Art Kirsch is a Brooklyn native who has lived in Southern California for the past 30 years with his wife of over 50 years, and has three children and four grandchildren.
Art earned a BBA in Accounting and Finance at Pace University and served in the US Marine Corps. Art has had business assignments around the world during his career in high tech, principally in the computer graphics field, where he built and managed sales forces, built, managed and repaired high tech companies and, for the past 15 years has had a second career as a producer of commercials, documentaries, and special events.
Art has also served with many non-profit organizations over the years. He was publicly elected to the board of education of Merrick, NY, a suburb of NYC, and served nine years, the last two as president before moving to California. During the past decade he has served on the boards of some five industry organizations, currently serving as president and treasurer of the local chapter of Media Communications Association International (MCAI) as on the international board of MCAI as its treasurer.
Some highlights as a producer include screening of “A Christmas Story” on its 20th Anniversary bringing back all of the child stars, the director, and even had a special appearance by actor Darren McGavin.
He also shot a number of commercials, primarily for the pharmaceutical industry several big projects for Cal Water in Bakersfield.
Art also completed two documentaries. One, The Brick People, was about the residents of a company town, Simons, CA that existed in Orange County for the first half of the 20th century. Simons was adjacent to one of the world’s largest brick making factories. It was inhabited by the Mexican immigrants who worked there. The other, GUPA, was about his octogenarian Tai Chi instructor and friend, Vince McCullough, chronicling his 60 years as a teacher, challenges of growing up in a tough part of L.A., service in Korea, and a general discussion of his philosophy.
He also produced a half-hour short, Remembrance, about a World War II veteran whose life was forever changed by the death of his boyhood pal, really a story about PTSD and its devastating effects on the soldier and his family. Art also shot four episodes of a television pilot, In The Credits, about the mostly unsung, behind the scenes people who make the magic of entertainment happen.
He is currently producing CelebratingAct2™, the user manual for the second half of your life doing interviews of interesting and thriving people 50 and over. You can check it our at their YouTube channel.