Norman J. Grossfeld

Norman J. Grossfeld
Born Norman J. Grossfeld
December 15, 1963
Bronx, New York, United States
Residence Los Angeles, California
Nationality American
Ethnicity Jewish
Education New York University - Tisch School of the Arts
Occupation Television Executive, Director, Producer and Writer; Executive Vice President of Animation, Legendary Entertainment; Former President of 4Kids Productions
Salary 2009: US$1.4 million[1]
Spouse(s) Kathy Pilon
Children 1

Norman J. Grossfeld (born December 15, 1963 in New York) is an American television producer and screenwriter and executive, currently serving as the Executive Vice President of Animation for Legendary Entertainment. From February 1994 to December 2009, he was the president of 4Kids Productions, a subsidiary of 4Kids Entertainment. He produced the English adaptations of the first eight seasons of the Pokémon TV series and six seasons of Yu-Gi-Oh!. He produced five seasons of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, five Pokémon movies, one Yu-Gi-Oh! movie and he also produced the 3 Seasons of Winx Club on 4KidsTV.[2][3] In addition to producing and executive producing, Grossfeld co-wrote most of the Pokémon films, which grossed over $600 million worldwide.[4] Grossfeld is credited with writing the Pokémon franchise's tagline, "Gotta catch 'em all!"[5]

An accomplished lyricist and musician, Grossfeld contributed to several tracks on the Pokémon 2.B.A. Master soundtrack album, the first released for the English localization of the Pokémon anime. The album was a commercial success, rising to the top of the US Billboard Kids Albums Chart and garnering RIAA Gold certification with over 500,000 units sold.[6] He also wrote both the main and ending theme songs for Sonic X and Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, and the English ending theme song to Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker.

Grossfeld also developed and co-wrote the successful stage adaptation of the Pokémon series, which premiered at Radio City Music Hall and toured the United States and Canada in late 2000 to early 2001.[7]

Before his role as president of 4Kids, Grossfeld was a producer and director at Television Programming Enterprises from 1988 to 1991, worked at NBC Sports from 1991 to 1992 as a coordinating director, and spent 1992 through 1994 as president of the television production company Gold Coast Television Entertainment.[3]

Grossfeld broke new ground in reality television with NBC's Emmy Award-winning InSport, a show hosted by Ahmad Rashad that set the stage for sports magazine series now on the air. Grossfeld has also produced, written and/or directed a variety of programs, including Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, hosted by Robin Leach.[8]

A member of the Directors Guild of America, Grossfeld directed coverage of several Olympic Games for NBC, including the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. In 1996, Grossfeld won the International Olympic Committee's highest honor, the Golden Rings, for his direction of the live sports coverage of the 1996 Olympic Games.[8]

Filmography

Movies

Year Title Role
1999 Pokémon: The First Movie Writer, Producer[9][10][11][12]
2000 Pokémon: The Movie 2000 Writer, Producer[12][13]
2001 Pokémon 3: The Movie Writer,[14] Producer[12][15]
2002 Pokémon 4Ever Writer,[11] Executive producer[16]
2003 Pokémon Heroes Executive producer[17]
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light Writer, Executive producer[12][18]
2004 Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker Writer,[12] Producer, Ending theme song writer
2005 Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys Writer, Producer [12]

Television

Year Title Role
1986 Fame, Fortune & Romance Director[11][12]
1987 Runaway With the Rich and Famous Director[11][12]
1988 Rich and Famous 1988 World's Best Associate producer[11][12]
1988 Masters of the Martial Arts Presented by Wesley Snipes Writer[12]
1993 Campbell's Portrait of a Teacher Field producer[11][12]
1995 WMAC Masters Executive producer[19]
1998 Pokémon Writer, Executive producer,[11][12] Song writer[20]
2001 Cubix Writer, Executive producer, Theme song writer[11][12]
2002 Yu-Gi-Oh! Executive producer,[11][12] Song writer[21]
Kirby: Right Back at Ya! Executive producer, Theme song writer
2003 Sonic X Executive producer, Theme song writer
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Executive producer, Theme song writer[22]
2004 One Piece Executive producer[11][12]
2005 Winx Club Executive producer
2006 Viva Pinata Executive Producer
2008 Adventures in Voice Acting Interviewee

References

  1. ↑ Forbes
  2. ↑ "4Kids Entertainment - Senior Management Team". Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Norman Grossfeld Profile - Forbes.com". Archived from the original on 2009-09-04. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  4. ↑ http://herocomplex.latimes.com/tv/pokemon-ash-ketchum/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ Myers, Andy (August 2005). "Built to Last: The history of Pokémon". Nintendo Power (194): 56–61.
  6. ↑ http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Pokémon%22. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ "Pokemon Live!".
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 http://www.cinemareview.com/cast.asp?movieid=439907&castid=3364. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ Rauzi, Robin (November 10, 1999). "Movie Review - Pokémon: The First Movie". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  10. ↑ Moret, Jim (November 11, 1999). "Pokémon craze moves to theaters". CNN. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 11.9 "Norman J. Grossfield". New York Times. May 15, 2003. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 12.9 12.10 12.11 12.12 12.13 12.14 "Norman J. Grossfeld Filmography". inbaseline.com.
  13. ↑ Johnson, Malcolm (July 21, 2000). "Ecological Pokémon On Parade". Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut). Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  14. ↑ Garin, Nina (April 7, 2001). "`Pokémon 3' takes all ages on an emotional adventure". The San Diego Union - Tribune (San Diego, California). Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  15. ↑ Friedman, Lisa (April 6, 2001). "'Pokémon' churns out yet another sequel Movie Review". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  16. ↑ Koehler, Robert (October 7, 2002). "Pokémon 4ever. (Film Review)". Daily Variety (Reed Business Information, Inc.). Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  17. ↑ Koehler, Robert (May 15, 2003). "Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias. (Film Review).(Movie Review)url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-23362984_ITM". Daily Variety. Reed Business Information.
  18. ↑ Koehler, Robert (August 12, 2004). "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  19. ↑ Hinman, Catherine (November 20, 1995). "Martial Arts Show Back At Universal". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  20. ↑ "Two Perfect Girls". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  21. ↑ "I'm Back". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  22. ↑ "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles End Credits". Retrieved 2009-09-04.