Early Life and Education

Bolter was raised in Northern California and became active in local theatre as a teenager. He co-founded the Castro Valley Community Players, producing Carnival and Funny Girl. He also volunteered as a stagehand at Woodminster Summer Theater, where he returned five years later as part of the production team for two seasons.

He attended California State University, Fresno, where he was credited as Lighting Designer on multiple productions, including Edward Emanuel’s The Liberty Dance of Henry Sparrow, which later gained distinction when it was selected for performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Bolter was the first undergraduate to serve as both Lighting Designer and Technical Director on a main-stage production. During his senior year, he taught Stage Management and Lighting. He graduated with a B.A. in Theatre Arts in 1976.

In 2011, he was honored by Fresno State’s College of Arts and Humanities as a Distinguished Alumnus, part of the university’s centennial honoree series, and later returned to campus to deliver a lecture titled “TV to New Media: Now Everyone’s a Producer.”

He was then accepted as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Southern California, where he supervised lighting and sound for productions in the Bing Theater while teaching stagecraft and set construction. He also worked as a lighting designer in Los Angeles theatres, with credits including Victor Buono’s The Last of the Marx Brothers’ Writers (Solari Theatre) and Dick Shawn’s one-man show The Second Greatest Entertainer in the Whole Wide World. Bolter continued his theatrical work at USC, culminating as Stage Manager for The Caucasian Chalk Circle directed by John Houseman. He received his M.A. from USC in 1978.

Professional Career

In 1978, Bolter was hired as a union stagehand by Golden West Broadcasting, the studio facility now known as Netflix Studios Hollywood. Within a year, he was promoted to Stage Manager and Lighting Director, working on network and syndicated programs and training under Emmy-winning Director of Photography George Spiro Dibie.

In 1982, he became Production Manager at MetroTape, the production facility for Metromedia (and later FOX). He managed union crews across scene shop, props, lighting, and studio operations, and was later promoted to Director of Operations, playing a key role in Metromedia’s transition to FOX.

In 1987, after The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, FOX restructured its late-night division and tapped Bolter as Executive in Charge of Production for The Late Show. He spent two years in FOX’s Late Night and Reality Programming units.

In 1989, Bolter joined Castle Rock Entertainment to oversee eight sitcom pilots, serving as Production Supervisor on NBC’s Seinfeld pilot “The Seinfeld Chronicles” (July 5, 1989) and Producer on CBS’s The Ed Begley Jr. Show (August 7, 1989, CBS Summer Playhouse). Between pilot orders and pick up, he became Executive in Charge of Production for FOX’s hidden-camera hit Totally Hidden Video, remaining two seasons before joining Executive Producer Chris Pye to help launch Pye’s new production company.

In 1992, Bolter joined Kevin Wendle Entertainment as Vice President of Production, where he helped develop and produce projects for the newly emerging CNET TV brand, including CNET Central — among the first broadcast-to-online hybrid media initiatives of the 1990s.

By the mid-1990s, Bolter was producing large-scale live events, including the 1996 Los Angeles National Presidential Gala that featured Barbra Streisand and the Eagles, marking a transition into high-profile live events and specials.

Later in 1996, Bolter joined Barry Diller’s Silver King Broadcasting (later USA Broadcasting) as Senior Vice President of Production, overseeing the creation of new hybrid station-studio facilities in major markets. He helped launch locally produced news and entertainment programming in Miami — central to Diller’s CityVision strategy — and later expanded his responsibilities to include station management, broadcast engineering, and IT.

When Diller shifted his focus to digital media, Bolter joined Rod Perth in developing MovieWatch (later Reelz), serving as Head of Production, Operations and Engineering through the network’s planning and budgeting phase. He was later recruited by E! Networks as Senior Vice President of Production, Operations and Engineering, overseeing E!, Style Network, and E! International, where he restructured workflows and led the network’s transition to HD broadcasting.

In 2007, Bolter became President and COO of LATV Networks, a bilingual entertainment and music network distributed via digital multicast. Under his leadership, LATV expanded nationally and entered broadcast syndication through the acquisition of American Latino TV and LatiNation. His work was profiled by Los Angeles Business Journal, Multichannel News, Los Angeles Times, and TVNewsCheck for bridging mainstream and Latino audiences.

In 2010, Variety announced Bolter as one of the producers of the independent comedy feature And They’re Off, starring Sean Astin and Cheri Oteri and directed by Rob Schiller. The film, featuring Kevin Nealon, Martin Mull, and Mo Collins, was reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, confirming Bolter’s producing credit and highlighting its ensemble satire of horse-racing culture.

Following the film, Bolter launched XE5 Media Group, where from 2011 to 2018 he developed operational and technical frameworks for emerging media networks and OTT platforms. He led channel design and launch strategies for clients including The Weinstein Company, TAPP TV, and AT&T U-verse’s Country Deep app, produced concerts for ATT-Uverse, and consulted on digital workflows for Warner Horizon Television.

In 2013, through XE5 Media, Bolter served in Lagos, Nigeria, as Head of Channel (Consultant, Operations) for the launch of EbonyLife TV, a pan-African entertainment network founded by Mo Abudu. His work contributed to the channel’s early rollout and expansion across sub-Saharan Africa.

Following his work in Africa, Bolter expanded into OTT channel design and live event streaming. He led operational development for ETN, a skateboarding and action-sports channel, and UNX, a ninja-style obstacle competition network combining live and on-demand streaming. Both projects leveraged emerging digital delivery technologies to reach global youth audiences.

In 2018, Bolter co-founded BEOND.TV, a digital media and streaming platform combining broadcast storytelling with OTT distribution. As Chief Technology Officer and Co-Executive Producer of the syndicated news and talk program Carlos & Lisa, he guided BEOND.TV’s content development, technical operations, and streaming infrastructure.

During his tenure at BEOND.TV, Bolter also served as OTT Architect for Axon Studios, designing and launching First Responders Network (2022), a national streaming platform dedicated to real life stories within the first-responder community.

From 2020 onward, he continued his work as a Media Consultant, advising start-up channels and digital ventures on technology, production, and distribution strategy. His consulting credits include The Call to Unite, a 25-hour global live-streaming event featuring world leaders, entertainers, and activists, broadcast worldwide across multiple platforms.

In 2024, Bolter authored Stream to Screen: An Insider’s Guide to Building OTT Channels and Streaming Networks, offering a practical framework for designing and scaling modern streaming operations — bridging his lifelong experience in television, engineering, and digital media innovation.