Videoage International April 2018

30 April 2018 V I D E O A G E Int’ l TV Distribut ion Hal l of Fame Back with the VideoAge interview, Donenfeld continued: “In 1982, I went to pitch Lou Scheimer a deal for Marvel to handle Filmation’s international TVandworldmerchandiselicensingasthecompany had been recently acquired by Westinghouse Broadcasting & Television. Instead of me pitching him, he pitchedme to come and work for him at the studio. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse and in 1982, I moved to California as EVP of Filmation. I stayed in that position until 1989.” Filmation was founded in 1962 by Scheimer (1928-2013), together with Hal Sutherland and Norm Prescott, and specialized in animation and live-action production and distribution. In 1966, Filmation produced a Superman cartoon, which was followed by other DC Comics superheroes. In effect, Donenfeld left Marvel to join a company with a large catalog of DC Comics programs. In VideoAge ’s 1983 edition of “Who’s Who,” Donenfeld was listed under Group W Productions, but by the 1985 edition she had returned under Filmation. At Filmation, she launched the international television and merchandise licensing of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe , She-Ra: Princess of Power , BraveStarr , Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids , and The Real Ghosbusters . “ He-Man and the Masters of the Universe — the first animated syndicated series — attained such worldwide success it created the international animation business on a large scale. At one point it was playing in over 100 countries andwas grossing over $200million in sales,” Donenfeld pointed out. Then, in 1989, when France’s Parafrance/ Paravision, a division of L’Oréal/Nestle, acquired the Filmation library, Donenfeld decided to go solo with Alice Entertainment and, later, with Alice4TV.com, which she ran until 2005. During an AFM lunch meeting at the Ivy at the Shore in Santa Monica last November, the topic of sexual harassment came up while she spoke with VideoAge , but Donenfeld said, “I never had any problems with aggressive men. They used to call me ‘Ice Queen,’ except one, who stalked me and relentlessly sent me flowers nomatter the country I was in. Ultimately, I gave in and married him.” His name was Pierre Jean Vernoux, a French national marketing consultant whom she met at the Bologna Book Fair in 1979. Speaking of being an attractive woman in a man’sworld, Donenfeld recalled an amusing story: “[Filmation’s] Lou Scheimer always traveled with his wife, Jay. In one of mymany business trips with Lou, Jay couldn’t accompany him. This caused Lou to act very strangely. If we were having lunch, or riding the elevator together, he would burst out to strangers, with ‘Alice is my business partner, not my wife.’ At one point I had to yell at him to stop saying it.” She then returned to discussing Pierre Jean: “We were together for 25 years,” she said. “We got married in 2004, and we had a wedding ceremony at NATPE 2005.” Sadly, Pierre Jean, who was Donenfeld’s fourth and final husband, passed away in 2006 from Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was initially prevented fromentering theU.S., so theypurchased homes in Spain and Mexico. Later on, they sold the house in Spain, but retained the one in Mexico. Since 2005, she has lived in Playas de Rosarito, some 160 kilometers south of her other “every other week” residence in Laguna Woods, California. “I still maintain a residence in the U.S. because my daughter insists on it, but Mexico is my home,” she reported. Alice Entertainment continued representing the Filmation library for three more years for Parafrance. It also represented documentaries and outdoor programs. “ Walker’s Cay Chronicles was the first outdoor, hunting and fishing series with worldwide success. The series played in over 100 countries around the world and was instrumental in starting interest in this type of series when everyone toldme it would never sell,” she told VideoAge . “At one point we had over 5,000 episodes of documentaries, outdoor, hunting and fishing, as well as kids shows, historical docs, and miscellaneous programming. “I produced over 100 episodes of programming: two series for ESPN and Discovery while at Filmation and Alice Entertainment, 26 half-hours of Bingo and Molly for TLC [which] won a Cine Golden Eagle for Excellence in Programming, UFOs and Aliens: Search For The Truth for TLC’s Alien Invasion Week, Millennium Alert for international broadcasters, and The World of Dogs for PBS stations. “After the closure I was a consultant to DIC for 13 months, and consulted for Faith & Values Media. I was also hired as a consultant for Robin& The Dreamweavers , and Seagull Entertainment.” Additionally, she taught “The Business of Television in a Digital Age” at UCLA Extension for several years.   “After retiring in 2005 I’ve been able to indulge my passion for writing and have published three novels, Cave Dreams , Out of the Chute , Pudel & Cie.: Problems Solved , and a business manual, How to Get and Keep the Best Jobs .” Sheadded:“Myworkisalsoinseveralanthologies and articles in local papers. In Mexico, I run the Baja Wordsmiths, a group of local writers, and in the U.S., I am a member of Southern California Writer’s Association, the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society, The Television Academy, and an Advanced Fiction Group. Always a lover of words, I used to spend my time on airplanes writing — short stories, poems, novels, essays — none very good, but it passed the time on long flights. Now I can indulge my passion.” In 1990 she was quoted as saying, “I don’t ever want to retire… If I have my way, when I’m a 90-year old lady, I’ll still be hopping around the markets selling my cartoons.” (Continued from Page 28) Alice Entertainment’s CEO (Canine Executive Officer), Tommy, with his own badge at MIP-TV 1997 Alice with VideoAge ’s Dom Serafini In a photo taken at NATPE 1989 and published in VideoAge ’s March issue, Alice can be seen standing to the left. The cover of Alice’s first novel, published by Curmudgeon Gal Productions in 2014