Danny O'Donovan
Danny O'Donovan is a concert promoter and movie & television producer. Born in London, O'Donovan became one of the first-ever global tour promoters. He has worked with many of the most renowned artists in the music business, including legends like Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr. and Marlene Dietrich; Jazz and Blues giants such as Ray Charles, Count Basie, B.B. King and Sarah Vaughan; and Soul and Reggae Superstars like James Brown, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix and Chuck Berry. Additionally, Danny O'Donovan has presented a myriad of the top female artists in the music business such as Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Patti Labelle and Tina Turner. He has produced numerous entertainment projects and special events, in many other related fields, including several feature films, network television movies, Broadway plays, musicals, DVD’s, videos and worldwide television shows.
Career[edit]
Danny O'Donovan presented most of the leading Motown artists in concert around the world including the Jackson Five, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations and Lionel Richie & the Commodores. O'Donovan also presented many major music festivals and events including the Newport Jazz Festival, the Russian Festival of Music and Dance, Indian Festival of Music (with Ravi Shankar, George Harrison and Friends) and the Hawaii Music Festival. He has also promoted and booked numerous rock concerts and rock tours with artists like The Who, Pink Floyd, The Doobie Brothers and Rod Stewart.
O'Donovan was a part of "The Ultimate Event" world tour, featuring Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli & Sammy Davis Jr. and set up and coordinated "Ultimate Event" engagements in Japan and other countries where the show broke all previous box office records. Following "The Ultimate Event" world tour, O'Donovan arranged many solo overseas dates for Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli and Sammy and also worldwide concert engagements for numerous other artists including Sheena Easton, The Jets and Paul Anka. In 1994/95 he co-produced the record-breaking Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Live stage tour in conjunction with Saban Entertainment and MCA/Universal Concerts.
Danny O'Donovan became the first British impresario to present a major American superstar on Broadway - the record breaking "An Evening with Diana Ross" (month-long) engagement at New York's now infamous Palace Theater. In addition to presenting Diana Ross on Broadway, O'Donovan subsequently promoted an extensive and very successful six month nationwide tour of the USA for Diana Ross. He also presented many other top artists in various American cities including Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Johnny Mathis, Tina Turner, the Supremes and contemporary instrumental superstar, Yanni.
In 1997/98 Yanni embarked on a world tour organized and promoted by O’Donovan following the release of his new album "Tribute" on Virgin Records, which was recorded during Yanni’s historic (and first-ever) concerts by a western artist at the Taj Mahal in India and the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. O’Donovan promoted Yanni’s 1998 concert tour of North America, which encompassed over 100 dates and grossed in excess of $50 million. In doing so, Yanni became the number one grossing concert artist in the Mid-Year touring charts in both Performance and Pollstar magazines.
Live event organizing[edit]
As a Live Event organizer, Danny O'Donovan has produced some mammoth events in various countries around the world, including a commemorative tribute from the City of Tokyo to the City of New York, during the Statue of Liberty anniversary celebrations. This event featured an international cast of top classical artists from Russia, China, Japan and the USA and headlined Japanese keyboard maestro, Isao Tomita. Tomita performed his totally unique and mega scale "Sound Cloud" concert event entitled, "Back To The Earth" performing live in a glass pyramid suspended over the Hudson River at Battery Park, New York with solists performing on boats and barges including the Staten island Ferry. This multimillion-dollar extravaganza was one of the most spectacular concerts ever produced in Manhattan and was presented by Casio in association with O’Donovan and the City of New York.
In June 2008, O’Donovan produced “One Night in Jordan” another mammoth live concert event staged at the 2,000-year-old Roman Amphitheatre in Amman, Jordan. The concert starring Jordanian/American composer and pianist, Zade Dirani featured the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from London, an exciting Latin rhythm and percussion section, an all star rock band from Los Angeles, the London Voices Choir and a host of other International Guest artists including star violinists Karen Briggs and Charlie Bisharat. The sold-out concert event, in memory of King Hussein, was filmed for a PBS special in June 2009 and was performed before members of the Jordanian Royal Family under the patronage of her Royal Highness Princess Haya bint Al Hussein.
In October 2008, Danny O’Donovan produced an Ice Skating/Concert event “McDonald’s Family Tribute on Ice,” an NBC Sports Special aired in November 2008. This first-ever Ice Spectacular at the new Galen Center at USC featured a host of Champion ice skaters including Sasha Cohen, Evan Lysacek, Kimmie Meissner, Mirai Nagasu and many others. The program was hosted by Kristi Yamaguchi and the live entertainers included Nick Lachey, R&B singer Mario and Almost Amy (a new LA rock band which stars Derek Hough and Mark Ballas, from “Dancing with the Stars”).
Motion picture production[edit]
As a motion picture producer, O'Donovan produced several feature films, including Goldengirl, Susan Anton's film debut, with James Coburn, Leslie Caron and Curt Jurgens; the comedy love story Why Not Stay For Breakfast with West Side Story's George Chakiris; "Black Joy," an acclaimed British Cannes Film Festival entry, which earned a gold album for the supporting soundtrack; and the period adventure "The Stick Up" starring David Soul.
In the television and home video fields, Danny O'Donovan has produced numerous television specials and music videos including "Elton John in Central Park" (HBO), "Frank Sinatra in Japan" (Disney Channel, PBS), "Air Supply in Hawaii" (HBO), "James Brown and B.B. King in Beverly Hills," "Hall & Oates in Montreal" (HBO), "An Evening with Engelbert", "The Commodores in Las Vegas" (HBO), "Black Sabbath in London" and "The Jets In Hawaii" (Disney Channel). O’Donovan produced the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Live" concert tour video, shot in Austin, Texas during the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Live world tour. In 1998 he co-produced Yanni’s monumental PBS television and Virgin Records DVD/video project "Tribute" filmed entirely on location in India and China. In 2006 he completed production of IMAGE Entertainment’s "YANNI LIVE! The Concert Event" DVD shot at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Resort in Las Vegas. In early 2007, he served as Co-Executive Producer of "PRINCE – LIVE at 3121" filmed at The Palms, Las Vegas.
Theatrical works[edit]
In the legitimate theatrical arena, O'Donovan has produced numerous dramatic plays and musicals on the London stage including Henry Fonda's sensational courtroom drama "Clarence Darrow." This was surely one of O'Donovan's most distinguished theatrical credits, as well as the award winning Eduardo de Fillippo play "Filumena" starring Dame Joan Plowright, Frank Finlay and Pierce Brosnan. "Filumena" was directed in London and in the US by Franco Zeffirelli, and later by Lord Laurence Olivier on Broadway. Other O’Donovan credits include the Broadway musicals "Grease," "Something's Afoot" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"; The Who's Rock Opera "Tommy"; "The Passion of Dracula," with George Chakiris, and the comedy, "A Day in Hollywood, A Night in The Ukraine".
Other work[edit]
As well as his prolific activities as a producer and global concert tour promoter, Danny O'Donovan has been involved in many other areas of the music and entertainment industry including recording, music publishing, merchandising, graphic design and film & television commercials. He has acted as a personal manager for several major artists and rock groups including The Jacksons, Yanni, Engelbert Humperdinck, House of Lords, Benise, Russell Watson, Pasquale Esposito, Japan’s most successful heavy metal rock group' Loudness and amazing new Hispanic tenor Maximo Marcuso. Danny is currently considering management of some additional major artists in 2016/17 to add to the expanding Management Divisions of Danny O’Donovan Entertainment Group LLC and OMG International LLC based in Beverly Hills, California.
O'Donovan has served as a judge at numerous International Music Festivals all over the world including the Tokyo, Hawaii, Manila and Hong Kong Music Festivals. He was the longest serving judge at Japan's annual Tokyo Music Festival broadcast by TBS in Japan. He also acted as a judge and International adviser at the Seoul Song Festival, staged in conjunction with the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea. Danny O'Donovan has received many achievement awards during his distinguished show business career including the very prestigious Silver Heart Award from the Variety Club of Great Britain.
External links[edit]
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