Norman J. Grossfeld (born December 15, 1963) is an American director, television producer, record producer, screenwriter and media executive. From February 1994 to December 2009, he was the president of

4Kids Productions 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (formerly known as Leisure Concepts, Inc. and later known as 4Licensing Corporation) was an American licensing company. The company was previously also a film and television production company that produced English- dub ...

, a former subsidiary of

4Kids Entertainment 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (formerly known as Leisure Concepts, Inc. and later known as 4Licensing Corporation) was an American licensing company. The company was previously also a film and television production company that produced English- dub ...

and Leisure Concepts. He produced the English adaptations of the first eight seasons of the ''Pokémon'' TV series and five seasons of ''

Yu-Gi-Oh! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuki Takahashi. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine between September 1996 and March 2004. The plot follows the story of a boy named Yugi Mutou, w ...

''. He produced five seasons of the new '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', five ''Pokémon'' movies, and one ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' movie for

4KidsTV 4Kids TV (often stylized as 4K!DSTV and formerly known as FoxBox from September 14, 2002 to January 15, 2005) was an American television programming block and Internet-based video on demand children's network operated by 4Kids Entertainment. I ...

. In addition to producing and executive producing, Grossfeld co-wrote most of the

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

films, which grossed over $600 million worldwide. Grossfeld is credited with writing the ''

'' franchise's tagline, "Gotta catch 'em all!" He was also an executive producer for the anime ''

One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chapte ...

''. An accomplished lyricist and musician, Grossfeld contributed to several tracks on the

Pokémon 2.B.A. Master ''Pokémon 2.B.A. Master'' is a 1999 album, the first soundtrack album released for the English localization of the ''Pokémon'' anime. Production In an interview with John Loeffler, it was revealed that it took three and a half weeks to prod ...

soundtrack album, the first released for the English localization of the ''

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

. The album was a commercial success, rising to the top of the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Kids Albums Chart and garnering

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

Gold certification with over 500,000 units sold. He also wrote both the main and ending theme songs for '' Sonic X'' and '' Kirby: Right Back at Ya!'', and the English ending theme song to '' Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker''. Grossfeld also developed and co-wrote the successful stage adaptation of the ''

'' series, which premiered at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

and toured the United States and Canada in late 2000 to early 2001. Before his role as president of 4Kids, Grossfeld was a producer and director at Television Programming Enterprises from 1988 to 1991, worked at

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

from 1991 to 1992 as a coordinating director, and spent 1992 through 1994 as president of the television production company Gold Coast Television Entertainment. Grossfeld broke new ground in reality television with NBC's ''InSport'', a show that set the stage for sports magazine series now on the air. Grossfeld has also produced, written and/or directed a variety of television programs, including ''

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous ''Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'' is an American television series that aired in syndication from 1984 to 1995. The show featured the extravagant lifestyles of wealthy entertainers, athletes, socialites and magnates. It was hosted by Rob ...

'' hosted by Robin Leach. A member of the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

, Grossfeld directed coverage of several

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

for NBC, including the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

in Barcelona, the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in Atlanta and the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

in Nagano. In 1996, Grossfeld won the International Olympic Committee's highest honor, the Golden Rings, for his direction of the live sports coverage of the 1996 Olympic Games. Grossfeld is of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

background.

Filmography

Movies

Television

References

External links

*https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0343570/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Grossfeld, Norman J. Living people Jewish American screenwriters American television producers American film producers American male screenwriters American television writers Showrunners American entertainment industry businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople Tisch School of the Arts alumni 1963 births American male television writers 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews

Filmography

Movies

Television

See also

References

External links