Who is Larry Balaban?
Creator of the award-winning Baby Genius® brand and a founding partner of Genius Products, Inc., one of the fastest growing independent home entertainment distribution companies in the country, Larry Balaban is President of Pacific Entertainment Corporation, a newly formed company created to expand the universe of parents and children who enjoy—and benefit from—Baby Genius products.
Among the parents whose children have starred in his award-winning Baby Genius DVD series, he is best known as Mr. Play Date. That’s because Larry approaches every one of his productions with a play-date mindset, creating a natural, fun environment that instantly draws children into the fun and excitement with entertaining activities children can enjoy and recreate on their own.
Singing and dancing at every shoot, Larry entertains the children he is directing with the same infectious enthusiasm for having fun that the children exhibit in every Baby Genius production. But when the filming stops, the fun continues, because Larry, or Uncle Larry, as the kids know him, enjoys play dates more than anything in the world and often meets up with many of the same kids and parents for play dates with his four-year-old daughter, Frankie.
Executive producer, writer, composer and director of eight Baby Genius DVDs, Larry epitomizes the adage, ‘I love what I do!’ Larry is an artist whose canvas is the video screen. He uses his canvas to introduce infants and young children to the fascinating world around them through the joy of music.
“Creating the Baby Genius series was an absolute labor of love and the most rewarding experience of my production career so far,” says Larry.
Larry’s labor of love intensified with the birth of his daughter in 2001. “When we brought Frankie home from the hospital, as I held her close and she drifted off to sleep, I felt the incredible, overwhelming surge of love that blossoms between every parent and child on their first day at home. That extraordinary flow of emotion inspired me to write “1, 2, I Love You,” which I scrawled on the back of an envelope with my left hand—even though I’m right handed,” he recalls.
It’s that kind of emotion that inspires all of Larry’s work. His tremendous love for children and inexhaustible desire to help them develop and grow inspires everything he creates. In turn, his music and video productions inspire children to get up, dance and sing along while they learn to count and spell.
In addition to “1, 2, I Love You,” Larry has written a number of songs in the Baby Genius DVD series including, “DJ’s My Name,” “Vinko the Dancing Bear” and “Come Swim with Me,” among others. He is also the inspirational force behind the delightful cast of Baby Genius characters he created for the DVD series.
Available on DVD and broadcast on television in 25 countries around the world, the entire library of Baby Genius home video releases have earned The Film Advisory Board Award of Excellence and are approved by the Kids First!® Coalition for Quality Children’s Media. Favorite Children’s Songs and the Ultimate DVD Collection were named iParenting Media’s Best Products of 2005. The Four Seasons was named Kids First! 2001 Video of the Year and A Trip to the San Diego Zoo earned Parenting Magazine’s 2002 Video of the Year award.
Larry is also executive producer and creator of the Little Tikes® DVD series. Boasting the same qualities built into all Little Tikes products, the DVDs feature age-appropriate music and activities designed to complement a child’s play experience and turn daily activities into fun.
Outside the production studio, Larry is a well-respected licensor who was named one of “40 Under 40” most important people in the licensing industry by License magazine in 2003. For the past three years, he has held a seat on the board of directors of the Coalition for Quality Children’s Media, home of the Kids First!® community-based jury that evaluates, rates and endorses children’s entertainment. Much the same as Larry himself, CQCM is dedicated to increasing the visibility and availability of quality children’s programs.
Larry lives in San Diego, California with his wife, Sara and daughter, Frankie
