hit in the mid-1980s. In more recent pop culture, the film has been dubbed as the possible inspirationCanada.com news "Aussies behind American Pie raunch" for the 1999 Hollywood blockbuster American Pie.
More screenplays followed and in the early 1990s, Foldy started directing.
His feature film credits include: 1993: Midnight Witness starring Jan-Michael Vincent and Maxwell Caulfield 1994: TrystTryst at the Internet Movie Database with Barbara Carrera, David Warner and Academy Award winner Louise Fletcher 1996: Widow's KissWidow's Kiss at the Internet Movie Database with former Foldy background singer, Beverly D'Angelo 1998: Seeds of DoubtSeeds of Doubt at the Internet Movie Database with Peter Coyote 2000: Silver ManSilver Man at Rotten Tomatoes starring Eugene Levy and Joe Pantoliano 2019: Love on Repeat starring Jen Lilley 2021: Help Wanted ' with Sarah Fisher, Conner Floyd and Preston Ward.
Current projects Foldy is in development on several feature films as well as two plays, Spin and Liverpool Lads. Spin is a humorous look at the resistance received by Canadian artists when Canadian content regulations were introduced in the early 1970s, while Liverpool Lads is the true story of the first songwriters signed to the Beatles company, Apple, after a random meeting with Paul McCartney in London's High Park. It is based on the book, All You Need Is Luck... Or How I Got a Record Deal by Meeting Paul McCartney, written by Paul Tennant. McCartney has added a glowing quote to the back of the book.
An avid photographer, Foldy has exhibited his black and white photographs.
Discography Albums Year Title Record label 1974 Peter Foldy Kanata 2009 Bondi Junction and Other Hits Pacemaker/EMI 2014 Nine Lives Bronte Road Music 2014 Peter Foldy 4 Christmas Bronte Road Music
Singles Year Title Record label 1973 "Bondi Junction" / "Alice Mary Jane MacPherson" (#17)(#1AC) Kanata/Quality 1973 "I'll Never Know" / "Yes, Operator" (#61)(#55AC) Kanata/Quality 1974 "When I Am So in Love" / "Remember" (#63)(#18AC) Kanata/Quality 1974 "Christmas Eve with You" / "Spanky" (#21AC) Kanata/Quality 1975 "Hollywood" / "Paris Bound" Capitol/EMI 1976 "Roxanne" / "Funny" (#39)(#13AC) Capitol/EMI 1977 "Julie Ann" / "Paris Bound" Capitol/EMI 1979 "Love City" / "Turn It Up" (#10AC) Free Flight/RCA – U.S. 1982 "School of Love" / "Love City" (#25AC) Rio 1982 "My Christmas Wish for You" / [Instrumental] (#29AC) Nightflite 1988 "Desperately" (duet with Mona Lisa Young) / [Instrumental] (#26AC) Filmstreet – U.S. 1988 "Is There Love in Your Heart" / "Desperately" (#25AC) Southside 2003 "All I Want for Christmas Is You" Pacemaker 2009 "Change Your World" (with Róbert Gulya) Pacemaker 2019 "Toxic World" Bronte Road Music 2020 "This Christmas" Bronte Road Music 2021"Friend-Zone" Bronte Road Music
Filmography Year Title Class Position Starring Awards/notes 1985 Hot Moves Feature film Co-writer/associate producer Jill Schoelen RIAA Gold Video Award 1992 Homeboys Feature film Writer/co-producer Todd Bridges 1992 Jamie's Secret Dramatic short subject Writer/director Paul Rudd Best Director/Best Film – ICVM Awards 1993 Cine Golden Eagle Award Winner 1993 1992 Question of Ethics Dramatic short subject Writer/director Paul Rudd Cine Golden Eagle Award Winner 1993 1993 Desperate Measures Dramatic short subject Writer/director Best Youth Film – ICVM AwardsCine Golden Eagle Award Winner 1994 1993 Midnight Witness Feature film Writer/director/producer Maxwell Caulfield and Jan-Michael Vincent 1994 Tryst Feature film Writer/director Barbara Carrera, David Warner and Louise Fletcher Aired on Showtime Network USA 1995 Widow's Kiss Feature film Co-writer/director Starring Beverly D'Angelo HBO World Premier 1995 1996 US Customs Classified Television Segment director Aired on FOX 1996 Seeds of Doubt Feature film Director Peter Coyote 1996 Irresistible Impulse Feature film Director Doug Jeffrey and Kathy Shower 1997 Oomba Makoomba Television Segment director Walt Disney Channel 1998 Conversations in Limbo Dramatic short subject Director Jason Priestley and Costas Mandylor Toronto Short Film Festival Award Winner 1999 1999 More to Love Misc. Music supervisor Maxwell Caulfield Winner New York International Film Festival 2000 2000 Silver Man Feature film Director Eugene Levy, Joey Pantoliano, Daniel Baldwin and Louise Fletcher Winner Best Film, Best Director Planet Indie 2000 (Toronto)Winner Jury Prize, Best Feature – Tambay Film Festival (Florida) 2003 My First Time Television Co-creator/co-producer Reality series 2003 Incredible Mrs. Ritchie Feature film Associate producer Gena Rowlands and James Caan Multiple Emmy Award Winner 2006 Out of Omaha Misc. Music supervisor Dave Foley and Lea Thompson 2007 Head, Heart & Balls Dramatic short subject Writer/director/music Adam Carolla 2010 The Wheeler Boys Feature film Co-producer Bill Campbell, Portia Doubleday and Alex Frost 2014 The Christmas Switch Feature film Music supervisor Natasha Henstridge and Brian Krause 2015 Fair Haven Feature film Music supervisor Tom Wopat, Michael Grant and Gregory Harrison2019Love on RepeatFeature filmDirectorJen Lilly, Jonathan Bennett, Andrew Lawrence2019A Thousand Little CutsFeature filmProducerMarina Sirtis, Andrew Creer, Rebecca Liddiard2021Black Bags Feature filmProducerLaura Vandervoort, Olesya Rulin2021Help Wanted Feature filmDirectorSarah Fisher, Conner Floyd, Preston Ward2021Looking For Dr. Love Feature filmDirectorAnna Marie Dobbins, Julian Shaw2021House of Lies Feature filmProducerKaterina Eichenberger, Rib Hillis, Colt Prattes
References
External links Official website