King Gimp
Encyclopedia
King Gimp is a 1999
documentary that was awarded the 2000 Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary
and 2000 Peabody Award
. "King Gimp" followed the life of artist Dan Keplinger
of Towson, Maryland
, who has cerebral palsy
. Filmmakers Susan Hannah Hadary and William A. Whiteford, of the University of Maryland
Video Press and Tapestry International Productions produced the film.
means Keplinger has little control over the muscles of his arms, legs or mouth. He uses a paintbrush attached to his head to paint. He could neither speak nor dress himself when the filmmakers met him. "They recorded Keplinger's move from a state school for disabled children into Parkville High School. They filmed him moving from his mother's home into his first apartment. His first art show, his friendship with a young woman hired to help him with homework, his senior prom and his tears at his college graduation -- all were captured on film," according to The Baltimore Sun. "King Gimp was the name neighbors gave him as a child because his house was on the top of a hill and he liked to roll down it in his wheelchair. A fighting spirit, he calls himself."
, Keplinger helped write the script that would be used in the documentary, but the filmmakers ran out of money to complete the project. After viewing a 7-minute promo cut by Whiteford and Hadary at their Baltimore offices, HBO purchased the rights to the documentary for distribution on its premium channel, giving the filmmakers enough money for insert shots and to finish cutting the film.
The film was edited from 80 hours of raw footage and an 80-page memoir written by Keplinger. Initial rough cuts were done on videotape at the filmmakers' offices in Baltimore, MD by Whiteford and contributing editor Loye Miller. After viewing them, HBO decided to bring postproduction to New York city, where Geof Bartz finished editing. HBO then transferred the 39-minute documentary to 16mm film and entered it into the Frame-by-Frame film festival in New York City, where it fulfilled it's "Academy requirements" to be eligible for an Oscar nomination. The film was nominated and won. Keplinger caused a sensation at the Oscar ceremony when he jumped out of his wheelchair with excitement over the Hadary-Whiteford win. "It was cool to people who knew me," the artist said in The Washington Post. "Other people thought I was having a seizure. But I was just doing my victory dance." Its broadcast premiere was on June 5, 2000. The HBO Web site for the film is available at: http://www.hbo.com/kinggimp/king/.
1999 in film
The year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
documentary that was awarded the 2000 Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary
Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject
This is a list of films by year that have received an Oscar together with the other nominations for best documentary short subject. Following the Academy's practice, the year listed for each film is the year of release: the awards are announced and presented early in the following year.-1940s:*1941...
and 2000 Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
. "King Gimp" followed the life of artist Dan Keplinger
Dan Keplinger
Artist Dan Keplinger was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary short, King Gimp. Born January 19, 1973 with cerebral palsy, he lives in Towson, Maryland, where he continues to paint.-Education:...
of Towson, Maryland
Towson, Maryland
Towson is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 at the 2010 census...
, who has cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
. Filmmakers Susan Hannah Hadary and William A. Whiteford, of the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
Video Press and Tapestry International Productions produced the film.
The journey begins
Keplinger was 13 when the filmmakers met him as part of their federally funded documentary projects on mainstreaming children with disabilities. The cerebral palsyCerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
means Keplinger has little control over the muscles of his arms, legs or mouth. He uses a paintbrush attached to his head to paint. He could neither speak nor dress himself when the filmmakers met him. "They recorded Keplinger's move from a state school for disabled children into Parkville High School. They filmed him moving from his mother's home into his first apartment. His first art show, his friendship with a young woman hired to help him with homework, his senior prom and his tears at his college graduation -- all were captured on film," according to The Baltimore Sun. "King Gimp was the name neighbors gave him as a child because his house was on the top of a hill and he liked to roll down it in his wheelchair. A fighting spirit, he calls himself."
HBO enters
As a mass communication major at Towson UniversityTowson University
Towson University, often referred to as TU or simply Towson for short, is a public university located in Towson in Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S...
, Keplinger helped write the script that would be used in the documentary, but the filmmakers ran out of money to complete the project. After viewing a 7-minute promo cut by Whiteford and Hadary at their Baltimore offices, HBO purchased the rights to the documentary for distribution on its premium channel, giving the filmmakers enough money for insert shots and to finish cutting the film.
The film was edited from 80 hours of raw footage and an 80-page memoir written by Keplinger. Initial rough cuts were done on videotape at the filmmakers' offices in Baltimore, MD by Whiteford and contributing editor Loye Miller. After viewing them, HBO decided to bring postproduction to New York city, where Geof Bartz finished editing. HBO then transferred the 39-minute documentary to 16mm film and entered it into the Frame-by-Frame film festival in New York City, where it fulfilled it's "Academy requirements" to be eligible for an Oscar nomination. The film was nominated and won. Keplinger caused a sensation at the Oscar ceremony when he jumped out of his wheelchair with excitement over the Hadary-Whiteford win. "It was cool to people who knew me," the artist said in The Washington Post. "Other people thought I was having a seizure. But I was just doing my victory dance." Its broadcast premiere was on June 5, 2000. The HBO Web site for the film is available at: http://www.hbo.com/kinggimp/king/.