1958

James P. Jimirro

launched J2 Spotlight Musical Theatre Company in December 2019.

The company conducts revivals of Broadway shows, with its first season featuring "Seesaw," "No Strings" and "A Class Act."

Jimirro — the creator and founding president of The Disney Channel and Walt Disney Home Video, and who revived the National Lampoon brand — serves as executive producer and co-founder of the musical theater company.

Jimirro, who earned the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Penn State Alumni Association in 1985, is a longtime supporter of Penn State and the Bellisario College.

In 2018, Jimirro endowed a $1 million professorship in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. His gift created the the James P. Jimirro Professor of Media Effects, further positioning Penn State as a leader in the study of the impact of media messaging and communication technologies on the way individuals consume and process information as well as the way they think, and, ultimately, behave.

James Jimirro Oral History, 2015 (audio only)

Note Posted: January 10, 2020