''The Electric Grandmother'' is a

television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

that originally aired January 17, 1982, on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

as a 60-minute ''Project Peacock'' special, based on the 1969

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

short story " I Sing the Body Electric" by

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...

. It stars

Maureen Stapleton Lois Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress. She received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, in addition to ...

and

Edward Herrmann Edward Kirk Herrmann (July 21, 1943 – December 31, 2014) was an American actor, director, and writer. He was perhaps best known for his portrayals of Franklin D. Roosevelt in both the miniseries '' Eleanor and Franklin'' (1976) and 1982 film ...

and was directed by

Noel Black Noel Black (June 30, 1937 – July 5, 2014) was an American film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. Black was born in Chicago, Illinois. He won awards at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival for an 18-minute short subject filmed in ...

. Bradbury's story was originally written as a teleplay in 1962 as " I Sing the Body Electric", an episode of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

''. The film was distributed on VHS by Coronet Video.

Cast

as Grandmother *

as Father *

Paul Benedict Paul Benedict (September 17, 1938 – December 1, 2008) was an American actor who made numerous appearances in television and films, beginning in 1965. He was known for his roles as The Number Painter on the PBS children's show ''Sesame Street' ...

as Guido Fantoccini *Tara Kennedy as Agatha *

Robert MacNaughton Robert MacNaughton is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Elliott's brother Michael in ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'', for which he won a 1982 Young Artist Award as Best Young Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. MacNaughton als ...

as Tom *

Madeleine Sherwood Madeleine Sherwood (born Madeleine Louise Hélène Thornton; November 13, 1922 – April 23, 2016) was a Canadian actress of stage, film and television. She was widely known for her portrayals of Mae/Sister Woman and Miss Lucy in both the Broadwa ...

as Aunt Clara

Awards

''The Electric Grandmother'' received an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nomination for Outstanding Children's Program, and won a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

. It has been recognized by

Chicago International Children's Film Festival In 1983, Facets Multi-Media founded the Chicago International Children's Film Festival (CICFF), the first competitive festival of films for children in the U.S. The impetus for the Festival came from a need to introduce new, culturally diverse fil ...

International Film Festival for Children and Youth The International Film Festival for Children and Youth, formerly International Festival of Film for Children and Young Adults, is an Iranian film festival targeting children and youth. Professional filmmakers with expertise in children's films are ...

American Film Festival American Film Festival is a film festival held annually in October in Wrocław, Poland. The first festival was held from 20 to 24 October 2010. The festival is organized by Stowarzyszenie Nowe Horyzonty and co-funded by the Wroclaw Municipality a ...

and the Southern California Motion Picture Council. Additionally, 10-year-old actress Tara Kennedy was

nominated A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

for a

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

in the category Best Young Actress in a Movie Made for Television.

Reviews

"Devotees of science fiction of any age, in school classes or public library programs, will find it a fascinating interpretation of Bradbury's fiction." — ''School Library Journal''

References in popular culture

Washington DC musical duo The Electric Grandmother took their name from the film.

References

External links

* * American television films Peabody Award-winning broadcasts 1982 films Films based on works by Ray Bradbury Films directed by Noel Black 1980s science fiction films Robots in television Films scored by John Morris Films with screenplays by Ray Bradbury Films based on science fiction short stories NBC network original films 1980s English-language films {{1980s-sf-film-stub