Free to Be... a Family

Free to Be... A Family was a widely-discussed television special hosted by Marlo Thomas broadcast on December 14, 1988.[1] It was especially notable as a joint production of ABC and Soviet Russia, then on the verge of collapse. It was a sequel to the popular 1974 ABC Afterschool Special Free to Be... You and Me, also hosted by Thomas.[2] Among the performers on the 1988 show were Jon Bon Jovi, Penn Jillette, Carly Simon, Teller, Lily Tomlin, and Robin Williams.

After her husband, noted talk show host Phil Donahue hosted a series of U.S.-Russian space-bridge telecasts throughout the `80's, Thomas decided that this kind of international understanding and cooperation should start at a much earlier age. "The purpose of the special was to emphasize the fact that kids in the U.S. and Russia are much the same and can relate to one another, in hopes of bringing peace between the nations."[3] Prior to the television special, there was a book, with contributions by Christopher Cerf among others, and a record album, both under the same title.[4]

It won the 1989 Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program.[5]

Other editions

References

  1. ↑ Rotskoff, Lori (November 2012). When We Were Free to Be: Looking Back at a Children's Classic and the Difference It Made. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0807837238.
  2. ↑ Douglas, Susan Jeanne (February 2004). The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined All Women. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0743259996.
  3. ↑ Leal, Andrew (May 2009). Garlen, Jennifer C.; Graham, Anissa M., eds. Muppets and Money. Kermit Culture: Critical Perspectives on Jim Henson's Muppets (McFarland & Company). p. 213. ISBN 978-0786442591.
  4. ↑ Mickenberg, Julia; Vallone, Lynne (March 2011). The Oxford Handbook of Children's Literature. Oxford University Press. pp. 533–534. ISBN 978-0195379785.
  5. ↑ "Outstanding Children's Program - 1989". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved September 5, 2014.

External links