Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 18, 1994 TAG: 9403180207
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Melanie S. Hatter
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Known today for his ``Mikey'' Life Cereal, Cracker Jack and Polaroid TV commercials, Dubelman was still in high school when he figured he didn't have anything to lose by calling Joe Dimaggio for an interview for his school newspaper. They met in a New York club.
``Joe took me to a table aside and talked about everything. He was very open,'' Dubelman said in an interview this week from his Manhattan office. ``I didn't know how hard it was to do those things.''
Dubelman will speak Tuesday night to the Roanoke Advertising Federation at the Holiday Inn-Tanglewood.
In addition to awards for his commercial work, he won an Emmy for producing ``The Execution of Private Slovik,'' a 1974 film starring Martin Sheen about an American soldier executed for desertion during World War II.
A Brooklyn native, he attended New York City College in the 1960s, working in the school's audio-visual department. His experience there got him a job creating study films for the behavioral psychology department at Harvard University.
He moved into producing commercials for companies such as Clairol and Procter & Gamble Co. He built Veritas Studios - his own studio in Manhattan - and then moved into filmmaking with ``Private Slovik.''
Dubelman's experience is not limited to a few media. He had photographed actress Candice Bergen for the Polaroid commercials, and Bergen chose him to produce the episode of her popular sitcom ``Murphy Brown'' that featured soul singer Aretha Franklin.
He's also written a novel, ``The Adventures of Holly Hobbie,'' about a girl's picture from the 1800s coming alive in the 20th century. It took him nine months, and he says he's not sure if he'd write another because it was so difficult. Recently, he has written a screenplay for his latest project, a caper movie called ``Class and Crime,'' for which he is casting and scouting a location.
Last year, Dubelman volunteered his services to produce public-service announcements for The Partnership for the Homeless in New York. The campaign was to boost recruitment of overnight volunteers at homeless shelters. The spots starred actor Michael O'Keefe.
The Partnership ``came to me saying they had no money, so I got folks involved.''
Dubelman says his philosophy is to think positively and to ``turn every adversity, liability into an asset.'' His goal is to ``make significant movies for the big screen'' where the audience can have fun and learn something about life.
\ Donna Richardson, international fitness expert and star of ESPN's ``Fitness Pros'' - which airs daily at 6:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. - will appear at this year's Dance for Heart fund-raiser on Saturday at 9 a.m. in the Carter Athletic Center in Roanoke.
Richardson attended Hollins College for three years from 1980 to 1983. She will teach one of the four aerobics sessions at the four-hour event.
Dance for Heart is an annual event to raise money for cardiovascular research and education programs through the American Heart Association. Last year the event raised $18,000.
\ Rucks Russell's first reporting job was at CBS-affiliate WDTV in Clarksburg, W.Va. It lasted three months and two weeks. Roanoke ``is a mega-metropolis'' compared to Clarksburg, he said.
He joined the WSLS (Channel 10) news reporting staff on March 7, replacing Cassandra Finch, who left last month.
Russell worked as a bureau chief at an ABC-affiliate and a public-television station in Philadelphia and as an assignment editor at a station in New Jersey.
Russell is a Washington, D.C., native and a graduate of Rider College in New Jersey.
\ ``The Jeff Hunt Show'' will air a special five-part series honoring the late Miles Davis on WVTF (89.1 FM) next week beginning Monday. ``Miles Davis: Memories of Miles'' is hosted by award-winning jazz broadcaster Ed Love.
by CNB