Robert Mugge

Quick Facts

Full Name	Robert Mugge
Occupation	Film Director
Date Of Birth	May 8, 1950(1950-05-08)
Age	74
Birthplace	Chicago
Country	United States
Birth City	Illinois
Horoscope	Taurus

Robert Mugge Biography

Robert Mugge is one of the most popular and richest Film Director who was born on May 8, 1950 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Robert Mugge, born May 8, 1950 in Chicago (Illinois), USA, is an American documentary filmmaker. Although he has primarily made films about musicians and music, some of his early films were not music-focused. He is continuing to diversify his work as his interests change.

For approximately four decades, Mugge has worked as an independent producer- director-writer-editor, obtaining financing for his film and television projects from a wide variety of national and international funders. He was based in Philadelphia, PA from 1976 to 2003. There he produced many feature- length documentaries. Most of them were music-related. He was the Filmmaker in Residence for Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s Foundation for Public Broadcasting, Jackson, MS. In 2005, he moved to Media, PA to continue independent filmmaking. He was appointed the Edmund F. & Virginia B. for five years from 2009 to 2014. He was the Ball Endowed Chair for Telecommunications at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. There he taught courses in the art and craft of nonfiction filmmaking and directed students to assist him in his latest productions. Mugge, who was appointed in July 2014, has also produced other films with Diana Zelman (his production partner since 2005, and his wife since 2012).

In 2003, while working for Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Mugge directed thirteen 60-second mini-movies about Mississippi blues titled Blues Breaks. That same year at MPB, he directed A Night At Club Ebony (completed in 2006 but never released due to rights issues), an 86-minute history of a legendary Delta concert venue, and an accompanying 48-minute concert film titled The Road Home: B.B. King In Indianola (also still unreleased). In 2004/2005, while working for MPB’s Foundation for Public Broadcasting in Mississippi, he directed Blues Divas, a 2-hour film and 8-hour TV series starring Morgan Freeman, Odetta, Mavis Staples, and many others. Those same years, while working for MPB’s Foundation, he also directed Memphis Blues Again: The 25th Anniversary W.C. Handy Blues Awards, an 87-minute concert film never released due to rights issues. In 2005/2006, with funding from Starz Entertainment Group, he directed (and produced with his new partner Diana Zelman) New Orleans Music In Exile, a 2-hour film about the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans music community. In 2007, he was commissioned to direct Deep Sea Blues, a 2-hour record of the January 2007 Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise to the Caribbean. In 2010, he directed Big Shoes: Walking And Talking The Blues, A 90-minute Portrait Of Musician And Music Critic Ted Drozdowski And His Band Scissormen. In 2010/2011, He Directed All Jams On Deck, a 96-minute look at blues jamming shot on the October 2010 Blues Cruise to Mexico. Between 2011 and 2013, he directed Souvenirs Of Bucovina: A Romanian Survival Guide, a 2-hour film about a unique region now comprising Northern Romania and Southern Ukraine. Between 2012 and 2014, he directed Giving Up The Ghosts: Closing Time At Doc’s Music Hall, an 80-minute film about Muncie, in doctor and musician John Peterson and a music and arts venue he founded. Between 2012 and 2015, with partial funding from the Ball Brothers Foundation, he directed Steve Bell Storyteller: The Stories Behind The Stories, a 2-hour film and accompanying 4 1/2-hour oral history on the career of veteran ABC News correspondent and anchor Steve Bell. In 2014/2015, commissioned by Philadelphia’s WXPN and with funding from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, he directed Zydeco Crossroads: A Tale Of Two Cities, an 87-minute look at the Creole music scene of Southwest Louisiana and a sequel to his earlier The Kingdom Of Zydeco. As part of the Zydeco Crossroads project, he also directed Rosie’s In The House Tonight, a 55-minute concert film starring Rosie Ledet.

Mugge edits all of his own films and writes and produces most of them as well. Since 2005, he has produced all films in collaboration with Diana Zelman.

Robert Mugge’s documentary was Frostburg. It was a 50-minute portrait about a western Maryland Appalachian mining community. Frostburg was made with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. He directed George Crumb, Voice Of The Whale in 1976 with grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. It was a 54-minute portrait by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Crumb. He directed and produced, along with Heidi Trombert, Amateur Night At City Hall:The Story Of Frank L. Rizzo in 1977. This 75-minute portrait of the controversial Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo was funded by a limited partnership. He directed Sun Ra: The Joyful Noise from 1978 to 1980, a 60-minute portrait about Sun Ra, the visionary jazz musician. This was largely thanks to friends. In 1982, with funding from Britain’s Channel 4 Television, he directed Black Wax, a 79-minute portrait of poet-singer-songwriter Gil Scott-Heron. He was asked to direct Cool Runnings, The Reggae Movie in 1983 at the 1983 Sunsplash Festival, Montego Bay, Jamaica. He directed Gospel According To Al Green in 1983/1984 with funding from Britain’s Channel 4 Television. It was a 94-minute portrait about Al Green, the gospel singer and preacher. In 1985, with funding once again from Britain’s Channel 4, he directed The Return Of Ruben Blades, an 82-minute portrait of actor-lawyer- singer-songwriter Ruben Blades. With funding from Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun and Fantasy Records, he directed Saxophone Colossus in 1986. It was a 101-minute portrait about jazz great Sonny Rollins. He directed Hawaiian Rainbow in 1987 with funding from the State of Hawaii and Sony Video Software. It was an 85-minute film about the history of Hawaiian music. He directed Entertaining The Troops in 1987/1988 with funding from PBS. It featured a reunion between Bob Hope and surviving members his WWII troupe. He directed Kumu Hula, Keepers Of A Culture (1985/1989) with funding from Hawaii and collaboration with Vicky Holt Takamini (kumu hula master teacher), an 85-minute documentary about the history of Hawaiian dancing.

Robert Mugge Net Worth

Robert Mugge is one of the richest Film Director from United States. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Robert Mugge 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Robert Mugge was born at Chicago, Illinois, where his father Robert H. Mugge was completing his doctorate in Sociology at the University of Chicago. The family then moved to Atlanta, Washington DC, Raleigh, NC and Washington DC over the next two-years, where Mugge’s father, Robert H. Mugge, was finishing his dissertation on Black Migration within the South. He also began a career as a state and federal official. Mugge, his father, Elizabeth Mugge (nee Messersmith), his three younger siblings and their mother moved to Silver Spring, Maryland in 1959. This was where the family eventually made their permanent home.

Mugge was a student at John F. Kennedy High school in Silver Spring in the progressive period of 1960s. He was encouraged to compose poetry, play in rock bands, write a musical comedy and publish an underground newspaper. He wrote short plays, took photographs, and put on large-scale multimedia events. After two years at Frostburg State University, he transferred to the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), to study filmmaking. He created his own academic major, Film and Associated Art Media. He was also awarded one of the first Youthgrants in the Humanities by the National Endowment for the Humanities. This grant allowed him to direct a long-form documentary titled “Frostburg”, which focused on the Appalachian town where he used to live. After completing his degree, he worked as a graduate assistant in Temple University’s Documentary Filmmaking Program. He left to pursue his dream of becoming a filmmaker. He was influenced most by Slavko Vorkapich’s course in film theory at the AFI Theatre at Kennedy Center. His work was also influenced by Ken Russell’s passion for portraits of artists and dancers and composers for BBC, Max and Dave Fleischer’s surreal animation, Busby Berkeley’s kaleidoscopic choreography, and the intimate documentaries from D.A. Pennebaker, Les Blank, the extensive historical documentaries of Marcel Ophuls, Louis Malle, Nicholas Ray, Yasujiro Oz, Nicolas Roeg and Ernst Lubitsch are just a few of the many influences on his work.

In 1990/1991, with funding from Dave Stewart of Eurythmics and Britain’s Channel 4, Mugge directed (for producers Eileen Gregory and John Stewart) Deep Blues, a 91-minute exploration of Mississippi blues made in collaboration with music writer Robert Palmer. In 1992, with funding from BMG Video and others, he directed Pride And Joy: The Story Of Alligator Records, a portrait of Bruce Iglauer’s contemporary blues label. In 1993/1994, with funding again from BMG Video and others, he directed three films simultaneously: the 101-minute Gather At The River: A Bluegrass Celebration; the 71-minute The Kingdom Of Zydeco; and the 86-minute True Believers: The Musical Family Of Rounder Records. In 1996, with funding from Margaritaville Records, he directed Iguanas In The House, a 27-minute film about New Orleans band The Iguanas. In 1998/1999, with funding from WinStar Entertainment and the support of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, he directed Hellhounds On My Trail: The Afterlife Of Robert Johnson, a look at the lasting influence of blues legend Robert Johnson. In 1999/2000, with funding from the State of Louisiana, he directed the 2-hour Rhythm ’n’ Bayous: A Road Map To Louisiana Music. In 2002, with funding from Starz Entertainment Group, he directed Last Of The Mississippi Jukes starring Morgan Freeman and others.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

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Who is Robert Mugge Dating?

According to our records, Robert Mugge married to Diana Zelman. As of December 1, 2023, Robert Mugge’s is not dating anyone.

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Facts & Trivia

Robert Ranked on the list of most popular Film Director. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in United States. Robert Mugge celebrates birthday on May 8 of every year.