Bill Deronde was an alumnus of the Wadsworth High School, Class of 1983. Deronde was like any other student at Wadsworth. Throughout high school, Deronde made some amazing friends with whom he is still friends today. He was a swimmer from AAU through high school, He played drums in various bands, and he did a “paper route,” delivering newspapers to houses in his neighborhood.
Mike Recupero, a current chemistry teacher at Wadsworth High School, is also an alumnus of WHS and graduated in 1985. Recupero was Deronde’s neighbor, and they would hang out from time to time.
“He was the neighborhood paperboy. He was always a nice caring kid. I played basketball with him in the driveway growing up,” Recupero said.

After Deronde finished High School, he attended the University of Akron for ten years and was offered a job at Channel 55, also known as WNBX-TV, where he started directing and editing.
Channel 55 is a Cleveland/Akron-based news channel and Deronde would spend his time here erasing tapes for the company, until eventually after asking for an opportunity he got one to start editing for channel 55. This opportunity was during his junior year of college when he thought he would then come back and finish school but he never ended up doing so.
Some projects Deronde would be working on would be things such as the Boondock Saints, Not Another Teen, and later Direct American Idol for some time. He would be a part of that directing group for its prime when American Idol had over 70 million people watching it a night. He started working on American Idol in 2002.
At the beginning of his time with American Idol, he started as a supervising Editor. His job during this time was to assign and supervise the daily workflow of the editing team for American Idol. Then 10 years later in 2012, he would get the opportunity to direct his first episode for American Idol. He then would direct several other episodes until 2017.
“When he got his first job at Channel 55, I never could have imagined from splicing film, that he would become a big-time producer like he is today,” Recupero said.
Deronde says directing and editing shows have distinctive differences. When directing a show, a director has to focus so as not to miss any moments. However, with editing shows, there is more time to sift through the content.
“Directing is more of you have to direct the event and once it’s over you have what you have. When you’re editing you are taking all that footage and then you have time to craft it into a story,” Deronde said.

He has worked on over 100 different projects and is a 5 time Emmy award-winning Editor. Directing and editing are not always easy and come with challenges just like anything else.
“Directing a live event is tough just because you have to make sure you capture the event, make sure you have enough cameras, you have to make sure your camera people are good, and you have to make sure mistakes don’t happen during the event,” Deronde said. “It is a lot more planning and preparation for directing because you only have one shot at it.”
After the first 11 years of his career in 1994, he started his own company called “Chainsaw” which is his production company. A production company helps with events like live performances or TV shows and pretty much anything you would see on TV. Their job is to record and edit everything they are hired to record or produce. Now this company has grown to be very successful as they have worked with streaming services such as Netflix, YouTube, CBS, ABC and many more. Now he wouldn’t hire his first employee till 2001.
This company would eventually add some very talented editors like Deronde to its team. People like John M. Cox who has worked on projects like I Can See Your Voice, American Idol, and so many other projects. Another big-time editor they added to their team, is Timothy Shutlz who has worked on projects like Deal or No Deal, America’s Got Talent Etc. All these editors have a bunch of experience in the film industry and working on big-time projects.
This company is still doing well today, as they still are working on projects as we speak. He’s working on a show called “Christmas at the Opry” It is a country/Christmas special that will be on NBC in December.
Deronde has had many accomplishments throughout his career but the biggest one to him personally was starting and growing his company. For him, he got to see one of his company editors marry a client of theirs, and getting to build the relationships he has built throughout the years is his greatest accomplishment.
“The people I have gotten to work with as much as the projects I have gotten to work on is the greatest accomplishment to me,” said Deronde.
Deronde has worked on several different projects in his career as an editor and a director. He looks to continue adding to his resume by continuing to work on new projects. Deronde’s advice to people who are looking to pursue the filmmaking industry of Directing and Editing is to never take an opportunity for granted.
Deronde also expressed how important it is to work as hard as you can towards your goals because that is ultimately why he became as successful as he is. Deronde took small opportunities, made the most of them and transformed them into his career. Anyone can do the same if they are willing to put in the time and effort it takes to do these things.