Vanessa Coffey

Last updated

Vanessa Coffey
OccupationFilm producer
Years active1979–present
Known for
Awards2 Daytime Emmy Awards * 1 CableACE Award

Vanessa Coffey is an American television producer and co-founder of the Nickelodeon Animation Studio best known for her work on Rugrats , The Ren & Stimpy Show , Doug and Rocko's Modern Life . Coffey has won two Daytime Emmy Awards and a CableACE Award. [1]

Contents

Career

Marvel Animation

Coffey's film career began at Marvel Animation working on television shows including Transformers , G.I. Joe, Muppet Babies and Defenders of the Earth. [2] Coffey later moved to Murakami-Wolf-Swenson where she worked on the development of the television show Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. [2]

Nickelodeon and Nicktoons

Coffey says that after leaving Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, she did not want to do animation anymore [3] because everything was either modeled after pre-existing comic strips or a vessel for selling related products. [2] Coffey decided that she wanted to bring back original animation [2] and called Debbie Beece at Nickelodeon. [3] Coffey was told that Nickelodeon could not afford animation at the time, but she could produce a special for them. She produced Nick's Thanksgiving Fest in 1988 as an independent contractor. [3] It was only the second time that the studio had done animation. [2] After the success of the special, Nickelodeon contracted with Coffey to develop Nicktoons [4] with original, creator-driven ideas. [2]

Coffey developed three ideas to fill the 90-minute time slot allocated to Nicktoons – Rugrats, The Ren & Stimpy Show and Doug. [2] All three shows were successful and are credited with beginning Nickelodeon's "golden age of cartoons". [2] Coffey calls the variety of the three shows "a balanced meal" for kids. [2] Between the pilots and series' production, Coffey was hired as Nickelodeon's Vice President of Animation. [4]

Of being able to create original programming for Nicktoons, Coffey says, "I was in the right place at the right time." [5] Arlene Klasky, co-creator of Rugrats, and Jim Jinkins, creator of Doug, credit Coffey for enabling them to get their shows off the ground and into the homes of millions around the world. [5]

Awards and nominations

List of awards and nominations.
OrganizationYear [lower-alpha 1] Work(s)CategoryResult
Primetime Emmy Awards 1995 Rugrats for episode "Passover" Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less) Nominated
1994 The Ren & Stimpy Show for episode "Ren's Retirement" Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less) Nominated
1993 The Ren & Stimpy Show for episode "Son of Stimpy" Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less) Nominated
1992 The Ren & Stimpy Show Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less) Nominated
CableACE Awards 1995 Rocko's Modern Life Animated Programming Special or SeriesNominated
1994 Rugrats Animated Programming Special or SeriesWon
1994 Doug Animated Programming Special or SeriesNominated
1994 The Ren & Stimpy Show Animated Programming Special or SeriesNominated
1993 The Ren & Stimpy Show Animated Programming Special or SeriesNominated
Daytime Emmy Awards 1995 Rugrats Outstanding Animated Children's Program Nominated
1994 Rugrats Outstanding Animated Children's Program Won
1993 Doug Outstanding Animated Children's Program Nominated
Rugrats Outstanding Animated Children's Program Nominated
1992 Rugrats Outstanding Animated Children's Program Won
Doug Outstanding Animated Children's Program Nominated

Filmography

YearWorkRoleNotes
1987–1988 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Production managerTV series
1989Nick's Thanksgiving FestProducerTV special
1990 Big House Blues Executive producerFilm short
1991–1994 Doug Executive producerTV series
1991–1995 Rugrats Executive producerTV series
1991–1996 The Ren & Stimpy Show Executive producerTV series
1993–1995 Rocko's Modern Life Executive producerTV series
1999 Rayman: The Animated Series Executive producerTV series
2024 Ren & Stimpy Executive producerTV series

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References

  1. "Vanessa Coffey". IMDb. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Duca, Lauren (December 18, 2014). "One Woman Is Responsible For Starting Nickelodeon's Golden Age of Cartoons". HuffPost. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 "The Oral History of 'Nicktoons', Part I: How The Storied Animation Block Came To Be". Decider. June 14, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Owen, Rob (May 5, 2016). "Nickelodeon Animation Studio: Pop-Culture Powerhouse Got an Unlikely Start". Variety. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Cal State Fullerton Exhibit Celebrates 25 Years of NickToons". Animation Magazine. April 18, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  1. Year in which awards ceremony was held.