Biography
Entertainment entrepreneur, Rick Marcelli was practically born on stage in Hollywood. Raised in the showbiz capitol of the world, Rick grew up around the celebrities most people only dreamed about. While other kids played ball at local sandlots, Rick's baseball diamond was the vast backyard of legendary film director Cecil B. DeMille, Father of the Film Industry. While playing ball with DeMille's grandson, Rick had the opportunity to meet the great director. So impressed was he with Rick's knowledge of movies that he let the youngster tour his private trophy room and hold his treasured Academy Award. That experience, more than any other, set the stage for Marcelli's quest for showbiz success, always striving for the lofty goals of those whom he met during the golden years of Hollywood.
That road to fame has resulted in many extraordinary accomplishments. While Cecil B. DeMille may have planted the seeds for Rick's career in show business, it was hard work that got him there and keeps him active in ongoing major projects.
Marcelli's start in show business began at Hollywood's Meglin Studios (which jump-started the careers of legendary film stars Shirley Temple, Judy Garland, & Mickey Rooney), singing and tap-dancing his way into the hearts of audiences.
Like his mentor, child star Sammy Davis Jr., he started young. His parents changed his name to Riki Marcelli, and acting roles followed on numerous popular TV series' such as "Bourbon Street Beat," " Laramie" (where Marcelli co-starred with Charles Bronson), "The Untouchables," "Going My Way,"(Starring Gene Kelly) and a co-starring role on "The Jack Benny/Bob Hope Show."
When the Beatles landed on the shores of America, 15-year old Marcelli began pursuing a career in the music industry. Rick's exuberance and persistence got him a job as assistant to Capitol Records' top-rated A&R Producer Nik Venet known for the Beach Boys, Bobby Darin and Linda Ronstadt & The Stone Ponies and "The 2000 Year Old Man": Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. There, he signed several rock artists to Capitol Records and tried to get many other rock artists deals including the band "Pacific Ocean" ( Edward James Olmos & Steven "Rusty Johnson") which helped establish his later career as a personal manager.
This led to work as an A&R Producer at Capitol Records (where he became their youngest staff member), working with Renaissance Productions / Dallas Smith (known for the Five Man Electrical Band and Allman Bros.) and other music production groups. Additionally, he provided artistic inspiration (credit on their album) for the songwriting /recording team Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham prior to their joining Fleetwood Mac on their first album Buckingham Nicks.
Marcelli's next venture was serving as General Manager for Grammy Award-winning country legend Roger Miller's publishing firm, Roger Miller Music. At an age when most teenagers were worrying about getting their driver's license, Rick was signing top country recording artists like Michael Martin Murphy to the publishing company.
Marcelli was also the first to book rock 'n roll acts for Universal Studios as their Outdoor Entertainment Director while also managing the tour's biggest attraction, Universal Studios' Stunt Team. When the opportunity arose to work for Hollywood commercial production studio FilmFair Inc., Marcelli signed on as assistant to owner/director Gus Jekel and Sr. Vice President Ben Norman. Working with Academy Award-winning cinematographers James Crabe, Conrad Hall and Haskel Wexler, he moved up the ranks editing, producing, directing and writing.
At the age of 21, he orchestrated a joint venture between ABC Records Distributing and The Southland Corporation's 7-11 stores creating what Billboard Magazine called "the largest singles outlet in the history of the record business." This venture brought Marcelli acclaim in the business world as a young entrepreneur, not to mention instant wealth.
Also during this time, Rick represented Photographer's and Graphic Art Designer's Lorrie Sullivan and Jimmy Wachtel. Over 200 Album and CD and Billboards campaigns were created i.e. Steppenwolf, Dave Mason, Joel Walsh, James Gang, Gino Vannelli, Phoebe Snow, JD Souther, Souther-Hillman-Furay Band, Warren Zevon, Jo Jo Gunne, Alice Cooper, Grand Funk Railroad, Bill Wyman, Buckingham Nicks to name a few.
Rick then parlayed his business experience into personal management, signing the husband and wife mime team Shields and Yarnell. Over a short period of time, he transformed these street performers into a worldwide touring attraction with their own Emmy-Award winning CBS TV series.
Rick's association with variety entertainers led to meeting and signing magician David Copperfield. With Rick behind the scenes creating Copperfield's image as the most romantic illusionist in the world and David's talent, his career blossomed and he became a theatrical box office record-setter, the star of several CBS Emmy Award-winning TV specials, and a worldwide celebrity.
Returning to FilmFair to serve as Executive in Charge of Production for their new Music Video Division, Marcelli began developing and marketing music videos for Al Jarreau, the Charlie Daniels Band, and Dwight Twilley. On the side, Marcelli talent coordinated Disney's "The New Vaudevillians" starring Harry Anderson, and NBC's "The Magic in the Magic Kingdom " hosted by international magicians Sigfreid and Roy and the late George Burns.
By the time he established The Marcelli Company in 1986, Rick had built a spectacular roster of comedians, magic acts, and variety entertainers including then, stand-ups George Lopez and Bobby Gaylor and stand-up comedienne Jenny Jones, comic puppeteer David Strassman, and the late, award-winning choreographer Steve Merritt of "Beach Blanket Babylon" and "Chippendales" fame. By bringing Jones to TV's Star Search, where she became the first female comic to win the show's $100,000 Grand Prize, Marcelli paved the way to Jenny Jones' longtime career (12 years in syndication) as a TV talk show host.
One of the other unique adventures Rick achieved was to manage and produce Rudy Coby. Creating a larger than life image for the performer, he landed Coby his own TV show, "The Rudy Coby Show," on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Co-produced by Marcelli, the show received a Montreaux Rose Award nomination as the BBC's "Best Variety Show." On the heels of that success, Marcelli teamed up with Dick Clark Productions, co-executive producing the Fox TV specials, "Rudy Coby: The Coolest Magician on Earth" (1995) and "Rudy Coby: Ridiculously Dangerous" (May 1996).
Award Winning Comic/Puppeteer David Strassman was another renowned talent whose career flourished with Rick's direction. Under Marcelli, Strassman went from a little known variety show performer to setting a new standard, worldwide, for performance in robotic puppetry winning his own critically-acclaimed, hit TV series, "Strassman," which aired in the United Kingdom , Australia , and New Zealand which Marcelli was Executive Producer. Rick Marcelli also created and designed one of Strassman's most unique character Ted E. Bare.
Marcelli partnered up for a few years with Ken Kragen, the man who produced "We Are The World," and blockbuster charity events like "Hands Across America," and "NETaid." Ken also managed the careers of Lionel Ritchie, Kenny Rogers, Travis Tritt, and Trisha Yearwood, to name a few.
Marcelli's Midas touch in business has well served the longstanding career of David Copperfield for over 27 years (as Personal Manager and Executive Vice President of Copperfield's Marketing Group).
