While he is not necessarily a household name, there is a good chance you are familiar with Randy Douthit’s work, especially if you’re a fan of great television programs. And that’s because he is the executive producer behind several high-rated television shows, including “Judge Judy,” “Judge Joe Brown,” and “Crossfire.” Of course, this is only some of his recent contributions to television. Now much older and undoubtedly wiser, Douthit started his career at age 23 when he landed a director role with KGW in Portland, a television station in Portland, Oregon, which is affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc.
From Humble Beginnings To Making It Big in Television: The Rise of Randy Douthit
Soon after parting ways with the multi-platform news organization KGW, Douthit’s career in television began to take off in ways that many of his contemporaries probably could never imagine. After leaving KGW, he directed “How Come?,” a children’s program that won a Peabody Award in 1975, before moving on to executive produce Seattle Today, a nationally syndicated morning talk show based in Seattle, Washington. From there, he joined the then-relatively-new CNN network. In 1985, Randy Douthit was on to bigger and even better things. That’s because it was during that year when he conceived, executive produced, and directed a show that would go on to win yet another Peabody Award, Larry King Live. Soon after, he joined Quincy Jones Entertainment to oversee and develop “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” a primetime NBC sitcom that led to the start of Will Smith’s movie-making career.
In summary, Randy Douthit began his career by making television worth watching, and years later, he is doing the same by being the executive producer of Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, and a slew of other must-watch shows.