Biography
Schultz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Katherine Frances (née Leslie), a factory worker, and German American Leo Schultz, an insurance salesman. After his undergraduate work at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Marquette University, he attended Princeton University, where in 1966 he directed his first play, a production of Waiting for Godot. He joined the Negro Ensemble Company in 1968, which brought him to Broadway in 1969. His breakthrough was directing Lorraine Hansberry's To Be Young, Gifted and Black, which he restaged for television in 1972. Schultz' earliest film projects combined low comedy with profound social comment (Honeybaby, Honeybaby and Cooley High), reaching a peak with the ensemble comedy Car Wash (1976) and Which Way Is Up? (1977), starring Richard Pryor. In 1978, Schultz took the reins of the musical Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with the largest budget ever entrusted to an African-American film director to that date. However, upon its release, the project was a commercial and critical failure. Schultz would go on to make prominent films such as Scavenger Hunt (1979), Carbon Copy (1981), and Disorderlies (1987). More recently, Schultz has worked in television, piloting episodes of such style-conscious series as The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and Picket Fences, as well as an abundance of made-for-TV movies. In 1991, Schultz was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
Directed 92
2020s
- 2023
- 2022
- 2021
2010s
- 2018
- 2016
No Tomorrow
Director
- 2015
- 2014
- 2013
- 2012
- 2011
2000s
- 2009
- 2008
- 2007
- 2006
- 2004
Woman Thou Art Loosed
Director
- 2003
- 2002
L.A. Law: The Movie
Director
- 2001
The Education of Max Bickford
Director
- 2000
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Winds of Change
Director
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: My First Adventure
Director
City of Angels
Director
1990s
- 1999
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Tales of Innocence
Director
Wasteland
Director
My Last Love
Director
- 1998
Killers in the House
Director
- 1997
- 1996
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Travels with Father
Director
- 1995
- 1994
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Hollywood Follies
Director
- 1993
- 1992
Day-O
Director
- 1991
Livin' Large!
Director
Sisters
Director
- 1990
Hammer, Slammer, & Slade
Director
1980s
- 1989
- 1988
Rock 'N Roll Mom
Director
- 1987
The Spirit
Director
- 1986
- 1985
Krush Groove
Director
- 1984
The Jerk, Too
Director
- 1983
For Us, the Living: The Story of Medgar Evers
Director
- 1982
Earth, Wind & Fire in Concert
Director
Benny's Place
Director
- 1981
1970s
- 1979
- 1978
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Director
- 1977
Which Way Is Up?
Director
Greased Lightning
Director
- 1976
Car Wash
Director
- 1975
Ceremonies in Dark Old Men
Director
- 1974
Bee Gees: Live in Melbourne 1974
Director
Honeybaby, Honeybaby
Director
Movin' On
Director
- 1972
Together for Days
Director
To Be Young, Gifted and Black
Director
Produced 3
1990s
- 1996
1980s
- 1987
- 1985
Krush Groove
Producer
Wrote 1
2010s
- 2016
No Tomorrow
Writer
Appearances6
2020s
- 2025
SEGAL
Self
2010s
- 2019
- 2015
Return of the Dragon
Self
- 2013
Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic
Self
2000s
- 2009
Directors on Directing
Self
1970s
- 1975
