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IMDbPro

Joseph Zito(I)

  • Producer
  • Director
  • Writer
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Joseph Zito
Joseph Zito is a well known action film director. Three of his movies--Missing in Action (1984), Invasion U.S.A. (1985) and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)--each reached the #1 box office position of top grossing film in the country in their opening weeks of U.S. theatrical release. "Missing in Action" is Chuck Norris' most successful movie and, along with "Invasion U.S.A.", set new box-office records for the action star. "Missing in Action" not only spawned a series of sequels but also turned martial arts veteran -+Norris into a legitimate movie star and household name.

Zito attended the City University of New York where, as an undergraduate, he majored in economics and went on to earn a Masters Degree in psychology. He has worked in the motion picture industry as a director, producer and writer. He even dabbled in exhibition, fulfilling a childhood fantasy: he owned a grand old movie palace, the Sanders Theatre in New York.

He also had a post-production editorial service and became well known as a film "doctor," performing emergency surgery on ailing films to turn them into healthy box office prospects. As a director, Zito started by making documentaries and then soon segued into directing feature films: Abduction (1975) and The Prowler (1981).

Zito often makes movies in exotic lands, having directed "Missing in Action" in Southeast Asia, Red Scorpion (1988) (starring Dolph Lundgren) in Africa, Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol (2000) in the Middle East and Power Play (2003) in South America. "Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol", made on a grand scale, is a hard-hitting action adventure about a team of international peacekeepers on a perilous search for a missing convoy of soldiers. "Power Play", starring Dylan Walsh and Alison Eastwood, is the story of a newspaper reporter who, while investigating the mysterious disappearance of three radical environmentalists, uncovers unorthodox scientific testing that is causing devastating earthquakes throughout Los Angeles.

Zito is a frequent lecturer at universities and colleges around the country including USC, University of Ohio at Bowling Green and UCLA. He is working in the Middle East as producer of a large-scale hospital drama television series.
BornMay 14, 1946
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BornMay 14, 1946
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Known for

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
6.0
  • Director
  • 1984
The Prowler (1981)
The Prowler
5.9
  • Producer
  • 1981
Missing in Action (1984)
Missing in Action
5.4
  • Director
  • 1984
Bloodrage (1980)
Bloodrage
4.7
  • Producer
  • 1980

Credits

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IMDbPro

Producer

  • Medinah (2016)
    Medinah
  • Media Wars
  • Critical Moments (2007)
    Critical Moments
  • Gary Daniels, Bentley Mitchum, and Mike Norris in Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol (2000)
    Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol
  • Alice Cooper and C.J. Graham in Alice Cooper: He's Back (the Man Behind the Mask) (1986)
    Alice Cooper: He's Back (the Man Behind the Mask)
  • The Prowler (1981)
    The Prowler
  • Bloodrage (1980)
    Bloodrage

Director

  • Alison Eastwood and Dylan Walsh in Power Play (2003)
    Power Play
  • Gary Daniels, Bentley Mitchum, and Mike Norris in Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol (2000)
    Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol
  • Dolph Lundgren in Red Scorpion (1988)
    Red Scorpion
  • Chuck Norris in Invasion U.S.A. (1985)
    Invasion U.S.A.
  • Missing in Action (1984)
    Missing in Action
  • Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
    Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
  • The Prowler (1981)
    The Prowler
  • Bloodrage (1980)
    Bloodrage
    • (as Joseph Bigwood)
  • Abduction (1975)
    Abduction
  • Citizen Blue

Writer

  • Dolph Lundgren in Red Scorpion (1988)
    Red Scorpion
    • (uncredited)

Personal details

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    • May 14, 1946
    • New York City, New York, USA
    • Bobbi Leigh Zito? - present

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    He has worked with his wife, Bobbi Leigh Zito, on the films Bloodrage (1980) and The Prowler (1981).
  • Quotes
    [Talking about The Prowler (1981)] It was extremely exciting, an absolutely wonderful time because what it did was it accessed audiences in movie theaters all over the world for very low-budget films that could be made by people without a great deal of experience. And that's a very very tough thing to accomplish today.

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