MEETVIN DI BONA

Vin Di Bona, CEO of Vin Di Bona Productions and Chairman of FishBowl Worldwide Media, has built a celebrated career that has garnered him multiple awards including four Emmys and a Peabody. A pioneer in comedic reality television, Vin chartered new territory in the television industry when he introduced America’s Funniest Home Videos in 1989. For over four decades Di Bona has tapped into the heart of stories that entertain and uplift, using the power of television to bring them into homes across America. He has created a distinctive programming format that transcends the ever-evolving world of new technology and social media.

A pioneer in comedic reality television

A pioneer in comedic reality television, Di Bona shook the foundations of the television industry when he introduced America’s Funniest Home Videos in 1989. Not only credited with bringing the reality genre to network broadcasting, twenty-five years later it seems that Di Bona also set the stage for today’s universal YouTube culture by creating an appetite and platform for user-generated content.

In 2007, America’s Funniest Home Videos (AFV) became the longest-running primetime entertainment show on the ABC network. In 2012, AFV celebrated a milestone 500th episode, an accomplishment previously achieved by only three other primetime entertainment shows: Lassie, Gunsmoke and The Simpsons. In October 2015, AFV entered its 26th season on the air.

Other reality-based specials

America’s Funniest People, I Survived A Disaster, The Big Moment, Chicken Soup For The Soul, Show Me The Funny, The Extraordinary World of Animals, Meet the Marks, The Dating Experiment and Animal Crack-Ups.

Animal Crack-Ups

Animal Crack-Ups, like AFV, was based on a show from the Tokyo Broadcasting Company, making Di Bona the first television producer to import a Japanese format to the U.S.

Beyond reality TV

Beyond reality television, Di Bona’s diverse experience in producing and directing includes television movies, broadcast and cable series, network specials, music award shows and variety programming. Among those are Entertainment Tonight, Papal Spacebridge’87, MacGyver, Trump Unauthorized and the Showtime series, Sherman Oaks. He has also produced three highly acclaimed movies-of-the week, For the Love of Nancy, Touched By Evil and Voices From Within, as well as documentaries, including Down at the Dunbar, for which he won the Peabody.

In addition to executive producing and directing AFV, Di Bona is currently executive producer on several television series, including Vin Di Bona the Animal Planet reality series, Insane Pools : Off the Deep End.

Hollywood Walk of Fame

Di Bona received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007.

Smithsonian Institution

Inclusion of America’s Funniest Home Videos into the permanent entertainment collections of the Smithsonian Institution.

Chair’s Award

Caucus for Television Producers, Writers & Directors Chair’s Award in 2008.

Heritage Hall of Fame

Di Bona was honored again in 2011 when he was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.

Other ventures

Di Bona is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Emerson College which bestowed upon him an Honorary Doctorate Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters.

He holds the position of Chairman, Paulist Productions Board of Directors, is a member of the Board of Trustees for the St. James Inn and served as Chairman for the Caucus for Television Producers, Writer & Directors for four years.

In addition to being a board member for the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles and the Newport Music Festival, Di Bona is currently active in Teach for America, the Newport Historical Society and the Preservation Society of Newport in Rhode Island.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Smithsonian Institution.