1) It is 1958. James Proimos is born in Queens, New York.
2) At age 4 he decides he will never have a real job.
3) At age 5 he decides his job will have something to do with fantastical stories and amazing art. Either that or have something to do with flying a kite. By age 10 he comes to the sad realization that there is little money to be made by flying a kite. On the positive side he was really never very good at it anyway.
4) He is a terrible student all the way up through High School. Mostly spending his time drawing for his friends. The most popular request: Sister Margaret Mary picking her nose.
5) He attends the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
6) He winds up in Denver. Gets a job as a copywriter for an advertising agency.
7) Spends a lot of years (about 20) exclusively in the ad business as a copywriter, art director and creative director. He wins Clios, One Shows, Addys, A Cannes Lion and more. Just a few of the many clients he works for are Burger King, Exxon, Trump & Disney. He is employed at ad agencies in New York, Cleveland, Los Angeles and Baltimore of all shapes and sizes. Interestingly enough, during this time he himself appears in all shapes and sizes.
8) Proimos writes and illustrates his first children’s book in 1998. It is entitled Joe’s Wish and is published by Harcourt. His mother is very proud. The Loudness of Sam is next. Then a series of books about a sheep called Johnny Mutton. The books are highly acclaimed and much more profitable than kite flying. During this same period Proimos co-creates and solely designs Generation O! an animated TV show that appears on the WB. Proimos’ father still isn’t quite sure what his son does for a living.
9) Proimos gets a call from Nickelodeon Movies to co-write a film with Andy Rheingold about guinea pigs in Central Park. The boys take the writing assignment.
10) Next Proimos writes and illustrates If I Were In Charge Of The World The Rules Would Be Different, a poetry collection and Cowboy Boy, a chapter book for Scholastic. He also illustrates a series of board books for Random House. This is about the time he sells The Loudness of Sam, the book mentioned earlier, to Nelvana. Another book project, Johnny Mutton is sold to Loonland. And Schmutz, an original series idea he co-created, is bought by Klasky Csupo.
11) Proimos creates a show to Scholastic Entertainment. He also illustrates and co-authors The Day The Dog Dressed Like Dad, a picture book for Bloomsbury.
12) Proimos pitches and sells 99 Sisters to Nickelodeon Movies. Rheingold and he are hired to write it and to develop a children’s book based on their movie idea.
13) Proimos starts directing animation. He creates and sells the animated show Larry Parka, Polar Pig. He is also signed by Curious Pictures to direct animated commercials. As far as vegetables go, he sells Boiled Pea and Carrot, a TV show, to National Geographic Kids. On the subject of fruit, his most current book released is Raisin and Grape and is published by Dial Press. Proimos sells an R rated animated movie to Starz.
14) Proimos starts managing some of the most amazing talent the planet has ever seen. This makes everyone very happy.
Proimos Management
james@proimosmanagement.com
