Ronald J. Diamond (born July 30, 1958) is an American film producer from

Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He is the founder of Acme Filmworks, the Animation Show of Shows and the co-founder of

Animation World Network Animation World Network (often just "AWN") is an online publishing group that specializes in resources for animators, with an extensive website offering news, articles and links for professional animators and animation fans. Specifically, AWN cov ...

. Diamond has lectured at animation schools, served as a juror and a guest speaker at film festivals. He has been a member of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

, Shorts Films and Feature Animation branch since 2002, and is a collaborator with the

LA Opera The Los Angeles Opera is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Leaders ...

creative team. Diamond has contributed to the restoration and preservation efforts of films that are in the permanent collections of the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...

and

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Early life and education

Diamond was born in Covina, California and was raised in Ontario, California. He studied at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, where he earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees.

Career

Ron Diamond has had two primary producing, distributing and curating careers in

live-action film Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

making (1980–1990), and in

animation film Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...

production (1990–present). Diamond spent nine years producing live action films including ''

The Chocolate War ''The Chocolate War'' is a 1974 young adult literature, young adult novel by American author Robert Cormier. It was adapted into a film in 1988. Although it received mixed reviews at the time of its publication, some reviewers have argued it is o ...

'' and ''

The Dark Backward ''The Dark Backward'' (also known as ''The Man with Three Arms'') is a 1991 American satirical comedy film written and directed by Adam Rifkin, and starring Judd Nelson, Bill Paxton, Wayne Newton, and Lara Flynn Boyle. The film features special m ...

'' before refocusing his career towards animation.

Animation Show of Shows

In the 1980s, Diamond produced and post-produced numerous compilations of short films for festivals such as: the International Tournées of Animation, The Animation Celebration. The Outrageous Animation Show, The Computer Animation Show, Streams of Consciousness: New American Animation,

Liquid Television ''Liquid Television'' was an animation showcase that appeared on MTV from 1991 to 1995. It has served as the launching point for several high-profile original cartoons, including ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' and ''Æon Flux''. The bulk of ''Liquid T ...

, The Oscar Showcase Tour, and

Will Vinton William Gale Vinton (November 17, 1947 – October 4, 2018) was an American animator and filmmaker. Vinton was best known for his Claymation work, alongside creating iconic characters such as The California Raisins. He won an Oscar for his work a ...

's Festival of Claymation. In 1998, Diamond founded the Animation Show of Shows (ASOS), a 501(c)(3) non-profit. He recognized an absence of animated short films in the theatrical circuit, "so he set out to curate a collection of new, significant, artistic, narrative and experimental animated shorts from those he had seen during the past year at major animation festivals." Diamond has presented ASOS and his annual Oscar Showcase Tour to students and industry professionals alike at venues such as

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

, and the Walt Disney Family Museum. As of 2020, 41 films featured in the ASOS have gone on to receive Academy Award Nominations with 11 Oscar wins.

Acme Filmworks

Diamond founded the commercial animation company Acme Filmworks in 1990. It has produced animated commercials for companies including: Levi's Jeans for Women,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

Charmin Charmin ( ) is an American brand of toilet paper manufactured by Procter & Gamble. History The Charmin name was first created on April 19, 1928 by the Hoberg Paper Company in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 1950, Hoberg changed its name to Charmin Pape ...

Ad Council The Advertising Council, commonly known as the Ad Council, is an American nonprofit organization that produces, distributes, and promotes public service announcements on behalf of various sponsors, including nonprofit organizations, non-governme ...

and the

Alzheimer's Association The Alzheimer's Association was founded by Jerome H. Stone with the help of several family members in Chicago, Illinois, and incorporated on April 10, 1980, as the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association, Inc. It is a non-profit Ame ...

. Acme Filmworks has produced logos and main title sequences including: the

Scott Free Productions Scott Free Productions is an independent film and television production company founded in 1970 by filmmakers and brothers Ridley Scott and Tony Scott. They formed the feature film development company Percy Main Productions in 1980, naming the ...

logo, Universal Pictures' Robin Hood, Disney's

The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit ''The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit'' is a 1998 American fantasy comedy film directed by Stuart Gordon, written by Ray Bradbury and starring Edward James Olmos, Joe Mantegna, Esai Morales, Clifton Collins Jr. (credited as Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez), Si ...

, The Path, and Ken Follet's

Pillars of The Earth ''The Pillars of the Earth'' is a historical novel by British author Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. Set in the 12th century, the novel covers the time between the ...

. Through Acme, Diamond produced the Academy Award-nominated short film Nibbles, and the animated feature film for PBS' American Playhouse Drawn From Memory. He was also the executive producer of

Drew Carey's Green Screen Show ''Drew Carey's Green Screen Show'' is an American improvisational comedy television series that aired in the fall of 2004 on The WB, and the fall of 2005 on Comedy Central. The show was hosted by Drew Carey, and was somewhat a follow-up to the s ...

and has produced segments for the following

Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, a ...

episodes:

The Incredible Lightness of Being a Baby "The Incredible Lightness of Being a Baby" is the 18th episode of the thirty-first season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 680th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on April 19, 2020. The epis ...

Orange Is the New Yellow "Orange Is the New Yellow" is the twenty-second and final episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 596th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Matthew Faughnan ...

What to Expect When Bart's Expecting "What to Expect When Bart's Expecting" is the nineteenth episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and the 549th episode of the series. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United Stat ...

. As an executive producer through Acme, Diamond has been nominated for a BAFTA, an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

, and an

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 ...

. He has won awards including a

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; el, Κλειώ), also spelled Kleio, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre playing. Etymology Clio's name is etymologically derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλεί� ...

and an

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desi ...

, and has earned

Annecy Annecy ( , ; frp, Èneci or ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nicknamed ...

honors.

Animation World Network

In 1995 Diamond partnered with Dan Sarto and founded the

. AWN is an online magazine that covers animator profiles, film distribution, animation studio activities, licensing, CGI and other animation technologies, as well as current events in all fields of animation. A year after

Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter (in his feature directorial debut), produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The first installment in the '' Toy Story ...

debuted, Sarto and Diamond produced their first issue.

Film restoration

Diamond has contributed to film restoration and preservation through Acme Filmworks and the Animation Show of Shows. Most of the films he's restored are at the

, and the

. The entire Acme Filmworks digital archive is at the

Credits

Publications

* * *Diamond, Ronald (2007-2013). ''The Animation Show of Shows 9 DVD Boxed Sets, Volumes 1-54''. Hollywood, CA: Acme Filmworks, Inc. *Diamond, Ronald (2016-2019). ''The Annual Animation Show of Shows DVD compilations, Volumes 17- 20''. Los Angeles, CA: Animation Show of Shows, Inc.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond, Ron 1958 births Living people Animators from California American film producers American animated film producers Annie Award winners People from Los Angeles