Member Profile
Sam Hallenbeck
- Primary Outlet:
- WTSP-TV (CBS/Tampa)
- Additional Outlets:
- WJXT-TV & Pyramid Productions (Calgary, Canada)
- Website:
- http://www.wtsp.com/features/great-day-tb
- Facebook:
- https://www.facebook.com/moviemansam1/
- Biography:
- Reared in both New England and Florida, Sam Hallenbeck got his start in broadcasting in 1987 after getting a bachelor's degree in Communications from the University of South Florida. Entering the industry as a videotape editor for CBS Television in Tampa, he became a Special Projects News Producer in the early 1990s and won numerous awards for his work, including multiple Emmys, Associated Press, United Press International, Society of Professional Journalists, Chicago Film and Angel Awards. In 1992, Hallenbeck moved into the realm of entertainment news, producing stories for Fox Television in Tampa that went behind-the-scenes of several network television series, including ''Melrose Place,'' ''Party of Five'' and ''The X-Files.'' It was also at that time that he began producing segments on film releases, a career path he’s stuck with since 1994, traveling the world from LA and San Francisco to New York to Cannes, Paris, Rome, London, Toronto, Vancouver and Hawaii, landing interviews with the world's biggest stars. In the process, Sam also created customized, half-hour movie-news programs for several of the world's largest theater chains - including Loews Cineplex and Regal Cinemas – which aired in many of the top markets and theaters around the U.S., including Manhattan’s Sony Lincoln Center and Loews Times Square. In 2000, Sam began a weekly radio segment on WMTX's (Clear Channel/Tampa) popular ''Mike and Nancy Show'' as the featured film reporter, and shortly thereafter began similar on-camera television work at WFLA-TV (NBC/Tampa) on its ''Daytime'' show, a weekday, hour-long morning show. In 2003, he began his three year tenure creating and producing Riverbank Productions’ late-night entertainment-news program known as ''The Spot,'' on which Sam also covered film releases as an on-camera interviewer, spending some 20-25 weekends on the road landing one-on-ones with the biggest stars in the film business. Then, in 2005, Sam created “Star Watch,” a weekly half-hour movie news show that he hosted and was syndicated by Riverbank Productions in approximately 20 television markets across the United States and lasted for a whopping 444 weekly episodes. Marking his 30th year in the television business, Sam made the jump to WTSP’s (CBS/Tampa) “Great Day Tampa Bay, where he remained for the next three years, serving as the program’s resident movie critic/reporter. He was also regularly featured on as well as WTSP’s “10 News at Noon.” He then started supplying weekly segments for WJXT-TV in Jacksonville and added WWSB-TV's (ABC) “Suncoast View” into the mix, which was particularly exciting for Sam as Sarasota, Fl - the station’s home base - is his hometown.