Producer Doug DeLuca’s efforts in creating creative opportunities for students in Malibu celebrated at Red Ladder talk
By Barbara Burke
Special to The Malibu Times
“The criteria for honoring a Malibu icon in our Red Ladder’s conversation salon is to showcase a person who has lived here for at least 10 to 15 years, who has contributed something of value to our town, and who embodies the Malibu spirit,” Eamon Harrington, proprietor of Red Ladder Gallery and founder of the Malibu Icon conversation salon series explained. “Doug DeLuca represents all of those factors and then some. He’s well-known in the film industry, of course! Locally, he, along with his lovely wife Alejandra, John Watkin, and Matt Diamond started and ran The Malibu Guitar Festival for a few years.”
Further, Harrington added, DeLuca has been instrumental in efforts to help develop an endowment to support creative opportunities for students in Malibu’s four public schools, and recently, he produced the event honoring Arlene and Dick Van Dyke which will reveal a new performing arts auditorium in the Van Dyke’s name on June 15.
Harrington and DeLuca first became acquainted when multi-Emmy award winners Harrington and his partner John Watkin owned Planet Grande, an independent film production company based in Malibu. The trio worked on a project, then another project, and then, many more.
“Doug’s a born producer!” Harrington declared. “He envisions a project and then he brilliantly puts a team together to make it all happen.”
When Harrington asked DeLuca about how he came to California, DeLuca responded, “I first came out to LA in 1984 when I tagged along with my then-girlfriend’s family — we were all visiting from my hometown of Union, New Jersey, where, ironically, Eamon also grew up. Eamon knew my uncles and cousins, but he and I never met in Union.
“Later, as I graduated from Villanova, where I was on a full-ride scholarship and played football, a friend of mine was out here in California. So, I came out, thinking I’d pursue a career using my International Business degree.”
DeLuca soon found himself working in “the industry,” because one of his buddies suggested he take gigs working as an extra. In doing so, he worked for $40 a day. He worked on the ABC sitcom “Growing Pains,” starring Kirk Cameron and other projects.
“A friend suggested I work behind the scenes as a production assistant,” DeLuca said, adding as he flashed his signature grin, “I thought ‘Ooooh! A production assistant, that sounds impressive!’”
Many in the audience at Red Ladder are from the industry and they responded by laughing hysterically, implicitly acknowledging that the role is not as upscale as it sounds.
“I was a heavy metal kid and I loved to go to the iconic Rainbow Bar and Grill on Sunset, so to supplement my income, I became a bouncer on its second-floor venue called Over the Rainbow,” DeLuca shared.
Then, one day as DeLuca slept in late — he had the day off from gigs but had worked late the night before as a bouncer — the phone rang. “I answered the phone all groggy with a frog in my throat, and I heard someone say on the other end of the line, ‘I’m wrapping a show and I’m in a pinch; I need a production assistant immediately!’”
It was a desperate Kurt Brendlinger, who was wrapping the kids’ TV game show “Fun House,” which was, DeLuca noted, first produced by Stone Television and then, in its last season (1990-91) by Stone Stanley Productions.
“I’ll pay you $100 if you can get to my office by noon!” Brendlinger proclaimed.
“I thought – ‘You’ve got a deal!’” DeLuca said. “The rest is history.”
The rest is a great history indeed!
DeLuca’s humble and unassuming, so it took a little cajoling by Harrington to pull all the details of his esteemed career into the conversation.
The long and short of it is, DeLuca’s one helluva producer! For 21 seasons, he has served as the co-executive producer of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” He’s also known for “The Man Show” (1999), which is “a show that could not exist today,” DeLuca laughingly concedes, obliquely referring to its many man-cave and risque escapades and noting that the show“was too entrenched with sophomoric male humor for these days!”
Interjecting, Harrington noted, “When I asked who was the best producer for our company to work with in the industry, the answer was definitively Doug DeLuca!”
DeLuca and Planet Grande collaborated on many projects, including The Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade and The UniverSoul Circus.
“With Doug there was never a ‘no’ answer!” Harrington recalled. “Regardless of our task, we always got everything done.”
“I have an entrepreneurial spirit,” DeLuca said. “So in 1999, I started 4 Leaf Entertainment and produced ‘The Best of Freestyle Motocross’ and sold it to SFX for virtually no money — but it was a good experience.”
All of the affable, indefatigable, optimistic DeLuca’s experiences have been stellar.
“I and Jimmy were in his kitchen one day and he recalled how great The Feast of St. Gennaro is in New York City.”DeLuca said jovially, “I said, ‘let’s do a feast day like that in Los Angeles.’ So, we did!”
A delighted audience murmured its approval.
“That’s kind of how the Malibu Guitar Festival began, no?” Harrington asked.
“Yes! We dreamed up the guitar festival at your house, Eamon!” DeLuca agreed, noting that kudos go to his lovely wife, Alejandra, who has been an energy practitioner and healer in Malibu for many years and “who always makes my harebrained ideas come to fruition. John Watkin and Matt Diamond also helped.
Over its four years, the festival featured the likes of Duane Betts, Tommy Emmanuel, Robby Krieger, Pete Pidgeon, Steve Ferrone, and Steve Vai, to name a few.
“We had some cool cats at those guitar festivals.” DeLuca said. “We even featured Mick Fleetwood on drums.”
“Life is interconnected,” DeLuca said. “We’re all in this beautiful life together.”
Did DeLuca have mentors along the way?
“Yes! Greg Sills was my mentor and taught me all about the industry!” DeLuca said, noting that many of his colleagues from the entertainment industry were in the house, including Brendlinger, who DeLuca noted, “has been a close friend for years and is my daughter’s godfather.”
All in all, DeLuca noted, he serendipitously found himself in all the right places in his esteemed entertainment career.
It is very serendipitous for Malibu that he has made Malibu his home.
Charting a path of creativity for Malibu’s next generation
“Doug DeLuca has made significant contributions to Malibu schools and our community as a leader of The Shark Fund, the emerging Malibu EducationFoundation, and the new Arlene and Dick Van Dyke Endowment for the Arts,” Kevin Keegan, president of the Malibu Parent Teacher Student Association shared with The Malibu Times a few days after the salon.
“Behind the scenes, Doug provides tireless input during school-related meetings and fundraising initiatives,” Keegan said, adding, “At school events — whether in the gym, on the quad, or in the theater — Doug is a dad often carrying his well-used camera and always flashing a reassuring smile as he cheers enthusiastically and provides the students with confident encouragement.”
“The bottom line is,” Keegan emphasized, “Doug understands the importance of parental involvement in students’educational experience and participates in an authentic and impactful way deserving of our admiration.”
Karin Al-Hardan, chair of The Shark Fund, the fundraising arm of the PTSA, agreed wholeheartedly, saying, “Jolynn Regan had the vision of naming the Malibu High School theater after Dick Van Dyke for years, inspired by her experience working with him and the kids on the ‘Malibu’s Got Talent’ show.”
Al-Hardan connected with Regan and took the initiative to work with the school district and The Shark Fund board to assess the value and secure naming approval for the theater. Together, they developed the framework for the endowment.
Enter stage left, the ever-talented, energetic and inspirational DeLuca, who Al-Hardan said, “then stepped in as the driving force, assembling a world-class production team to create an unparalleled event for the city of Malibu, all to benefit the children of Malibu. Their combined efforts and collaborative spirit have made this dream a reality.”
The Van Dyke Endowment for the Arts will fund arts education across all four Malibu public schools and will launch at the event on the June 15, with a goal to raise $3 million for the endowment over the next few years to inspire generations of artists for years to come. For more information visit TheSharkFundMalibu.org.
“Doug DeLuca is truly a force of nature!” Al-Hardan said, adding, “As part of the steering committee for the Van Dyke Endowment for the Arts launch event on June 15, he has rallied a world-class production crew to produce an event and a cinema-quality video that will make ‘A Magical Afternoon with Dick &Arlene Van Dyke’ unforgettable.”
With gratitude and admiration, Al-Hardan added,“Doug achieves all of this with a collaborative spirit, effortlessly bringing people together and fostering a sense of unity. His dedication and vision are invaluable to our cause, always focusing on creating a better experience for our kids and future generations. Doug is a kind, thoughtful human being,and a true Malibu gem!”