Suzanne de Passe
Legendary Motown Producer
Suzanne de Passe is co-chair of the de Passe Jones Entertainment Group, an entertainment provider that has produced such content as the Martin Luther King Jr. biopic King and President Obama’s Commander in Chief’s Inaugural Ball. De Passe began her career as an executive at Motown, where she discovered and signed Michael Jackson & The…
Categories :
Full Bio
Suzanne de Passe is co-chair of the de Passe Jones Entertainment Group, an entertainment provider that has produced such content as the Martin Luther King Jr. biopic King and President Obama’s Commander in Chief’s Inaugural Ball.
De Passe began her career as an executive at Motown, where she discovered and signed Michael Jackson & The Jackson 5, Lionel Richie & The Commodores, Rick James, deBarge, and other multi-million-selling Motown acts. She also oversaw the production of soundtracks for such memorable films as Cooley High, The Mack, and Trouble Man, as well as the production of Motown films and television projects – including The Last Dragon, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings, Lady Sings the Blues, and The Jackson 5 cartoon series – and secured the rights to the film version of The Wiz for the Universal Pictures-Motown joint venture.
As president of Motown Productions, she executive produced the iconic miniseries Lonesome Dove and many award-winning shows, including Motown 25, Sister Sister, Smart Guy, The Temptations miniseries, Kid & Play, The Jacksons: An American Dream, and Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century. She has produced the NAACP Image Awards, The Essence Awards, The Black Movie Awards, and Showtime at the Apollo.
De Passe is the recipient of many professional awards including two Emmy Awards, six NAACP Image Awards, three Peabody Awards, and a Golden Globe for her productions. She received an Academy Award nomination for co-writing Lady Sings the Blues.
Suzanne de Passe’s experiences with Motown Records and De Passe Jones Entertainment, as well as her extensive work in the entertainment industry, have afforded her extensive knowledge of management, production, and business relations and negotiations. She has appeared as a speaker before numerous businesses and industry trade groups, including the Miller Brewing Company, Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association, Burger King Franchise Owners Association, and the Chicago Minority Business Development Council.
Testimonials
Ernie was perfect for our Elders Conference at Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan. We will definitely be using PDA again!
LITTLE RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA INDIANS
Our speaker was great and the crowd enjoyed her! She was very engaging. Thank you again PDA for the great list of suggestions!
MEDTRONIC
Everything went great! and our speaker was wonderful! Thank you so much for all your help PDA! Looking forward to the next one.
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – KANSAS CITY
I hope that this message finds you well. We had a phenomenal time with Atsuko this past Thursday. We wanted to just let you know how amazing she was. All those that were in attendance thoroughly enjoyed her and had nothing but amazing things to say about her. Thank you for working with us to make sure this happened!
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!
SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Dear PDA Group, Thank you so much for your hard work in scheduling our speaker! From the moment we reached out to you the first time, you worked with us on all details and logistics and kept us up-to-date on the progress. Thank you for all your hard work on making our event such a success! We couldn't have done it without you and your team!
SAP COMPANY
Thank you again, Dr. Kimbrough, for a great presentation, our attendees are still talking about it!
CAMPUS LABS
Dr. Henry Lee's presentation was entertaining, insightful and wise. I, and everyone at Pfizer, especially appreciate the remarks you directed about following your passion and preparing yourself to excel. Thank you, everyone, at PDA for helping to make this happen!
PFIZER
The event was successful! I received many messages expressing how awesome, outstanding and inspiring Ms. Webb-Christburg's speech was."
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL BREAKFAST, BOSTON, MLK SPEAKER
Everything went well. Atsuko was very easy to work with and the students enjoyed her performance! Thank you again for your recommendation and I hope to work with you again in the future!
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Dr. Novello left this morning after a very successful event on our campus! Thank you PDA Group for your help from the first phone to the last you were with us every step of the way.
GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Jordan Carlos was very very entertaining! A majority of students who answered the event survey indicated they really enjoyed Jordan and definitely will bring him back!
WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can't wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.
FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Thank you, Peter, for all your help, you'll be happy to know that the event went incredibly well! Aneesa Ferreira was by far one of the best speakers we've ever had!
FURMAN UNIVERSITY
Topics
A Woman Running Motown
From Life Stories to Screen
Motown: A Model, a Mecca, a Success Story
Videos
Savannah Film Festival: Suzanne de Passe
Books
News
Testimonials
GET IDEAS
1 HOUR OR LESS
