Randy Douthit had always liked tinkering around with electronics when he was younger. He thought about creating an electronic musical instrument but didn’t think any company could make something like it. Then he realized there were already companies doing just that. So he started his own electronic musical instruments company, called Roland Corporation. His first product was the TR-808 drum machine, a portable unit connected directly to a mixer. The market wasn’t ready for electronic drums at that time, but it changed soon after. Today, you’d have trouble finding someone under 30 who doesn’t carry at least one type of Roland drum machine in their pocket or bag.

In 1997, Zahn joined CNN when it was still a relatively small cable channel. His first job there was producing an award-winning political talk show called “Crossfire,” for which he received two Cable Ace awards. Later, he became head writer and executive producer of another award-winning series called “Capital Gang,” which focused on Washington politics and government issues. Zahn left CNN after seven years to go backpacking around the globe.

Randy Douthit’s career began in 1985 when he founded his own production company, RKO Studios, and Executive Produced and Directed Larry King Live and its spinoff series Politically Incorrect. Later he became President of Quincy Jones Enterprises, overseeing all facets of the entertainment division, including Quincy’s music, film and television projects. At QJE, he also managed artists like Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, and Luther Vandross. In addition to managing artists, Randy served as Vice Chairman of A&M Records, an industry leader in Hip Hop/Rap. He also built and operated several companies, including MCA Records and Epic Records.

Randy’s television career began in 1985 when he joined CBS Entertainment as an assistant director and associate producer on Miami Vice. His first feature film job came a few years later when he directed American Gigolo starring Richard Gere for Warner Bros. Later, and Randy became head writer for the NBC show Crime Story. He moved to ABC Family for its original series Switched at Birth. In 2013, Randy produced ABC Family’s Bunheads, which won two Emmys. He also worked on the Emmy-winning Amazon series Mozart In The Jungle. Randy recently finished co-producing the Netflix original movie A Christmas Prince about the life of Billy Graham.