William Frazier Thomas was a Chicago television personality.
30 Facts About Frazier Thomas
2.
Frazier 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.
3.
The tips and tricks Frazier Thomas covered in his column were simple enough for young readers to perform successfully.
4.
Frazier Thomas's column appeared in newspapers from 1935 to 1940.
5.
Frazier Thomas was a member of the Society of American Magicians and attended their national conferences.
6.
Frazier Thomas continued working at WLW, writing and creating his own shows: I Cover the Movies and Inside Radio and as a disk jockey for others, such as BC Battle of the Bands.
7.
Frazier Thomas was then teamed with Ruth Lyons for Collect Calls From Lowenthal.
8.
Still at WLW, the pair moved to a morning radio show, Morning Matinee, which Frazier Thomas co-hosted with Lyons for eight years.
9.
Frazier Thomas married Ann Deeds, a commercial artist for WLWT, and together the couple hosted one of the station's first television shows: Shopper's Special.
10.
Frazier Thomas then moved to Cincinnati's WKRC-TV, where he hosted his first children's program, Meet the Little People.
11.
Frazier Thomas had the idea for Garfield Goose from attending bazaars as a boy.
12.
Frazier Thomas came up with the idea to use a goose puppet on his television show for giving prizes to children.
13.
Frazier Thomas put in some time as the host of an evening music program, Musical Nite-cap.
14.
Frazier Thomas' afternoon show was renamed Petticoat Party; his announcer for it was Ray Rayner.
15.
Frazier Thomas told the story of Garfield Goose from his youth, including information about his family and his average day in the castle.
16.
Frazier Thomas's guests were people like Dr Lester Fisher of Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo and J Bruce Mitchell of the Museum of Science and Industry whose visits were both fun and informative.
17.
Frazier Thomas had a Hobby Corner feature where children would talk about and display things they were interested in.
18.
On occasion, Frazier Thomas would take his Jew's harp from his pocket and begin to play.
19.
The Chicago chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences did not begin awarding local Emmys until 1958; Frazier Thomas was the first winner of the award for Male Best Children's Performer, and won the award again in 1964 for his work with Garfield Goose and Friends and Family Classics.
20.
Frazier Thomas wanted to air them when children and their parents could watch and enjoy them with Frazier Thomas as the show's host.
21.
Frazier Thomas agreed to host the program provided he had editing rights on the films, was able to choose them himself and to refuse any titles he believed were not suitable for the show.
22.
Frazier Thomas brought a movie camera on his vacations and the footage he shot became specials for the station.
23.
When Ned Locke, ringmaster of Bozo's Circus retired in 1976, Frazier Thomas was asked to become his replacement.
24.
Frazier Thomas's friends were off the air permanently on January 26,1981, after changes to the Bozo program.
25.
Frazier Thomas continued to work on the show as the circus manager and to host Family Classics.
26.
Frazier Thomas suffered a stroke at the WGN-TV studios on April 1,1985, and died on April 3,1985.
27.
Frazier Thomas had hosted the local Easter Seals telethon the day before he was stricken.
28.
Frazier Thomas was survived by his wife, Ann, his daughter, Kitty, and his son, Jeff.
29.
Frazier Thomas received the Chicago Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Governors' Award for his television work posthumously in 1985.
30.
The Frazier Thomas family donated Garfield and the rest of the puppets, along with Frazier Thomas' uniform, to the Museum of Broadcast Communications.