Von Ryan is originally from Balboa Island, California. He lived in a small home on Sapphire Street. Von Ryan's motion picture career started from a newborn photo chosen by a Hollywood producer for a baby commercial. It's hard to imagine with his rugged mug now. Von Ryan's father told the man, "My son will never work in Hollywood!" And the rest is history.He began making short films in 8mm at the age of 19. His subjects ranged from his mother's Chinese Pug chasing everything that moved to making spec commercials for fishing bait and batteries.Von Ryan's formal education started at a community college. He was eager to take the only film class offered, which required a short film. Von Ryan decided on the CP 16 and won the student film competition for a short documentary on the Columbia River. Further his PSA on staying in school was chosen for production. At this point, his film instructor encouraged him to seek a 4-year education.He chose the University of Montana. Von Ryan originally thought he would make wildlife documentary films, but just didn't have the patience to hang upside down in a tree awaiting his subject's travel into the frame. Von Ryan moved to Los Angeles to enroll at USC and worked in reality television starting as a page and worked his way up to associate producer. Von Ryan's career turned to music. He became a concert promoter and relocated back to Missoula, MT. He ended up with a marketing degree from the University of Montana. He took his degree to Denver, Colorado and started a production company with his USC pre-med pal Henry. He went on to produce several local and regional commercials and began connecting filmmakers and musicians through the Internet. Amazon.com took their lead and flourished.Von Ryan holds a MFA in Motion Picture Production from the Academy of Art University. He is the founder of the Hollywood Arts Society dedicated to helping disadvantaged people through the production of documentary films.Von Ryan has been a successful independent producer selling story ideas such as "Minds of Our Time" to Charles Evans. The show featured the smartest people on the face of the Earth who have changed our daily lives. Show less «