Tim Burton with Vincent Price on the set of "Edward Scissorhands" in 1990. As a child, Burton worshiped veteran character actor Price, whom he directed decades later in "Scissorhands." (Zade Rosenthal/Los Angeles Times)
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Tim Burton with Johnny Depp, who played the title character in "Edward Scissorhands." (Zade Rosenthal/Los Angeles Times)
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Tim Burton with Winona Ryder, who played Kim in "Edward Scissorhands." (Zade Rosenthal/Los Angeles Times)
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Tim Burton turns 53 today and this year also marks the 40th anniversary of his creepy film “The Island of Doctor Agor” — yes, Burton made the H.G. Wells-inspired short at the tender age of 13.
The past is moving front and center for Burton these days. A few weeks before Halloween 2012 he’ll be in theaters with “Frankenweenie,” a stop-motion, black-and-white, feature-length movie based on his breakthrough 1984 short film of the same title. The story is about a boy and his dog — the boy has considerable mad-science savvy and the dog happens to be dead, at least until his grieving owner hatches a plan to revive his beloved pet. Footage from the film, aired at Disney’s D23 Expo this month, showed Burton’s trademark blend of the whimsical and grotesque.
Right now Burton is at Pinewood Studios outside London working on “Dark Shadows,” a Warner Bros. film that reunites the director with his pal Johnny Depp (as well as Helena Bonham-Carter and Michelle Pfeiffer) and pays tribute to the vintage, gothic soap opera that Burton has called a key influence on his forming sensibilities back in the 1970s.
Burton’s got plenty more on his plate. He watched a museum exhibit collecting up his art create a sensation in New York and in Los Angeles and he’s also producing “Abe Lincoln, Vampire Hunter” (based on the namesake novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, who also wrote “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies“). In June, he told Hero Complex about his interest in the latter: “Something hit me inside that said, I just wanted to see that movie. I don’t know why. I grew up on weird perverse movies and it just seemed like one of those kind of movies that just tapped into my subconscious. I remember going to the Cornell Theater in Burbank where they’d do like three movies for 50 cents and that would have been the kind of movie I would have seen there.”
To celebrate the filmmaker’s birthday, we pulled a few photos from our archives; you’ll find them above and be sure to turn the CAPTIONS ON. Burton is in good company on the calendar, by the way, he shares his birthday with “James Bond” icon Sean Connery and Alexander Skarsgard, star of “True Blood” and one of the alien-fighting sailors in the upcoming “Battleship.”
– Noelene Clark
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Our legion of super contributors is led by Hero Complex editor Gina McIntyre and 
Burton's teeth are a sick joke. You'd think he'd get them fixed with all the $ he has.
worry about yer own teeth loser….makes no difference to his creativity
He lives in England and if you're talking teeth he looks like a member of the Osmond family compared to most of the people there.
There is no genius like Mr. Burton!!! He cames from another planet! He makes real the dream!
@robeson…even if i think your comment is really stupi…maybe you don't know that Tim is scared of dentists
Tim Burton is the best,one of my favorite film directors,so happy birthday man! : ) <3
Well now! Don't we have a hater. Maybe some people don't want their teeth fixed I mean ALOT of producers and actors don't have that great of teeth. Plus, he does have kids and he produces alot of movies too and that takes alot of $ too…
Have a helluva party, Tim! Thanks for all the great movies: Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Beetlejuice, PeeWee's Big Adventure, Big FIsh, Edward Scissorhands, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd, et al.
All of my favorite movies growing up – the ones that inspired me into being who i am today – have been Tim Burton films. And as an aspiring filmmaker myself, I just want to say to Tim: Thank you, man, for being an integral part of my personality!!
Tim rocks! If he was never alive, I don't think I would watch tv again! He's the reason why movies are the best!!! Thnk you Tim for being so amazing and inspiring!!!