Albie Hecht | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Education | Columbia University |
| Occupation(s) | TV and Film Producer, Entertainment Executive |
| Known for | Television industry |
| Notable work |
|
| Television | Nickelodeon, Spike TV, HLN |
| Spouse | Susan MacLaury |
| Children | 2 |
Albie Hecht is a 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's and Tommy West's Lifesong Records in the 1970s,[9] where he oversaw the career of Crack the Sky and then became manager to pop star Dean Friedman.
In the mid-1980’s, Hecht ran productions[10][11] for the advertising agency Fred/Alan Inc with Alan Goodman and Fred Seibert.[12] Together, they established Chauncey Street Productions[13][14][15] for their independent television productions.
Through Chauncey Street, Hecht co-created and executive produced Kids Court and GUTS[16] for Nickelodeon, 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.
At Nickelodeon, Hecht oversaw the development and production of SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues,[3] and such live-action shows as All That, Kenan and Kel[17] and The Naked Brothers Band.[18] He also co-created and executive produced the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards,[19] and built the Nick Digital Studio in New York and the Nick animation studio in Los Angeles.
At Spike TV, his shows included The Joe Schmo Show, MXC and signing the Ultimate Fighting Championship franchise.[20]
In 2017, Hecht joined Pocket.watch as Chief Content Officer.[21] Pocket.watch is a new studio creating global franchises from the YouTube stars characters loved by generation alpha. Hecht is the creator and Executive Producer of Ryan's Mystery Playdate[22] on the Nick Jr. Channel,[23] the number one preschool show on TV.[24] 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.[25]
Hecht is the current Chief Content Officer of pocket.watch[26][27] that creates content for over 40 prominent Kids and Family YouTube creators,[28] resulting in more than 600 hours of programming produced to date. Currently, Hecht is overseeing the production of a series of 50 animated and live-action series and 5 specials. Featuring digital stars like Toys and Colors[29] (38.9 million subscribers) and Dan Rhodes [30] (22.5 million subscribers). Additionally, he is directing and producing "Ryan's World: them Movie" [31][32] the first feature film for the youtube star Ryan (34.6 million subscribers), set to be released in Fall 2024.
In his role as Creator and Executive Producer at pocket.watch, Hecht led the successful launch of "Ryan’s Mystery Playdate," which garnered a Daytime Emmy Award Nomination.[33] Creating and producing hits such as "Love, Diana" with over 1 billion views, "Onyx Family Dinner," recognized with a Cynopsis Best of the Best Award [34] and a MIPCOM CANNES Diversify TV Award [35] for its contributions to representation in Kids Programming, and "HobbyKids Adventures," in collaboration with[36][37] "The Fairly OddParents" creator Butch Hartman.
In movies, Hecht produced films for Paramount including Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.[38] The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, The Rugrats Movie and the Oscar nominated[39] animated feature Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.[38] The Rugrats Movie holds the distinction of being the first non-Disney animated feature to hit $100 million at the US domestic box office.[40]
In 2005, Hecht co-founded Shine Global with his wife Susan MacLaury,[41] Shine Global is a nonprofit media company that gives voice to children and their families by telling stories of resilience to raise awareness, promote action, inspire change. Through Shine, Hecht produced the Oscar winning[42] short documentary Inocente and the Emmy winning[43] and Oscar nominated documentary feature War/Dance.[44]
