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Brief Biographies
of Latter-day Saint and/or Utah
Film Personalities
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Biographical sketches are arranged alphabetically on separate pages, by last name.
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Bijan Zaimi
Born 12 December 1978, Tehran, Iran. Utah-based actor. Small roles in T.C. Christensen's direct-to-video feature film "Bug Off!" (2001) and in the independent feature films "Net Worth" (2000) and "SLC Punk!" (1999). TV guest role on "Promised Land." Bio from IMDb:
Born in Iran, and raised up in Chicago and Salt Lake City, Bijan began stage and commercials at 14, then moved onto classical theater, television and Independent film. He's worked with the Chautauqua Conservetory Theater, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival and The Sundance Institute. Bijan holds a BFA from the University of Utah's Actor Training Program. Filming in Salt Lake City and rehearsing with the Sundance Institute.
Ron Zeeman
Latter-day Saint. Sometimes credited as: Ronald Zeeman. Special effects advisor for the battle footage on Ryan Little's national award-winning short film "The Last Good War" (1999). Co-producer of the Latter-day Saint-themed direct-to-video feature film "Shadow of Light" (2002). Bio from "Shadow of Light" website: "Ron Zeeman (Producer) was born and raised in Payson, Utah. He has extensive experience in film, including special effects for six movies. Ron has produced two full length movies and currently is in the Communications Department at Brigham Young University."
Stan Zenk
Latter-day Saint. Lives in Placerville, California with his wife Luan. Zenk is the producer of a "American Grace," a feature film written and directed by Latter-day Saint author Curtis Taylor. Zenk is the long-time business and publishing partner of Curtis Taylor. Zenk and Taylor were editors and co-owners of Aspen Books, which published books for the Latter-day Saint market. Their best-selling publishing collaboration was Betty J. Eadie's worldwide best seller Embraced By the Light, for which Taylor was the co-author. Zenk created the websites for Betty J. Eadie (Embracedbythelight.com) and Onjinjinkta publishing. Footage was filmed for the movie in 2002, but the film has not yet been completed and released. Zenk was the co-author, with motivational speaker Joan Fountain, of the book Nothing Bad Happens, Ever, (1996) about Fountain's near-death experience and 250 pound weight loss. Zenk co-wrote Guide Me to Eternity with Christine T. Monson (1994). Books that Zenk has edited include: Christmas for the World: A Gift to the Children (1991) and A Speaker's Sourcebook for Latter-Day Saints: Three Thousand Quotes by LDS Church Leaders (1991). Zenk produced the audio tape "Embraced by the Light: The Musical Journey," with music by Bryce Neubert.
Warren Zevon
Latter-day Saint (raised LDS, but a non-churchgoer as an adult). Born 24 January 1947 Chicago, Illinois. Died of cancer 7 September 2003 in Los Angeles, California. Zevon was the son of a Scottish Latter-day Saint mother and a Russian Jewish immigrant father. Famed singer/songwriter and rock-and-roller, known for his sardonic humor and many classic rock songs which received frequent radio play. Sang and wrote "Werewolves of London," which was featured in the hit Paul Newman movie "The Color of Money" (1986). Wrote "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me," which was featured in the movie "FM" (1978). Wrote and sang "Searching For A Heart," the end title song for the movie "Love at Large" (1990). Wrote and performed the song "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead," which was featured in the 1995 movie named after the song. Featured in a 1982 video titled simply "Warren Zevon." Also featured in the video "Dirty Life and Times with Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam and Warren Zevon" (2002). Made guest appearances as himself on the TV shows "Suddenly Susan," "The Larry Sanders Show" and "Dream On." Was also a frequent guest band leader on the "Late Night with David Letterman" show. Wrote songs, theme songs and music for other TV series, including "Action" (1999), "TekWar" (1994-1995), and "Route 66" (1993). Among the numerous other acclaimed rock songs he wrote are: "Lawyers, Guns and Money," "Excitable Boy", "Like the Seasons", "Outside Chance", "Desperados Under the Eaves", "Carmelita," and "My Ride's Here."
John Zick
Latter-day Saint. Born and raised in Colorado. Lives in Utah County. Sometimes credited as: John Zack. Graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) with a degree in film. Has worked at LDS Motion Picture Studios, The Sundance Film Institute and Walt Disney Pictures and Television. Producer of: "The Drink That Kills", "66", "Ad Stara, Per Aspera", and "Navajo Baskets." Associate producer of "The Best Crop: A History of Orchard Farming in Orem, Utah" (2002), a KBYU documentary directed by April Chabries.
Matt Ziegenhorn
Lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. Along with 9 other filmmakers, made the short (19 min., 45 sec.) film "The Farm," which was shown at the 2003 Utah Short Film & Video Festival. The film is the story of a group of children sent to a camp to learn to conform to society.
Deborah Zimmerman
Company: Cedar Valley Skydiving (Skydive U Inc.) in Lehi, Utah. Has done stunt or specialty work for the TV series "Touched by an Angel."
Don Zimmerman
Assistant director and choreographer for the Latter-day Saint-themed stage musical "It's A Miracle" (1984), which was filmed and made into a video sold in Latter-day Saint bookstores.
Jason Zimmerman
Lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. Sometimes credited as: Jason 'Zimmerflex' Zimmerman; Jason R. Zimmerman. Camera operator whose credits as first assistant camera, second unit cinematographer and second assistant camera include the TV movies "Miracle Dogs" (2003), "Just Like Dad" (1996) and "Little Heroes" (1992), and the films "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" (1995), "Blood Money (1996), "Assault on Dome 4" (1996), "Firestorm" (1995), "Teenage Bonnie and Klepto Clyde" (1993) and "Neon City" (1992). Assistant film editor for Lyman Dayton's film "On Our Own" (1988). Second unit director for the "Dumb Luck" (2001), produced by Tag Entertainment.
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Web page created 7 June 2002. Last modified 9 September 2003.