Profile Text
Columbus in 2015, photo by Prphotos.com
Birth Name: Chris Joseph Columbus
Place of Birth: Spangler, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Date of Birth: September 10, 1958
Ethnicity: * father – Italian * mother – Slovak
Chris Columbus is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He has directed the films Adventures in Babysitting , Heartbreak Hotel , Home Alone , Only the Lonely , Home Alone 2: Lost in New York , Mrs. Doubtfire , Nine Months , Stepmom , Bicentennial Man , Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone , Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , Rent (2005), I Love You, Beth Cooper ; Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief , Pixels , and The Christmas Chronicles 2 . He also wrote his Heartbreak Hotel , Only the Lonely , and Nine Months , as well as the films Reckless (1984), Gremlins , The Goonies , Young Sherlock Holmes , and Christmas with the Kranks ; and co-wrote his The Christmas Chronicles 2 , as well as the film Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland .
Chris is the son of Irene Mary (Puskar), a factory worker, and Alex Michael Columbus, a coal miner and aluminum plant worker. His father was born in Pennsylvania, to Italian parents. His mother was also born in Pennsylvania, and was of Slovak descent. He was raised in Champion, Ohio. He is married to Monica Devereux, with whom he has four children.
Chris’s paternal grandfather was named Mike/Marko Columbus/Colomba (the son of Henry Colomba and Mary). Mike was born in Besozzo, Como, Lombardy.
Chris’s paternal grandmother was named Carmella/Camilla Debernardi/Di Bernardi (the daughter of Luigi Di Bernardi and Marie). Carmella was born in Turin, Piedmont.
Chris’s maternal grandfather was Joseph Puskar (the son of Jozef Puškár and Anna Galmis). Joseph was born in Pennsylvania, to Slovak parents. Jozef was born in Michalovce, the son of Joannes Puskár and Zsuzsánna Bosko. Anna was the daughter of Anna.
Chris’s maternal grandmother was Mary Burek/Burik (the daughter of Jozef Burík and Terézia Dupilka). Mary was born in Pennsylvania, to Slovak parents. Jozef was born in Michalovce, the son of András Burik and Erzséb Mitrik.
Sources: Chris’s father on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Chris’s mother on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Chris’s maternal grandparents, Joseph Puskar and Mary Burek/Burik, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org