 FRANK
Q. DOBBS, a native of Huntsville, received his Bachelor's
degree in Journalism in 1961. He served two years on active
duty as an officer in the United States Army. Then he
experienced many phases within the communications field:
a newspaper reporter and editor, a television news cameraman,
a reporter and manager.
As Director of Special Projects for Houston's NBC-affiliate
KPRC, Dobbs wrote and produced more than two dozen documentary
films and won numerous awards. He is one of the creators
of Texas' most successful syndicated television programs,
The Eyes of Texas. While he was in television
news and documentary production, he wrote episodes for
the long-running CBS series Gunsmoke. In 1969,
he was named Newsfilm Cameraman of the Year for his
documentary film Passage to Prudhoe.
During the past sixteen years, Dobbs has been an independent
film maker and has won many awards: The Wrangler Trophy
for creating, co-writing, and producing the CBS special
about Sam Houston, Houston, The Legend of Texas; the
Blue Ribbon Award; three Best of Shows; five Golden
Eagles, two Chris Statues; and a Special Jury Award
for Writing.
Dobb's films and television productions cover a wide
range of subjects: Lions, Parakeets and Other Prisoners
focuses on the creative writing program conducted behind
the walls of the Texas Department of Corrections; The
Great River Road is a documentary which follows a tow
boat up the Ohio River from Paducah, Kentucky, to Pittsburgh;
Big Cypress illustrates the delicate balance of nature
in the Big Cypress Swamp of southern Florida; It Can't
Happen Here describes the enforcement abuses of the
United States Treasury Department's Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Firearms. These films, along with many
others, have earned Dobbs multiple awards. Frank's parents,
the late Frank and Velma Dobbs of Huntsville, would
be very proud of him tonight.
Dobbs is a member of the Director's Guild of America,
the Writer's Guild of America, Motion Picture Producers
of Texas, and the American Film Institute, among others.
Currently he is developing a pilot film for a dramatic
television series and is a contributor to the recently
released book The Fault Does Not Lie With Your Set,
which is a compilation of writing from a variety of
individuals regarding the birth and growth of the television
industry as reflected in the history of KPRC. Dobbs'
chapter entitled "A Few Good Men", covers the growth
of KPRC News with an emphasis on the 1960's when TV
news first began to expand and become the "major" aspect
of local broadcasting.
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