The Hollywood Reporter has announced the passing of Barry Blaustein, a comedy writer and filmmaker best known in wrestling circles as the director of the acclaimed documentary "Beyond the Mat". He was 72 years old at the time of his death, which followed a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Last month, Blaustein learned that he was in the fourth stage of the disease. He had also been living with Parkinson’s Disease since his diagnosis in mid-2016. Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, where Blaustein served as a longtime professor, shared the news of his unfortunate passing.
Blaustein wrote, directed, and produced the wrestling-themed documentary "Beyond the Mat", released in 1999. He regarded it as “the favorite thing he had ever done,” and it was nominated as one of the 12 finalists for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature that year.
In addition to "Beyond the Mat", Blaustein directed the 2005 comedy "The Ringer", which starred Johnny Knoxville, Brian Cox, and Katherine Heigl, as well as the dysfunctional family dramedy "Peep World" in 2010, featuring Michael C. Hall, Sarah Silverman, Rainn Wilson, and Ben Schwartz.
Growing up on Long Island, New York, Blaustein began his career as a writer for "Saturday Night Live" just before its sixth season, when Eddie Murphy was a new addition to the cast. Along with writing partner David Sheffield, he became head writer and later supervising producer before leaving the show in 1983.
Blaustein and Sheffield became longtime collaborators with Murphy, creating some of his most memorable works, including the 1988 hit movie "Coming to America". They also co-wrote the 1996 remake of "The Nutty Professor" and its sequel, "The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps", released in 2000. Blaustein and Sheffield reunited with Murphy for the sequel "Coming 2 America", which was released in 2021.
During his time at SNL, they created iconic skits for Murphy, including parodies of Gumby, Buckwheat from "Little Rascals", and segments from "Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood". Other memorable SNL skits included Murphy portraying James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Jesse Jackson, and the pitchman Velvet Jones.
Blaustein reportedly spent two years securing funding and approval for "Beyond the Mat", followed by another year traveling across the country documenting WWE wrestlers, including WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley, the late Terry Funk, and Hall of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Vince McMahon, chairman of WWE, was notably unhappy with the documentary, even threatening to prevent its release at one point.
Barry Blaustein is survived by his wife Debra, whom he married in 2021; his children, Corey and Kasey; and his granddaughter, Daisy.
On behalf of Rajah.com, we extend our condolences to the friends and family of Barry Blaustein.
