OUR TEAM
StEPHEN DEBRO
Los Angeles native Stephen DeBro Produced and Directed 18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story, immersing himself in the history of a historic fight palace as a means to tell a larger story about the city. DeBro has spent his career championing unique stories and artists. He was in the music business for two decades; most notably, he led the marketing department for the jazz and eclectic music division at Atlantic Records under legendary founder Ahmet Ertegun with a roster that included Kris Kristofferson, George Carlin, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, among others. He sees 18th & Grand as an opportunity to engage the complex issues of today by seeing their origins in the recent past. 18th & Grand is his directorial debut.
Robert Benavides
Producer Robert Benavides is an Award-Winning and Grammy-Nominated filmmaker whose work has taken him all over the globe. He served as Director of Photography and Producer on the critically-acclaimed documentary Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, which premiered at The Sundance Film Festival and was an Official Selection of The Tribeca Film Festival. The Film won the Audience Award at the L.A. Film Festival for Best Documentary and received a Grammy Nomination for Best Long Form Video. He has worked with recording artists Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Da Baby, Kings of Leon, Jill Scott, and Justin Timberlake. Commercial work includes the brands Honda, Toyota, Pepsi, Adidas, American Express, NBA Entertainment and many more. Robert is a member of the International Cinematographers Guild and lives in Los Angeles.
Tony Peck
Tony Peck is the Director of Photography and Executive Producer for 18th & Grand. A graduate of ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, Tony has worked with a who’s who of creative and corporate clients such as Sprint, IBM, Nissan, Easter Seals, McGraw Hill and others. Tony heads Peck Media, a boutique video production and post production company.
Mayre MCAnulty
Mayre McAnulty was born in Seattle Washington in 1989 and knew nothing of the Olympic Auditorium or Aileen Eaton when she joined the 18th & Grand team in 2018. Mayre provided a generational counterbalance that gave a fresh perspective to the material. As a producer, she made herself indispensable, bringing technical expertise and storytelling know-how, helping hone the enormous amount of footage and archival materials into a focused vision.
Howard Paar
Howard Paar is a Grammy-nominated music supervisor whose credits include 20th Century Women, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Cobain: Montage of Heck, Monster, and many other films and television series. Born and raised in London, Howard made his name in L.A. as a club creator/DJ/promoter, working with such artists as The Specials, The Clash, The English Beat, The Go Go’s and The Cure. Later Howard became Vice President of Media & Artist Relations at Polygram Records, then VP of Soundtracks. Soon after becoming an independent music supervisor, he was nominated for a Grammy for the soundtrack of the award-winning documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys.
Gene Aguilera
Gene Aguilera, also known as the Duke of East L.A., is an Associate Producer for 18th & Grand, bringing his encyclopedic knowledge of local boxing history and the music to the project. Gene has been inducted into the National Boxing Hall of Fame and is the author of Mexican American Boxing in Los Angeles.
Karin Tracy
Karin Tracy has over two decades of design and marketing experience and considers herself a creative storyteller. Originally from the east coast, she moved to Los Angeles in 2013 and met the Olympic Auditorium Project team members shortly after that. The Olympic story grabbed her from several angles but she was most fascinated by the inimitable Aileen Eaton. Karin is entranced by this unique city and is proud to be a part of sharing its history.