Barry W. Blaustein obit

Beyond the Mat Filmmaker and Comedy Writer Barry Blaustein Passes Away

 He was not on the list.

Comedy writer and filmmaker Barry Blaustein, best known among wrestling circles as the director of the renowned documentary Beyond the Mat, has passed away. He was 72 years old.

Blaustein died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was told last month that he was in stage four of the disease. He had also been dealing with Parkinson’s Disease, which he was diagnosed with in mid-2016. Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, where Blaustein was a longtime professor, announced the news of his passing, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Dodge College Dean Stephen Galloway said in a statement to THR, “It was one of the great pleasures of my life to know Barry.” Galloway continued, “He faced his declining health with a level of stoicism I’ve never seen and kept his warmth and humor throughout. Even when he could no longer drive, he kept on teaching. It’s a sign of how beloved he was that a group of faculty created a shuttle service to take him back and forth to Chapman. He’s irreplaceable. We’ll miss him enormously.”

Blaustein wrote, directed, and produced the 1999 wrestling-themed documentary, Beyond the Mat, released in 1999. The filmmaker called it “the favorite thing he had ever done.” It was among the 12 finalists for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature that year.

He also helmed the 2005 comedy, The Ringer, starring Johnny Knoxville, Brian Cox, and Katherine Heigl, and the dysfunctional family dramedy Peep World in 2010. The feature starred Michael C. Hall, Sarah Silverman, Rainn Wilson, and Ben Schwartz.

Blaustein grew up on Long Island, New York, and later became a writer for Saturday Night Live right before its sixth season, when Eddie Murphy was new to the show as well. Blaustein and David Sheffield became writing partners and were promoted to head writers and then to supervising producers before leaving the show in 1983.

Having clicked with Murphy, Blaustein and Sheffield became the comedian’s longtime writing partners, as they started writing exclusively for him, creating some of Murphy’s most memorable work, including his 1988 hit movie, Coming to America. Sheffield and Blaustein are also both credited as co-writers for the 1996 remake of The Nutty Professor and its 2000 sequel, The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.

Sheffield and Blaustein also reunited with Murphy one last time to collaborate on the sequel, Coming 2 America, which was released in 2021. On SNL, they devised some of Murphy’s most memorable skits, including riffs on Gumby, Buckwheat of Little Rascals, and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Some of their other memorable SNL skits for Murphy also included Murphy as James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Jesse Jackson, and the pitchman Velvet Jones.

Barry Blaustein Took Years To Get Beyond the Mat Made

Blaustein reportedly spent two years getting funding and approval for Beyond the Mat. He then spent another year traveling around the country following WWE wrestlers, including WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley, the late Terry Funk, and Hall of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Vince McMahon was notably unhappy with the documentary feature, and at one point, threatened to sue the movie from ever being seen.

Blaustein is survived by his wife Debraa, whom he married in 2021; his children, Corey and Kasey; and his granddaughter, Daisy.

On behalf of 411, we send our condolences to the friends and family of Barry Blaustein.

 

Writer

James Earl Jones, Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes, Arsenio Hall, John Amos, Paul Bates, Shari Headley, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, Clint Smith, Akiley Love, Bella Murphy, Jermaine Fowler, Teyana Taylor, Rotimi, Nomzamo Mbatha, and KiKi Layne in Coming 2 America (2021)

Coming 2 America

5.3

story byscreenplay by

2021

 

Saturday Night Live (1975)

Saturday Night Live

8.0

TV Series

writerwritten byadditional sketches by (as Barry Blaustein, as Barry Blaustein, as Barry Blaustein) ...

1980–2019

56 episodes

 

Adam Heatherly, David Longest, Bob Meyer, Josh Martin, Ruth Rhett Bennett, and Alex Rose Wiesel in Guys 'N Divas: Battle of the High School Musicals (2009)

Guys 'N Divas: Battle of the High School Musicals

7.1

writer

2009

 

Gabrielle Union, Cedric The Entertainer, Mike Epps, and Regina Hall in The Honeymooners (2005)

The Honeymooners

3.5

written by

2005

 

Eddie Murphy in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000)

Nutty Professor II: The Klumps

4.5

storyscreenplay

2000

 

Mick Foley, Noelle Foley, Terry Funk, and Dwayne Johnson in Beyond the Mat (1999)

Beyond the Mat

7.6

narrative written by

1999

 

Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996)

The Nutty Professor

5.7

screenplay

1996

 

Eddie Murphy in Boomerang (1992)

Boomerang

5.7

screenplay by

1992

 

CBS Summer Playhouse (1987)

CBS Summer Playhouse

6.6

TV Series

screenplay

1989

1 episode

 

What's Alan Watching? (1989)

What's Alan Watching?

6.2

TV Special

Writer

1989

 

Eddie Murphy in Coming to America (1988)

Coming to America

7.1

screenplay

1988

 

Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988)

Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach

4.6

characters (uncredited)

1988

 

Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987)

Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol

5.0

characters (uncredited)

1987

 

Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986)

Police Academy 3: Back in Training

5.4

characters (uncredited)

1986

 

Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985)

Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment

5.8

written by (as Barry Blaustein)

1985

 

Mike Douglas in The Mike Douglas Show (1961)

The Mike Douglas Show

7.0

TV Series

writerWriter

1979–1981

21 episodes

 

Script and Continuity Department

Michael C. Hall, Kate Mara, Sarah Silverman, Rainn Wilson, and Ben Schwartz in Peep World (2010)

Peep World

5.6

script revisions (uncredited)

2010

 

Saturday Night Live (1975)

Saturday Night Live

8.0

TV Series

script supervisorscript coordinator

1981–1984

42 episodes

 

Producer

Adam Heatherly, David Longest, Bob Meyer, Josh Martin, Ruth Rhett Bennett, and Alex Rose Wiesel in Guys 'N Divas: Battle of the High School Musicals (2009)

Guys 'N Divas: Battle of the High School Musicals

7.1

producer

2009

 

Mick Foley, Noelle Foley, Terry Funk, and Dwayne Johnson in Beyond the Mat (1999)

Beyond the Mat

7.6

producer

1999

 

Eddie Murphy in Boomerang (1992)

Boomerang

5.7

co-producer

1992

 

What's Alan Watching? (1989)

What's Alan Watching?

6.2

TV Special

co-producer

1989

 

Saturday Night Live (1975)

Saturday Night Live

8.0

TV Series

supervising producer

1983–1984

21 episodes

 

Director

Michael C. Hall, Kate Mara, Sarah Silverman, Rainn Wilson, and Ben Schwartz in Peep World (2010)

Peep World

5.6

Director

2010

 

Adam Heatherly, David Longest, Bob Meyer, Josh Martin, Ruth Rhett Bennett, and Alex Rose Wiesel in Guys 'N Divas: Battle of the High School Musicals (2009)

Guys 'N Divas: Battle of the High School Musicals

7.1

Director

2009

 

Geoffrey Arend, Johnny Knoxville, Jed Rees, John Taylor, and Leonard Earl Howze in The Ringer (2005)

The Ringer

5.8

Director

2005

 

Mick Foley, Noelle Foley, Terry Funk, and Dwayne Johnson in Beyond the Mat (1999)

Beyond the Mat

7.6

Director

1999

 

Actor

Eddie Murphy in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000)

Nutty Professor II: The Klumps

4.5

Man in Bathroom

2000

 

Eddie Murphy in Coming to America (1988)

Coming to America

7.1

Man in Line (uncredited)

1988

 

Saturday Night Live (1975)

Saturday Night Live

8.0

TV Series

Bar Patron (uncredited)

1981

1 episode

 

Soundtrack

James Earl Jones, Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes, Arsenio Hall, John Amos, Paul Bates, Shari Headley, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, Clint Smith, Akiley Love, Bella Murphy, Jermaine Fowler, Teyana Taylor, Rotimi, Nomzamo Mbatha, and KiKi Layne in Coming 2 America (2021)

Coming 2 America

5.3

writer: "Fresh Peaches & Sugarcube Rap", "She's Your Queen"

2021

 

Eddie Murphy in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000)

Nutty Professor II: The Klumps

4.5

writer: "He Has To" (Mariachis)

2000

 

Additional Crew

Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)

Beverly Hills Cop III

5.5

additional material (uncredited)

1994

 

Thanks

Opening Night (2025)

Opening Night

Short

very special thanks

2025

 

Kerry David, Francis K. Sullivan, Emer Kinsella, Felipe Vargas, and Jenna Boss in Open Secret (2025)

Open Secret

8.2

special thanks

2025

 

Ree Johnson in American Letters (2018)

American Letters

7.3

Short

special thanks

2018

 

The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned from a Mythical Man (2018)

The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned from a Mythical Man

7.1

special thanks

2018

 

Monty Comes Back (2016)

Monty Comes Back

6.6

special thanks

2016

 

I Am Santa Claus (2014)

I Am Santa Claus

6.5

special thanks

2014

 

Greetings from Florida! (2014)

Greetings from Florida!

8.4

Short

special thanks

2014

 

Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who (2007)

Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who

8.1

special thanks

2007

 

Rib Shack (2005)

Rib Shack

5.8

Short

special thanks

2005

 

Vamp (1986)

Vamp

5.9

very special thanks (as Barry Blaustein)

1986

 

Self

Eddie Murphy in Being Eddie (2025)

Being Eddie

6.9

Self - Writer (as Barry Blaustein)

2025

 

The A2theK Wrestling Show (2020)

The A2theK Wrestling Show

Podcast Series

Self

2022

1 episode

 

The Movies That Made Us (2019)

The Movies That Made Us

7.7

TV Series

Self - Writer

2021

1 episode

 

That's the Fxxking Trailer (2020)

That's the Fxxking Trailer

TV Series

Self

2021

3 episodes

 

The Gary & Kenny Show (2021)

The Gary & Kenny Show

TV Series

SelfSelf - Guest

2021

 

Prince-ipal Photography: The Coming Together of America

6.3

Video

Self

2007

 

The 3th Indie Producers Awards Gala

TV Special

Herself

2005

 

Dinner with the Legends 'Beyond the Mat'

7.0

Video

Self

2004

 

Mick Foley, Noelle Foley, Terry Funk, and Dwayne Johnson in Beyond the Mat (1999)

Beyond the Mat

7.6

Self - Narrator

1999

 

Saturday Night Live (1975)

Saturday Night Live

8.0

TV Series

Self - crewmember (uncredited)

1982

1 episode