Charles Hirschhorn

Summary

American media executive, film and television producer, and academic administrator Charles Hirschhorn has been serving as the President of Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, since 2020.

Biography

With a three-decade-long career spanning film, television, cable, broadband, animation, and video games, Charles Hirschhorn founded G4 Television, the first TV network dedicated to video games, and was Chief Creative Officer of Retirement Living TV, the country’s only network serving adults aged 50+. As Vice-President of Development for Fox Broadcasting, he helped launch the Fox Network and developed the Emmy-winning sketch comedy series, In Living Color.

While Vice-President of Production at Disney’s Hollywood Pictures, he was involved in such films as The Joy Luck Club and the Oscar-nominated Quiz Show. Hirschhorn also was President of Disney Television and Television Animation, where he oversaw movies and animated TV series releases for ABC’s The Wonderful World of Disney, the Disney Channel, Disney Video Premieres, and Movietoons, managing over 1,200 employees. More recently, as President of AEG Television, Hirschhorn co-managed AXS TV, which was launched in 2012 in partnership with Mark Cuban, AEG, CAA, CBS, and Ryan Seacrest Media.

In February 2020, Hirschhorn was announced as the new president of Otis College of Art and Design. He was preceded in the role by interim president Randall Lavender, in March 2019 to May 2020; and by the earlier president Bruce Willis Ferguson (1946–2019). “Otis College is proud that our students reflect a racially diverse global community, and we are committed to maintaining and increasing outreach and support. We are working with peer institutions, the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design, and the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities to develop best practices for engagement, service, and outreach within this new legal framework. We will not be deterred from our work to educate, uplift, and inspire all students,” he said in an official statement.

Hirschhorn is an active community member. For over a decade, he has volunteered with Chrysalis, offering job counseling services to convicted felons. In addition to Berklee College of Music, he serves on the boards of Harvard College Office of the Arts and Wilshire Boulevard Temple, and is on the advisory board of USC’s Lloyd Grief Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. He also is a founder of L.A. City Partners. He holds a B.A. degree from Harvard College, and served as an Arts Management Fellow for the National Endowment for the Arts.

References

• “Charles Hirschhorn Appointed President Of Otis College Of Art And Design”. Artforum. 
• Q&A with Incoming Otis College President Charles Hirschhorn. Otis College of Art and Design. 
• “Charles Hirschhorn ’79”. Harvardwood. 
• “Charles Hirschhorn has been promoted to vice…” Los Angeles Times. 
• “Retirement beckons to Hirschhorn | Hollywood Reporter”. www.hollywoodreporter.com. 
• “Charles Hirschhorn | Berklee College of Music”. www.berklee.edu. 
• “Charles Hirschhorn Named Next President of Otis College of Art and Design”. Otis College of Art and Design. 
• “Disney Splits Television Group Into 2 Units”. Los Angeles Times. 
• “What Happened to 1990’s 10 Most Promising Movie Executives?”. Den of Geek. 
• “Game Boy”. NextTV. 
• Charles Hirschhorn On How G4 Began, TechTV & More. 
• “Gamasutra – The Art & Business of Making Games”. www.gamasutra.com. 
• “Otis College of Art and Design picks entertainment executive as its new president”. Los Angeles Times. 
• “ARTnews in Brief: Carnegie Museum of Art Names Next Director—and More from February 28, 2020”. ARTnews.com. 
• “Otis College of Art and Design Removes President”. MyNewsLA.com. 
• “Bruce W. Ferguson, former Otis College president and SITE Santa Fe founder, dies at 73”. Los Angeles Times.