Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | L | Los Angeles Business Journal

Art lessons: Bruce Johnson was an educator before becoming an entertainment executive.

Article Excerpt
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

BRUCE Johnson started as a high school teacher in Chicago, then became an associate professor at Northwestern University. Now he's the chief executive of one of the largest privately hem TV and film production and distribution companies in L.A. For longer than two decades, Johnson has amassed more than 500 producing credits including feature films, television movies, series and specials, plus educational films and documentaries. Johnson co-founded PorchLight Entertainment with William Baumann in 1995 to specialize in family productions. He has been producing television series such as "Secret Saturdays" for the Cartoon Network; "Tutenstein" for DiscoveryKids; and an award-winning CGI series called "Animalia" for PBS, Canadian television and Network Ten in Australia. In addition to its animation production, PorchLight produces four to five live-action movies a year and the company has a library of more than 1,000 episodes of children's programming and nearly 200 movies. Prior to forming PorchLight, Johnson was executive vice president and general manager of Hanna-Barbera Entertainment Co. In that role, he was a consultant on the creation of the Cartoon Network. The Business Journal sat down with Johnson in his Santa Monica office and talked about what makes him tick, his best days and his worst moments, and how he got into the business of family entertainment.

Question: Did you ever see yourself as a producer of family entertainment?

Answer: I had the ability as a writer but I was really headed for an academic career. Teaching as a professor and writing during my summer breaks and spending the rest of my life living in some...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!