Television
November 9, 2006
John Ankwicz Named Senior Vice President, Production, At Telepictures Productions
(November 9, 2006 - Burbank, CA) — John Ankwicz has been named Senior Vice President, Production, Telepictures Productions, it was announced today by Hilary Estey McLoughlin, President, Telepictures Productions. In his new post, Ankwicz will head up production and be responsible for overseeing the production staffs on all of Telepictures Productions’ television series and content initiatives. He will report directly to Hilary Estey McLoughlin, President, Telepictures Productions.
Ankwicz is one of the founding members of “Extra,” where he started as an Associate Producer in 1994. Over the last twelve years, he has been the Production Executive and then the Executive in Charge of Production overseeing nearly 4000 episodes, playing an integral role in making “Extra” into an industry force.
Over the last five years, John has been responsible for starting up many of Telepictures’ first year projects as Production Executive including “The Sharon Osbourne Show,” “The Larry Elder Show,” TMZ, “Showtime at the Apollo” and this season's “Dr. Keith Ablow Show,” as well as numerous pilots.
“John has vast production knowledge and great relationships with our producers and production executives, a strong understanding of our business and has created many cost and operational efficiencies that have allowed us to be more streamlined. It is crucial that we have a top notch executive overseeing our production activities,” said Estey McLoughlin, “and John is the ideal choice. He has earned this promotion and he will be an invaluable member of our executive team.”
John started his career in the mailroom at NBC in 1986 and when he left two years later, he was involved in advanced planning for the Seoul Olympic Games. After NBC, he worked at Kingworld where he started up “Inside Edition” and then “Candid Camera” in Los Angeles. After a short stint at Buena Vista where he was involved in the start-up of “The Crusaders,” John was then hired at “Extra” where he has worked ever since.
Telepictures Productions currently produces six nationally syndicated strips including the freshman season of “The Dr. Keith Ablow Show,” the second season of “The Tyra Banks Show,” the fourth season of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” winner of three consecutive Daytime Emmy awards for Outstanding Talk Show, the eighth season of “Judge Mathis,” the 10th season of “The People’s Court,” and the 13th season of “Extra.” The company also produces the weekly variety show, “Showtime at the Apollo” and the entertainment news website, TMZ.com.
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