Biography
After Starting in the entertainment industry at the age of 15, working alongside Bill Cosby and Jay Sandrich, director of The Cosby Show, Chris functioned as an assistant to Cosby and trained under Mr. Sandrich, sitting in the back row of the control room learning from one of the masters of television comedy (Soap, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Get Smart).
After receiving his BFA in Film/Cinema History from The School Of Visual Arts in NYC, Chris began working as a location assistant and later location manager on major studio feature films being produced in New York City. Among the over 20 movies Chris worked on were Scenes From A Mall, Home Alone 2, Glengarry Glen Ross and Billy Bathgate, at the time, the largest budgeted feature film to date ($68 Million).
When the IATSE production boycott hit New York City, Chris began working at global talent agency International Creative Management (ICM) and learned the art of the talent deal from legendary agents Sam Cohn, Ed Limato and Boaty Boatwright. Clients handled included, Joanne Woodward, Anjelica Huston, Woody Allen, Robin Williams, Jane Curtin, Michael Hoffman, Sidney Lumet, Alan Pakula, Albert Finney, Jackie Gleason, and the estate of Bob Fosse.
While working at ICM, Chris met and forged a relationship with the Chairman of Miramax Films (then the leader in Indie Cinema) and was supervising an office of four and delegating duties to the Senior Executive Staff of the company. Chris was with Miramax during the "glory years", from Pulp Fiction to Oscar® winner Shakespeare In Love, remaining on as a consultant during the Oscar® winner Chicago. Chris was directly involved with over 100 Miramax productions; and worked closely with Jeff Kimball, President of Miramax Music where Chris coordinated the production and release of over 25 Miramax Soundtracks. He is most proud to have co-produced the Miramax/Hollywood records release of "Il Postino" (The Postman), working with A-list talent such as Glenn Close, Madonna, Julia Roberts, Sting, Ralph Fiennes, and Sam Jackson. Backed by a restored original score by famed composer Luis Bacalov.
While at Miramax, Chris coordinated yearly Academy Award campaigns with the publicity and marketing teams and was responsible for implementing the Chairman's personal Academy strategy for "The English Patient", which won the Oscar® for Best Picture. Chris also forged and maintained the White House relationship, acting as the direct liaison to President Bill Clinton, First Lady Hillary Clinton and Vice President Al Gore.
During his tenure at Miramax Films, Chris arranged for and accompanied iconic director Martin Scorsese to visit The White House for an Italian State dinner with Mr. Scorsese and the Italian Prime Minister. Soon after, Chris was hired to write "Deuces Wild", a 1950s gang drama Executive Produced by Scorsese and released by MGM/United Artists, based on Chris' original screenplay 'The Neighborhood". The picture was released against Spider Man (2002).
Following the release of "Deuces Wild", Chris formed his production company Cineful, LLC (now Reel 7 LLC) and began working on a slate of feature films and television productions, including the controversial HBO Original Program "House Arrest", which he created and co-executive produced with his partner, "Queen of All Media" Judith Regan and documentary maven, HBO President Sheila Nevins. Reel7 later formed a production deal with Authentic/Endemol Television for the pilot "Mob Family Values". The green-lit series was later pulled prior to broadcast due to a personal matter with the featured player and his family.
Chris continues to be extremely proud to be associated with filmmaker and Emmy winner Steven Meyer on his production of "Keepers Of Eden", an environmental documentary narrated by Oscar® winner and Hollywood legend, Joanne Woodward. "Keepers Of Eden" has won the prestigious Pierre Salinger Award for Best Documentary at the 2008 Avignon Film Festival. Chris also continues to celebrate the success of his most personal project to date. "Buried Prayers" a non-fiction feature film that tells a shocking story about the Holocaust that has remained a secret for years. This five-year effort was shot on four continents and completed in 2010. "Buried Prayers" won "Best Feature Documentary" at the 2010 Cinequest Film Festival.
In April 2013, Chris wrapped a 3-year stint as an Executive running East Coast Talent, Development and Programming for CBS Television Distribution, which produces such shows as Rachael Ray, Judge Judy, Entertainment Tonight, Swift Justice, The Insider, Jeopardy, Wheel Of Fortune and Dr. Phil. While at CBS Chris personally developed a slate of new programming for the distributor, some of which are still in syndication to this day.
After the acquisition of the trademark for the classic Vitaphone® and Vitagraph® brands, brings Chris and his Vitagraph® and Vitaphone® team together with several major players in the Motion Picture, Television, live entertainment, and music industries. Vitagraph® and Vitaphone® provides Talent Management, Creative Development, Production, Post-Production, and content delivery for all size platforms, from screens and stages large and small.
Chris' debut Broadway co-production was the highly acclaimed musical "Dames At Sea" which opened at the Helen Hayes Theatre on October 22nd 2015. Prior to that, Chris had been involved in several Broadway productions including the Broadway revival of "Sideshow" (2014) directed by Miramax's "Chicago" writer Bill Condon. "Sideshow" continues to tour globally.
Chris is in development (2023-2025) on his feature film "Nights Of Turquoise", which he will be writing and directing. He is co-producing along with film producer, Craig Cohen, PGA. Chris is also working with music legend Frankie Valli on a multi-episodic series based on Mr. Valli's life and music.
Vitaphone®and Vitagraph® have 6 new television/media projects in various stages of development and production for its 2023-2025 slate, including a highly-controversial podcast with best-selling author Johnny Russo. "The editing bay was certainly not closed during NYC Covid lock down, we got some great stuff in the can."
In addition to his work with various non-profit organizations supporting the remembrance of the Holocaust, Gambale is a professional member of the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), the Writers Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) and The Australian Writers Guild, (AWG).
