The Caribbean Heritage Organization (CHO) will honor Suzanne de Passe at the Tribute to Hollywood and the Arts on Saturday, June 23 at The Natural History Museum in Los Angeles.

“Suzanne de Passe epitomizes the can-do legacy of the immigrant spirit. CHO is very proud to honor a daughter of the Caribbean who has broken grounds in the entertainment industry where many men dared not to tread and women were not allowed to even envision venturing,” said Marva Griffiths Herman, executive director of CHO.

The honoree’s rise to fame came much like the musical groups with which she has worked.

Suzanne de Passe, chief executive officer of de Passe Entertainment Group, LLC, began her career at Motown Records as Creative Assistant to company Founder Berry Gordy. Blessed with a keen ear for talent, early in her career Ms. de Passe brought the Jackson 5 to Motown. She was instrumental in taking the legendary record label to television with a host of critically acclaimed and highly rated specials, including the multiple award winning “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever” produced when she was president of Motown Productions. When Motown was sold, she partnered with her mentor in Gordy/de Passe Productions and subsequently established de Passe Entertainment in 1992.

The recipient of an Academy Award nomination for co-writing the screenplay “LADY SINGS THE BLUES,” Ms. de Passe won two Emmy Awards and NAACP Image Awards as Executive Producer of “MOTOWN 25: YESTERDAY, TODAY, FOREVER” and “MOTOWN RETURNS TO THE APOLLO.”

Ms. de Passe also served as executive producer for the highly acclaimed and Emmy Award winning, western mini-series “LONESOME DOVE,” along with “SMALL SACRIFICES,” “THE JACKSONS: AN AMERICAN DREAM,” and “BUFFALO GIRLS,” all of which were nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Mini-Series.

As executive producer of the benchmark NBC mini-series “THE TEMPTATIONS,” Ms. de Passe won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Mini-Series and was nominated for both a Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award for Best Mini-Series.

Ms. de Passe's experience with both Motown Records and de Passe Entertainment, as well as her extensive work in the entertainment industry, have allowed her to attain extensive knowledge of management, production and business relations and negotiations. A regular on the lecture circuit, she has appeared before numerous businesses and industry trade groups, including the Miller Brewing Company, Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association, Burger King Franchise Owners Association and the Chicago Minority Business Development Council. The subject of two Harvard Business School case studies, “Suzanne de Passe and Motown Productions” and “de Passe Entertainment,” she has lectured at the Harvard Business School on several occasions. In 2002, de Passe was named Time Warner Visiting Professor to the Department of Radio, Television and Film at Howard University’s John H. Johnson School of Communications, a post she held for the requisite 3 years. During Howard University’s 138th Charter Day celebration in March 2006, Ms. de Passe received an honorary doctorate degree of Doctor of Humanities.

Currently, Ms. de Passe is the executive producer of the nationally syndicated weekly TV program, Showtime At The Apollo. She is also the executive producer of the critically acclaimed Black Movie Awards, a ninety-minute TV special which first aired nationally on TNT in 2005. The 2006 Black Movie Awards was hosted by Tyler Perry and past shows have saluted Sidney Poitier, Quincy Jones, Morgan Freeman, Cicely Tyson, Don Cheadle, Laurence Fishburne, Spike Lee, Ruby Dee and the late Ossie Davis among many others.

About the Caribbean Heritage Organization

The Caribbean Heritage Organization (CHO) was formed in January 2007 to celebrate the rich and diverse contributions of Caribbeans and Caribbean-Americans to international society through conservation and education of Caribbean arts and culture. Additionally, CHO aims to chronicle the experiences of the expatriated Caribbean people from the most recently arrived immigrants to leaders in American society, from life on the streets of Brooklyn, N.Y., London, and Toronto, to the deal making in the halls of power.

CHO is headquartered in Los Angeles.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Tonita Perry
704-965-6956
tperry@eaddyperry.com
Eaddy Perry & Associates, Inc.
for Caribbean Heritage Organization