Garnet & Golden

By Stephanie Vivirito (B.A. ’15)

Producer Chip Vucelich (B.S. ’80) has been honored with two Emmy® Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and countless other industry honors. In his 39 years in Hollywood, he has earned over 50 screen credits and that number continues to grow.

From his humble beginnings as an intern on the South Florida set of “Smokey and the Bandit II” to his first screen credit as a set production assistant on “The Cannonball Run,” Vucelich has done everything from managing productions to producing them.

His lengthy resume includes production manager credit for over 20 shows, producer credit for 17 and a dozen other production management roles on television shows including “Without a Trace,” “JAG,” the original pilot episode of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” and seasons one and two of the critically acclaimed series “American Horror Story.”

Chip Vucelich in his home next to three of his industry awards.

Photo by Dawn Bowery Photography

Along the way, Vucelich adapted and learned new skills to accommodate whatever the role required. “I always reinvented myself,” he said. “I think everyone should do that.” The hard work culminated in recent Emmy® and Golden Globe wins for his producing role on the FX “American Crime Story” series. But Vucelich might never have landed in Hollywood if he hadn’t fallen for FSU’s campus.

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Vucelich took a circuitous route to FSU. After receiving a two-year degree in business administration from Broward Community College, he transferred to Florida Atlantic University (FAU). While attending FAU, he visited Tallahassee for a long weekend and immediately fell in love with FSU’s campus. He spoke with an academic advisor that day and transferred the following semester.

Pictured at the 1979 Fall Social learning the fraternity’s traditional hand signs from left are Siddens, Helbig and Vucelich.

Photo by Bob Knight Photo

Vucelich joined Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity to network and meet people. He made lifelong friends with fraternity brothers Bruce Helbig and John Siddens (B.S. ’80, B.S. ’82).

The College of Motion Picture Arts, FSU’s film school, had not yet been established when Vucelich set foot on the Tallahassee campus in 1978, so he joined the College of Communication as a mass communication major. “I’ll never forget sitting with a hundred kids in the auditorium in Diffenbaugh and listening to Dr. Ungurait’s lectures,” Vucelich recalled. “He had such a way of empowering and inspiring students.”

Siddens, left, and Helbig, right, joined Vucelich as his guests at the 2018 Emmy® Awards.

Donald Ungurait served on the College of Communication’s faculty as a professor from 1968 to 2003, introducing students like Vucelich to multimedia techniques that were ahead of their time. In the late 1980s, Ungurait went on to work closely with the Florida Legislature and governor’s office to create the College of Motion Picture Arts. “Looking back, it was my good fortune to have been a student of Dr. Ungurait. He was special,” said Vucelich.

Capitalizing on the opportunities FSU afforded, Vucelich took advantage of an unexpected internship opportunity offered to his film class by guest speaker Toby Ross, a TV commercial producer and NFL cameraman from Miami. Ross, frustrated by the number of students who graduated without any hands-on experience, proposed a program where students could gain that experience by working in the offices of companies like his. With encouragement from Ross, Vucelich and two fellow students worked with the Florida Film Commission in Tallahassee to establish a program that connected students to internship opportunities throughout the state.

It was Vucelich’s own internship experience on the South Florida set of “Smokey and the Bandit II” starring former FSU football player Burt Reynolds that gave him the connections to make it in California. Vucelich mostly stayed quiet and out of the way during the shoot, until one day, someone in the assistant directing department handed him a walkie-talkie and asked him to help out. When production ended, the second assistant director told Vucelich that they would be producing “The Cannonball Run” next and to look up the production company if he ever made it to California.

In 1980, one month after graduation, Vucelich moved to California where he found that same second assistant director on the set of “The Cannonball Run” in Redondo Beach. Happy to see Vucelich, the director told him to accompany two cast members back to base camp. Vucelich opened the back door of a Rolls Royce to find Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin. This was Vucelich’s introduction to California.

“I was very lucky to have crossed paths with kind people in the beginning and all along the way,” said Vucelich.

Early in his career and throughout his time in Hollywood, Vucelich has crossed paths with many influential individuals, including John Travolta, left, and Cuba Gooding Jr., right, actors on “The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story,” pictured here with Vucelich after the show won Best Miniseries or TV Film at the 74th Golden Globe Awards held Jan. 8, 2017.

Vucelich made valuable connections during those first months in Hollywood. He became friends with a man named Karim Baskh with whom he shared the same barber and whose sister happened to be the wife of Michael Caine. One afternoon at Caine’s house, Vucelich was playing tennis with Caine, Baskh and Roger Moore when Burt Reynolds stopped by with Loni Anderson. The two alumni talked about their ties to FSU and Tallahassee. It was a meaningful moment for Vucelich. “I remember that afternoon fondly,” he said. “I told Burt I didn’t know if I should thank him or blame him for helping me get into show business, which produced that iconic head-back Reynolds laugh.”

-SCENE TWO-

Taking jobs wherever he could get his foot in the door, Vucelich prioritized making personal connections over making money. During that first year in California, he worked a variety of jobs in TV that paid next to nothing but gave him more experience and opportunities to network. Eight years later, Vucelich became a member of the Directors Guild of America.

Following his work as second-second assistant director on “Road House” Vucelich returned to television where he honed his assistant directing skills for three years on the award-winning ABC series, “China Beach.” He recalled the remarkable talent on that show from the writers and actors to the directors, including actress Diane Keaton who directed an episode. “That was a very special group of people,” said Vucelich. “From the director of photography on down, that crew made an impossible situation seem manageable. That was a true learning experience that stayed with me.”

At the start of his assistant directing career, Vucelich met Lindsley Parsons III, a thirdgeneration producer. Parsons is known for producing “Thirty Something,” “Secret Life of an American Teenager,” “7th Heaven,” “Seaquest” and more. Parsons III’s willingness to share his vast knowledge with Vucelich made a lasting impression. “He’s my go-to phone call; everyone should have someone like that.”

Parsons III’s mentorship inspired Vucelich to be that go-to phone call for up-and-coming producers and production managers. “You have to offer your wisdom to the next generation,” Vucelich said. He tries to mentor young professionals with hands-on experience as much as he can, but if his schedule does not allow it, he tries to either employ them or recommend them to others.

Vucelich and his guests attended the 70th Primetime Emmy® Awards held September 17, 2018. “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” was nominated for 18 Emmy® Awards, including Outstanding Limited Series. They paused to take a photo on the “red carpet,” which was colored gold to celebrate the 70th anniversary. From left, John Siddens (B.S. ’80, B.S. ’82), Chip Vucelich (B.S. ’80), Bruce Helbig, Laura Martin (B.M. ’80) and Lauren Siddens.

“There are several producers out there who have worked under me in one capacity or another,” Vucelich said. “There are five I can think of who were production office coordinators for me who I either promoted to production supervisors or rose to that position shortly after working for me. I understand that some of them say they are graduates of ‘Chip’s Boot Camp.’”

-SCENE THREE-

Vucelich has worked with esteemed producer Ryan Murphy, creator of the television shows “Glee” and “American Horror Story,” on several projects. “He’s been a tremendous source of inspiration to me and he’s not afraid to take chances,” Vucelich said. “Whenever I work with him, I know whatever we’re doing will be special.”

Vucelich worked as a co-executive producer with Murphy and others on “American Crime Story,” an FX anthology series about infamous crimes, which was hailed by critics as meticulously crafted and powerfully resonant.

Producer Ryan Murphy and members of the cast and crew, including Vucelich, accept the award for Outstanding Limited Series.

The first season released in 2016, “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” earned 22 Emmy® Award nominations in 13 categories and won nine including Outstanding Limited Series. It also received a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film.

The second season, subtitled “The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” was released in January 2018. It tells the tragic story of Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace's murder at the hands of Andrew Cunanan. Securing Versace’s former home in Miami Beach for filming was one of Vucelich’s many contributions to the production. The mansion, Villa Casa Casuarina, now operates as a boutique hotel.

“Recreating a tragic event that occurred not so long ago in the place it happened is very surreal,” Vucelich said. “We aren’t re-enactors, but we’re committed to telling an authentic story. Filming the scene of Cunanan shooting Versace at the entrance to the villa exactly where it took place was sobering. We also found the spot where Cunanan’s houseboat was, rebuilt the exterior and shot scenes exactly where they happened.”

This installment of the series was nominated for 18 Emmy® Awards, winning three including Outstanding Limited Series. It received four Golden Globe nominations as well, the most in the television categories, and won two. Vucelich’s role in the production that season, earned him five of the Emmy® and Golden Globe nominations and two wins.

Vucelich watches as the personalized name wrap is engraved on his Emmy®.

Additionally, Vucelich received two Producers Guild Awards for the anthology. “It is surreal and incredibly gratifying, for sure,” Vucelich said of the honors. “But in the grand scheme, the awards are meaningless. The real award is enjoying the fruits of your labor throughout life in general.”

The journey from his early days of making Hollywood connections to his prominent roles in the production of critically acclaimed shows that earned him a collection of glittering “Hollywood hardware,” have reminded Vucelich that hard work and perseverance are the keys to success in both business and life.

Vucelich holds his Emmy® at the Governors Ball, the official after party held steps away from the ceremony at L.A. Live.