Randy Douthit Decades Of Success As A Television Producer
Randy Douthit is a very successful television producer. He has wanted to be a television producer since age 9. He produced shows in his grandparents’ barn and charged kids a dime to see it. At 23, he was directing “How Come”, a Peabody Award winning children’s program for KGW in Portland. He also produced ‘Seattle Today’, a daytime talk show. When Douthit took over as producer, the audience grew tenfold. And he has been on an upward trajectory ever since.
Successful With Several Shows And Networks
Early in his career as a producer, Randy Douthit went from one success to another with different networks. He went to CNN when the network had just started. While there, Douthit worked on the top show at the network, ‘Crossfire’. While he served as both director and executive producer, the show won a CableAce award. CNN also made Douthit the producer of ‘Capital Gang’, a news panel program that aired weekly. Capital Gang also won a CableAce award. He next served as director and executive producer of a primetime show called ‘Larry King Live’. That show won a Peabody Award. Douthit then oversaw the development of ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’, a hit primetime sitcom, for Quincy Jones Entertainment.
His Most Notable Successes
The television show most people have associated with Randy Douthit for decades is ‘Judge Judy’. The show, which stars Judge Judy Sheindlin, has won three Emmy Awards. Throughout the entire run of the program, Douthit has served as both the director as well as the executive producer. Even though he has had lots of success as a producer, Douthit is most proud of the work he has done on ‘Judge Judy’ in its 25-year run.
In addition to executive producing and directing ‘Judge Judy’ for CBS Television Distribution, Douthit also oversees Judy Sheindlin’s company Queen Bee Productions.
Filmmaking During The Pandemic
Even for an experienced executive producer like Randy Douthit, the COVID-19 pandemic created a number of challenges. He points to additional costs because of safety procedures and additional testing. Plus, Douthit said producing shows took more time during the pandemic.