Joseph James Dante, Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably Gremlins (1984) - often mixing 1950’s style b-movies with cartoon comedy.

Dante's films also include Piranha (1978), The Howling (1981), Explorers (1985), Innerspace (1987), The 'Burbs (1989), Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), Matinee (1993), Small Soldiers (1998), and Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003). His work for television and cable includes immigration satire The Second Civil War (1997) and episodes of anthology series Masters of Horror ("Homecoming" and "The Screwfly Solution") and Amazing Stories, as well as Hawaii Five-0.

Early life and career

Dante was born in Morristown, New Jersey, and grew up in nearby Livingston. His father, Josep…Read more on Wikipedia