Early life

Born Thomas Lee Wallace in Somerset, Kentucky, to Robert G. Wallace, and his wife Kathleen Wallace, he has one sister, Linda. He grew up in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and attended high school at Western Kentucky University teachers training school (College High).

Education

• BFA in Design from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
• MFA program (five semesters) in film production at University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Career

Wallace entered the film business from USC film school, starting as an art director and editor for commercials and industrial films. In 1976, he worked as sound effects editor and art director on Assault on Precinct 13, directed by longtime friend John Carpenter, with whom he had previously worked on 1974's Dark Star, a low-budget science-fiction comedy that started life as a student film and took years to make. In 1978, he served as production designer and editor of Halloween, also directed by Carpenter. (He gave co-editing credit to his assistant editor, Charles Bornstein.) In 1980, he served in the same capacity for Carpenter's next theatrical release, The Fog. In addition to his duties as co-editor and production designer, Wallace also appeared in Halloween intermittently as The Shape (the masked Michael Myers), and later in The Fog as several different ghosts; his voice was featured in both films as TV/radio announcers.

Directorial debut

For Halloween II, John Carpenter, serving as producer, offered the directorial responsibilities to Wallace. After careful deliberation, Wallace declined, citing disappointment with the script. Wallace did, however, write and direct the third film, Halloween III: Season of the Witch; his voice was also featured as the announcer and the munchkin singers on the Silver Shamrock commercial.

Work over the years

Wallace has continued to write and direct. In 1986, he performed the title song of Carpenter's film Big Trouble in Little China as part of the band Coup de Villes, alongside Carpenter himself and another friend, Nick Castle. In 1988, he co-wrote and directed the sequel Fright Night II starring Roddy McDowell. In 1990, he served as writer and director of the made-for-television miniseries It based on the novel by Stephen King. In 2002, he directed Vampires: Los Muertos, a sequel to the 1998 film Vampires directed by John Carpenter.

Publicity

Interview

• Gorezone Magazine (USA) 1988, Iss. 3, pg. 44-47, by: Marc Shapiro, "Tommy Lee Wallace Leaves the Carpenter Nest"

Personal life

Wallace is also credited as 'Tommy L. Wallace', 'Tommy Wallace', and 'Tom Wallace'. He is divorced from actress Nancy Kyes, who appeared as Annie in Halloween and Halloween II and as Mrs. Challis in Halloween III. Together, they have two children.

Filmography

• Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
• The Twilight Zone (1985-1986)
  • Wordplay/Dreams for Sale/Chameleon (TV episode) (segment "Dreams for Sale")
  • Little Boy Lost/Wish Bank/Nightcrawlers (TV episode) (segment "Little Boy Lost")
  • The Leprechaun-Artist/Dead Run (TV episode) (segment "The Leprechaun-Artist")
• Max Headroom (1987)
  • Security Systems (TV episode)
  • The Blanks (TV episode)
• Tour of Duty (1987)
• Aloha Summer (1988)
• Fright Night Part 2 (1988)
• CBS Summer Playhouse (1989)
  • Outpost (TV episode)
• Baywatch (1989)
  • Cruise Ship (TV episode)
• It (1990 miniseries)
• And the Sea Will Tell (1991)
• The Comrades of Summer (1992)
• Danger Island (1992)
• Witness to the Execution (1994)
• Green Dolphin Beat (1994)
• Flipper (1995 TV series)
• Once You Meet a Stranger (1996)
• Steel Chariots (1997)
• The Spree (1998)
• Final Justice (1998)
• Vampires: Los Muertos (2002)

Awards

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1981	Nominated	Saturn Award	Best Special Effects for The Fog Richard Albain James F. Liles
1991	Won	ACE Award	Writing a Movie or Miniseries for El Diablo John Carpenter Bill Phillips
1989	Nominated	International Fantasy Film Award	Best Film for Fright Night Part 2

Acting

• Vampires: Los Muertos (2002)
• The Boy Who Could Fly (1986)
• Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
• The Fog (1980)

Further reading

• "The Devil (and Dino) Made Him Do It!" by Lee Gambin, Fangoria magazine No. 317, October 2012, pages 58-59. 97. Interview of screenwriter Tommy Lee Wallace regarding his scripting of Amityville II: The Possession. Three-page article has five photos, one of Wallace.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]