JimmyO left Mississippi and moved to Maryland in 1984, where he began his career in local theater- first as a sound technician and then as an actor. In 1988, he began writing Halloween shows for the Harford Dance Theatre and also wrote several children's stories, including Emo and the Space Clown; Emo and the Monsters of Zed, Mr. Green and the We -Saw-It Machine and The Milky Way, Mars and Other Candy Bars.
In 1993, JimmyO moved back to Mississippi where he met his future partner, James M. Taylor. JimmyO wrote a modern musical version of The Jungle Book, called Jungle in 1994 which was produced for stage in the same year. In 1995, he formed his theater company with partner James Taylor, called JAMO (James & JimmyO.) In 1995 he wrote, produced and directed a musical version of The Milky Way, Mars and other Candy Bars.
In 1997, JimmyO moved back to Maryland to form a second branch of JAMO with his sister Katie Hutchinson. There, JAMO produced the comedy musical Silver Scream once a year from the years 1997 to 2000. The musical was re-written and re- worked throughout that time, to become the more mature play that it is today. In 2001, JimmyO co-created web mistress Chainsaw Sally with his wife, April Burril, in an effort to better promote Silver Scream to it's target audience. In 2002, he branched into independent film by re-writing Silver Scream for screen, directing and producing the film adaptation of the musical on a very low budget.
Chainsaw Sally’s popularity grew over by leaps and bounds over the next few years and in 2003, JimmyO wrote and directed a full length film on the character, called Chainsaw Sally, which was produced by Redfield Arts.
Q&A WITH JIMMYO:
Q- Who are you major directorial influences ?
A- Herschell Gordon Lewis, John Waters, Christopher Guest, and Mel Brooks.
Q- Who are your major writing influences?
A- Mel Brooks, people watching and listening…my Mother.
Q- You’ve been in music for most of your life, who do you listen to?
A- Alice Cooper will always be my first love. When I saw him on the Midnight Special I was hooked. I also listen to Elfman, and Oingo Boingo, Zombie, The Replacements, Midnight Oil, and the list goes on. I love music. All kinds. Hell, I even like a couple of Britney Spears songs… but the one person in my life who opened my mind to listening to everything and anything, and who gave me the hunger and passion for music was my life long friend, Brian Huddell. He is also, my favorite pop/rock writer.
Q-Almost everything you have mentioned has been comedy and rock. Why do you make horror movies and Broadway type musicals.
A- Life is funny that way, isn’t it. I love horror, I have since elementary school. I guess I see that as the same type of fun roller coaster ride as a comedy. I like to be happy… I like amusement parks… I like fun movies. I think horror flicks that do not take themselves so seriously are a lot of fun. I see movies for escape and enjoyment. I don’t want to be preached to, or made to feel bad or guilty. A good comedy and a good horror flick have a lot in common. As for the music… it was the only outlet that let me do everything I liked. I always loved the theatrical side of music… like with Alice or Kiss. I just wanted to take that another step.
Q- On IMDB it says you were born and raised in Mississippi. You don’t seem like a southern boy, nor do you have a southern accent. How’s that?
A- Well…I was born in Gulfport and grew up in Long Beach, Mississippi. BUT.. I was lucky enough to meet up with a few really special people, who really had an impact on my thoughts, actions and tastes. Brian Huddell, who I mentioned earlier, Terry, David, Ronnie, Ken & Robin… who not only allowed but encouraged me as well as each other to grow, ask questions, learn and be individuals. Even though we all live in different parts of the world, they are as much a part of me today as they were in those formative years.
Q- What has been your best experience so far, with the plays and films?
A- There have been some really great moments. I’ve met a lot of people. I would have to say, the friendships I have made by doing this is the best reward. Money will never be able to over shadow a good friendship. My partner James Taylor is considered by oldest daughter, Lilly, as her uncle… he is family. That’s important to me. Another great friendship is with Shawn Jones, who works with me now. The biggest surprise I guess is the friendship that has grown with Gunnar Hansen. He started out as an idol… he was Leatherface…the big bad villain of Texas Chainsaw Massacre… we met, he’s in the new movie, and somewhere in there I discovered that he was no longer Leatherface, but my friend Gunnar. That’s priceless to me.
Q- So, what’s next for JimmyO and Planet X Entertainment?
A- Well, more movies I hope. I am having a fun time doing it. People seem to like what we’re doing… so as long as I can do that, I plan to. I have a full time job as a Medical Illustrator at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, so unless I get to sign the standard “rich and famous” contract, I will stay there (where I am very happy) and keep making movies and music on the side. My Planet X partners, James Taylor, Shawn Jones and my wife April Burril, keep supporting me and bringing more than there share to the table. As long as we all want to keep at this little pipe dream, I guess we will just keep fighting our way upstream… it’s been a fun trip so far… and I feel we are just getting started.