Rifael Ronald "Riff" Markowitz (born 1938) is a Canadian- American television and theatre producer, [1] most recently the managing director, MC and co-founder of The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, [2] which performed at the historic Plaza Theatre in downtown Palm Springs, California until 2014.
Biography
Markowitz was born in New York City but grew up in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [1]
He ran away from home at the age of 15, worked as a clown for a year, then secured a job as a radio announcer on CJKL in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. [1] He later moved into television with CHCH-TV in Hamilton, producing several of the station's early forays into television syndication, including The Randy Dandy Show, [3] The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, [3] and Party Game. [3]
He was also a television personality, both as the titular Randy Dandy in The Randy Dandy Show and as announcer "Gardiner Westbound" on Party Game.
He was also a producer on The Wolfman Jack Show, [4] creator and executive producer of the HBO TV series The Hitchhiker, [1] and a cofounder of the early Canadian pay television movie channel First Choice. [1]
He moved to Palm Springs in 1991 intending to retire, but his continuing interest in theatre led to the offer to restore a vaudeville theatre, which became home to The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. [5]
References
- ^ a b c d e "One man's unbridled folly: In a 'little jewel box of a theatre,' Torontonian Riff Markowitz has wowed a million-and-a-half visitors with corny jokes and a cancan line-up of knock-out octogenarians." The Globe and Mail, April 18, 1998.
- ^ "Long live our lust for lingerie". The Globe and Mail, March 25, 2006.
- ^ a b c "How a publicity hunting TV mini-tycoon turns shy". Toronto Star, January 8, 1972.
- ^ "Wolfman's show slick and flashy but definitely not Canadian". The Globe and Mail, October 6, 1976.
- ^ Biller, Steven; Kleinschmidt, Janice (October 2007). "The Influencers". Palm Springs Life.
External links
- Living people
- 1938 births
- American clowns
- American male television writers
- American television directors
- American theatre directors
- Canadian male television writers
- Canadian television personalities
- Canadian television producers
- Canadian television directors
- Canadian theatre directors
- Canadian clowns
- Screenwriters from California
- Screenwriters from New York City
- Screenwriters from Toronto
- Television producers from California
- Television show creators
- Writers from Palm Springs, California