Bill Schultz (producer)

William Schultz (born June 11, 1960) is an animation producer. He was born in New York and grew up in River Forest, a suburb near Chicago, Illinois, moving to Los Angeles after graduating from the University of Illinois Champaign - Urbana Campus. He has worked on television shows such as Jim Henson's Muppet Babies, The Transformers, and produced others, notably The Simpsons, King of the Hill and now the founder and CEO of Home Plate Entertainment, the Animation Studio behind Rob Dyrdek's Wild Grinders (launched on Nicktoons in the US in September of 2011). Schultz started Home Plate Entertainment in 2010, after stepping down from his 12 year partnership with Moonscoop LLC (f/k/a Mike Young Productions (MYP) and Taffy entertainment, the US based arm of French animation studio Moonscoop SAS.

Career

His first job in LA found him working for Capitol Records, which after 9 months he left to work with an independent film producer, and then to work as a production assistant and production staffer on several low budget live action feature films. He eventually got a job at Columbia Pictures Television, working on primetime TV series such as Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer and TJ Hooker.

In 1986 Schultz moved from Santa Barbara (TV series) Production Staff to help with the management of Marvel Productions. Schultz worked on titles such as Jim Henson's Muppet Babies, The Transformers, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, and My Little Pony 'n Friends among others.

Introduced to veteran Animation Director Phil Roman in late 1986, Schultz was hired as VP of Production and Development of Film Roman. In 1988 the new management team developed, sold and produced Bobby's World and Zazoo U. As Executive Vice President at Film Roman for nine years, schultz managed the growth of the studio, serving as a producer for 6 seasons on two FOX primetime series, The Simpsons and King of the Hill.

He has even worked on almost every Film Roman cartoon including The Critic, Garfield and Friends, Garfield TV specials, The Mask, The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat, C-Bear and Jamal, Bruno the Kid, Mortal Kombat, Richie Rich, Klutter!, Cro, Mighty Max, Mother Goose and Grimm, Nick and Noel, The Bears Who Saved Christmas, Animated Classic Showcase and Tom and Jerry: The Movie.

After nine years of running the company and 18 months after taking the company public (in 1995) Schultz left to find new opportunities. He started work with LA based independent animator Mike Young, producing Voltron: The Third Dimension and forming an ongoing partnership which exists today. In addition, he was contacted by Cartoon Network's Linda Simensky and asked to come to Atlanta to meet with the Network's management team, including head Betty Cohen, GM Rob Sorcher, Mike Lazzo and Simensky. Schultz was hired to help the network set up its own Cartoon Network Studios located in Burbank, California, as well as act as the Supervising Producer for the network on its non-Hanna Barbera series, including Ed, Edd n Eddy, Courage the Cowardly Dog and others. Schultz continued his relationship with the network up until 2002.

In 2005, Schultz and his partners at MYP merged the Los Angeles-based company with leading French entertainment company and animation studio Moonscoop Group. Schultz also serves as executive producer on MYP's latest productions, including Hero:108, which is a co-production with Cartoon Network, Growing Up Creepie for Discovery Kids/Nickelodeon, I Got a Rocket!, and the pre-school CGI series Dive Olly Dive!, as well as returning series Pet Alien and ToddWorld. In addition, Schultz was nominated for an Daytime Emmy Award in 2007 as a song writer, along with co-writers, Mike Himmelstein and Al Jarreau, for their song, "Take a Look Inside," which is featured in the ToddWorld series.

Schultz has won two Daytime Emmy Awards (for I Got a Rocket! and Jakers) and two Primetime Emmy Awards (for The Simpsons).