In the television industry, there`s a commonly used term known as ”jump cut.” It refers to hopping from one scene to another without a transition. It`s a definite no-no among TV professionals.
Ironically, it`s a term that has become increasingly familiar to Chicago television producer Kathy Rivera of Roselle. Although this TV pro, a winner of multiple Emmys as well as other industry awards, wouldn`t dream of such a gaffe on the job, she claims her life away from the cameras is ”one giant jump cut,” from work to family life.
And that`s exactly the way she wants it.
In the 12 years since she abandoned the security of her four-year position as a producer for Channel 2 (and 10 years before that with Channel 5), she has married, given birth to a son, John, and founded an independent TV production company, KRT Productions Inc. in Schaumburg. Rivera has struggled to combine a fast-paced career with full-time motherhood.
No nannies, day care or after-school extended day programs for her son. Room mother/head honcho of holiday parties, field trip chaperone, baseball coach-Rivera`s hand has always been the first one up to volunteer for mom duty. The grand finale of each work/hands-on mom day: a gourmet, fireside dinner with wine, candlelight and the whole tablecloth works-yes, even on weekdays-in the Rivera`s meticuliously clean and tastefully decorated-by who else but Kathy, of course-posh Roselle home.
Oh, and in her spare time, Rivera and her, husband, Tom, have opened their hearts, pocketbooks and home to hundreds of teenagers who have found refuge at Maryville Academy City of Youth in Des Plaines. Currently, they have a special relationship with Bridget, from Maryville, who shares their home on weekends and holidays.
”From 8:30 to 3, I do my work at a frantic pace, it`s constant,” said Rivera. ”But at 3 p.m., when John walks in the door, I`m at the counter in the kitchen making a snack and ready to do a school project or just play. Being here for him, always, has been extremely important to me, vital.”
Today, Rivera, who for the last 10 years has been married to Tom Rivera, president of the Greater Woodfield Convention and Visitor`s Bureau and 12 years her senior, has a personal and professional track record that shines with success.
The 45-year-old TV producer been involved in the winning of 19 Emmys for shows she helped produce for Chicago television stations for which she continues to work frequently on a free-lance basis. KRT itself has been nominated for six Emmys in the last five years and captured one specifically earmarked for Rivera and her husband, a former news reporter who, in addition to his convention and visitor`s post, does script writing and serves as vice president of KRT Productions Inc.
Rivera also won a gold medal (first place) in the International Film Festival in Houston for best documentary for a ”Portrait of America” show she produced in 1984 about Arizona for the Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting Co. She also won a silver medal for the same show from the National Education Association.
Not to mention that her kid-”my biggest but best challenge”-attends Thomas Dooley School for gifted students in Schaumburg, speaks Spanish and is learning Russian and is frequently at her side in the control booth.
Said television news veteran Warner Saunders, currently a news anchor and reporter for WMAQ-Ch. 5 in Chicago, who met Rivera during the mid-1970s while he was working as a cub reporter at WBBM-Ch. 2 in Chicago: ”The nice thing about Kathy was that she always treated everyone like they were special. I was pretty new at this when I first met her, but when you hang around with her, you get the feeling you can do anything.
”I remember one incident when she was compiling some of my work for an award nomination. I`d never won an Emmy before, but she was so complimentary about my work, saying, `This stuff is so good, it`s an Emmy shoo-in.` And I`m thinking, `Oh, sure.` Well, that started a series of four Emmys.
”I`ll never forget at the awards ceremony after I won. Kathy was the first one to grab me in the aisle on the way back to my seat and hug and kiss me. Her enthusiasm has endured all these years. It`s been great to watch her work her magic on all the projects she`s ever touched. I have nothing but a sterling endorsement to give her,” said Saunders, who is just one of about a dozen well-known Chicago TV celebs who has worked closely with Rivera and speaks highly of her talents.
What`s more, since 1989, Rivera`s KRT Productions has produced the widely popular ”One Hundred Thousand Dollar Fortune Hunt,” which airs Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 9 and is broadcast nationally to stations throughout the country.
The show is slated to be featured on an upcoming ”Entertainment Tonight” show. (No date has been set.)
”There is a great deal of respect for Kathy among the television community in Chicago,” said Sharon Sharp, former director of the Illinois Lottery, who now heads the California Lottery and who hired Rivera to produce the ”One Hundred Thousand Dollar Fortune Hunt” and worked closely with her for almost three years.
”I interviewed many producers for the show, but she really stood out.
”What makes her so good is that she`s got a very good people quality. She`s tough, but in a good sense. When we first started the show, I was pretty bad, couldn`t even figure out how to read the teleprompter. Kathy was extremely patient with me, nicely but firmly, reminding me what to do over and over until I finally got the hang of it. To this day, it`s to Kathy`s credit that I learned never to take a breath (at the wrong time) or blink.”
If the awards and testimonials aren`t enough, perhaps Rivera`s biggest, and until now more-or-less not mentioned, claim to fame is discovering TV star Shelley Long of ”Cheers” fame. It is a milestone event that not only grew into one of Rivera`s closest friendships, but also marked the beginning of her rise through Chicago`s television ranks.
It was Rivera`s ability to spot talent, recruit it and produce great commercials that propelled her into the TV production industry during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
”I first saw Shelley performing at a Waa-Mu (talent show) show at Northwestern (University) at a time when I was working at this company that made commercials,” she recalled.
Rivera, at age 19, landed her first job working full time as a secretary- she soon became a production assistant-for a small, now-defunct, Chicago commercial production agency called Spur Productions and was attending night school at Northwestern University as a journalism major.
”One of our big clients was John M. Smyth, which was just opening Homemaker`s at the time and needed a spokesperson. I said, `I know a person;
how about Shelley Long?”`
The rest is history. Unfortunately, however, Rivera`s boss, Frank Babcock, died suddenly, and his family decided immediately to close Spur Productions, leaving Rivera without a job.
On the day of her boss` funeral, she received a call from WMAQ. Someone had seen Rivera in action as an associate producer with Spur, knew someone else, who knew someone in the programming department who was looking for a production assistant. Was Rivera interested?
”You bet,” she remembers practically screaming into the phone.
”I`ve been real lucky,” said Rivera. ”I`ve never had to fill out a job application in my whole career.”
She recalled her WMAQ years from 1967 to 1976 as ”the Camelot of my life, the best time of my career.”
Shortly after joining the station and dropping out of college, ”I knew more about the job than my teachers because I was living it,” said Rivera.
Channel 5 launched Chicago`s first magazine-style talk show, ”Sorting it Out.” After a series of rotating hostesses didn`t work out, the show was looking for a permanent person. Rivera again went to bat for Long.
Long, who is currently in Los Angeles producing and starring in a TV pilot, said of Rivera: ”I love and respect Kathy. The people who worked on that show, we all became a family and that happened pretty fast. We all really cared about each other and we had so much fun working together. She`s a wonderful, great lady and it was always great to have Kathy around.
”She deserves all the credit for her success, not just because she is good people, and that really means a lot to me. I`ve seen how it`s not always easy to stay that way when you become successful in this marketplace. She`s also got a great sense of humor and always leaps in and gives it her all.”
It is Rivera`s tenacity, her determination to get what she wants, that has made her a standout in the Chicago television industry, co-workers and friends agree.
”Kathy is self-made,” said husband Tom. ”What happened to her isn`t something that there is any more room for in the TV industry, because most of the stations have made so many cutbacks in their programming departments and now count almost strictly on news.
”She entered at a time when TV was booming, when it was being innovative and the innovators taught themselves. They worked long hours and created positions for themselves. Kathy worked constantly and would walk through fire to get what she wanted. She`s the kind of person who walks through walls, will be on the other side and everyone else will be absolutely amazed at what she`s been able to accomplish. She`s always up and her style is very infectious.”
Indeed, Rivera, who grew up as Kathy Kimotek, the oldest of three sisters in a South Side Chicago Polish family, attributes much of her drive to her mother, Anita, who died in 1983.
Her mother was a factory worker, her dad a truck driver, ”but my mom always taught me, if you`re going to do something, do it right. She was very hard-driving, very independent, only she just didn`t have the education to reach her potential.”
If it is true that parents sometimes see their dreams come true through the success of their children, then perhaps Kathy`s mother has through her. Never daunted by the 80-plus-hour work weeks and fascinated by the fast-action of local television news, Rivera worked her way from production assistant to associate producer at Channel 5 before leaving following a management change in 1976 to move to Channel 2. She spent much of tenure at Channel 2 as the associate producer for Bill Kurtis` ”Two on Two” show, later also working on specials with Johnny and Jeannie Morris, Walter Jacobson and other prominent news personalities.
In 1980, she left the station to work with colleague and former Channel 2 anchor Scott Craig at a production company he founded at the time.
Then, after meeting and marrying Tom-both had been married before-she decided to branch out on her own, founding KRT Productions Inc.
Today, in addition to working closely with the Chicago TV stations, Rivera has a lucrative career producing documentaries for such Fortune 500 companies as Motorola Inc., the Keebler Company and many more.
It was Rivera who wrote to former First Lady Nancy Reagan asking her to serve as the spokeswoman for Keebler`s anti-drug commercial campaign. The answer: ”Sure, why not.” She`s also worked closely with Jean Kennedy Smith on a documentary for the Kennedy Foundation. ”What a wonderful lady,” Rivera said of Smith.
She refuses to disclose her earnings except to say she purchased their $300,000 home from the profits of her business. Work is always steady, she said.
”1983 was a tough year,” recalled Rivera. ”My mom was dying, I had a new baby and I was trying to get a new business off the ground. It was really tough.”
Rivera calls 1984 her turning point. It was that year she received a phone call from Maryville executive director John Smyth. Father Smyth had read about KRT in a local newspaper and asked if Rivera could produce a documentary, gratis, for his home for teenagers.
”I was so busy at the time and just thought, I don`t have any time for this, but how could I refuse a Catholic priest?” recalled Rivera, a Catholic. ”From the minute I said yes, that was the turning point in my career. I really believe God has rewarded me greatly. I have a wonderful marriage, a wonderful son and I love what I`m doing. How could I be happier?”
