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Family Classics
''Family Classics'' is a Chicago television series which began in 1962 when Frazier Thomas was added to another program at WGN-TV. Thomas not only hosted classic films, but also selected the titles and personally edited them to remove those scenes which he thought were not fit for family viewing. After Thomas' death in 1985, Roy Leonard took over the program. The series continued sporadically until its initial cancellation in 2000. On November 10, 2017, WGN announced that ''Family Classics'' would be returning after a 17-year hiatus with a presentation of the 1951 version of '' Scrooge'' to air on Friday, December 8, 2017, and announced that its longtime entertainment reporter, Dean Richards, would be the new host. Since then, it would continue to air each holiday season. History In 1962, Fred Silverman, then a WGN-TV executive, conceived the idea of the show by scheduling classic family films at a prime time Friday night position rather than a late show slot where children w ...
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Frazier Thomas
William Frazier Thomas (June 13, 1918 – April 3, 1985) was a Chicago television personality. Although Thomas wrote nine children's books, he was best known for creating, hosting, writing and producing the long-running children's television program ''Garfield Goose and Friends'' on WGN-TV. Magic and broadcasting Thomas began performing as a magician at age 12 in his home town of Rushville; he was just a teenager when he wrote a book about magic. As "Thomas the Magician and Company" he performed "the Mystic Revue, a full evening of magic, mirth, music and mystery" throughout the US. By 1935, he was writing a weekly syndicated newspaper column for children about magic, at first as "Thomas the Magician" and later as Frazier Thomas. The tips and tricks Thomas covered in his column were simple enough for young readers to perform successfully. His column appeared in newspapers from 1935 to 1940. Thomas was a member of the Society of American Magicians and attended their national con ...
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Roy Brown (clown)
Roy Thomas Brown (8 July 1932 – 22 January 2001) was an American television personality, puppeteer, clown and artist known for playing "Cooky the Cook" (also Cooky the Clown) on Chicago's '' Bozo's Circus''. Early years Roy Brown was born in Tucson, Arizona but had lived in the Chicago area since he was a boy. His mother was an artist with an at-home studio, which gave him the opportunity to also become interested in art. Brown graduated from Chicago's Austin High School; when he entered the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, Brown intended to become a cartoonist. He started working on the children's series '' Garfield Goose and Friends'' at WBKB-TV in 1952 as a puppeteer and art director. When ''Garfield Goose'' moved to WGN-TV in 1955, Brown followed along and stayed until the show went off the air in 1976. Behind the scenes work When Frazier Thomas hired Brown for ''Garfield Goose and Friend'' in 1952, Brown was still an art student and had no prior experience as a puppetee ...
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The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer (1938 Film)
''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' is a 1938 American drama film produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Norman Taurog who had previously directed ''Huckleberry Finn'' (1931) with Jackie Coogan and Junior Durkin. The film starred Tommy Kelly in the title role, with Jackie Moran and Ann Gillis. The screenplay by John V. A. Weaver was based on the classic 1876 novel of the same name by Mark Twain. The movie was the first film version of the novel to be made in color. Plot The United Artists release includes most of the sequences familiar to readers of the book, including the fence-whitewashing episode; a wild raft ride down the Mississippi River; Tom and Huckleberry Finn's attendance at their own funeral, after the boys, who were enjoying an adventure on a remote island, are presumed dead; the murder trial of local drunkard Muff Potter; and Tom and Becky Thatcher's flight through a cave as they try to escape Injun Joe, who is revealed to be the real killer. Cast * Tommy ...
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Claude Rains
William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), '' Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' (1939), '' The Wolf Man'' (1941), ''Casablanca'' and ''Kings Row'' (both 1942), '' Notorious'' (1946), ''Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962), and ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1965). He was a Tony Award-winning actor and was a four-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Rains was considered to be "one of the screen's great character stars" From McFarlane's ''Encyclopedia of British Film'', London: Methuen/BFI, 2003, p.545 who was, according to the ''All-Movie Guide'', "at his best when playing cultured villains". During his lengthy career, he was greatly admired by many of his acting colleagues, such as Bette Davis, Vincent Sherman, Ronald Neame, Al ...
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Olivia De Havilland
Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. At the time of her death in 2020 at age 104, she was the oldest living and earliest surviving Academy Award winner and was widely considered as being the last surviving major star from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Her younger sister was Oscar-winning actress Joan Fontaine. De Havilland first came to prominence with Errol Flynn as a screen couple in adventure films such as '' Captain Blood'' (1935) and ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938). One of her best-known roles is that of Melanie Hamilton in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939), for which she received her first of five Oscar nominations, the only one for Best Supporting Actress. De Havilland departed from ingénue roles in the 1940s and later distinguished herself for performances ...
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Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia de Havilland, and reputation for his womanising and hedonistic personal life. His most notable roles include the eponymous hero in ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), which was later named by the American Film Institute as the 18th greatest hero in American film history, the lead role in ''Captain Blood'' (1935), Major Geoffrey Vickers in ''The Charge of the Light Brigade'' (1936), and the hero in a number of Westerns such as ''Dodge City'' (1939), ''Santa Fe Trail'' (1940), and ''San Antonio'' (1945). Early life Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn was born on 20 June 1909 in Battery Point, Tasmania. His father, Theodore Thomson Flynn, was a lecturer (1909) and later professor (1911) of biology at the University of Tasmania. His mo ...
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The Adventures Of Robin Hood (film)
''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, and Alan Hale, Sr. The film is particularly noted for its Academy Award-winning score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The film was written by Norman Reilly Raine and Seton I. Miller. The storyline depicts the legendary Saxon knight Robin Hood, who in King Richard the Lionheart's absence in the Holy Land during the Crusades, fights back as the outlaw leader of a rebel guerrilla band against Prince John and the Norman lords oppressing the Saxon commoners. ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' has been acclaimed by critics since its release. In 1995, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selecte ...
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Dan O'Herlihy
Daniel Peter O'Herlihy (May 1, 1919 – February 17, 2005) was an Irish actor of film, television, and radio. With a distinguished appearance and rich, resonant speaking voice, O'Herlihy's best known-roles included his Oscar-nominated portrayal of the lead character in Luis Buñuel's ''Robinson Crusoe'' (1954), Brigadier General Warren A. Black in ''Fail Safe'' (1964), Marshal Ney in '' Waterloo'' (1970), Conal Cochran in '' Halloween III: Season of the Witch'' (1982), Grig in ''The Last Starfighter'' in (1984), "The Old Man" in ''RoboCop'' (1987) and its 1990 sequel, and Andrew Packard in the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–91). Early life and education O'Herlihy was born in Wexford, County Wexford in 1919, but moved with his family to Dublin when he was young. He was educated at Christian Brothers College in Dún Laoghaire and later studied at University College Dublin, graduating in 1944 with a degree in architecture, following in his father's footsteps. He dev ...
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The Adventures Of Robinson Crusoe
''Robinson Crusoe'' ( es, Aventuras de Robinson Crusoe; also released as ''Adventures of Robinson Crusoe'') is a 1954 adventure film directed by Luis Buñuel, based on the 1719 novel of the same name by Daniel Defoe. It stars Dan O'Herlihy as Crusoe and Jaime Fernández as Friday. Both English and Spanish versions were produced, making it Buñuel's first English-language film. The film was entered into the 15th Venice International Film Festival, and was a critical and commercial success. In Mexico, it won six Ariel Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. O'Herlihy was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, and the film was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Film From Any Source. Plot Robinson Crusoe, a third son with few prospects, goes to sea against his father's wishes. On a voyage from Brazil to Africa to purchase slaves, a storm forces him to abandon ship. He swims alone to a deserted island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean on September 30, 1659. To ...
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Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the silent-film era. He was the top box-office attraction from 1939 to 1941, and one of the best-paid actors of that era. At the height of a career marked by declines and comebacks, Rooney performed the role of Andy Hardy in a series of 16 films in the 1930s and 1940s that epitomized mainstream America's self-image. At the peak of his career between ages 15 and 25, he made 43 films, and was one of MGM's most consistently successful actors. A versatile performer, he became a celebrated character actor later in his career. Laurence Olivier once said he considered Rooney "the best there has ever been". Clarence Brown, who directed him in two of his earliest dramatic roles in ''National Velvet'' and '' The Human Comedy'', said Rooney was "the cl ...
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The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn (1939 Film)
''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' is a 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film adaptation of Mark Twain's 1884 novel of the same name, starring Mickey Rooney in the title role. The supporting cast features Walter Connolly, William Frawley and Rex Ingram. It was remade by MGM in 1960. A musical version was released in 1974. Plot summary Cast * Mickey Rooney as Huckleberry Finn * Walter Connolly as the "King" * William Frawley as the "Duke" * Rex Ingram as Jim * Lynne Carver as Mary Jane * Jo Ann Sayers as Susan * Minor Watson as Captain Brandy * Elisabeth Risdon as the widow Douglas * Victor Kilian as "Pap" Finn * Clara Blandick as Miss Watson * Harry Cording as Man Stealing Watermelon (uncredited) * Frank Darien as Old Jailer (uncredited) Reception Most critics found the film mediocre. B. R. Crisler of ''The New York Times'' felt that the picture was "more Mickey than Huckleberry" and called it an "average, workmanlike piece of cinematic hokum" that "affords little, if any, insi ...
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Dan Haggerty
Daniel Francis Haggerty (November 19, 1942 – January 15, 2016) was an American actor who was best known for playing the title role in the film and television series ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams''. Early life Haggerty's birthplace is given as Pound, Wisconsin, and his birth year has been reported as 1942. His parents separated when he was three. Acting career Haggerty was cast in a small non-speaking role as a bodybuilder in the 1964 film ''Muscle Beach Party'' and also as a bodybuilder in ''Girl Happy''. He also worked as a stuntman on the 1966 television series ''Tarzan'', and as set builder on various other projects. More stunt work followed, as well as supporting roles in numerous low-budget biker and wildlife films of the era, such as ''Easy Rider'', ''Angels Die Hard'', '' The Adventures of Frontier Fremont'', and ''Terror Out of the Sky''. In addition to his bit part as a hippie in ''Easy Rider'', he also assisted in building the motorcycles featured in th ...
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