Randall Rossilli, Jr.
Randall Rossilli, Jr. (Randy) is an Emmy Award winning media entrepreneur who has been nominated for four Emmys, winning one in 2009. He has also won the New York International Film Festival for his contributions to the Social Documentary, Presumption of Guilt. He is the founder and President/CEO of Nightstand Creations, Inc. as well as Nightstand Studios and the Nightstand Music Group. He resides in suburban Essex County, NJ. with his wife and two daughters.
Early Life
Born Randall Rossilli, Jr. January 11, 1968, in Clara Maas Hospital in Belleville, NJ, to Randall Rossilli, a self-employed entrepreneur who owned his own flooring business, and Patricia Rossilli, a legal secretary who would become a stay-at-home mom. Raised in Newark, NJ, Randy would be the oldest of the three children born to Randy and Patti. When Randy was 3, his parents had his sister, Karen, and nearly four years later they had his younger brother, Michael. At the age of 12, with high school looming, Randy’s parents scrimped and saved to move he and his siblings from the declining inner-city school system of Newark, 15 miles outside of the city to East Hanover, NJ. Although relatively poor, Randy’s parents found a way to foster his love for music and paid for many years of guitar lessons. He would continue his guitar studies into his college years.
Musical Influences
Randy became interested in music at an early age and attributes his decision to take guitar lessons after seeing Harry Chapin perform on a popular children’s show, Wonderama, hosted by Bob McAllister. Chapin’s storytelling style and social conscience still drive him today. In addition to Chapin, his style and interests as a producer and music have been shaped by a diverse collection of artists varying from singer songwriters like Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, and James Taylor, to the horn-driven Rock and Funk sounds of Huey Lewis and the News and Earth Wind and Fire, to a wide collection of country and R&B artists that make up his encyclopedic musical lexicon. He has released more than 25 songs on Apple's iTunes internationally (2)
Education
Randy attended Hanover Park High School and graduated in 1986. In high school, in addition to playing varsity football and a few years of baseball and basketball, Randy became involved in the theater and music programs, which is where he found his true passion for the creative arts. He received his BA in Communication - Radio/Television/Audio Production from William Paterson University, where he met his wife, Jenny, who was studying to be a Speech Pathologist. He logged many an hour in local recording studios, paying dues setting up microphones and getting coffee while honing the craft of audio engineering. Eventually he went back to school to become a teacher and later received his Masters in Education and Administration from Seton Hall University.
Education Career
Randy spent 4 years as a middle school English and Social Studies teacher before being asked to become a supervisor, building principal and later District-level Director. He initially left education to work his media craft full-time, and returned for one year as principal of a small private hearing impaired school, while his production facilities, Nightstand Studios, were being built.
During his career in education he was named one of the Top-25 Technology Educators in North America by being awarded the Apple Distinguished Educator Award. He values his time in education and has stated that his work in education has crafted his leadership and storytelling abilities.
Critical Success
Randy has had critical success being nominated for three Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards as Director, Producer (2010 December Miracles) (3) and for Outstanding Programming. He won the 2009 Mid-Atlantic Emmy award for Outstanding Program or special for Children/Youth/Teens for the pilot of his property The Adventures of Young Thomas Edison, (1) (4) for which is wrote, directed, composed and performed the music, edited, and designed the puppet and animated characters, as well as lending his voice to a handful of characters. Subsequently, he was nominated for a New York Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition for his public television special Lil’ Grusome and the Nutshell Gang.
In addition to these Emmy-worthy productions, he also was recognized at the New York International Film Festival for his work as editor and co-producer of the Social Documentary Presumption of Guilt.
Current Business Endeavors and Personal Life
Currently, 11 unique titles can be found written by Randy Rossilli, Jr. on Amazon.com.
Randy runs Nightstand Studios and Nightstand Creations, Inc. in Fairfield, NJ (5)
Randy is married with two children and lives in Livingston, NJ. (6)