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David Freeman Wooley
Dave Wooley in Wilmington, Delaware 2023
Born (1960-04-09) April 9, 1960 (age 64)
Harlem, New York
Other namesDave Wooley
Alma materWilmington University
Occupations
  • Director
  • producer
  • author
  • entrepreneur
Years active1981–present
Notable workCNN Documentary
Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over
The Clash of the Legends: Julius "Dr. J" Erving vs Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Talent/Content Advisor: Biden/Harris Presidential Inaugural Committee
Children2
Veda Davida Wooley
Davina E'man Wooley

David Freeman Wooley (born April 9, 1960) is an American director, producer, author and entrepreneur based in Wilmington, Delaware. His most notable accomplishments include long-standing work with Dionne Warwick, and collaborations with Julius "Dr. J" Erving.

The NAACP Image Awards announced on January 25, 2024, that Wooley is nominated in the category for Outstanding Directing in a documentary television or film, for his documentary, Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over.[1][2]

Early life

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Wooley was born and raised in Harlem, New York to parents Herman and Bettye Wooley. The family lived in the Frederick Douglass housing projects. Wooley was six years old when he began taking drum lessons from Nigerian musician, Babatunde Olatunji. During his elementary years, Wooley attended Holy Name Catholic School and graduated from the all-boys private Rice High School in Harlem, New York. In 1980, Wooley re-located to Wilmington, Delaware attending, Wilmington University where he received a BBA and MBA.[3][4]

Career

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Wooley launched his career in the entertainment industry as a teenage drummer, recording with professionals including gospel singer Cissy Houston, and R&B/Jazz artist Norman Connors. In 1981, Wooley founded his production company, Dave Wooley Productions. Later, he also spent seven years as president and co-owner of DJ Group, a sports entertainment company, along with Julius "Dr J" Erving.[5] As a producer, Wooley has worked with Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Run-DMC, Loretta Lynn, and Tony Bennett.[6]

Collaboration

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His most extensive collaborations are with Dionne Warwick, having produced events for over 20 years, co-written three books with her tilted, "Say A Little Prayer", "Little Man" and her autobiography, My Life, As I See It—and produced her 50th anniversary gala at Lincoln Center.[7][8] He also wrote, produced, and co-directed the documentary Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over. The film received a standing ovation at the Toronto International Film Festival and won first runner-up for the People's Choice Award for Documentaries,[9][10] later also winning the Best Feature honor at the Gene Siskel Film Center's Black Harvest Film Festival,[11] receiving Centerpiece Screening at DOC NYC,[12] and landing the Audience Award at the 2021 Montclair Film Festival.[13] In a positive review of the documentary, Victor Stiff of That Shelf wrote, "[Co-director David Heilbroner] and Wooley pack their film with everything you want from a musical documentary: fantastic music, a one-of-a-kind star, and deep-cut stories from family and friends. It's an inspiring tale of overcoming the odds, filled with beautiful music and prudent life lessons along the way."[14] The documentary premiered on CNN on January 1, 2023, debuting at #1 among cable news viewers aged 25–54.[15] As of July 2023, the documentary has a Rotten Tomatoes critic's rating of 91% and audience rating of 100%.[16] After the broadcast, it was made available on HBO Max.[17]

Other projects

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Wooley's career has extended into the sports sector. In 1988 he rose to prominence as the only Black man in the country to be awarded exclusive paid-per-view and closed-circuit television broadcasting rights for several entire states to the Mike Tyson versus Michael Spinks "Once And For All" match – the largest fight in history at the time. The fight grossed over seventy million dollars.[18] He was subsequently featured in the 2021 documentary series Mike Tyson: The Knockout. Wooley was also awarded exclusive paid-per-view and closed-circuit television broadcast rights for several states to other championship fights including, the 1991 match-up, George Foreman vs Evander Holyfield.[19][20]

In 1993, Wooley had a vision to develop an area of Wilmington Delaware Christina Riverfront into a family style entertainment destination by building a movie theatre and restaurants then called, Riverview Plaza. Later that year, It became a close reality when, Enterprise Developers Corporation led by Wooley which included, Julius "Dr.J" Erving, and investment banker, Malcolm D. Pryor Sr., won Wilmington City Council's request for proposal (RFP), during Mayor, James H. Sills, Jr's administration.[21][22][23]

Wooley was the sole producer who came up with the idea for "The Clash of the Legends," a paid-per view TV hoopfest of 1992, which pitted retired NBA basketball players Julius "Dr. J" Erving and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar against one another.[24] Wooley described the event as a spiritual descendent of the one-on-one games played between neighborhood legends in his native Harlem.[25] Proceeds from the event went to benefit the American Foundation for AIDS Research, as well as the Magic Johnson Foundation, a charity established by the retired Laker star to battle against the HIV virus.[26]

In 2024, Wooley served as Vice Chair for amFar (American Foundation for Aids Research), which held their fundraising gala in Palm Beach, Florida. The non-profit organization honored award-winning singer Dionne Warwick for her work as a trailblazer in HIV/Aids activism. Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees presented the award to Warwick. Recording artist Sting was the featured performer. The event raised 4.1 million dollars.[27][28][29]

In May 2024, Wooley co-produced the, "Don't Make Me Over" Europe Tour, which included performances in London, Scotland, Ireland, and Dublin. As part of the performance, Wooley interviewed Dionne Warwick on stage as she recalled stories and events from her life. This was supported by footage from Warwick's, "Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over" documentary film.[30][31]

Awards and recognition

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In 2009, Wooley's children's book Say a Little Prayer—co-authored with Warwick and Tonya Bolden, and illustrated by Soud—was nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Children's.

In October 2015, then-Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams formally honored Wooley with a key to the city for his work promoting Wilmington, in particular the creation of the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival.[32]

In 2020, Wooley was named Talent/Content Advisor for the Biden/Harris Presidential Inaugural Committee.[33]

In 2022, the city of Wilmington performed a street naming ceremony in Wooley's honor, designating the corner of 16th and Claymont Street "David F. Wooley Way."[34]

In 2023, Wooley was featured on the cover of HBCU Times.[35]

On December 8, 2023, Wooley received a honorary doctoral degree from Huron University in recognition of his body of work.[36][37]

The NAACP Image Awards announced on January 25, 2024, that Wooley is nominated in the category for Outstanding Directing in a documentary television or film, for his documentary, Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over.[1][38]

Personal life

[edit]

Wooley grew up in Harlem, New York, before relocating to Wilmington in 1980. He raised two daughters as a single custodial father, Veda a practicing attorney, and Davina, who received an MS in Computer Science from Georgia Tech. He has been an adjunct professor at Wilmington University's College of Business since 1996, where he teaches business and marketing classes.[7][39]

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References

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  1. ^ a b Hipes, Patrick (January 25, 2024). "Colman Domingo, Keke Palmer, Ayo Edebiri, Victoria Monét Lead NAACP Image Awards Nominations". Deadline. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  2. ^ McGovern, Joe (January 25, 2024). "The Color Purple Dominates 2024 NAACP Image Award Nominations". TheWrap. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  3. ^ "Don't Make Her Over – News at WilmU". Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  4. ^ "First to the Bench – News at WilmU". Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  5. ^ Patton, Daniel (November 12, 2021). "Dave Wooley Explains How to Make a Dionne Warwick Film". Screen Magazine.
  6. ^ Kay, Jeremy (April 28, 2017). "Mister Smith boards Dionne Warwick doc 'Don't Make Me Over'". Screen Daily.
  7. ^ a b "Celebrating with Dionne". Delaware Today. December 7, 2020.
  8. ^ "Bibliography:David Freeman Wooley". Goodreads.
  9. ^ Coyle, Jake (September 14, 2021). "Dionne Warwick, star of a new documentary, keeps smiling". ABC News.
  10. ^ Pond, Steve (September 18, 2021). "'Belfast' Wins Toronto Film Festival's People's Choice Award". The Wrap.
  11. ^ "Gene Siskel Center presents Black Harvest Film Festival prize". Reel Chicago. November 5, 2020.
  12. ^ "Centerpiece Screening: Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over". DOC NYC.
  13. ^ Complex, Valerie (November 1, 2021). "'Montclair Honors 'The Worst Person In The World; 'Disfluency' Wins Narrative Award At Austin Film Festival – Fest Briefs". Deadline.
  14. ^ Stiff, Victor (September 16, 2021). "TIFF 2021: Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over Review". That Shelf.
  15. ^ "CNN Rings in 2023 #1 in Cable News for New Year Special Programming and CNN Films'". CNN Press Room. January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023.[dead link]
  16. ^ "Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  17. ^ Carey, Matthew (August 23, 2022). "CNN Sets Jan. 1 Premiere Date For CNN Films' 'Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over,' Doc On Singer With "Grace, Grit, Singular Talent"". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  18. ^ "Producer Dave Wooley Featured In ABC-TV Documentary, "Mike Tyson: The Knockout"". New York Trend. May 17, 2021.
  19. ^ "Wilmington Renames Street After Veteran Entrepreneur, Director & Producer Dave Wooley | NationalBlackGuide.com". nationalblackguide.com. March 1, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  20. ^ Taguchi, Emily; Louszko, Ashley; Sherwood, Roxanna; Goldberg, Alan B.; Yang, Allie (June 2, 2021). "People close to Mike Tyson give personal look at his mistakes, losses and triumphs in new documentary". ABC News.
  21. ^ "The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware". Newspapers.com. July 29, 1993. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  22. ^ "The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware". Newspapers.com. July 14, 1995. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  23. ^ "Part 2 Wooley Riverview Plaza". The News Journal. July 14, 1995. p. 4. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  24. ^ Meyers, Kate (February 28, 1992). "Kareen Abdul-Jabbar vs. Dr. J". Entertainment Weekly.
  25. ^ Herbert, Steven (February 23, 1992). "A Half-Court Gamble : Abdul-Jabbar and Dr. J Take It to the Hoop in $19.95 'Clash'". Los Angeles Times.
  26. ^ Groller, Keith (February 29, 1992). "Jabbar Routs Dr. J in 'Legends' Clash". The Morning Call.
  27. ^ "amfAR Palm Beach 2024". amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  28. ^ "Tom Ford, Kris Jenner, Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger Gathered at AmfAR Palm Beach". Vogue. March 4, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  29. ^ "'That's What Friends Are For': Dionne Warwick to be honored for AIDS activism at Palm Beach gala". Palm Beach Daily News. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  30. ^ McCarthy, James Martin (May 27, 2024). "We went to the last night of Dionne Warwick's tour and her story was fascinating". Belfast Live. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  31. ^ "Young Dionne Warwick fan overjoyed as star goes out of way to sign poster". Yahoo News. May 31, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  32. ^ "Friend of Wilmington Honored". 6abc. October 14, 2015.
  33. ^ "Interview With Producer & Entrepreneur Dave Wooley! (PART 1)". So Booking Cool. May 25, 2021.
  34. ^ "Wilmington Renames Street After Veteran Entrepreneur, Director & Producer Dave Wooley". Delaware Black. March 1, 2022.
  35. ^ "HBCU Times: 2023 Summer Issue". HBCU Times. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  36. ^ "Huron University Confers Honorary Doctorate to Award-Winning Producer, Director, Author and Entrepreneur, David Freeman Wooley". Huron University. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  37. ^ Anthony, Florence (December 28, 2023). "Go With The Flo". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  38. ^ McGovern, Joe (January 25, 2024). "The Color Purple Dominates 2024 NAACP Image Award Nominations". TheWrap. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  39. ^ "Student Veda Wooley will be attending the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law this fall as the first Wilmington University alum to be admitted". News at WilmU:First to the Bench. July 17, 2018.
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