THE BILLY BARNES FOUNDATION
Mission Statement - Letter of Intent
Created in 2019 as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit arts organization, The Billy Barnes Foundation serves to engage in charitable and educational activities supporting and promoting the musical arts and music education through his work and perpetuate the memory and legacy of it's namesake, Billy Barnes.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Mr. Barnes started playing piano at the age of three and his parents encouraged his interest in the entertainment business. A skilled and versatile composer and lyricist, Mr. Barnes created a series of critically acclaimed revues in the 1950s and 1960s in Los Angeles and on Broadway. Some of his best-known songs include "(Have I Stayed) Too Long at the Fair," which was recorded most notably by Barbra Streisand on her second album, and "Something Cool," originally recorded by jazz vocalist June Christy and has become a jazz standard. Both hits were written while Mr. Barnes was attending UCLA.
Mr. Barnes went on to find success in television, writing music for all 140 episodes of “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” as well as “The Carol Burnett Show,” “The Danny Kaye Show,” and “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour” among others. His special material appeared in numerous shows with songs written for famous performers such as Liza Minnelli, Cher, Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin, Jo Anne Worley, Diana Ross, Sandy Duncan and many, many others. Mr. Barnes was nominated for an Emmy Award six times during his career. However, the full extent of Mr. Barnes’s contribution to the American musical landscape in theater, television, film, and live music venues has never been fully recognized, and this is something the Billy Barnes Foundation aims to rectify.
The Billy Barnes Foundation was established in 2019 with the mission of engaging in charitable and educational activities supporting and promoting the musical arts and music education through Mr. Barnes’ work, and celebrating the legacy of its namesake. The Foundation believes in building and educating an audience for future generations to be an important part of its mission and seeks to attract, educate and serve a young, diverse audience through music and theatre education.
The Billy Barnes Foundation, as a relatively young foundation, is in the process of expanding its mission. To maximize its impact on future generations, and in honor of Billy Barnes’, the Foundation will fund several scholarships and programs which will contribute to the present and future development of music and performing arts. As the Foundation grows, it will expand its support of musical performance and education to students in high school through other initiatives.
Mr. Barnes made a substantial contribution to American music and culture through his artistic output, and the Foundation believes his legacy is best honored by nurturing future generations of composers, musicians, and singers. By supporting these artists, the Foundation will ensure that the legacy of Billy Barnes will live on, and that new composers and performers will emerge who can contribute to the vitality of American music.
The Foundation believes building and educating an audience for future generations to be an important part of its' mission and seeks to attract, educate and serve a young, more diverse audience through music and theatre education.
Board
Founding Member William Epstein has more than 20 years of experience and specializes in transaction-related opinions and other valuation services. He has provided financial advice and independent opinions to Fortune 500 and middle-market clients.
Mr. Epstein has provided fairness and solvency opinions in connection with many types of transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, recapitalizations, exchange offers, spinoffs, distressed financings, leveraged buy-outs and a variety of related party transactions. He has testified several different venues as a designated expert regarding and in support of transaction opinions.
Before joining BRG, Mr. Epstein was an executive director at Capstone Valuation Services, LLC, and previously was a national director at American Appraisal Associates, responsible for the firm’s global Opinion Services Practice; and a managing director with Navigant Capital Advisors, in charge of Navigant’s fairness opinion services. Prior to joining Navigant, Mr. Epstein spent more than 16 years with Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin as Southwest director for fairness and solvency opinions and was a member of Houlihan’s National Transactions Review Committee.
Mr. Epstein has previously served on the board of Children's Medical Center, Dallas.
Founding Member Richard Tyler Jordan served for 30 years as a Senior Publicist with the Walt Disney Studios motion picture marketing division, where he worked on over 500 feature films. In addition to his many published books, including the Polly Pepper mystery series, and untold numbers of feature articles, he also wrote the nonfiction book, “But Darling, I’m Your Auntie Mame!” a history of the fictional character created by author Patrick Dennis. He lives in England.
A native of Northern Ireland, Member at Large David E. Kernaghan achieved distinction as an officer with the Royal Air Force. He left military service after twenty years and become a successful financial planner. He subsequently established a flourishing business in property management. He resides in England.
Founding Member Sean Monroe is a highly skilled and effective corporate transactional lawyer specializing in complex mergers and acquisitions, joint venture, private equity, and corporate finance transactions, including fund formation and investments, portfolio company acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures and restructurings, venture capital and early-stage formation and investment transactions, and executive employment and compensation arrangements. Sean has particular expertise in advising entertainment and media clients in all aspects of transactions in these industries, including such matters as motion picture financings, television business acquisitions and investments, digital and new media venture formations and other investment, disposition, and licensing matters involving these businesses.
Ancillary to his core practice, Sean has extensive experience with federal and state securities laws and regulations, state corporate laws, and general corporate matters and corporate governance, with related experience in tax, intellectual property, employee benefits, ERISA, environmental, and bankruptcy practice areas.
Sean’s entertainment and media clients include motion picture and television studios, entertainment finance companies, high-net-worth investors, producers, and executives in the entertainment, media, and sports industries. In addition, Sean frequently represents producers, financiers, and distributors of digital content, private equity and hedge funds, early-stage and venture-backed companies and startups. Sean’s non-entertainment clients include global financial services providers, real estate development and acquisition companies, family offices and investment advisors providing third-party fairness and solvency opinions.
Founding Member Robyn Spangler has spent her career in the entertainment industry working both in front of and behind the camera. Ms. Spangler holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in music and theatre receiving a full scholarship in music and was also awarded an additional vocal scholarship her senior year. She has worked for major entertainment companies including Taft Broadcasting and Gaylord Entertainment as well as WTTV Channel 4 Fox in Indianapolis. Behind the camera she has experience in marketing, public relations and sales working at several PR firms including Columbia Pictures Entertainment and Walt Disney Feature Films Division as well as several private publicity firms.
More recently, she has returning to performing on the club, big band and symphony circuit. You can hear her music on all major streaming platforms and on jazz stations around the US.
Ms. Spangler has previously served on the board of Children's Medical Center, Dallas.
Advisory Board
Dan Glosser has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Adelphi University. Shortly after he took a position with Rodgers and Hammerstein Musical Theatre Licensing Office in Long Island City, NY. The connections he made there quickly lead him to being a professional pianist and musical director for regional theatre, dinner theatre, Off-Broadway, and cabaret. Around this time he met Onna White and Joan Rivers both of whom became mentors and friends. He ended up serving as Music Coordinator for Fox Televisions "The Late Show with Joan Rivers," provided music clearances for Dick Clark Productions, music department at Paramount Pictures Television, The Disney Channel, Orion Television and Manager of Music Clearance for CBS Television Distribution. Some of the shows he has work on include "The All-New Mickey Mouse Club," "Name That Tune," "The Arsenio Hall Show," "Entertainment Tonight," "The Insider," "The Dr. Phil Show," "Rachael Ray," "Judge Judy," and "The Talk" among others.