FONDA ANITA APPOINTED EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF PRODUCTION FOR DICK CLARK PRODUCTIONS

LOS ANGELES – August 9, 2021 -  dick clark productions (dcp), part of MRC’s Live & Alternative division, announced today that Fonda Anita has been named Executive Vice President of Production. As part of the leadership team, Ms. Anita will be responsible for physical production for all of dcp, which encompasses the largest portfolio of live televised entertainment events, bringing together the most influential and iconic artists and entertainers to audiences globally. 

dcp is currently in pre-production on the “2021 American Music Awards,” the world’s largest fan-voted awards show, which will air Sunday, November 21 live on ABC. The company recently announced that Emmy^®-nominated producer Jesse Collins has been named showrunner and executive producer of the “American Music Awards,” and Jesse Collins Entertainment will produce along with dick clark productions. The dcp team is also preparing for the upcoming 50th anniversary show for top-rated “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest,” also on ABC, and the Streamy Awards for YouTube. 

“As we look to attract the best artists and producers in everything we do, our internal talent is no exception; Fonda brings significant experience in production and will be a critical addition to our leadership team as we evolve dick clark productions for its next stage of growth and adapt our business for the ad-supported streaming emerging around us” said MRC co-CEO Modi Wiczyk.

Anita most recently served as VP of Production for Tentpoles, Events, Music & Specials for ViacomCBS inclusive of MTV, VH1, CMT, Nickelodeon and BET. She and her team oversaw production of the music division including “BET Awards,” “NAACP Image Awards,” “The Soul Train Awards,” the “CMT Music Awards” pre-show and “MTV Video Music Awards” pre-show. Her more than a decade-long tenure at ViacomCBS included roles at VH1 as VP of Production and as Director of Production at BET, where she championed and oversaw production on the successful remake of “Showtime at the Apollo,” of one of the longest running music television shows, into “BET’s Apollo Live,” hosted by Tony Rock with iconic judges including Gladys Knight, Doug E Fresh and Michael Bivins. She oversaw many of the network’s groundbreaking projects in reality, competition and their first movie of the week, “Gun Hill,” starring Larenz Tate. She also worked across the MTV franchise “Making the Band II.” Prior to joining ViacomCBS she was the Executive in Charge of Production at LATV where she led broadcast programming focused on the Latin American market. 

Earlier in her career she produced live events at Merv Griffin Productions including those at the 2001 Emmy nominated Primetime Grammy Awards, Valentino’s 40th Anniversary Party and The Los Angeles Lakers’ 2000 Championship Parade and Celebration.  She also served as line producer on the feature “Bomb The System,” which was nominated for the Spirit Award for Best Picture at the Tribeca Film Festival, and worked in production on the feature film “The Big Lebowski.” A member of the Producers Guild, Anita splits her time between New York and Los Angeles. 

ABOUT dick clark productions:

dick clark productions (dcp), part of MRC Live & Alternative, is the world's largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming with the "Academy of Country Music Awards," "American Music Awards," "Billboard Music Awards," "Golden Globe Awards," "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest" and the “Streamy Awards.” dcp also owns one of the world's most extensive and unique entertainment archive libraries with more than 60 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. MRC Live & Alternative is a division of diversified independent global entertainment company MRC. For additional information, visit mrcentertainment.com.