Arthur Smith (producer)

Last updated
Arthur Smith
Born (1960-11-25) November 25, 1960 (age 64)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Alma mater Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University)
OccupationTV producer

Arthur Smith (born November 25, 1960) is a Canadian television producer who is the chairman of A. Smith & Co. [1] and of Tinopolis USA. [2] Best known for the reality competition shows American Ninja Warrior [3] and Hell's Kitchen , [4] he was inducted into the Realscreen Hall of Fame in 2021, [5] [6] and was named Producer of the Year 2020 [7] by Broadcasting & Cable. He previously worked for CBC Sports, Dick Clark Productions, MCA Television Group, and Fox Sports Net. He has won multiple NAACP awards for his series Unsung , [8] Rose D'Or Awards [9] for I Survived A Japanese Game Show , a Critics' Choice Real TV Award, [10] a Realscreen Award [11] and multiple Reality Television Awards. [12] In addition, his shows have been nominated for Daytime Emmys, [13] Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards, [14] Producers' Guild Awards [15] and People's Choice Awards. [16] Smith is also the author of REACH: Hard Lessons and Learned Truths from a Lifetime in Television, his memoir that was released in 2023, [17] which Forbes called an “immediate must-read.” [18]

Contents

Early life

Smith was born Montreal in 1960 and grew up in Hampstead, Quebec. [19] [20] He became interested in television during his youth, making predictions of television ratings and reading Variety and The Hollywood Reporter . [21] At the age of sixteen he became a disc jockey in Montreal. He also acted in television commercials and two films; Pinball Summer and Hog Wild . [22] Smith attended Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto. He chose communications over theatre as his major. [21] While at Ryerson, Smith continued to act. He appeared in episodes of Hangin' In and Flappers . He also recorded voice-overs for commercials and produced segments for the CBC Radio's Variety Tonight . [23] He graduated in 1982 and was class valedictorian. [20] One of the first alumni to be inducted into Ryerson's Wall of Fame, [24] he is also the founding sponsor of the Ryerson in LA program, [25] which grants scholarships to numerous students from Ryerson to come to Los Angeles to learn about the entertainment business. In 2024, Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), unveiled the newly renovated and renamed Arthur Smith Virtual Production Studio. [26]

Career

Smith also serves as the U.S. chairman [27] of Tinopolis. [28]

CBC Sports

During his final year at Ryerson, the CBC hired Smith as a junior producer. His first assignment was a profile of Canadian high-jumper Milt Ottey. [21] He went on to work as a camera director for Hockey Night in Canada and a producer for the 1986 Commonwealth Games, World Junior Hockey Championships, and horse races from Woodbine Racetrack. [23]

Smith was the lead producer for CBC's coverage of the 1984 Summer Olympics, 1988 Winter Olympics, and 1988 Summer Olympics. For his work on the 1988 games, Smith and his colleagues won Gemini Awards for excellence in sports and spot news coverage (of the Ben Johnson doping scandal). [20] In 1987 he became the lead producer for the CFL on CBC , where he introduced new graphics, theme song and animation and a halftime magazine show. [22] On October 10, 1988, at 28years old, [4] Smith succeeded Don MacPherson to become the youngest person to ever head of CBC Sports. [19] In his role, he acquired a number of broadcasting rights for the network, including the 1992 Winter Olympics, CART racing, and the World Figure Skating Championships. [22]

Dick Clark Productions

In 1990, Smith left CBC to become vice-president of entertainment programming at Dick Clark Productions. [20] In May 1993 he was promoted to senior vice president. During his tenure at Dick Clark Productions, Smith produced a number of television programs and specials, including the CableACE Awards and American Music Award. [22]

MCA Television Group

In 1995, Smith joined MCA Television Group as senior vice president. His responsibilities included producing television specials, reality programming, and pay-per-view events. [29] During his short time with MCA, Smith was able to get commitments from all of the Big Four networks. [21]

Fox Sports Net

In 1996, Smith joined the fledgling Fox Sports Net as executive vice-president of programming, production and news. [21] Smith helped propel the network into the world of cable sports, launching 22 sports networks. [30] He also served as executive producer on all network events including major league baseball, college football and all original programming including Fox Sports News , Hardcore Football, NFL Total Access, The Last Word with Jim Rome, and Goin' Deep, hosted by Joe Buck and Chris Meyers. [22]

A. Smith & Co.

In 2000, Smith founded his own production company, A. Smith & Co. Since then, A. Smith & Co. has produced more than 200 television shows for 50 networks. [31] In 2011, A. Smith & Co. merged with the Tinopolis Group. [32]

A. Smith & Co. has created series in the reality, documentary, and non-fiction spaces for over two decades, [7] including: Hell's Kitchen (FOX); American Ninja Warrior (NBC); Mental Samurai (FOX); The Titan Games (NBC); Voices of Fire (Netflix); Death by Magic (Netflix); Welcome to Plathville (TLC); Trading Spaces (TLC); Pros vs. Joes (Spike); Kitchen Nightmares (FOX); American Gangster (BET); American Gangster: Trap Queens (BET+); Unsung (TV One); Paradise Hotel (FOX); The Swan (FOX); Skating with Celebrities (FOX); I Survived a Japanese Game Show (ABC); Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura (truTV); Full Throttle Saloon (truTV), The World According to Paris (Oxygen), Human vs Hamster (Max), American Ninja Warrior Junior (Universal Kids), Floor Is Lava (Netflix) and the NFL’s Pro Bowl Games (ABC/ESPN).

REACH: Hard Lessons and Learned Truths from a Lifetime in Television

In 2023, Smith’s memoir, REACH: Hard Lessons and Learned Truths from a Lifetime in Television, was published by Blackstone Publishing. [33] In the book, called an “immediate must-read” by Forbes, [34] Smith draws on the most exciting moments of his pioneering career as a producer to show how far you can go when you reach for your dreams. [35] All of Smith’s proceeds from the book went to his REACH Foundation, which donates money to a number of charities who lift people up in some way so they can reach in their own lives. [36]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Guber</span> American businessman, educator and author

Howard Peter Guber is an American film producer, business executive, entrepreneur, educator, and author. He is chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment. Guber's most recent films from Mandalay Entertainment include Air, The Kids Are All Right, Soul Surfer and Bernie. He has also produced Rain Man, Batman, The Color Purple, Midnight Express, Gorillas in the Mist, The Witches of Eastwick, Missing, and Flashdance. Guber's films have grossed over $3 billion worldwide and received 50 Academy Award nominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akbar Gbaja-Biamila</span> American football player and talk show co-host

Akbar Oluwakemi-Idowu Gbajabiamila is a former professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL) who is a commentator and co-host of American Ninja Warrior, and its spinoff American Ninja Warrior Junior. He is also an analyst for the NFL Network, co-hosting the flagship morning show Good Morning Football and was a co-host of The Talk on CBS from 2021–2024.

Wesley Dening is an Australian television producer based in Los Angeles. He is the President of an international production company called WD Entertainment Group Inc. and serves as Executive Producer of series produced by Eureka Productions, based in Santa Monica. Dening is originally from Australia, where he first became known as a host for multiple Australian television programs including Totally Wild, Totally Wild: Antarctica, Ten's First at Five News, Kick2Kick and also as a contestant on Big Brother Australia 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Burns</span> American television and film producer (1955–2020)

Kevin Burns was an American television and film producer, director, and screenwriter. His work can be seen on A&E, National Geographic Channel, E!, Animal Planet, AMC, Bravo, WE tv, Travel Channel, Lifetime, and The History Channel. Burns created and executive-produced more than 800 hours of television programming.

Michael Darnell is an American entertainment executive. As president of Alternative Entertainment at the Fox network and subsequently president of Unscripted Television at Warner Bros., Darnell was in charge of some of the most successful and longest-running franchises in television history, including American Idol, The Bachelor franchise, The Voice, Family Guy, Futurama, Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, MasterChef, Little Big Shots, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, So You Think You Can Dance, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, The Simple Life, Temptation Island, and many more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Alexander (producer)</span> English producer

Andrew Alexander is an English theatre and television producer best known for his previous leadership and co-ownership of The Second City, and co-developing and producing the television show SCTV.

Matt Iseman is an American comedian, actor, and television host, who began his career as a physician. He is best known for his role as the play-by-play announcer and the moderator of American Ninja Warrior. He was the winner of The New Celebrity Apprentice in 2017, the show's only season.

The Tinopolis Group is an international TV production and distribution group with businesses based in the UK and US. It produces over 4,500 hours of television annually for more than 200 UK and foreign broadcasters.

<i>American Ninja Warrior</i> American competition television series

American Ninja Warrior is an American sports entertainment reality show based on the Japanese television reality show Sasuke, which also serves as a successor of American Ninja Challenge. It features a set of obstacle courses in various cities, which competitor attempt to conquer. The obstacle courses are divided into Qualifiers courses, Semifinals courses, and a four-part Finals course which is based at Las Vegas Strip. The competitor who finishes all the courses in the fastest time wins a cash prize of $1,000,000. Starting with season 10, if one remaining competitor fails on any of Finals course parts but has completed it more than the others in the fastest time, they win a consolatory $100,000 prize. The show is hosted by Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila. To date, only three competitors have won the main cash prize: Isaac Caldiero, Drew Drechsel, and Vance Walker. Furthermore, Geoff Britten, Daniel Gil, and Caleb Bergstrom are the only three runners-up who have achieved Total Victory.

Allan Novak is a Canadian television director and editor. Mostly known for "The Newsroom", "Punched up", "Naked News Uncoved" and "Guys and Gurus".

Eli Holzman is an American creator–developer, writer, producer and television executive. He is known for creating or serving as executive producer on a number of reality-based television series and documentaries, such as Project Runway, Project Greenlight, The Seven Five, Undercover Boss, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, Free Meek, Living Undocumented, American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Rotfeld Productions</span>

Steve Rotfeld Productions (SRP) is an America television production, stock footage, and broadcast syndication company based in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. The company was founded in 1985 by president Steve Rotfeld. SRP currently produces six educational/informational (E/I)-compliant series through its syndication division: Wild About Animals, Awesome Adventures, Whaddyado, Chat Room, and Animal Science. Additionally, SRP is currently producing one-hour quarterly specials of its popular sports programs, Greatest Sports Legends and Sports Gone Wild. Since 1985, SRP's programs have appeared in national broadcast syndication and on major cable channels such as TLC, ESPN, Animal Planet, truTV, and the Travel Channel.

Doug Sellars was a Canadian television executive who worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and Fox Sports.

The 35th Young Artist Awards ceremony, presented by the Young Artist Association, honored excellence of young performers between the ages of 5 and 21 in the fields of film, television, theatre and the internet for the 2013 calendar year. Nominations were announced on March 30, 2014. Winners were announced on May 4, 2014, at the annual ceremony and banquet luncheon held in the Empire Ballroom of the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City, California. Live entertainment for the event included 19-year-old country music artist Kaitlyn Baker.

Xploration Station is an American syndicated programming block that is programmed by Steve Rotfeld Productions, distributed by Fox, and debuted on September 13, 2014. It airs weekends, primarily on Fox-affiliated stations. Aimed towards teenagers, the block consists of six half-hour shows focusing on the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. All of the programs in the three-hour block are produced to meet federally mandated educational programming guidelines. Boat Rocker Rights owns the shows' international rights.

Brunico Communications is a Canadian magazine publishing company. The company specializes primarily in online trade magazines serving media industries, including the magazines Playback, Realscreen, Kidscreen and Strategy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Moravsky</span> American athlete and meteorologist

Joe Moravsky is an American athlete, meteorologist, and Manager at Stamford Ninja Academy who has competed on American Ninja Warrior in seasons five through sixteen. He has twice been the Last Ninja Standing on American Ninja Warrior and has competed on USA Network's Team Ninja Warrior season one and won season two.

Kent Weed is an American television director and producer and co-founder of A. Smith & Co. Productions. Weed is known for his television work in the talk show, reality, game show, and a variety of genres spanning shows such as "American Ninja Warrior," "Hell’s Kitchen," "Unsung," "Paradise Hotel," and "Trading Spaces."

The twelfth season of American Ninja Warrior premiered on September 7, 2020 and wrapped up on November 6, 2020 on NBC. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, all eight episodes were filmed in St. Louis, Missouri from June 29 to July 25, 2020, behind closed doors in the America's Center convention center and stadium. Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila returned for their respective eleventh and eighth seasons, while Zuri Hall returned for her second season on the show.

References

  1. ↑ "Arthur Smith - A. Smith & Co. Productions". www.asmithco.com.
  2. ↑ "Arthur Smith - A. Smith & Co. Productions". www.asmithco.com. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  3. ↑ "Site Search". Television Academy.
  4. 1 2 "Realscreen - May/Jun 2020". Issuu. 23 June 2020.
  5. ↑ "Arthur Smith to enter Realscreen Awards Hall of Fame" . Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  6. ↑ "Summit '21: "Taste the Nation," "Don't F**k with Cats" feted with Realscreen Awards" . Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  7. 1 2 February 2020, R. Thomas Umstead 17 (17 February 2020). "Arthur Smith Brings Passion to Reality". Broadcasting Cable.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ "Here Are All the Winners From the 2020 NAACP Image Awards". Billboard . 22 February 2020.
  9. ↑ "'Japanese Game Show' tops Rose d'Or". The Hollywood Reporter. May 5, 2009.
  10. ↑ Lee, Nikki (June 3, 2019). "American Ninja Warrior wins Critics' Choice Real TV Award". American Ninja Warrior Nation.
  11. ↑ "Realscreen Awards ★ 2020 Winners & Nominees ★". awards.realscreen.com.
  12. ↑ "WINNERS | American Reality Television Awards". ARTAS.
  13. ↑ Lee, Nikki (March 21, 2019). "American Ninja Warrior Junior nominated for three 2019 Daytime Emmy Awards". American Ninja Warrior Nation.
  14. ↑ "American Ninja Warrior is nominated for a 2020 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award". MSN . Archived from the original on 2020-07-03. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  15. ↑ Lee, Nikki (January 5, 2018). "American Ninja Warrior nominated for a PGA Award". American Ninja Warrior Nation.
  16. ↑ "American Ninja Warrior - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
  17. ↑ "REACH: Hard Lessons and Learned Truths from a Lifetime in Television" – via www.blackstonepublishing.com.
  18. ↑ Berman, Mark (May 31, 2023). "Reach: How Arthur Smith Used The Power Of Reach To Start His Own Television Production Company". Forbes.
  19. 1 2 "Smith appointed new chief of CBC Television Sports". The Globe and Mail. July 22, 1988.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Boone, Mike (July 4, 1992). "There's a lot shaking in producer Smith's life – not counting quakes". The Gazette.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 Leung, Calvin (June 2006). "A. Smith's Heaven and Hell". Canadian Business.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 Lang, Mark (May 4, 1998). "Arthur Smith: It's showtime". Mediaweek.
  23. 1 2 Boone, Mike (July 31, 1988). "28-year-old wunderkind heads to the top in CBC Sports". The Gazette.
  24. ↑ "Ryerson Alumni - Winter 2013 - 31". www.nxtbook.com.
  25. ↑ "RTA IN LA TAKES ON WORLD-LEADING CREATORS IN LA". Ryerson University.
  26. ↑ "Shaping the future of film and television: The Arthur Smith Virtual Production Studio" – via www.torontomu.ca.
  27. ↑ White, Peter (August 7, 2019). "'American Ninja Warrior' Producer A. Smith & Co. Hires Banijay Studios North America's Caroline Baumgard As CEO".
  28. ↑ "Arthur Smith". A. Smith & Co. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  29. ↑ Hanson, Christine (December 19, 1994). "Arthur Smith appointed senior vice president, MCA Television Group". PR Newswire.
  30. ↑ "A. Smith & Co.'s Arthur Smith on 20 years of passionate productions" . Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  31. ↑ "Arthur Smith to enter Realscreen Awards Hall of Fame" . Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  32. ↑ Finke, Nikki (2011-06-28). "A. Smith & Co Prods Merges With UK-Based Tinopolis Group For $100M Deal Creating Reality TV Powerhouse". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  33. ↑ "REACH: Hard Lessons and Learned Truths from a Lifetime in Television" – via www.blackstonepublishing.com.
  34. ↑ Berman, Mark (May 31, 2023). "Reach: How Arthur Smith Used The Power Of Reach To Start His Own Television Production Company". Forbes.
  35. ↑ "REACH: Hard Lessons and Learned Truths from a Lifetime in Television" – via www.blackstonepublishing.com.
  36. ↑ "Arthur Smith - A. Smith & Co. Productions". www.asmithco.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.