Spike Lee

Spike Lee is an acclaimed and controversial director, producer, writer, and actor known for such socially and politically charged films as Malcolm X, 4 Little Girls and Bamboozled. On February 20, 2009, Lee called for a boycott of the New York Daily News after they ran a cartoon which appeared to compare President Barack Obama to a chimpanzee.NY Daily News: Spike Lee wants boycott of New York Post February 20, 2009)

Raised in Brooklyn, New York, Spike Lee attended Moorehouse University as an undergraduate to study film. He later got his Master's at New York University, and finished his thesis film, Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads. He started out directing commercials, getting hired by Nike to feature ads with Michael Jordan. Later becoming a politically aware filmmaker, Lee directed controversial movies about race and ethnic identity. He received major critical acclaim for his 1989 film, Do the Right Thing. He later went on to direct such films as: Malcolm X, Jesus Children of America and Lovers & Haters.

• Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.

• March 20, 1957: Born

• 1977: Last Hustle in Brooklyn

• 1988: School Daze

• 1989: Do The Right Thing

• 1990: Mo' Better Blues

• 1992: Malcolm X

• 1997: 4 Little Girls

• 1998: He Got Game

• 1999: Summer of Sam

• 2000: The Original Kings of Comedy

• 2000: Bamboozled

• 2002: 25th Hour

• 2006: Inside Man

• 2006: When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts