Ronald J. Diamond (born July 30, 1958) is an American film producer from

Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3,878,704 residents within the city ...

. He is the founder of Acme Filmworks, the Animation Show of Shows and the co-founder of

Animation World Network Animation World Network (often just "AWN") is an online publishing group that specializes in resources for animators, with an extensive website offering news, articles and links for professional animators and animation fans. Content Specifically ...

. Diamond has lectured at animation schools, served as a juror and a guest speaker at film festivals. He has been a member of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

, Shorts Films and Feature Animation branch since 2002, and is a collaborator with the LA Opera creative team. Diamond has contributed to the restoration and preservation efforts of films that are in the permanent collections of the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of mot ...

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the film preservation, preservation, film studies, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As a nonpro ...

and

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Early life and education

Diamond was born in Covina, California and was raised in Ontario, California. He studied at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, where he earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees.

Career

Ron Diamond has had two primary producing, distributing and curating careers in

live-action film Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a Live-action animation, live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define ...

making (1980–1990), and in

animation film Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

production (1990–present). Diamond spent nine years producing live action films including, ''

The Chocolate War ''The Chocolate War'' is a 1974 young adult novel by American writer Robert Cormier. It was adapted into a film in 1988. Although it received mixed reviews at the time of its publication, some reviewers have argued it is one of the best young ad ...

'' and ''

The Dark Backward ''The Dark Backward'' (also known as ''The Man with Three Arms'') is a 1991 American black comedy film written and directed by Adam Rifkin. It stars Judd Nelson, Bill Paxton, and Wayne Newton. It follows a garbage man who tries his hand at stand ...

'' before refocusing his career towards animation. In 1983, Diamond's first professional producing credit for The Disney Channel was one episode of a series entitled, ''Future Tense'', ''The Disney Showcase Series.'' It was composed of two original short films: one film written by

Ed Bryant Edward Glenn Bryant (born September 7, 1948) is an American politician who is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee (1995–2003). From 1991–1993, he served as the United States Attorney for ...

, ''Prairie Sun'' and

Ron Clements Ronald Francis Clements (born April 25, 1953) is an American animator, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He often collaborates with fellow director John Musker and is best known for writing and directing the Disney animated films ...

, ''Solitaire Creature''.

Animation Show of Shows

In the 1980s, Diamond produced and post-produced numerous compilations of short films for festivals such as: the International Tournées of Animation, The Animation Celebration. The Outrageous Animation Show, The Computer Animation Show, Streams of Consciousness: New American Animation,

Liquid Television ''Liquid Television'' was an animation showcase broadcast on MTV from 1991 to 1995. It launched several high-profile original cartoons, including ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' and '' Æon Flux''. Other recurring segments include "The Art School Girls ...

, The Oscar Showcase Tour, and

Will Vinton William Gale Vinton (November 17, 1947 – October 4, 2018) was an American animator and filmmaker. Vinton was best known for his Claymation work, alongside creating iconic characters such as The California Raisins. He won an Academy Awards, Os ...

's Festival of Claymation. In 1998, Diamond founded the Animation Show of Shows (ASOS), a 501(c)(3) non-profit. He recognized an absence of animated short films in the theatrical circuit, "so he set out to curate a collection of new, significant, artistic, narrative and experimental animated shorts from those he had seen during the past year at major animation festivals." Diamond has presented ASOS and his annual Oscar Showcase Tour to students and industry professionals alike at venues such as

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, DreamWorks,

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

, and the Walt Disney Family Museum. As of 2020, 41 films featured in the ASOS have gone on to receive

Academy Award Nominations An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

with 11 Oscar wins.

Acme Filmworks

Diamond founded the commercial animation company Acme Filmworks in 1990. It has produced animated commercials for companies including:

Levi's Jeans Levi Strauss & Co. ( ) is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's ( ) brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, t ...

for Women,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

Charmin Charmin ( ) is an American brand of toilet paper that was launched in 1928, and it is currently owned by Procter & Gamble. History The Charmin name was first created on April 19, 1928, by the Hoberg Paper Company in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 1950 ...

Ad Council The Advertising Council, commonly known as Ad Council, is an American nonprofit organization that produces, distributes, and promotes public service announcements or PSAs on behalf of various sponsors, including nonprofit organizations, non-gover ...

and the

Alzheimer's Association The Alzheimer's Association is a nonprofit voluntary health organization that focuses on Alzheimer's disease care, support and research. History Jerome H. Stone founded the Alzheimer's Association with the help of several family support groups ...

. Acme Filmworks has produced logos and main title sequences including: the

Scott Free Productions Scott Free Productions is a film and television production company founded by English filmmakers and brothers Ridley and Tony Scott in 1995. The result of multiple mergers between companies established by the Scott brothers since 1971, it curre ...

logo, Universal Pictures' Robin Hood, Disney's The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, The Path, and Ken Follet's

Pillars of The Earth ''The Pillars of the Earth'' is a historical novel by British author Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. Set in the 12th century, the novel covers the time between the ...

. Through Acme, Diamond produced the Academy Award-nominated short film Nibbles, and the animated feature film for PBS' American Playhouse Drawn From Memory. He was also the executive producer of

Drew Carey's Green Screen Show ''Drew Carey's Green Screen Show'' is an American improvisational comedy television series that aired in the fall of 2004 on The WB, and the fall of 2005 on Comedy Central. The show was hosted by Drew Carey, and was somewhat a follow-up to the s ...

and has produced segments for the following Simpsons episodes: The Incredible Lightness of Being a Baby, Orange Is the New Yellow,

What to Expect When Bart's Expecting "What to Expect When Bart's Expecting" is the nineteenth episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and the 549th episode of the series. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United Sta ...

. As an executive producer through Acme, Diamond has been nominated for a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

, an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

, and an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

. He has won awards including a

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; ), also spelled Kleio, Сleio, or Cleo, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre-playing. Etymology Clio's name is derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλείω (meaning ...

and an

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...

, and has earned

Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...

honors.

Animation World Network

In 1995 Diamond partnered with Dan Sarto and founded the

. AWN is an online magazine that covers animator profiles, film distribution, animation studio activities, licensing, CGI and other animation technologies, as well as current events in all fields of animation. A year after

Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the first installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and the Firsts in animation, firs ...

debuted, Sarto and Diamond produced their first issue.

Film restoration

Diamond has contributed to film restoration and preservation through Acme Filmworks and the Animation Show of Shows. Most of the films he's restored are at the

, and the

. The entire Acme Filmworks digital archive is at the

Credits

Publications

* * *Diamond, Ronald (2007-2013). ''The Animation Show of Shows 9 DVD Boxed Sets, Volumes 1-54''. Hollywood, CA: Acme Filmworks, Inc. *Diamond, Ronald (2016-2019). ''The Annual Animation Show of Shows DVD compilations, Volumes 17- 20''. Los Angeles, CA: Animation Show of Shows, Inc.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond, Ron 1958 births Living people Animators from California Film producers from Los Angeles American animated film producers Annie Award winners