Michael Hirsh (born April 7, 1948) is a Belgian-born

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

producer. He has been a significant figure in the Canadian

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

industry, or more specifically

children's programming Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early eveni ...

, since the 1980s.''BEARS' FILLS VOID IN KID MARKET''
by Vernon Scott, ''

South Florida Sun-Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding B ...

''. Retrieved 28 September 2010. Some of his most known productions include '' Committed'', ''

Blaster's Universe ''Blaster's Universe'' is an animated television series, made by Nelvana and Hong Guang Animation, that ran for one season from September 1999 to January 2000 on CBS and in 2000 on Teletoon. It was based on Knowledge Adventure's '' Blaster Lea ...

'', ''

Clone High ''Clone High'' (occasionally referred to in the United States as ''Clone High USA'') is an adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Bill Lawrence. The show centers on a high school populated by the c ...

'', '' Franklin'', ''

Rolie Polie Olie ''Rolie Polie Olie'' is a computer-animated children's television series produced by Nelvana and created by William Joyce. The show focuses on a little robot who is composed of several spheres and other three-dimensional geometric shapes. The s ...

'', ''

Johnny Test ''Johnny Test'' is an animated television series created by Scott Fellows, originally produced in the United States by Warner Bros. Animation and later produced in Canada by Cookie Jar Entertainment. It premiered on Kids' WB on September 17 ...

'', ''

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

'', ''

Caillou ''Caillou'' () is a Canadian educational children's television series which aired on Teletoon (both English and French versions), with its first episode airing on the former channel on September 15, 1997; it later moved to Treehouse TV, with i ...

'', ''

Will and Dewitt ''Will and Dewitt'' is a Canadian flash-animated adventure television series featuring a frog named Dewitt, and a human boy named Will as the main characters. It is produced by Cookie Jar Entertainment and Two Presidents Productions. It first ai ...

'', ''

Spider Riders is a series of science fiction novels first published in December 2004, published by Newmarket Press written by Tedd Anasti, Patsy Cameron-Anasti and Stephen D. Sullivan (books 2–3). The series was adapted into an anime series, produced by ...

'', ''

World of Quest ''World of Quest'' is a sci-fi comedy animated television series based on the graphic novel series of the same name by Jason T. Kruse. The series was produced by Cookie Jar Entertainment, in association with Teletoon and Kids' WB!. It appears to ...

'', '' Magi-Nation'', ''

Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures ''Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures'' is a CGI animated television series based on the ''Strawberry Shortcake'' franchise. The series, produced by MoonScoop Group (2010–2013) and Splash Entertainment (2015), follows the adventures ...

'', ''

Strawberry Shortcake Strawberry shortcake may refer to: * Strawberry shortcake (dessert), a shortcake served with strawberries * "Strawberry Shortcake, Huckleberry Pie," a song published in 1956; a version by The Brother Sisters was released by Mercury Records in 19 ...

'', ''The Doodlebops'', and ''

The Magic School Bus ''The Magic School Bus'' is an American edutainment media franchise that includes a book series, a TV series, a streaming series, and video games. Each of the stories within the franchise centers on the antics of a fictional elementary sch ...

''.

Personal life

Born in Belgium in 1948, Michael's family emigrated to North America when he was a child; he was raised primarily in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario, Canada and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. After

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, Michael attended

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and sta ...

in Toronto where he would meet his future

business partner A business partner is a commercial entity with which another commercial entity has some form of alliance. This relationship may be a contractual, exclusive bond in which both entities commit not to ally with third parties. Alternatively, it may be ...

Patrick Loubert Patrick Loubert (born 1947 in Toronto, Ontario) is one of the founders of the Canadian animation studio, Nelvana Limited, along with Clive A. Smith and Michael Hirsh. He has produced, and executive-produced, much of the company's most memorable f ...

. Hirsh abandoned his

post-secondary education Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

after three years to pursue his

filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, cast ...

ambitions.He now lives in Toronto with his wife, Elaine
''Media: The great strawberry shortcake custody battle''
by Joe Castaldo, ''

Canadian Business ''Canadian Business'' is the longest-publishing business magazine based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and founded in 1927. The print edition terminated in the end of 2016. Beginning in January 2017, the magazine was published online only. In Octob ...

''. Retrieved 28 September 2010.

Career

Nelvana

In 1971, Hirsh co-founded Nelvana with Patrick Loubert and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-born animation artist

Clive A. Smith Clive A. Smith (often credited as Clive Smith) is a British expatriate director and animator who, with Michael Hirsh and Patrick Loubert, founded Canadian animation studio Nelvana in 1971.

.''The little company that could Nelvana celebrating its 20 years of success in animation''
by Sid Adilman, ''

The Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

''. Retrieved 28 September 2010. Under co-

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Hirsh's leadership, the studio was responsible for many of its animated phenomena. During this period, he co-directed the satirical live-action/animated 1972 feature ''

Voulez-vous coucher avec God? ''Voulez-vous coucher avec God?'' ("Do you want to sleep with God?") is a 1972 Canadian experimental film directed by Jack Christie and Michael Hirsh. Combining live-action and animation, the film is heavily steeped in late 1960s - early 1970s co ...

'' In the 1980s, Hirsh saved Nelvana from more than one brush with

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...

. After the failure of their initial

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

, ''

Rock & Rule ''Rock & Rule'' (known as ''Ring of Power'' outside North America) is a 1983 Canadian adult animated musical science fantasy film featuring the voices of Don Francks, Greg Salata and Susan Roman. It was produced and directed by Michael Hirsh, Pa ...

'' (in which he also worked as a storyboard artist for the film), the original distributor of their live-action show, '' T. and T.'', went out of business. Defying advice to fold the company, Michael found a replacement distributor within six weeks.''The Toughest SOBs in Business''
by John Daly, ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''. Retrieved 28 September 2006. In late 1996, amid

Golden Books *Western Publishing (1907−2001) — , magazines, and {{C, Children's book publishers, children's books publisher, formerly based in Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is ...

negotiations to buy Nelvana, Hirsh went against his co-founders' advice and declined the offer. This led to a now infamous argument with the then COO of the company, Eleanor Olmstead, in which the normally mild-mannered Hirsh and Olmstead were reportedly heard "

swearing Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rud ...

up and down the hallway at one another". After remaining unaware for some time, Golden Books eventually walked out of the C$140 million deal in light of the internal discord. In 1997, Hirsh and Nelvana helped found

Teletoon Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and "cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts an ...

along with fellow Canadian children's television production company

Cinar Cookie Jar Entertainment Inc. (also known as Cookie Jar Group and originally known as CINAR; renamed as DHX Cookie Jar Inc. from 2012 until 2014, or simply just Cookie Jar) was a Canadian media production and distribution company owned by DHX ...

.''Small animation house eyes Teletoon business''
by Adam Mayers, ''

''. Retrieved 28 September 2010. In September 2000, Hirsh sold the Nelvana holdings to

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Ont ...

for C$540 million.''Children's TV firms join forces; Corus agrees to pay $540 million for Nelvana''
by John Spears, ''

''. Retrieved 28 September 2010. Two years later, he was the last of the original founders to leave the studio, though the Corus press release stated that he had decided to take on an advisory role in the company.

Cookie Jar Group

In 2004, Hirsh reestablished himself in the children's television market when he led a consortium which acquired the remains of Cinar after a financial scandal had brought that company to ruin. Cinar was bought for C$190 million and Hirsh became CEO of the new company rebranded "Cookie Jar Entertainment".''Micheline Charest''
'' CBC''. Retrieved 28 September 2010.''Former Cinar Corp. exec joins Portfolio Ent.''
by Etan Vlessing, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

''. Retrieved 28 September 2010. Since then, the Cookie Jar Group has been expanding in both Canada and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. In 2008, Cookie Jar merged with

DIC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production com ...

in an estimated

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

87.6 million buyout, forming one of the world's largest privately held children's entertainment companies.''Pink Slips to Fly at DIC''
by Ryan Ball, ''

Animation Magazine ''Animation Magazine'' is an American print magazine and website covering the animation industry and education, as well as visual effects. The print magazine is published 10 times a year in the United States. History and profile ''Animation Maga ...

''. Retrieved 28 September 2010. In 2012, Cookie Jar Entertainment was acquired by

DHX Media WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children ...

and Hirsh became Executive Chairman of DHX Media. The combined company has a children's library of 8000 episodes and is the largest supplier of kids programming to online streaming services, as well as a leader in production and licensing and merchandising for children.

WOW Unlimited Media Inc.

Near the end of 2015, three years after DHX Media's acquisition of Cookie Jar, Hirsh left to found a new production company called Ezrin Hirsh Entertainment with music producer

Bob Ezrin Robert Alan Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli and Phish. As of 2010, Ezrin's car ...

. Ezrin Hirsh and producer/entrepreneur

Fred Seibert Frederick (Fred) Seibert (born September 15, 1951) is an American television producer, co-founder of MTV and the CEO of FredFilms, an animation production company based in Burbank, California. His official biography states he has led five (working ...

(and his company Frederator Networks, Inc.) together worked out an arrangement with Vancouver's

Rainmaker Entertainment Mainframe Studios is a Canadian computer animation company owned by Wow Unlimited Media and based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1993 as Mainframe Entertainment Inc. by Christopher Brough, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell, Gavin Blair and ...

and on 26 October 2016 Rainmaker purchased the companies and also announced that Rainmaker's assets will consolidate its divisions under a new holding company called WOW! Unlimited Media Inc. Hirsh will serve as CEO and chairman for the holding company, with Seibert as Chief Creative Officer and CEO of Frederator.

Awards

A number of productions that Michael has been involved with have been nominated for or won awards. For their work on shows including ''

Beetlejuice ''Beetlejuice'' is a 1988 American fantasy horror comedy film directed by Tim Burton, written by Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson, and Warren Skaaren, produced by The Geffen Company, distributed by Warner Bros., and starring Alec Baldwin, ...

'', ''

Babar Babar ( ur, ), also variously spelled as Baber, Babur, and Babor is a male given name of Pashto, and Persian origin, and a popular male given name in Pakistan. It is generally taken in reference to the Persian ''babr'' (Persian: ببر), meaning ...

'', '' Little Bear'', '' Rupert'', '' Franklin'', ''

'' and ''

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one of the most popular European comi ...

'', Hirsh and his colleagues have received awards such as

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

s and

Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Norther ...

s.''Michael Hirsh's IMDB awards list''
Retrieved 28 September 2010.

References

External links

*

An AWN article on Hirsh's involvement in the co-production field {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirsh, Michael Nelvana 1948 births Living people Belgian emigrants to Canada Belgian film producers Belgian chief executives Belgian television producers Belgian storyboard artists Belgian screenwriters Canadian film producers Canadian television executives Canadian chief executives Canadian television producers Canadian storyboard artists Canadian male screenwriters Chief operating officers Film directors from Toronto Writers from Toronto 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian screenwriters The Bronx High School of Science alumni