Robert R. Blume, who just completed his 8th year as Presenter/Executive Producer of the Drama Desk Awards, is a longtime commercial live entertainment and broadcast producer and currently serves as President of Blume Media Group.

Under his guidance, the Drama Desk Awards has grown in stature and prestige and is regarded by many in the industry as the “Golden Globes of theatre.”  This televised awards show usually predicts many of the Tony Award winners broadcast several weeks later.

The 2006 Drama Desk Awards, the 51st Annual, was hosted for the third consecutive year by Harvey Fierstein, and televised nationally on PBS for the 2nd year, in addition to being carried by NYC-TV25 in New York and web cast worldwide by Theatermania.Com.  Previous hosts have included Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Lily Tomlin, Rue McClanahan and Bebe Neuwirth. 

Mr. Blume most recently produced Shades Of Harlem, The Cotton Club Musical in Hot Springs, AR, and the interactive new musical, You’re It! for limited runs in New York, New Jersey, Houston and Galveston. In tandem with writer/composer, Earl Wilson Jr. and former KingWorld exec, Greg Heim, he has two current television projects in development -  a reality TV show and an entertainment oriented game show. He is represents in North America, the Swiss International Stage & Concert Star, Sue Mathys, who will make her American debut in 2007.

His prior theatrical productions include the musical  Long Road Home starring Brenda Braxton (Smokey Joe’s Café, Dreamgirls) at the Hudson Guild Theatre, NYC; The Luigi Board in Connecticut and New Jersey; and  a co-Production (with Eliot Martin & Ron Shapiro) of the off-Broadway comedy, Me And Jezebel.  In addition, he has produced, associate produced, and/or managed numerous Broadway, off-Broadway and touring shows. 

With his late partner Don Saxon, he produced the NYC production of Legends In Concert; the Los Angeles productions of Coming Of Age, staged by Tony Tanner, and The Head, directed by former Love Boat star Lauren Tewes; and the U.S./Canadian Tour of Slask, The National Folk Ballet Of Poland (28 cities in the US and Canada). With various other partners, he produced the Broadway shows Manny, The Edward G. Robinson Story and Marlowe, as well as the Off Broadway/touring versions of Shades Of Harlem and Let My People Come. 

Mr. Blume’s career began during his college years, while he was a Page and Guide on the NBC Guest Relations, where he worked behind the scenes on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson;several Kraft Music Hall variety specials; The Huntley-Brinkley newscast; NBC’s Election Night Coverages; and many game shows, including Jeopardy and Concentration. He later served as Associate Producer for the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon in New York and Live Stage Producer for the National Fitness Foundation Awards honoring former President, Richard M Nixon and former Chief Executive Officer of IBM, John Akers.

A former 20-year member of the League Of American Theatres And Producers, Inc., where he served on the Public Relations committee, Mr. Blume lives in Harrison, New York with his wife Linda and their 17 year old son, Ross.