RHI Founder Exiting Company, Setting Up New Venture

NEW YORK: Robert Halmi, Sr., the founder of RHI Entertainment, is leaving the company, with plans to launch a new independent production outfit.

Halmi, Sr., has produced more than 200 TV movies and mini-series and won more than 100 Emmy Awards. His credits include The Josephine Baker Story, Gypsy, Arabian Nights, Cleopatra, Dinotopia, Dreamkeeper, Dostoevsky’s Crime & Punishment, Don Quixote, In Cold Blood, Merlin, Moby Dick, Noah’s Ark, The Odyssey, Gulliver’s Travels and Alice in Wonderland. Halmi founded RHI Entertainment and sold it to Hallmark Cards in 1994. In January 2006, Halmi, Sr., together with his son, Robert Halmi, Jr., acquired Hallmark Entertainment from Hallmark Cards and re-launched the company as RHI Entertainment.

He is planning to launch a new independent production company based in New York. RHI and Halmi will collaborate on a number of development projects Halmi initiated while at RHI.

As our new management team re-focuses our production strategy, we intend to broaden our portfolio to include television series and other formats that have not traditionally been central to RHI’s business model,” said Gabriel de Alba, the chairman of the board of directors at RHI Entertainment. “This new agreement is ideal for both parties. It ensures that our working relationship with Robert continues and that we can benefit from his singular creative vision, even as the company grows into new areas.”

“I am extremely excited about what the future has in store, having just celebrated my 88th birthday,” commented Halmi. “I became a producer so that I could follow my passion and create great programming that captivates and enchants audiences. This arrangement allows me the creative freedom to focus exclusively on what has inspired me from the beginning. I am thrilled to be able to continue to do what I have always loved the most.”