David Sheehan
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David Sheehan has distinguished himself in the world of broadcasting with a series of trailblazing television firsts. Starting in 1970 on CBS, Sheehan was the first movie/television show reviewer/interviewer on a daily local newscast. More recently he hosts three national specials every year; Summer Movie Magic, Holiday Movie Magic and Academy Awards Movie Magic, highlights are available for preview on his "library of stars" webpage.[1]
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[edit] Television
In 1970, on KCBS-TV (then KNXT]), Sheehan was the first reviewer/interviewer on a daily local newscast. In 1972, also on KNXT, he was the first commentator to ever critique television on television, drawing “biting the hand” feature articles in both Time[2] and Life magazines. In 1975, he was the first local newsman to ever work for two networks simultaneously: America Alive on NBC and The Big News on CBS. In 1979, he hosted and produced the first Pay-TV monthly series in history, Backstage in Hollywood on HBO.
In the early 1980’s, Sheehan produced and camera-directed Pippin (with Bob Fosse directing the performances and choreography, starring Ben Vereen and Martha Raye)---the first Broadway musical ever captured by cameras during live stage performance, for Pay-TV, cable TV and home video.
In the 1980’s, at NBC, Sheehan was the first local entertainment reporter to host and produce his own series of network specials, including “Macho Men of the Movies” (with Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger) and “Hollywood’s Leading Ladies” (with Julia Roberts, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sharon Stone and Barbra Streisand).
Sheehan worked the 70’s and early 80’s on CBS, moved to NBC from ‘84 to ‘94, and finished up his 34 years of daily newscasting back at CBS from 1994 to 2004.
Since then, he has been hosting three national specials every year: “Summer Movie Magic”, “Holiday Movie Magic” and “Academy Awards Movie Magic”, syndicated to over 250 stations through his Hollywood Close-Ups, Inc.[3] production and distribution company.
[edit] Theatre
David Sheehan[4] also made a mark in live theater as the producer-director of the West Coast Premiere of “An Albee Almanac” by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Edward Albee, and the West Coast Premiere of “Little Murders” by noted cartoonist/playwright Jules Feiffer.
[edit] Author
After college, Sheehan was a newspaperman with the United Press International syndicate, covering celebrities in politics and winning accolades for his insider reporting on Frank Sinatra's "Rat Pack" involvement in the 1962 John F. Kennedy presidential campaign.
His magazine writing for Esquire, Playboy, Mademoiselle, and Los Angeles Magazine included rare interviews with "Tropic of Capricorn" author Henry Miller, mental health pioneer Abraham Maslow, Gestalt Therapy founder Fritz Perls, and Zen interpreter Alan Watts. His articles on philosophers Michael and Dennis Murphy gave America its first view of the legendary 'Human Potentiality Movement' at Big Sur's Esalen Institute, which also took readers through an actual psychedelic experience guided by Sheehan's interview subjects Timothy Leary and Richard ("Baba Ram Dass") Alpert.
Sheehan is the author of one published novel Before I Wake, under the pen-name David Dury.
[edit] Education
Sheehan's college education includes Ohio State University, University of Notre Dame and UCLA.
[edit] Private Life
Sheehan is the father of three children: his son Brian is the owner of the Eclectic Wine Bar & Grill in North Hollywood; his daughter Shannon is a Los Angeles real estate developer; and his daughter Kelly is a Los Angeles recording studio producer/engineer. Sheehan resides in Marina del Rey, California with his wife, stage and screen actress Susan Angelo.
