 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. |
As profiled at April 29, 1989 Distinguished Alumni Banquet