| Birth Name: | Peter Foldy |
| Birth Place: | Budapest, Hungary |
| Years Active: | 1973–present |
| Label: | Kanata (1973–75) Capitol-EMI (1975–77) Free Flight Records (1977–81) Pacemaker (2003–present) |
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.
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.
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[1] 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.[2] 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.
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).
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.
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 Star[3] and Cashbox Canada.[4]
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.
When Free Flight Records abruptly closed its doors in 1981, Foldy turned his attention back to film, quickly selling his first screenplay, Hot Moves,[5] 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 inspiration[6] for the 1999 Hollywood blockbuster American Pie.
More screenplays followed and in the early 1990s, Foldy started directing.
His feature film credits include:
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.
| 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 |
| Year | Title | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | "Bondi Junction" / "Alice Mary Jane MacPherson" (#17[13])(#1AC) | Kanata/Quality |
| 1973 | "I'll Never Know" / "Yes, Operator" (#61[14])(#55AC[15]) | Kanata/Quality |
| 1974 | "When I Am So in Love" / "Remember" (#63[16])(#18AC[17]) | Kanata/Quality |
| 1974 | "Christmas Eve with You" / "Spanky" (#21AC[18]) | Kanata/Quality |
| 1975 | "Hollywood" / "Paris Bound" | Capitol/EMI |
| 1976 | "Roxanne" / "Funny" (#39[19])(#13AC[20]) | Capitol/EMI |
| 1977 | "Julie Ann" / "Paris Bound" | Capitol/EMI |
| 1979 | "Love City" / "Turn It Up" (#10AC[21]) | Free Flight/RCA – U.S. |
| 1982 | "School of Love" / "Love City" (#25AC[22]) | Rio |
| 1982 | "My Christmas Wish for You" / [Instrumental] (#29AC[23]) | Nightflite |
| 1988 | "Desperately" (duet with Mona Lisa Young) / [Instrumental] (#26AC[24]) | Filmstreet – U.S. |
| 1988 | "Is There Love in Your Heart" / "Desperately" (#25AC[25]) | 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 |
| 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 Awards Cine 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 Harrison | |
| 2019 | Love on Repeat | Feature film | Director | Jen Lilly, Jonathan Bennett, Andrew Lawrence | |
| 2019 | A Thousand Little Cuts | Feature film | Producer | Marina Sirtis, Andrew Creer, Rebecca Liddiard | |
| 2021 | Black Bags | Feature film | Producer | Laura Vandervoort, Olesya Rulin | |
| 2021 | Help Wanted | Feature film | Director | Sarah Fisher, Conner Floyd, Preston Ward | |
| 2021 | Looking For Dr. Love | Feature film | Director | Anna Marie Dobbins, Julian Shaw | |
| 2021 | House of Lies | Feature film | Producer | Katerina Eichenberger, Rib Hillis, Colt Prattes |