Alpha and Omega

Alpha and Omega

Director and Producer Ron Frank, Producer Glenn Kirschbaum

From the 1960s through the 1980s, an unlikely duo – boxer Muhammad Ali and newsman Howard Cosell, a Muslim and a Jew – found their calling sparring about sports on American television. Their good-natured, loving debates not only entertained audiences, but broadcasted a model for defying racism and antisemitism in a world riddled with segregation and hate.

Phase of Support: Development


Ron Frank

Ron Frank

Director, Producer

 Ron Frank is a Peabody winner and Emmy nominee. He directed Remembering Gene Wilder, which won 8 festival awards and was called “an affectionate look at the life and work of the comedic actor” by the New York Times. It is now on Netflix. Ron was producer and editor for MLK: The Assassination Tapes for Smithsonian Channel, described as a “First-rate effort, compelling historical documentary” by Variety. He produced and edited The Lost JFK Tapes for National Geographic Channel, which the New York Times called, “mesmerizing”. He directed the theatrical and PBS documentary, When Comedy Went to School about the birthplace of standup comedy in the Catskill Mountains, dubbed “a loving look at a bygone era”  by The Huffington Post. One of Ron’s earlier television documentaries was the History Channel’s, The Hunt for Adolf Eichmann, which was called an “absorbing documentary,” by The Hollywood Reporter. Ron holds a BFA from New York University’s film school.

Glenn Kirschbaum

Glenn Kirschbaum

Producer

Glenn Kirschbaum has overseen hundreds of hours of programming on networks including The History Channel, A&E, Discovery, National Geographic, The Travel Channel, The Food Network, The Weather Channel, and HGTV. Glenn’s latest film, Remembering Gene Wilder, which he wrote, is a heartfelt, feature documentary honoring the beloved star. Glenn’s first documentary feature, Adolf Hitler: Man and Myth, won two national Emmy Awards. He was a writer on the NBC hit program, Unsolved Mysteries. He also produced The Unfinished Civil War for the History Channel. Glenn has also worked as Co-Executive Producer of Combat Zone, for the Discovery Channel. He was writer for National Geographic’s hit series, The Dog Whisperer. In 2013, Glenn was showrunner for the Travel Channel series America Declassified. He served as Co-Executive Producer of Weather Gone Viral on The Weather Channel and the Executive Producer of the 5-hour true crime series, Freed to Kill.

Project logline and bios courtesy of the grantees.