Born in New York City, he appeared as a child actor alongside his father in such films as Charley Varrick (1973), The Bad News Bears (1976) and House Calls (1978). Among his directorial projects have been The Grass Harp, from a novella by Truman Capote, and the made-for-TV movie The Marriage Fool, both of which starred his father. He also directed Doin' Time on Planet Earth (1988), Her Minor Thing (2005), Baby-O (2009) and Freaky Deaky (2012), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.