Purple People Eater (film)

Purple People Eater
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Linda Shayne
Written by	Linda Shayne
Produced by	Brad Krevoy Steven Stabler
Starring	Neil Patrick Harris Ned Beatty Shelley Winters Thora Birch Dustin Diamond Peggy Lipton
Cinematography	Peter Deming
Edited by	Cari Coughlin
Music by	Dennis Dreith
Distributed by	Motion Picture Corporation of America
Release date	December 16, 1988 (1988-12-16)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Purple People Eater is a 1988 American science-fiction comedy film based on Sheb Wooley's 1958 novelty song of the same name, written and directed by Linda Shayne, and stars Neil Patrick Harris, Ned Beatty, Shelley Winters, Dustin Diamond, Peggy Lipton, and Thora Birch in her film debut. Chubby Checker and Little Richard made musical guest appearances. The film was released on December 16, 1988.

Plot

When young Billy Johnson (Neil Patrick Harris) plays the novelty song, a one-eyed, one-horned flying purple alien from outer space appears. The creature helps Billy prevent an elderly couple (Ned Beatty and Shelley Winters) from being evicted by their greedy landlord, all while playing in a rock n' roll band.

Cast

• Neil Patrick Harris as William "Billy" Johnson
• Ned Beatty as Grandpa
• Shelley Winters as Rita
• Thora Birch as Molly Johnson
• Dustin Diamond as Big Z
• Peggy Lipton as Mom
• James Houghton as Dad
• Molly Cheek as Mrs. Orfus
• Kimberly McCullogh as Donna Orfus
• Lindsay Price as Kory Kamimoto
• Little Richard as Mayor
• Chubby Checker as Himself
• Sheb Wooley as Harry Skinner
• Linda Shayne as Nurse

See also

• "The Purple People Eater"

External links

• Purple People Eater at IMDb
• Purple People Eater at Rotten Tomatoes
• MSN Movies