Albie Hecht

September 24th, 2011

"The Harvest" Film Screening

Albie Hecht, noted as one of the most influential and innovative people in entertainment, has created numerous hits, has been nominated for two Academy Awards, guided franchises into household names and introduced groundbreaking entertainment for people of all ages.

As former president of Nickelodeon Entertainment as well as the creator and president of SpikeTV, Albie became a recognized industry leader. While at Nickelodeon, he oversaw the development and production of SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues and the live-action hit All That. He built the Nick Digital Studio as well as the first new animation studio in Los Angeles in 35 years. He also co-created Nickelodeon’s Kids Choice Awards as the founding principal and executive producer for Chauncey Street Productions. At SpikeTV his hits included the Joe Shmo Show, MXC and signing the Ultimate Fighting Championship franchise.

In addition to television, Hecht also produced some of Paramount’s hit films including Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, which received four Academy Award nominations as well as The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. He was nominated for an Oscar as the producer of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, which was also a Golden Globe Nominee and he was the executive producer of The Rugrats Movie, which was the first non-Disney animated feature to cross the hundred million dollar mark.

In late 2005, Hecht launched Worldwide Biggies Inc., a new digital entertainment studio creating intellectual, web-based properties for kids, families and young adults that are designed for additional distribution in the film, TV and licensing arenas. Worldwide Biggies launched its first multi-platform hit on Nickelodeon and Nick.com in February 2007 with The Naked Brothers Band and has produced the Video Game Awards on Spike TV, which Hecht created during his tenure as the network’s president.

Most recently, Albie has added a series of successes to his resume including the production of the family sports game show My Family’s Got Guts, the creation and launch of the Worldwide Fido Awards for Nickelodeon, the development of the hilarious web comedy series El Vacio on Atom.com and the successful transition of the original web series MoCap, LLC from internet to television – proving the multiplatform business model Hecht created for Worldwide Biggies. He is currently producing the television series Bar Karma for Current TV – an innovative show in which the audience helps to
create the story via online community resources. Recognized for these accomplishments, Hecht was also named to Hollywood Reporter’s Top 50 Digital Power Innovators in 2008 and 2010 and Biggies was named as a Top 5 Digital Studio.

Throughout his entertainment career, Hecht has been active in charitable causes for children. At Nickelodeon, he created the “Big Help,” a pro-social campaign aimed at getting kids to participate in community services. Through live TV events like the “Big Help-a-thon,” PSA spots and hundreds of outreach events across America, The Big Help soon became the most recognized organization for community service for kids, surpassing even Big Brother Big Sister and the PTA. Hecht received the “Children’s Freedom Award” from the Children’s Museum of Los Angeles for his charitable nature. Soon after receiving the award, he joined the board of directors and helped launch a capital campaign to build a new museum. He was also a recipient of the “Liberty Award” from the A.C.L.U. As a champion of men’s health issues, Hecht created Spike TV’s “Check Up or Check Out,” campaign that inspired more than 50,000 men in its first six months to get an annual check up. The campaign also attracted “America’s Mayor” Rudy Giuliani to become its national spokesperson.

Another prime example of Hecht’s philanthropic nature, is the creation of Shine Global, Inc., which produces documentary films, books and other media to illuminate serious global challenges to children’s physical, emotional and social well-being. 100% of all profits earned by Shine are donated to their subjects and local non-governmental organizations to better children’s lives. Shine Global’s first project, War/Dance was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Documentary Feature 2008 and is the winner of the US Director’s Award at Sundance 2007 as well as the 2010 Emmy Award for Best Documentary and Best Cinematography. War/Dance is a documentary set against the backdrop of Uganda’s 20 year civil war in which over 30,000 children have been abducted by a rebel army. Currently, Shine Global is working on its second documentary, The Harvest, which will expose the harsh experiences of child laborers in the United States.

Albie Hecht is a native of Queens, NY, where he once lit up Edison for 25 points, as the starting point guard for Francis Lewis High School. He is a Columbia University graduate and a longtime-recently-beleaguered New York Knicks season ticket holder. Albie lives in Montclair, NJ with his wife, Susan, an Associate Professor of Health Education at Kean University, their two children and his collection of antique technology he likes to call “antechs.”