Family Classics and Other Work
In 1961, WGN-TV had an extensive library of films which were suitable for family viewing, but were rarely aired. Fred Silverman, who was a WGN executive at the time, came up with an idea for putting the films to use. He wanted to air them when children and their parents could watch and enjoy them with Frazier Thomas as the show's host. Thomas agreed to host the program provided he had editing rights on the films, was able to choose them himself and also to refuse any titles he believed were not suitable for the show. A set designed by Thomas that resembled a cozy home library complete with a Roy Brown painting of Garfield Goose was built and he began his Family Classics weekly show on Friday evenings. Family Classics became so successful, it was beating many of the network programs in the Chicago market. The networks responded by purchasing new movies to air in the same time slot; this made it necessary for the program to move to Sunday afternoons. The Family Classics set is now part of the Museum of Broadcast Communications' collection.
Thomas also brought a movie camera on his vacations and the footage he shot became specials for the station. The Thomas family's vacation on an 85 foot schooner became Sailing the Seas of Columbus and their trip to England resulted in The Legend of Arthur, the Phantom King.
By the 1970s the way Chicago children watched television had changed, and Garfield Goose and Friends moved to mornings on WGN. When Ned Locke, ringmaster of Bozo's Circus retired in 1976, Thomas was asked to become his replacement. This meant that the show would combine with Bozo's Circus; Garfield Goose and Friends last aired on September 10, 1976. Frazier's friends were off the air permanently on January 26, 1981, after changes to the Bozo program. He continued to work on the show as the circus manager and to host Family Classics.
Read more about this topic: Frazier Thomas
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