John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor, widely known for his work in the horror, action, and science fiction genres, particularly during the 1970s and 1980s. He is regarded as a significant figure in the horror genre. In 2019, the French Directors' Guild honored him with the Golden Coach Award at the Cannes Film Festival, recognizing him as a "creative genius of raw, fantastic, and spectacular emotions." On April 3, 2025, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Carpenter's early filmography includes notable critical and commercial successes such as "Halloween" (1978), "The Fog" (1980), "Escape from New York" (1981), and "Starman" (1984). While initially not all were commercially successful, several of his other works later became cult classics, including "Dark Star" (1974), "Assault on Precinct 13" (1976), "The Thing" (1982), "Christine" (1983), "Big Trouble in Little China" (1986), "Prince of Darkness" (1987), "They Live" (1988), "In the Mouth of Madness" (1994), and "Escape from L.A." (1996). He returned to the "Halloween" franchise as a composer and executive producer for "Halloween" (2018), "Halloween Kills" (2021), and "Halloween Ends" (2022).

In addition to directing, Carpenter is known for composing the music for many of his films. He received a Saturn Award for Best Music for his work on "Vampires" (1998). He has also released several studio albums, including "Lost Themes" (2015), "Lost Themes II" (2016), "Anthology: Movie Themes 1974–1998" (2017), "Lost Themes III: Alive After Death" (2021), and "Lost Themes IV: Noir" (2024).

Since 2012, Carpenter has co-owned the comic book publishing company Storm King Comics with his wife, film producer Sandy King.
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