Bill Diamond Productions
Creativity is everywhere. All across your city, your state, your country, your world… Contrary to popular belief, creativity is not isolated to the glittering sidewalks of sunny southern California. Furthermore- it is not isolated to any one area, period. Earlier this month our crew was reminded of this concept as we traveled to rural upstate New York where we sat down with a man who provided us with an absolutely mind-bending day, choc-full of creative inspiration.
Creativity takes Courage.” -Henri Matisse
Bill Diamond Productions has been around for the greater part of the past four decades; thirty-seven years to be exact. WOW… Let’s pause here. Thirty-seven years is a long time in terms of business, especially in terms of maintaining a successful business that continues to flourish as it approaches it’s fourth decade of life. OKAY NOW, LET’S RESUME… What exactly is Bill Diamond Productions? Where are they located? What have they accomplished? The answer to all of these questions can all be found by asking another question: Who is Bill Diamond? 
“I did some child acting, commercials for television… I was a child actor on Broadway, so yeah, you could say I got my foot in the door at an early age” replied Mr. Diamond after being asked about his start in the entertainment industry… and the rest is history, as they say. By the time Bill was in High School he was running his own theatre company; touring local playhouses across New York. In the meantime the young teenager was winning awards from the State of New York for stop-motion animation; an early indication that Mr. Diamond was not going to be the type of guy who was content with one job or one responsibility.
At the ripe age of nineteen Bill was introduced to Jim Henson, a legendary icon in the industry recognized mostly for his creation of the Muppet’s and Sesame Street’s puppet characters. Bill happened to be friends with Jim’s son, John…
Now take a moment to think about the landscape of the industry at this point. It was the late 1970′s and as Bill shares,” We felt like anything was possible.” Video was becoming a very usable media for the everyday person. It wasn’t just the television networks that were using video cameras now, there were students and everyday folks who were passionate about production who were now able to obtain their own cameras and create anything they wanted. With the combination of Mr. Diamonds creativity, talents, determination, and not to mention personal relationship with Jim Henson, it’s no wonder why he felt like anything was possible.
After working under the wings of Mr. Henson, Bill began realizing that he wanted to create his own identity. “Jim had a great way of taking talented people and letting them run with their dreams. He inspired me to be all that I could be, and that’s the greatest gift that I ever received from him.”
Next, Mr. Diamond decided he wanted to put a halt to his stop-motion animating and move on to the fast paced world that was television. He began creating commercials for national corporations such as IBM and Miller, making a name for himself, and building his own company all at the same time. Bill shared that he always did freelance work because he always wanted to keep his options opened. “One day I’m a lighting guy, one day I’m a director, one day I’m a puppeteer, and then the next day I’m doing makeup” says Bill… which brings me to a very important point… Bill continues, ” I felt that in order to be a good director or a good producer and if I wanted to run my own studio some day I had to know every ones job. If there are directors out there who don’t understand how EVERYTHING works, how can they even call themselves a director?”
Bill Diamond in his television studio.
Mr. Diamond was certainly on point with that philosophy, as he now runs his very own “Dream Factory” (as we like to call it) in upstate New York. A full network studio, soundstage, editing systems, make-up rooms, not to mention an abundance of puppets and masks created by Bill for names such as Phantom of the Opera and Little Shop of Horrors. Yes- Bill’s creative concepts and masterful work have played a big role in Phantom, as well as Monster TV, and the list goes on. So with a resume as sexy as Mr. Diamonds, what in the world is his most memorable accomplishment? What is the one thing he cherishes most about his four decades in the industry? Well, Bill says,” Doing my work with Make a Wish. Putting a smile on the kids faces and helping raise money for these kids- that’s rewarding. Aside from that, it’s the people that I have met over the years in the industry… I cherish all of them. Those are some true life-long friends. I love everyone I work with.”
Bill Diamond should serve as an absolute inspiration to everyone: especially youngsters who think they want to get involved in the wacky world of entertainment. With that being said, I will even leave you with a suggestion from Mr. Diamond himself…
“Experiment with it all. Don’t limit yourself. Keep reinventing yourself everyday and remember: anything is possible.”
Check out more about Bill Diamond and Bill Diamond studios in our video series “Bill Diamond Productions: Creative Production Company.”
iPhone shot from our interview with Bill!
