de Passe Entertainment was an American film and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

production company run by entertainment executive Suzanne de Passe. The company was founded by

Berry Gordy Jr. Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

, in 1968, as Motown Productions, the film and television arm of Gordy's Motown Records label. In 2008, de Passe and

Madison Jones Madison Percy Jones (1925-2012) was a novelist born in Nashville, Tennessee. He published almost a dozen novels, and was considered "one of the major figures of contemporary southern letters". Biography Madison Jones was born in Nashville, Tenn ...

started a successor company,

de Passe Jones Entertainment de Passe Jones Entertainment (dJE) is an American entertainment content provider led by Suzanne de Passe and Madison Jones that sources, develops, acquires, and produces a variety of television, motion picture, theater, new media, and print c ...

History

Motown Productions' original focus was on the production of

television specials A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

for its star recording artists. These included '' TCB'' (1968) and ''

G.I.T. on Broadway ''G.I.T. on Broadway'', also known as ''Diana Ross and The Supremes and The Temptations on Broadway'', is a 1969 television special produced by Motown Productions and George Schlatter- Ed Friendly Productions. The special, a follow-up to 1968's ...

'' (1969), starring

Diana Ross & the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

with

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

, '' The Temptations Show'' (also 1969), ''The Smokey Robinson Show'' (1970), ''

Diana! ''Diana!'' is the first solo television special of American singer Diana Ross and aired on ABC on April 18, 1971. The special was choreographed by David Winters of ''West Side Story'' fame, who at that time choreographed all of Ross' stage an ...

'' (1971) starring Diana Ross, and ''

Goin' Back to Indiana ''Goin' Back to Indiana'' is a live/soundtrack album by the Jackson 5 for Motown Records, taken from their September 16, 1971 ABC TV special of the same name. It is the Jackson 5's sixth album overall, and was released on September 29, 1971. ...

'' (also 1971) starring

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

. When Suzanne de Passe joined Motown in 1968, much of her work involved the production of these television specials. Motown's first television series was '' The Jackson 5ive'' (1971 - 1973), a Saturday morning cartoon by

Rankin/Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...

starring characters based upon Motown's popular teen act. The company's first feature film was '' Lady Sings the Blues'' (1972), a

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

biographical film starring Diana Ross as Holliday and

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor. He appeared as Lando Calrissian in the '' Star Wars'' franchise, first in the early 1980s for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), and thir ...

as her husband Louis McKay. After ''Lady Sings the Blues'' became a success, garnering box office success and five

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations, Ross and Williams were paired for a second feature, '' Mahogany'' (1975). Both films were coupled with successful music releases: ''Lady Sings the Blues'' was accompanied with a platinum-selling soundtrack album by Ross, while ''Mahogany'' featured Ross' number-one pop hit " Theme from ''Mahogany'' (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" Other Motown films included ''Scott Joplin'' (1977), another musician biopic starring Billy Dee Williams, and '' Thank God It's Friday'' (1978), which starred Donna Summer and featured her hit song " Last Dance". Following the commercial and critical failure of Motown's eighth film, a 1978 adaptation of the

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

'' starring Diana Ross and the Jackson 5's

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, the company focused more closely on television. Its productions during the late 1970s and early 1980s included

TV movies A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

such as ''Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill,'' (1979) and ''Callie & Son'' (1981) and TV specials such as the popular and successful '' Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, and Forever'' (1983). ''Motown 25'', an anniversary special for the Motown Records label, was most noted for featuring Michael Jackson's famous performance of his non-Motown hit song "

Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 2, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson and ...

". By this time, Suzanne de Passe had become the executive producer in charge of Motown's film and TV products. Motown briefly returned to feature films with '' Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon'', which became Motown's final theatrical feature. In 1986, Motown Productions had inked an agreement with video distributor

MCA Home Video Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...

in an effort to expand the direct-to-video market with a series of "Motown Video Originals" mini-movie series. In 1988, Gordy sold Motown Records to

MCA Inc. MCA Inc. (originally an initialism for Music Corporation of America) was an American media conglomerate founded in 1924. Originally a talent agency with artists in the music business as clients, the company became a major force in the film ind ...

(owner of

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

, which co-produced four films with Motown) and Boston Ventures. The following year, he sold Motown Productions to de Passe, and the company continued its success in television with the popular miniseries ''

Lonesome Dove ''Lonesome Dove'' is a 1985 Western novel by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the first published book of the ''Lonesome Dove'' series, but the third installment in the series chronologically. The story revolves around the relationships b ...

'' (1989). A sequel, '' Streets of Laredo'', would follow in 1995. Changing its name to ''de Passe Entertainment'' in 1992, the company has produced a number of successful TV programs, among them '' Sister, Sister'' (1994 - 1999), ''

Smart Guy ''Smart Guy'' is an American sitcom television series centering on the exploits of child prodigy T.J. Henderson (Tahj Mowry), who moves from being an elementary school student in the fourth grade to a high school student in the tenth grade, atte ...

'' (1997 - 1999), and ''

It's Showtime at the Apollo English auxiliary verbs are a small set of English verbs, which include the English modal verbs and a few others. Although definitions vary, as generally conceived an auxiliary lacks inherent semantic meaning but instead modifies the meaning of an ...

'' (produced by de Passe from 2002 to 2008). Successful TV specials from the company include Motown biopics such as '' The Jacksons: An American Dream'' (1992) and ''

'' (1998), ''The

Loretta Claiborne Loretta Claiborne is an American global speaker and multi-sport athlete who competes in the Special Olympics. She has been honored with the 1996 Arthur Ashe ESPY Courage Award presented to her by Denzel Washington. Claiborne was the first Special ...

Story'' (2000), and the

Essence Awards ''Essence'' is a monthly lifestyle magazine covering fashion, beauty, entertainment, and culture. First published in 1970, the magazine is written for African-American women. History Edward Lewis, Clarence O. Smith, Cecil Hollingsworth and Jo ...

and

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

telecasts. de Passe Entertainment also produced the feature films ''

Class Act ''Class Act'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Randall Miller and starring hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play. An urban retelling of Mark Twain's ''The Prince and the Pauper'', the film was written by Cynthia Friedlob and John Semper from a s ...

'' (1992), starring rappers

Kid 'n Play Kid 'n Play is an American hip-hop duo from New York City that was most popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The duo was composed of Christopher Reid ("Kid") and Christopher Martin ("Play") working alongside their DJ, Mark "DJ Wiz" Eas ...

, and ''

Who's the Man? ''Who's the Man?'' is a 1993 thriller buddy comedy film directed by Ted Demme in his feature film directing debut. The film stars '' Yo! MTV Raps'' hosts Doctor Dré and Ed Lover as its two main protagonists and features cameo appearances fro ...

'' (1993), starring hip-hop radio personalities

Doctor Dré André "Doctor Dré" Brown (born December 5, 1963) is an American rapper, radio personality and former MTV VJ. Early life André Brown was born and raised in Westbury, New York, on Long Island. Career In the early 1980s, Doctor Dré was a DJ ...

and Ed Lover.

Films

Motown Productions

*'' The Supremes In The Orient'' (1966) (Never Released) *'' Lady Sings the Blues'' (1972, Paramount Pictures) *'' Mahogany'' (1975, Paramount Pictures) *''

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings ''The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings'' is a 1976 American sports comedy film about a team of enterprising ex- Negro league baseball players in the era of racial segregation. Loosely based upon William Brashler's 1973 novel of the ...

'' (1976,

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

) *'' Scott Joplin'' (1977, Universal Pictures) *''Big Time'' (1977, WorldWide Pictures) *'' Thank God It's Friday'' (1978,

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

) *''

Almost Summer ''Almost Summer'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Martin Davidson, and produced by Motown Productions for Universal Pictures. It is the only Motown theatrical feature not to center on African-American characters. Set in a generic Southe ...

'' (1978, Universal Pictures) *''

The Last Dragon ''The Last Dragon'' (sometimes listed as Berry Gordy's ''The Last Dragon'') is a 1985 American martial arts comedy film produced by Rupert Hitzig for Berry Gordy and directed by Michael Schultz. The film stars Taimak, Vanity, Julius Carry, C ...

'' (1985,

TriStar Pictures TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony ...

)

de Passe Entertainment

*''

'' (1992,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

) *''

'' (1993,

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

)

Notable television films, miniseries, and specials

Motown Productions

*'' TCB'' (1968,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

) *''

'' (1969, NBC) *'' The Temptations Show'' (1969, Syndicated) *'' The Smokey Robinson Show'' (1970,

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

) *''

'' (1971,

) *''

'' (1971,

) *''

An Evening with Diana Ross ''An Evening with Diana Ross'' is a 1977 live double album released by American singer Diana Ross on the Motown label. It was recorded live at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in December 1976 during the international tour of Ross' one-woman s ...

'' (1977, NBC) *''Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill'' (1979, NBC) *''Callie & Son'' (1981,

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

) *''Happy Endings'' (1983, CBS) *'' Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever'' (1983, NBC) *''Motown Returns to the Apollo'' (1985, NBC) *''The Motown Revue'' (1986, NBC) *''Temptations and Four Tops'' (1986,

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

) *'' Marvin Gaye'' (1987,

) *''Motown Merry Christmas'' (1987, NBC) *''Michael Jackson'' (1988, Showtime) *''

'' (1989, CBS) *''

Small Sacrifices ''Small Sacrifices'' is a 1989 American made-for-television crime drama film written by Joyce Eliason and based on the best-selling true crime book by Ann Rule of the same name. The film is about Diane Downs and the murder and attempted murder o ...

'' (1989, ABC) *'' The Jacksons: An American Dream'' (1992, ABC)

de Passe Entertainment

*'' Streets of Laredo'' (1995, CBS) *''

'' (1998) *''Motown 40: The Music is Forever'' (1998) *'' Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century'' (1999) *'' Zenon: The Zequel'' (2001) *''Motown 45'' (2004) *'' Zenon: Z3'' (2004)

Notable television series

Motown Productions

*'' The Jackson 5ive'' (1971 - 1973, ABC; with

Rankin-Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...

) *''

Nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...

'' (1986 - 1987, syndicated; with

King World Productions King World Productions, Inc. (also known as King World Entertainment, King World Enterprises, or simply King World) was a production company and syndicator of television programming in the United States independently established in 1964 until acq ...

) *'' Sidekicks'' (1986 - 1987, ABC; with

Walt Disney Television Disney General Entertainment Content, doing business as Walt Disney Television, is an American entertainment company that oversees television content and assets owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. Forming the company's General Enter ...

)

de Passe Entertainment

*'' Sister, Sister'' (1994 - 1999, ABC/ WB with Paramount Television) *''

'' (1997 - 1999, WB with

) *''

Showtime at the Apollo ''Showtime at the Apollo'' (formerly ''It's Showtime at the Apollo'' and ''Apollo Live'') is an American variety show that first aired in syndication from September 12, 1987 to May 24, 2008. In 2018, the series returned on Fox with Steve Harvey ...

'' (2002–2008 syndication/

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

with

Warner Bros. Television Distribution Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

) *''All American Girl'' (2003, ABC/ ABC Family) *'' On Our Own'' (1994 - 1995, ABC with

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

)

References

{{Reflist * Defunct film and television production companies of the United States Entertainment companies based in California Companies based in Detroit Companies based in Los Angeles Entertainment companies established in 1968 Mass media companies disestablished in 2008 1968 establishments in Michigan 2008 disestablishments in California