MTA Festival 2006
Guest Speakers
Guest Speakers
Sam Haskell, III hails from Los Angeles, California. Originally from Amory, Mississippi, Sam is a 1977 graduate of the University of Mississippi where he majored in Theatre, Radio & Television. While at Ole Miss, Sam was an officer of Sigma Chi Fraternity, a member of “Who's Who In American Colleges & Universities,” Omicron Delta Kappa, Committee of '82, The Chancellor's Committee For The Arts, & the Ole Miss Rebel Recruiters. After moving to Los Angeles in the Fall of 1978, he joined the William Morris Agency, in the mailroom, and in May 1980, Sam was promoted to an agent in the Television Variety Department where he packaged television specials starring Lily Tomlin, Lynda Carter, Debbie Allen, David Frost, and Diana Ross, to name a few. In 1990, Sam became the William Morris Agency's youngest Senior Vice-President, and in 1994, Sam was elevated to the position of West Coast Head of Television for the agency. In 1997 he became Executive Vice President and became a member of the WMA Board of Directors. In 1999, Sam was elevated to Worldwide Head of Television. One of Sam's responsibilities was over-seeing the packaging of all Network projects represented by the William Morris Agency. Series packaged by Sam and WMA include, the “The Cosby Show,” “Kids Say The Darndest Things,” “Sisters,” “Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “Mad About You,” “Suddenly Susan,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Murphy Brown,” “The Martin Short Show,” “Live with Regis & Kathie Lee,” “Diagnosis Murder,” “King of Queens,” “Whoopi,” “Las Vegas,” and “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.”
Before his retirement from the agency business in December, 2004, Sam's clients included Bill Cosby, Kathie Lee Gifford, Ray Romano, Mary Donnelly Haskell, Whoopi Goldberg, Debbie Allen, Delta Burke, Marilu Henner, Martin Short, Kirstie Alley, Tony Danza, Sean Hayes, Michael Feinstein, Emily Procter, Lily Tomlin, Brenda Hampton, Darren Star, David Trainer, Marilyn McCoo, Joan Van Ark, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Swoosie Kurtz, and His Royal Highness The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.Sam was President of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society in 1997-98, is a board member of the Alliance for Children's Rights, and is on the Board of Directors for the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. He is a member of the USC Executive Council, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Country Music Association, and the Gospel Music Association. He is the Chairman of the Board for the Mary Kirkpatrick Haskell Scholarship Foundation, which was founded in memory of his mother, and provides deserving children the opportunity to attend colleges and universities in the state of Mississippi. The Bi-Annual Stars Over Mississippi Benefit Concerts, which are the primary fundraising arm of the Foundation, are held in Amory , Mississippi the first Saturday in October. Haskell presents many of his star clients in concert, continuing the endowment of the Foundation, which to date has raised over $3,000,000 to help the Mississippi children who need it most.For his overall efforts on behalf of so many young people, Sam received the 1997 National Champion for Children Award from the Alliance for Children's Rights, as well as the 1997 Men Helping Women Award, from the Celebrity Action Council at the Los Angeles Mission. On October 31, 1998, Sam was honored by the International Fraternity of Sigma Chi, as a “1998 Significant Sig,” the highest award given by the fraternity. In May of 1999, Sam Executive Produced a Celebration of Mississippi Leadership at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which raised 13 million dollars for the endowment of the Trent Lott Leadership Institute at the University of Mississippi. In June of 1999, Mary and Sam were chosen as official commentators for “Good Morning America,” as the only American couple invited by Queen Elizabeth II to attend the royal wedding of His Royal Highness The Prince Edward to Miss Sophie Rhys-Jones. In Addition, Sam was listed as one of the “Twelve To Watch In 2000” in the January, 2000 edition of Electronic Media. Also in January 2000, Sam was selected by authors David Kopp and Larry Wilson, for their book, “Praying For The World's 365 Most Influential People,” where he joined four other Mississipians selected for inclusion in this book: Trent Lott, Oprah Winfrey, John Grisham, and Lee Ann Rimes. In addition, Sam is featured in David Rensin's best-selling book, The Mailroom , a history of the entertainment business from the bottom up. Sam and his wife Mary are lifetime members of the Ole Miss Alumni Association, the Ole Miss Ventress Order, and they both serve as members of the Board of Directors of the Gertrude Ford Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Mississippi. In October of 2001, Sam was inducted into the University of Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame. In March of 2002, Sam hosted The College Film Awards Ceremony, sponsored by The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and he has recently been selected by the Academy to Chair the Television Academy Hall of Fame Awards.Sam is also a popular motivational speaker, having rendered keynote addresses at such events as the Mississippi Economic Council's Annual Convention in Jackson, MS; U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige's “Leave No Child Behind” Advisory Board in Washington, D.C.; Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore's Mentoring Conference; the Leadership Music Conference and the Country Music Association's Leadership Awards Conference in Nashville, TN; the State of Mississippi Rotary Clubs International Convention; and the Edinburgh International Television Festival. Sam also lectures on the television business at UCLA and USC every semester. Sam is a member of Bel Air Presbyterian Church, he serves on the Board of Governors for the Museum of Television & Radio, the Miss America National Board, and he also serves on the Board of Trustees at the Viewpoint School in Los Angeles, where his children are enrolled.Sam is married to his college sweetheart Mary Donnelly Haskell, a former Miss Mississippi and Concord Recording artist, and they have two children, Sam IV – age 17, and Mary Lane – age 16 |
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