User:UncDust/Spike Jones, Jr.

Lindley A "Spike" Jones, Jr. (born May 19, 1949) is an American television producer/director of awards shows and live television events. He is a public speaker and frequent moderator of entertainment industry panels, and the founder of SJ2 Entertainment. He is the son of satirical musician and bandleader, Spike Jones, and singer and actress, Helen Grayco, and the brother of Linda Lee Jones, Grammy-winning recording engineer, Leslie Ann Jones, and Gina Maria Jones.

Career
Spike Jones, Jr. is one of the entertainment industry’s most respected and sought-after producers of awards shows and live television events. Known for his creativity, stellar talent relations and dedicated commitment, he has produced some of the industry’s biggest events, headlined by its top stars, and received many honors and awards. In 2015 he was presented with the prestigious Syd Cassyd Founders Emmy Award for his significant work and contribution on behalf of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS).

Jones, Jr. and his company SJ2 Entertainment package and produce event specials for network, syndication and cable television. For 20 years he has produced the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for ATAS taking it from a hotel ballroom dinner to a national telecast primetime production. He also produces the Emmy Awards Nominations Announcement Ceremony, which is carried live by hundreds of media outlets around the world.

He produced the 41st Daytime Emmy Awards and has amassed an extensive list of credits producing and directing projects for HBO, Oxygen, Showtime, A&E Networks, MTV, VH1, NBC, E!, Nickelodeon and ABC. These include the Film Independent Spirit Awards, Writers Guild of America Awards , Jerry Lewis Telethon , the Spike Video Game Awards , and more. Jones, Jr. entered the arena of online gaming by directing Blizzard Entertainment’s premiere release of World of Warcraft: Cinematic Reveal in 2014.

Jones, Jr. dedicates his time to the Television Academy’s educational and charitable arm, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation, by inspiring and teaching the next generation of television leaders through lectures, mentorships and seminars. In 2015 he executive-produced the Foundation’s College Television Awards, marking the fifth time he has volunteered his creativity and expertise to the organization.

In 2014 Jones, Jr. produced and directed a unique Academy member event: SCORE: A Concert of Music Composed for Television. This oneof-a-kind concert at Royce Hall featured an 80-piece orchestra performing a vast range of iconic television theme music from Game of Thrones to Family Guy, conducted by the composers of each popular theme.

Early life
Born into a show business family, Jones, Jr. had a childhood career as a musician and performer. His father, satirical musician Spike Jones, led the band Spike Jones and his City Slickers. They recorded numerous, hit parody songs from the 1940's through the early 1960's. His mother, singer and actress Helen Greco, often performed in her husband's stage and television shows. Jones, Jr. travelled and performed with his parents.

In early 1965, at age 15, Jone's Jr. briefly took over as bandleader when his father became too ill to perform. At that time, the band was called Spike Jones and the Band That Plays for Fun. Jones, Jr. had watched his father's act so many times, he was able step in and lead with no rehearsal. When his father passed away on May 1, 1965, Jones, Jr. once again stepped in and led the band for a number of scheduled performances.