Motown Productions

de Passe Entertainment is an American film and television production company run by entertainment executive Suzanne de Passe. The company was founded by Berry Gordy, Jr., in 1968, as Motown Productions, the film and television arm of Gordy's Motown Records label. In 2008, de Passe and Madison Jones started a successor company, de Passe Jones Entertainment.

Motown Productions' original focus was on the production of television specials for its star recording artists. These included TCB (1968) and G.I.T. on Broadway (1969), starring Diana Ross & the Supremes with The Temptations, The Temptations Show (also 1969), The Smokey Robinson Show (1970), Diana! (1971) starring Diana Ross, and Goin' Back to Indiana (also 1971) starring The Jackson 5. When Suzanne de Passe joined Motown in 1968, much of her work involved the production of these television specials. Motown's first television series was The Jackson 5ive (1971 - 1973), a Saturday morning cartoon by Rankin/Bass starring characters based upon Motown's popular teen act.

The company's first feature film was Lady Sings the Blues (1972), a Billie Holiday biographical film starring Diana Ross as Holliday and Billy Dee Williams as her husband Louis McKay. After Lady Sings the Blues became a success, garnering box office success and five Academy Award nominations, Ross and Williams were paired for a second feature, Mahogany (1975). Both films were coupled with successful music releases: Lady Sings the Blues was accompanied with a platinum-selling soundtrack album by Ross, while Mahogany featured Ross' number-one pop hit "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" Other Motown films included Scott Joplin (1977), another musician biopic starring Billy Dee Williams, and Thank God It's Friday (1978), which starred Donna Summer and featured her hit song "Last Dance".