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Albie Hecht | |
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![]() Hecht in 2023 | |
Education | Columbia University |
Occupation(s) | Producer, entertainment executive |
Known for | Television industry |
Notable work |
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Television | Nickelodeon, Spike TV, HLN |
Spouse | Susan MacLaury |
Children | 2 |
Albie Hecht is an American film and television producer and media executive. In 1997, Hecht was the president of film and TV entertainment for Nickelodeon [1] before becoming president of the television channel Spike TV in 2003. [2] In 2005, he founded and was CEO of the digital studio Worldwide Biggies. [3] [4] From 2013 to 2015, he also served as general manager of the TV channel, HLN, [5] and is chief content officer of PocketWatch.
Albie Hecht graduated from Francis Lewis High School in Queens, New York City [6] where he played varsity basketball and baseball and was President of the Student Organization. [7] He was the only undergraduate ever awarded a Media Studies degree by Columbia University’s Columbia College. [8]
Hecht was Director of Artist Relations at Terry Cashman and Tommy West's [ citation needed ] Lifesong Records in the 1970s, [9] where he oversaw the career of Crack the Sky and then became manager to pop star Dean Friedman.[ citation needed ]
In the mid-1980s, Hecht produced for the advertising agency Fred/Alan Inc with Alan Goodman and Fred Seibert. [10] Together, they established Chauncey Street Productions for their independent television productions. [11]
Through Chauncey Street, Hecht co-created and executive produced Kids Court [ citation needed ] and GUTS for Nickelodeon, [12] the Ace Award winning game show Turn it Up! for MTV and The Talent Pool for Comedy Central, which featured the TV debut of John Leguizamo.[ citation needed ]
At Nickelodeon, Hecht oversaw the development and approval of all the network's films and TV shows from 1997 to 2003, including SpongeBob SquarePants , Dora the Explorer , Blue's Clues , and such live-action shows as All That. [3] [13] He also co-created and executive produced the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, [14] and built the Nick Digital Studio in New York City and the Nick animation studio in Los Angeles.[ citation needed ] When establishing his independent production company Worldwide Biggies, Hecht developed and executive produced The Naked Brothers Band (2007-09). [15]
When Hecht became the president of the TV channel TNN, he revised the network's title to Spike TV, where his shows included The Joe Schmo Show , MXC [16] and signing the Ultimate Fighting Championship franchise.[ citation needed ]
In 2017, Hecht joined Pocket.watch as chief content officer. Pocket.watch is a studio that creates franchises from the YouTube stars and characters. [17] Hecht is the creator and Executive Producer of Ryan's Mystery Playdate on the Nick Jr. Channel, [18] the number one preschool show on TV which garnered a Daytime Emmy Award Nomination in 2020. [19] [20] He also produced the HobbyKids Adventures, an animated series which streams on the Hobby Kids TV YouTube channel. The show has received over 30 million views of its episodes to date. [21]
As of 2022, Hecht is the chief content officer of pocket.watch that creates content for kids and family YouTube creators, resulting in more than 300 hours of programming produced to date. [22] Currently, Hecht is overseeing the production of a series of 50 animated and live-action series and 5 specials,[ citation needed ] such as Toys and Colors [23] and Dan Rhodes. [24] Additionally, he directed and produced Ryan's World the Movie: Titan Universe Adventure , the first feature film for the YouTube star Ryan, which was released in fall 2024. [25]
In his role as creator and executive producer at pocket.watch, Hecht created and produced Love, Diana with over 1 billion views[ citation needed ] and Onyx Family Dinner, which was nominated for a MIPCOM CANNES Diversify TV Award for its contributions to representation in Kids Programming. [26]
In movies, Hecht produced films for Paramount including Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events . The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie , The Rugrats Movie and the Oscar-nominated animated feature Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius . [27] [4] The Rugrats Movie was the first non-Disney animated feature to hit $100 million at the US domestic box office. [28]
In 2005, Hecht co-founded the nonprofit media company Shine Global with his wife Susan MacLaury, [29] Through Shine, Hecht produced the Oscar winning short documentary Inocente , [30] and the Emmy [31] and Oscar nominated documentary feature War/Dance . [32]