Robert W. Cabell

Robert W. Cabell has spent the past two decades working in the entertainment industry with giants like Time Warner, HBO, Spelling International, Columbia Pictures, and the NYPost. He has written and produced a number of plays and musicals, and books.

Until he permanently relocated to New York City, Robert W. Cabell worked as an equity actor, singer, director, and choreographer from 1975 - 1978 on various tours and productions around the country. Before pursuing a career in writing and composing, he took training courses for Wang computer systems in 1979 and 1980, which were then used within the entertainment industry, and then began working as an independent programmer. From 1980-1986, he worked as a Wang systems program designer, specializing in catalogue systems for TV and publications, form generations, and billing systems for companies such as WR Grace, Equitable Insurance, Metro North Railroads, and Prudential Shipping.

From 1980-81, Cabell was contracted by Columbia Pictures to custom design a Wang systems catalogue program for their Home Video Library products. From 1981-1985, under the direction of Elizabeth Wang and Elizabeth Lubetkin, Mr. Cabell designed, implemented, and maintained the Wang systems story catalogue database for People Magazine, Time Magazine, and Sports Illustrated. At the same time, he worked directly with Mary Hornikle and Michael Fuchs at HBO where he designed, implemented, and maintained their program database for broadcast scheduling. In 1982 in addition to these duties, Mr. Cabell was also contracted as an outside source to calculate the executive bonuses for HBO's 1982, 1983, and 1984 seasons. During this time frame he also marketed and installed similar Wang systems databases at NBC and CBS.

As a playwright and composer, during 1981 -1983, Cabell's musicals "Dragon Myth" and "Saccharine" were both presented in concert form at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, and he had musical stagings at several smaller venues. In 1984 he was selected to be one of the first composer/lyricists for the prestigious "Musical Workshop Series". In November of 1984, Mr. Cabell had his first Off-Broadway production of his musical "Pageant" produced at the New York supper club, "Panache", on East 5ih Street. It was the first incarnation of his later version retitled "Pretty Faces", and played in a sold­ out and extended engagement there. The "Pageant" production was optioned by Palm Beach socialite and Broadway investor, Ankie Reveson Johnson and was retooled by Cabell for the 1990 production of "Pretty Faces."

In the winter of 1985, comedian, Joey Adams, invited Mr. Cabell to be a guest on his radio show, and their long time friendship began. From 1986- 1989, Cabell became a specialist in converting documents from the Wang system and Display Writer software programs to Word Perfect for companies such as Grey Advertising, Manufacture Hanover, Citibank, and Peat, Marwick & Mitchell.

Mr. Cabell worked at Aaron Spelling international from 1989 - 1993, writing and designing their marketing and syndication packages for "90210", "Melrose Place", "Tarzan", and "Extreme Sports", as well as their cable TV and prime time film packages. In 1990 he also had his first full Equity, Off-Broadway rendition of "Pretty Faces" produced and presented.

From 1993- 1994, Cabell worked in the contract division of Radio City and wrote a weekly column entitled, "The Best Of The Upper West" for the Upper Westside Current newspaper, and he also produced and directed his play, "Two Hearts Over Easy", for which he wrote the book, music, and lyrics, in association with Marvin Gardens and Evette Katz-Stark. Both of his musicals, "Pretty Faces", and "Two Hearts Over Easy", received rave reviews in their Off-Broadway runs in 1990 and 1994. Cabell wrote a pitch proposal for a half-hour weekly gossip show on NBC in 1993, while still working at Spelling International. NBC did not buy the show, but they did contract Cindy Adams for three weekly segments for the local NY news and one weekly segment for the "Today Show", which Cabell produced for Ms. Adams as her personal, in-house producer. In addition to those duties, he also designed and published Cindy Adam's AOL "Gourmet Gossip" website and chat room, and supervised the filming of her weekly gossip segments for ET Entertainment Network.

In 1995, after his friend and mentor Joey Adams suffered another stroke, Mr. Cabell left Radio City, at the request of Adam's wife, Cindy, to ghost write Joey's daily humor column for the NY Post and weekly humor column for Star Magazine while he compiled and edited Joey Adams' Encyclopedia of Laughter, which was published by Dove Books in 1996. Having known Joey and Cindy socially since 1984, through Earl and Rosemary Wilson, Cabell was a guest on Joey's radio show, and the Adams were frequent quests at both his NY apartment and his house in Bridgehampton for a decade prior to his working for them as a staff writer. Throughout his relationship with Joey Adams, Mr. Cabell was his frequent lunch companion at the NY Friars' Club, and he lunched with him there three or four times a week during the three years he ghost wrote Adams' column.

In August of 1997, after covering the handover in Hong Kong, Mr. Cabell left Cindy and Joey Adams' employ to work full time for Shout Magazine as the entertainment editor and theater critic. In 1998, he balanced his work at Shout with producing the all-star cast album of his play, "Z-the Masked Musical of Zorro", also in association with Marvin Gardens and Evette Kataz-Stark. The album was recorded in three different cities: in New York at Sampleheads Studios, Moran Music Studios, and Betelgeuse Studios, in Los Angeles at Amber Sky studios (sessions produced by Michael Orland of "American Idol"), and in Miami at Emilio and Gloria Estefan's Crescent Moon Studios. Featured on the album were pop icons Debra Gibson and Menudo's Ruben Gomez, and Broadway veterans Phyllis Newman, Kaye Ballard, Christian Noll, Roberto Blades, Rob Evans, Jeff McCarthy, Marc Kudisch, and Sean McDermott. It was released on January 15, 1999.

February 2000 marked the west coast premiere of "Z- the Masked Musical of Zorro", and in October Cabell premiered his "Divine Trilogy of Sarah Bernhardt", which has since enjoyed multiple productions across the country. In 2001, at the first official memorial for 9/11, his song, "Each Was A Hero" from "Z-The Masked Musical of Zarro", was the opening song performed by Deborah Gibson at Rockefeller Center with Mayor Rudy Guliani and Prince Andrew of England in attendance. It was also performed by Marc Kudisch as a tribute to 9/11 at the UN for the International Press Gala.

By 2002, Mr. Cabell had become the resident videographer for Lincoln Center's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Studies, the AMAS Musical Theater Company, and the Culture Project at 45 Bleeker Street. He filmed and edited Oscar award winning actors including Richard Dreyfuss and Jill Clayburn, and Hollywood stars including Jeff Goldblum, Andrew McCarthy, Ally Sheedy, Chad Lowe, Phylicia Rishad, Mia Angelou, and Martha Stewart.

In 2003 he produced and edited New Artist Videos for Angel Records Classical Division for the "Black Nativity" cast, the documentary, "The Making of Nativity", and the full length video of the production of "Black Nativity" at the 3,500 seat United Palace Theater. The production was produced and written by "Dancing with the Stars", Harold Wheeler, Hattie Winston, co-star of the comedy series "Becker" with Ted Danson, and Broadway veteran James Stovall. "Nativity" starred Phylicia Rishad, Stephanie Mills, Lilias White, SeSe Wynan, Freddie Jackson Jr., George Faison, Ebony Jo Anne, and opera diva Priscilla Baskerville. Also in 2003, Princeton University and The Schomburg Center for Research & African Culture hired Mr. Cabell to film over twenty-eight seminars for Black History Month and a tribute to Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, which turned out to be Mr. Davis' last public performance before his death.

Prior to the release of his Jayms Blonde comic book, Cabell filmed and directed a documentary on the comic book industry in 2004. It included interviews with the current stars and legendary artists of the industry attending the 2004 NY Comic Book Convention, hosted by nationally known radio host, Ken Gale's 'Nuff Said! In addition, Cabell was one of the sponsors of NYMF in 2004, which featured the revival of his musical "Pretty Faces" from which the 2005 "Pretty Faces-NY Cast Album" was released.

In 2007, "1, Sarah.. the Divine", and his musicals "Pretty Faces" and "Z-the Masked Musical of Zorro", were optioned and translated in to German and will be produced to tour in Germany and Scandinavia in 2010. June of 2007 also marked the publication of his first novel, The Hair-Raising Adventures of Jayms Blonde- Project Popcorn, which received numerous rave reviews across the United States and Canada. In addition to his work as an author and playwright, Mr. Cabell has filmed and edited theater, news, and feature segments, and is a noted videographer and producer whose work has been seen on such shows as "Good Morning America", "The View", ABC, NBC, and CBS Nightly News, "The Today Show", "Court TV", and numerous others. He was also the official videographer for the Schomburg Center and The National Parks for the week long celebration of the installation of the new national monument, "The African Burial Grounds". Cabell also designed the multimedia sets for Lincoln Center's production of "FLY" about the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II, which went on tour during 2008 and 2009 in over two-hundred- fifty theaters across the country.

In February of 2008, Cabell filmed and directed a series of exploratory documentaries on pediatric AIDS in Lesotho, Africa for the Dean of Medicine of Columbia University, with Tsidii Le Loka, star of Broadway's "Lion King," and Dr. Zina Stain of Columbia University. In fall of 2008, the premiere of his documentary "Waves of Memories", about the influence of southern blues and dance, opened in Florida at Panama City Beach Bop Day, where it was honored by the governor.

The Fall of 2011 marked the release of Robert Cabell's first children's book, “The Little Dyslexic Angel”, published by Gazebo Books. In 2012 he published and epic novel, “All The Mermaids In The Sea” with Oceanus Books as well as the graphic version of his 2008 novel “Jayms Blonde” as well as his book on “Blonde Jokes, Jayms Blonde Jokes” with Warrington Press.

In 2013, Z – The Masked Musical of Zorro, with book, music and lyrics by Robert W. Cabell had its European premier at the Clingenburg Musical Festival in Clingenburg Germany, receiving wide critical acclaim. As a novelist he has publish Volume One of “The Mermaid Adventures Of Princess Miranda”. As well as “Wilde and Divine” about the twenty year friendship of Oscar Wilde and Sarah Bernhard.

In 2015 his Musical 12 Days of Christmas had it’s world Premiere in Merzig Germany with Villa Fuchs, followed by the English Language premiere of the English Language version of 12 Days of Christmas in Seattle in 2017 at the Renton Civic Theater. In 2016 he illustrated J. Lawrence Criner’s Zombie Fight Before Christmas.

Robert W. Cabell, American Playwright and Author

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