James A. Bethea Jr. (born January 14, 1965) is an American

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

, producer and occasional performer, primarily in the field of

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 ...

. As the former Head of Current Programming for

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...

, he is among a handful of African Americans to head a programming department at a

broadcast network A terrestrial network (or broadcast network in the United States) is a group of radio stations, television stations, or other electronic media outlets, that form an agreement to air, or broadcast, content from a centralized source. For example, ...

. Series overseen by him at

include '' Star Trek: Voyager'', ''

Dilbert ''Dilbert'' is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Scott Adams, first published on April 16, 1989. It is known for its satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office with engineer Dilbert as the title charact ...

'', ''Clueless'', and '' Moesha''. As an actor, his work has included 2008's ''Iron Man'' and the 2010 sequel, ''

Iron Man 2 ''Iron Man 2'' is a 2010 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is the sequel to '' Iron Man'' (2008) and the third film in the Marvel ...

''.

Early life and education

Bethea was born in New York City's

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

, the son of Constance, a social worker, and James Sr., a hospital laboratory technician. Following the

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public specialized high school in The Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science involves passing the Sp ...

, he attended Hunter College, majoring in Film and Communications with a minor in Computer Science.

Career

Bethea began his career in 1982 while a Bronx Science student, as a cast member of the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

series ''Livewire''. Finding the behind-the-camera aspects of television equally appealing, he obtained work as a production assistant, first at the Children's Television Workshop, then back at Nickelodeon as a Segment Producer for the 3-hour weekly variety show '' Total Panic''. With high school classmate Karim Miteff, Bethea co-created and produced ''

Nick Arcade ''Nick Arcade'' (also stylized ''Nickelodeon Arcade'') is an American children's game show created by James Bethea and Karim Miteff and hosted by Phil Moore, with Andrea Lively announcing, that aired on Nickelodeon in 1992 (in the first seaso ...

'', a groundbreaking

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...

game show whose bluescreen process received an Ultimatte Award for Technical Achievement from the National Association of Broadcasters, as well as a Cable Ace nomination. The series format was licensed and produced worldwide, including as Zona De Juego in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

for TVE. Bethea also co-created and produced the original ''

Slime Time Live ''Slime Time Live'' is a television show that aired on Nickelodeon from 2000–2004, lasting 8 seasons. During its run it was hosted by Dave Aizer, Jonah Travick and Jessica Holmes and produced/directed by Jason Harper. It was located outside (i ...

''. In 1997, Bethea was hired by Viacom's

as Director of Programming and promoted shortly after to Head of Current Programming. In this capacity, he supervised the production of the network's entire primetime slate, including comedy, drama and alternative series. He also appeared as a '' D&D'' Dungeon Master in high school classmate Jon Favreau's 1999 pilot ''Smog''. Eventually, Bethea sold the network a pilot script of his own, ''The Gibsons'' and in 2000, returned to freelance producing. The script was not ordered to series. Tapped again by Nickeodeon in 2003, Bethea developed and produced the

TEENick TeenNick is an American pay-TV channel that is operated by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Aimed primarily at teens and tweens, its programming includes a variety of live-action series inherited from sister channel Nic ...

''Spin The Bottle'' franchise, in addition to composing its theme music. In 2005, Bethea began executive producing live television events. They include E!'s '' Live From the Red Carpet'' franchise and the '' 12th Critics' Choice Awards''. He is also the producer of two plays written by actor

Mike O'Malley Michael Edward O'Malley (born October 31, 1966) is an American actor, writer and producer. Born in Boston and raised in New Hampshire, O'Malley hosted the early 1990s children's game show '' Nickelodeon Guts'' before moving to Los Angeles later ...

: ''Three Years From Thirty'' and ''Searching For Certainty''. Bethea donned a military uniform to portray an analyst for Jon Favreau in his 2008 ''Iron Man'' and its sequel, ''

''; a nod to their days in high school as avid comic book fans.

Filmography

Actor

* '' Iron Man'' (2008) - CAOC Analyst #4 * ''

'' (2010) - Security Force #1

Executive producer

* '' Live From the Red Carpet: The 2005 Emmy Awards'' (2005) * '' E!'s Live Countdown to the Golden Globes'' (2006) * '' E!'s Live Countdown to the Academy Awards'' (2006) * '' E!'s Live Countdown to the Golden Globes'' (2007) * '' Live From the Red Carpet: The 2007 Golden Globe Awards'' (2007) * '' Live From the Red Carpet: The 2007 Screen Actor's Guild Awards'' (2007) * '' E!'s Live Countdown to the SAG Awards'' (2007) * '' Live From the Red Carpet: The 2007 Grammy Awards'' (2007) * '' E!'s Live Countdown to the Grammys'' (2007) * '' E!'s Live Countdown to the Academy Awards'' (2007) * '' Live From the Red Carpet: The 2007 Academy Awards'' (2007) * '' 12th Annual Critics' Choice Awards'' (2007)

Executive in charge

* '' Star Trek: Voyager'' (1995) * '' In The House'' (1995) * ''

Malcolm & Eddie ''Malcolm & Eddie'' is an American sitcom that premiered August 26, 1996, on UPN, and ran for four seasons, airing its final episode on May 22, 2000. This series starred Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Eddie Griffin in the lead roles. The program was ...

'' (1996) * '' The Sentinel'' (1996) * '' Sparks'' (1996) * '' Moesha'' (1996) * ''

Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone with supporting roles by Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd. It was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert ...

'' (1996) * ''

Hitz ''Hitz'' is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from August 26 until November 11, 1997. The series follows two record industry executives ( Rick Gomez and Claude Brooks) and their boss (Andrew Dice Clay) at Hitower Records in Los Angeles. Cast ...

'' (1997) * '' The Good News'' (1997) * '' Love Boat: The Next Wave'' (1998) * '' The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer'' (1998) * '' Legacy'' (1998) * ''

'' (1999)

Creator (developed)

* '' Slimetime Live'' (1992) * ''

'' (1992) * '' TEENick: Spin the Bottle'' (2003)

References

External links

*
Film critics honour The Departed
at BBC News
Martin Scorsese Scores Upset at Critics' Choice Awards Amid Oscar Fever
12th Annual Critics' Choice Awards at Fox News

12th Annual Critics' Choice Awards at E! {{DEFAULTSORT:Bethea, James A. Jr. 1965 births American television producers Hunter College alumni Living people The Bronx High School of Science alumni People from Harlem Writers from Manhattan Television producers from New York City 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American television producers 21st-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American writers African-American actors UPN television network executives 20th-century American writers African-American male writers