James Bethea facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
James Bethea
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Bethea in Los Angeles, September 2008
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James A. Bethea Jr.
January 14, 1965 Harlem, New York, U.S.
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| Occupation | Writer, producer |
| Years active | 1982–present |
James A. Bethea Jr. (born on January 14, 1965) is an American writer and producer. He mostly works in television. He also sometimes acts.
James Bethea was once the Head of Current Programming for UPN. This means he helped decide what shows would be on the network. He was one of the few African Americans to lead a programming department at a major TV network. Some shows he helped with at UPN include Star Trek: Voyager, Dilbert, Clueless, and Moesha. As an actor, he appeared in the movies Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010).
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Early Life and Education
James Bethea was born in Harlem, New York City. His mother, Constance, was a social worker. His father, James Sr., worked in a hospital lab.
He went to The Bronx High School of Science, a special school for science students. After high school, he studied Film and Communications at Hunter College. He also studied Computer Science.
Career Highlights
James Bethea started his career in 1982 while still in high school. He was a cast member on the Nickelodeon show Livewire. He also liked working behind the camera. He became a production assistant at Children's Television Workshop. Then he worked at Nickelodeon as a Segment Producer for Total Panic, a weekly variety show.
With his high school friend Karim Miteff, Bethea helped create Nick Arcade. This was a new kind of game show that used virtual reality. It used a special "bluescreen" process. This technology won an award for being very clever. The show was even made in other countries, like Zona de Juego in Spain. Bethea also helped create Slime Time Live.
In 1997, Bethea joined UPN. He became the Director of Programming. Soon after, he was promoted to Head of Current Programming. In this job, he oversaw all the shows that UPN aired in prime time. This included comedies, dramas, and other types of shows. He also appeared in a pilot show called Smog in 1999. He later sold his own TV show idea, The Gibsons, to UPN, but it was not made into a series.
In 2003, Nickelodeon asked Bethea to come back. He helped create and produce the Spin The Bottle show for TEENick. He even wrote the theme music for it!
Starting in 2005, Bethea began producing live TV events. These included E!'s Live From the Red Carpet shows. He also produced the 12th Critics' Choice Awards.
He has also produced two plays by actor Mike O'Malley. These plays were called Three Years From Thirty and Searching For Certainty.
James Bethea also acted in the movies Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010). He played a military analyst in the films. This was a fun nod to his high school days with director Jon Favreau, when they both loved comic books.
Acting Roles
- Iron Man (2008) - CAOC Analyst #4
- Iron Man 2 (2010) - Security Force #1
Shows He Helped Create
- Slimetime Live (1992)
- Nick Arcade (1992)
- TEENick: Spin the Bottle (2003)
Images for kids
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Bethea in Los Angeles, September 2008
