Biografia
Robert Halmi, an Emmy and Golden Globe winner, has produced over 400 film and television projects. He is the founder of the Hallmark Channel and the visionary behind Great Point Studios, a company focused on film and television infrastructure.
Halmi became CEO of four public companies, starting at age 25. As President and CEO of Hallmark Entertainment, he expanded the company from a small production house into one of the first modern studios, integrating production, distribution, and broadcasting. Under his leadership, Hallmark Entertainment produced over 2,000 hours of original content, earning 458 Emmy nominations and 133 Emmy Awards. One of his notable productions, Lonesome Dove, won seven Emmys and a Golden Globe for best miniseries. In 2019, Halmi launched Great Point Studios to develop major film and television production facilities in the U.S. and internationally. In January 2022, Lionsgate Studios Yonkers opened as the first of several purpose-built studios planned by Great Point Studios, with additional studios announced in Newark, NJ; Buffalo, NY; and Atlanta, CA.
Halmi is an active member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and serves on the International Emmy Committee board. He also sits on the board of The Cold Water Conservation Fund.
He has produced over 200 television movies and miniseries, including Dreamkeeper, Dinotopia, Arabian Nights, The 10th Kingdom, Cleopatra, Alice in Wonderland, The Baby Dance, and Lonesome Dove. His recent event productions include Neverland, Treasure Island, Tin Man, Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven, King Solomon's Mines, La Femme Musketeer, Frankenstein, Frederick Forsyth's Icon, Supernova, Jules Verne's Mysterious Island, and The Poseidon Adventure. Other recent projects include the Flash Gordon and Farscape series for Syfy. Additional television movies include Street Warrior, Mask of the Ninja, Depth Charge, Ring of Death, Grave Misconduct, The Deadliest Lesson (aka Detention), Backwoods, Finish Line, Primal Doubt, Dark Beauty (aka Black Widow), The Governor's Wife (aka Deadly Suspicion), Crash And Burn, Black Friday, Sharpshooter, Panic Button (aka Point of Entry), and While The Children Sleep (aka The Sitter), among others.
At age 26 in 1984, Halmi Jr. became President of RHI Entertainment Inc., a publicly traded company founded by his father. In 1994, RHI was acquired by Hallmark Cards Inc., and Halmi Jr. became President and CEO of Hallmark Entertainment, RHI's successor. For over ten years, Hallmark Entertainment was the largest supplier of movies and miniseries on television, earning more Emmy nominations in this category than any other company. Under his leadership, Hallmark Entertainment produced over 2,000 hours of programming, receiving 458 Emmy nominations and 105 Emmy Awards. Between 1994 and 2005, Hallmark Entertainment delivered four of the top five highest-rated US miniseries and television movies, including 2004’s highest-rated original movie, Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Their productions also led ratings on major basic cable networks: Earthsea for Syfy Channel (their highest-rated miniseries in 2005), Meet the Santas for Hallmark Channel (then the network’s highest-rated show), and Human Trafficking for Lifetime, the highest-rated basic cable miniseries in 2005. In 1995, Halmi Jr. helped establish Crown Media Holdings and founded The Hallmark Channel, which offers high-quality, widely appealing entertainment programming. Crown Media went public on Nasdaq in 2000. In January 2006, Halmi Jr., alongside senior management and affiliates, acquired full ownership of Hallmark Entertainment, LLC (formerly a Hallmark Cards subsidiary), re-launching it as RHI Entertainment, LLC. In June 2011, Robert Halmi Jr. left RHI to create Great Point Media, where he served as Chairman.
