Walter Morgan

Walter Morgan has been enjoying a successful career as an entertainment executive working in both the television and film industries as: a studio executive, an agent, a manager, a producer and television network president for the past 20+ years. Mr. Morgan is one of only a handful of executives in Hollywood who has worked in those five, executive, functional capacities. Consequently, his specific expertise in Hollywood and celebrity representation has led him to lucrative ventures in the retail, distribution and corporate consulting industries. At the present time, Mr. Morgan is spending his duties as the President and Chief Executive Officer for global tv and film ventures, in addition to a 66-country retail consumer brands sales and distribution company, which was named International Distributor of the Year by Schwarzkopf Henkel: UBU HOLDINGS, INC..

Mr. Morgan has focused his efforts on the launching of a profitable and progressive television network, UBU TV Network, “the TV Network for Urban America,” which will compete against Black Entertainment Television and promote the beauty, breadth, and depth of African-American and urban American culture and entertainment. UBU Films, the first African-American owned film production-distribution-finance studio since the days of Oscar Micheaux, is also being prepared for its 2004 debut. In November 2001, Mr. Morgan co-founded and invested in the Urban America Television Network, which can now be seen in over 60 cities throughout the United States.

Mr. Morgan, along with two other principals, launched Global Entertainment Media (GEM), a low budget film financing and production company, complete with a full studio, in Los Angeles. GEM’s first film was DOWN AND DIRTY, a film starring Fred “the Hammer” Williamson, Gary Busey, David Carradine, Beverly Johnson and Bubba Smith. A second project, which is being readied for domestic, theatrical release is MY EX-GIRLFRIEND’S WEDDING, an independent comedy from actor-writer-director Martin Guigui that also stars Debbie Gibson and Dom DeLuise. Mr. Morgan is an Executive Producer on both projects. More recently, Mr. Morgan created two, animated films that are franchise properties, which he will be producing with David Pritchard, the Executive Producer of “The Simpsons,” “King of the Hill” and “Dr. Katz, MD.” The first feature film is an urban comedy, THE PEOPLE VS. HIP HOP. The second full-length feature, entitled PUPPY LOVE is a family film featuring the music of Motown. A dozen other film and television projects are in various stages of development.

In 1999, Mr. Morgan became President and Chief Executive Officer of the publicly traded company, American Independent Network (AIN), and oversaw its merger with the Hispanic Television Network (HTVN). He also served on the Board of Directors during the transitional phase of the merger.

Prior to heading the American Independent Network, Mr. Morgan presided over Global Entertainment Management and managed the career of supermodel Beverly Johnson and helped set up and/or guide her successful companies and brands: Beverly Johnson Skin Care, Beverly Johnson Hair and Wig Line, Beverly Johnson Eyewear and Beverly Johnson Hair Care. These brands, albeit borne within the past five years, reap annual, wholesale revenues of over $30 million. While at Global Entertainment Management, Mr. Morgan also managed the careers of celebrities such as Asian film star, Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa, who starred in the films MORTAL KOMBAT, RISING SUN, and THE ART OF WAR, and Fred “The Hammer” Williamson, star of ORIGINAL GANGSTAS and Quentin Tarantino’s FROM DUSK TIL DAWN. Moreover, Mr. Morgan managed the careers of over a dozen feature film writers and directors over his five-year tenure at Global Entertainment Management.

In 1991, Mr. Morgan became an assistant and later an agent under famed, Hollywood agent, Jerry Zeitman. Mr. Morgan became an entertainment agent in six months. Over the course of five years at The Agency, Mr. Morgan gained considerable expertise in deal making throughout Hollywood’s studio, television and independent film communities and placed his client roster of over 50 celebrities, actors, writers, directors and producers in numerous films, television series and entertainment companies. Mr. Morgan represented the writers and/or creators for the following projects: THE HURRICANE with Denzel Washington, VERONICA GUERIN starring Cate Blanchett, THE TEMPTATIONS biographical mini-series on NBC, THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO at New Line, WASHINGTON SQUARE for Disney and MY BROTHER AND ME, the first African-American TV series on Nickelodeon.

From 1989 to 1991, Mr. Morgan worked at 20th Century Fox as a Manager of Business Development and later for Imagine Films as the Director of Special Projects and Executive Assistant to the C.E.O.. Because of his concentrated but diverse work experience in the film and television industries, Mr. Morgan provides a source of knowledge and relationships in television/film management, financing, production, and distribution, in addition to merchandising and licensing.

Walter Morgan is a graduate of both Harvard Business School and Princeton University. As an undergrad, Mr. Morgan studied abroad for one year at the London School of Economics-Imperial College where he averaged a “triple double” while playing intercollegiate basketball, helping Imperial College win the London Colleges League Championship for the first time in over 30 years. Walter Morgan resides in Los Angeles, CA.