Boy on a String: From Cast-Off Kid to Filmmaker through the Magic of Dreams

JOSEPH JACOBY, Director-Screenwriter-Producer-Novelist, and NYU Film School classmate of Martin Scorsese, began his career as a writer-creator of game shows and as a professional puppeteer. Jacoby, who went on to become a pioneering filmmaker, has until now never revealed that most of his early years were spent as a ward of the state. He survived a childhood shadowed by his mother's unpredictable and dangerous behavior, which forced friends to commit her. Jacoby then grew up in seven foster homes in Brooklyn, and two institutions.Yet, propelled by the power of his dreams, Jacoby went on to realize his passion for the moving image and made his first theatrcial motion picture at the age of twenty-seven.

This is the moving story of what a person can achieve, without regard to so-called reason, facts, or the odds. It will be cherished by everyone concerned about neglected children, and by readers searching for an inspirational true story.

JOSEPH JACOBY, screenwriter/author, director-producer, began his career as a creator of game shows and as a puppeteer. He has written-directed and produced 5 motion pictures to date. His first theatrical feature, "Shame, Shame...Everybody Knows Her Name," was made a permanent part of The Museum of Modern Art's film collection. In March 2006, MoMA mounted a weeklong retrospective of his film work, coinciding with the publication of the first printing of this book (a memoir), with an Introduction by MARTIN SCORSESE. Jacoby was the recipient of the "Best New Director" award at the Virgin Islands Film Festival for "The Great Bank Hoax," (Warner Bros.) and honored for the picture at The Festival De Deauville Du Cinema Americain. His original family Musical, "Davy Jones' Locker," starring the famed Bil Baird Marionettes, was the recipient of the Gold Award at Worldfest Houston and awarded the UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence in the Art of Puppetry by The American Center of the Union Internationale de la Marionette, founded by Jim Henson. His critically acclaimed Documentary, "A Case of MisTaken Identity?" was seen nationally on the PBS stations in 2008-09. In December 2009, The New York Times reprinted its film critic's reviews, citing 3 of the best independent pictures of the 70s, including Jacoby's second feature, "Hurry Up, Or I'll Be 30," featuring Danny DeVito in his first theatrical film performance. Jacoby lives in New York City.