Suzanne de Passe, a renowned businesswoman, television, music, and film producer of Jamaican heritage, has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The list of 14 inductees for 2024 was announced earlier this week and also includes Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & The Gang, Ozzy Osbourne, and A Tribe Called Quest, among others.
Suzanne de Passe is being honored with the Ahmet Ertegun Award, which goes to a “non-performing industry professional who’s had a major influence on the growth of the art form.”
The renowned entertainment executive was born in New York City to a mother of Jamaican descent and a father of Haitian and French descent.
She is the fourth Jamaican or person of Jamaican heritage to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Hip-Hop legend DJ Kool Herc (2023), Bob Marley (1994), and Jimmy Cliff (2010).
Noteworthy career in music and film
Early in her career in the 1960s, she worked at Motown Records as a creative assistant to company founder Berry Gordy. During this time, de Passe developed The Jackson 5’s wardrobe and the act they took on the road.
She was also instrumental in taking the record label to television with a host of notable specials, including Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever produced while she was president of Motown Productions. She was named president of the company in 1982.
When Motown was sold, she partnered with her mentor in Gordy/de Passe Productions and subsequently established de Passe Entertainment in 1992.
In 1973, de Passe was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Lady Sings The Blues. Two years later, she produced the hit coming-of-age movie Cooley High, which starred Glynn Turman and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs.
De Passe also served as executive producer of the half-hour situation comedies Sister, Sister and Smart Guy, both of which aired on The WB and were produced in association with Paramount and Disney Television, respectively.
From 2002 until 2008, de Passe served as executive producer of Showtime at the Apollo, a weekly variety program nationally syndicated by Warner Brother/Telepictures. In 2005 and 2006 she co-created, wrote, and executive produced the Black Movie Awards for TNT. Currently, she is developing King, a film on the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The subject of university case studies
The subject of two Harvard Business School case studies: “Suzanne de Passe and Motown Productions” and “de Passe Entertainment”, de Passe has lectured at the Harvard Business School on several occasions.
In 2002, de Passe was named Time Warner Visiting Professor to the Department of Radio, Television and Film at Howard University’s John H. Johnson School of Communications, a post she held for the requisite 3 years. During Howard University’s 138th Charter Day celebration in March 2006, de Passe received an honorary doctorate degree of Doctor of Humanities.
De Passe is currently serving as the Producer-in-Residence at Emerson College, School of the Arts in Boston. She also served as the Emerson College 2007 Balfour Distinguished Lecturer.
