Gus Van Sant

Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. is an American film director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician and author who has earned acclaim as both an independent and more mainstream filmmaker. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures, in particular homosexuality as such, Van Sant is considered one of the most prominent auteurs of the New Queer Cinema movement.

Van Sant was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Betty and Gus Green Van Sant, Sr Guss father was a clothing manufacturer and traveling salesman who rapidly worked his way into middle class prosperity, holding executive marketing positions that included being president of the White Stag Manufacturing Companys Apparel Operation. As a result of his fathers job, the family moved continually during Van Sants childhood.

Source: Wikipedia