---
name: "Sean S. Cunningham"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/sean-s-cunningham"
fi1m_id: "sean-s-cunningham"
imdb_id: "nm0192446"
tmdb_id: 35475
wikidata_id: "Q709325"
roles: ["Producer","Director"]
born: "31 December 1941"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "producer"
average_over: 0
updated: "2026-10-09T04:05:33.298094+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Sean S. Cunningham

## Identity

Sean S. Cunningham

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/sean-s-cunningham
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** sean-s-cunningham
- **IMDb ID:** nm0192446
- **TMDB ID:** 35475
- **Wikidata ID:** Q709325
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_S._Cunningham, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q709325, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0192446/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/35475

Producer and director. Born 31 December 1941 in New York City, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Producer, Director
- **Born:** 31 December 1941, New York City, New York, USA
- **Also known as:** Sean Cunningham, Sean Sexton Cunningham
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_S._Cunningham, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q709325, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0192446/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/35475

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*Friday the 13th*](https://film.one/film/friday-the-13th.md) (48)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Sean S. Cunningham (born Sean Sexton Cunningham) is an American film director, producer and writer. He was born on 31 December 1941 in New York City and raised in Connecticut. He graduated from Franklin and Marshall College and earned an MFA from Stanford University. Early in his career he worked as a stage manager and actor, and as a producer for theatre companies including Lincoln Center and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Cunningham entered feature films in the early 1970s. While editing his second film he met Wes Craven, and he produced Craven’s directorial debut *The Last House on the Left* (1972). He directed and produced the slasher film *Friday the 13th* (1980), which became a major commercial success and launched a long-running franchise. He has continued to produce entries in the series, including *Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday* (1993), *Jason X* (2001), *Freddy vs. Jason* (2003) and the 2009 reboot, as well as other horror films such as the *House* series. He is the founder and CEO of Crystal Lake Entertainment.

In 2025 Cunningham received the Time Machine Award at the Sitges Film Festival.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, catalog.afi.com, encyclopedia.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Friday the 13th* (1980), Fi1m 48, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/friday-the-13th.md)

## Complete filmography (40)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Spot* (2023), Thanks
- *Friday the 13th: Origin of Evil - Part 3* (2023), Characters
- *Friday the 13th: Origin of Evil - Part 2* (2022), Characters
- *Friday the 13th: Origin of Evil* (2022), Characters
- *The Story Of The '80s Slasher Craze* (2020), Actor
- *Never Hike Alone* (2018), Characters
- *Clark* (2018), as Jonathan
- *Ding Dong, You're Dead! The Making of "House"* (2017), Actor
- *Home Deadly Home: The Making of "House IV"* (2017), Actor
- *His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th* (2010), Executive Producer
- *The Last House on the Left* (2009), Producer
- *Friday the 13th* (2009), Producer
- *Surviving Sid* (2008), as Glyptodon Boy (voice)
- *Trapped Ashes* (2006), Director
- *Freddy vs. Jason* (2003), Producer
- *Terminal Invasion* (2002), Director, Executive Producer
- *Jason X* (2001), Executive Producer
- *XCU: Extreme Close Up* (2001), Producer, Director
- *Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday* (1993), Producer
- *My Boyfriend's Back* (1993), Producer
- *House IV* (1992), Producer
- *The Horror Show* (1989), Producer
- *DeepStar Six* (1989), Director, Producer
- *A Taste of Hemlock* (1989), Presenter
- *House II: The Second Story* (1987), Producer
- *House* (1985), Producer
- *Friday the 13th: A New Beginning* (1985), Characters
- *The New Kids* (1985), Director, Producer
- *Spring Break* (1983), Director, Producer
- *A Stranger Is Watching* (1982), Director
- *Friday the 13th* (1980), Producer, Director — Fi1m 48, [page](https://film.one/film/friday-the-13th.md)
- *Here Come the Tigers* (1978), Director, Producer
- *Manny's Orphans* (1978), Director, Producer
- *The Fireworks Woman* (1975), Producer
- *The Case of the Smiling Stiffs* (1973), Director, Producer
- *The Last House on the Left* (1972), Producer
- *Together* (1971), Director, Writer, Producer
- *The Art of Marriage* (1970), Writer, Producer, Director
- *The Night Driver*, Executive Producer
- *House*, Producer

## Gallery

- ![Sean S. Cunningham at Nightmare Weekend Miami in 2024](https://film.one/media/person/5513775/gallery-4c8428e32815.jpg) Sean S. Cunningham at Nightmare Weekend Miami in 2024 — John Manard for Super Festivals from Ft. Lauderdale, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Sean_S._Cunningham_%2854214969731%29.jpg/1280px-Sean_S._Cunningham_%2854214969731%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Sean S. Cunningham](https://film.one/media/person/5513775/gallery-610275f047bb.jpg) Sean S. Cunningham — Laviru Koruwakankanamge, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Sean_Cunningham_People_Fan_Fest_People_Convention_Los_Angeles_2024_Portrait.jpg/1280px-Sean_Cunningham_People_Fan_Fest_People_Convention_Los_Angeles_2024_Portrait.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Sean S. Cunningham at Nightmare Weekend Miami in 2024](https://film.one/media/person/5513775/gallery-a658da33250c.jpg) Sean S. Cunningham at Nightmare Weekend Miami in 2024 — Super Festivals from Ft. Lauderdale, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Sean_S._Cunningham_Photo_Op_Nightmare_Weekend_Miami_2024.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Sean S. Cunningham at Nightmare Weekend Chicago in 2025](https://film.one/media/person/5513775/gallery-c4e48a128764.jpg) Sean S. Cunningham at Nightmare Weekend Chicago in 2025 — Super Festivals, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Sean_S._Cunningham_Photo_Op_Nightmare_Weekend_Chicago_2025.jpg/1280px-Sean_S._Cunningham_Photo_Op_Nightmare_Weekend_Chicago_2025.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Other awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture 1981: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture (nominated), for *Friday the 13th*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/sean-s-cunningham