Jonathan K. Bendis began his creative journey as a guitarist, recording and playing with artists including Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Joe Walsh, and Rosanne Cash. That path led him from his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio to New York City in the early ‘80s where an MTV producing gig literally fell into his lap and allowed his natural talents as a producer/director and curiosity about the visual medium to flourish. He stayed with the network as its supervising producer of MTV News and Specials wherehe was instrumental in creating long-form specials and series, including the original roc-doc series, Rockumentaries. He was also the co-creator and executive producer of the seminal sketch comedy series, The State, on both MTV and CBS. Post MTV, for over 20 years, Bendis created and supervised induction films for the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies and produced a series of three-screen films installed at the Hall of Fame’s museum theater. He continues to create, direct, produce, edit, and consult on numerous projects for networks including: ABC, CBS, HBO, A&E, AMC, Bravo, and Disney. Never satisfied with conventional formats or storytelling, he always seeks out new and unique ways to approach a topic.
