Ralph Clemente

Ralph is fourth generation European show business. His great grandfather was a theatrical architect and his grandfather was the head of AAFA Studios in Berlin. His mother was granted the first license for theater in the American Zone after World War II. Clemente's first professional appearance in show business was at age two where his first theatrical performance was as the son of renowned German actor Curt Jurgens. At 14, Clemente, his mother, sister and brother, moved to the U.S. He couldn't speak any English, and learned by watching a lot of TV. His mother opened the Laura Tolins School of Acting in Sarasota where he took acting lessons. Laura was a graduate of the State Theater in Berlin and a first generation student of Stanislavsky. Clemente says his mother could get a performance out of a kitchen sink. She was still teaching and directing plays until a few months before her death in 2006 at the age of 86. After his discharge, Clemente joined his family in Miami, got his SAG card and started working both there and in New York City. He eventually performed in 70 national TV commercials. In the summer of 1965 he went back to Germany, his first visit since he left as a young boy. He got an agent in Munich and started to act on TV and in films. His mother predicted he was going to be a director. While in Germany, Clemente started writing his first screenplay and soon, his mother's prediction started to come true. Clemente says, " I wanted to be able to tell stories, not just be part of them, take the audience on a journey, make statements and get people to laugh and to get them to think about things." Clemente's first theatrical short The Inning of the Week won seven international film festival awards. This led to co-directing his first feature film, The Cayman Triangle. Clemente and his longtime girlfriend Emily decided to get married and start a family. He got a job teaching film production at the University of Miami. During his 10 years at the University he produced Cease Fire, starring Don Johnson which brought a lot of attention to himself and the UM film program. Valencia College in Orlando was looking for someone to head a new film program and made an offer that Clemente couldn't refuse. Classes began in 1988 at Disney MGM Studios, then Universal Studios before becoming two year AS degree program. His students get hands-on experience working on feature films. He picks the films that he would be interested in seeing and scripts that benefit and challenge his students. Since Valencia started to participate in feature film productions the students have had the opportunity to work with artists Robert Wise, George Romero, Reza Badiyi, Jonathan Krane, Julie Harris, Ruby Dee, Sally Kellerman, Joe DiMaggio, Ed Begley, Jr., Tyne Daly, Mickey Rooney, Talia Shire and Peter Spirer among many others. Ralph says, "Every film is different. You are constantly learning, you never know it all and hopefully you don't repeat the same mistakes. In teaching classes, I refer to filmmaking as team art. It takes a lot of people, artists and technicians to put something special on the screen." Clemente aspires to make his pictures with Florida settings, writers and actors. Florida City directed by Clemente was shot entirely in Florida with mostly Florida actors. It is available in over 40 countries under the title Small Town Conspiracy. "When you can have a positive effect on people's lives and help them reach their dreams, that are the best reward a teacher can have." Some of his students have gone on to direct or produce such films as The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, National Treasure, Band of Brothers, The X Files and numerous others. Appearing on The Today Show, Steven Spielberg mentioned that Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida had one of the best film schools in the country. Clemente's son Parker continues the family tradition. He graduated from Valencia and the University of Miami and is fifth generation show business. His brother, Randolph, graduated from the University of Florida and St. Thomas University, school of law. He practices law in South Florida. Among the many awards and recognitions Clemente has received over the years, the Miami Herald in one of their annual Arts Preview Magazine praised Clemente as the "Filmmaker to Watch". In 2008 Ralph became Film Florida Legends Award winner.