Jim Thurman
Encyclopedia
James George Thurman was an Emmy
-winning American writer, actor, photographer, director, cartoonist, and producer. He is best known for the writings of TV gags for the likes of Bob Hope
, Bob Newhart
, Carol Burnett
, Bill Cosby
, and Dean Martin
.
, Texas
but raised in Vicksburg
, Michigan
, Thurman received a degree from the University of Michigan
. He began his career as a copywriter at various advertising agencies in New York
, Los Angeles
, and San Francisco. Later he moved to Los Angeles
with his writing partner Gene Moss, where they formed a boutique advertising agency, "Creative Advertising Stuff".
He also worked as a photographer with work displayed at the 1964 World's Fair and he contributed cartoons to Hugh Hefner
for Playboy
and The New Yorker
. Soon after this period, Moss and Thurman had scripted all 156 installments of the 1965 cartoon series Roger Ramjet
as well as the puppet comedy series Shrimpenstein, where Thurman voiced the title character for satirical children's television program.
In 1967 Thurman teamed up with Carol Burnett
to began writing gags for The Carol Burnett Show
, scripting running gags and writing whole scenes.
In 1969, Thurman joined the writing team for Sesame Street
, scripting both street and Muppet scenes as well as producing many animated sketches. He also played Digby Dropout's sidekick "Dunce" in The Man from Alphabet, a detective show which appeared in Sesame Streets pilots but was not used in the in the actual series due to poor testing results.
In 1982, Thurman teamed up with Paul Fierlinger
to create, write, and voice Teeny Little Super Guy
for Sesame Street. In 1972 Thurman teamed up with Bob Newhart
to began writing gags for The Bob Newhart Show
, scripting both therapy and regular scenes. One year later in 1973 Thurman did the voice of Christopher Clumsy for a Cliff Roberts
-produced cartoon about shapes as well as Jake the Snake in 1988 (also for Sesame Street).
In 1977 Jim worked as a consultant for Warner Cable's innovation Qube system in Columbus, Ohio. He was on the creative team for the interactive "Columbus Alive" news magazine program.
He also wrote sketches for Jim Henson
's The Muppet Show
in the fourth season. Thurman subsequently worked on most of CTW
's other series, as a staff writer and cartoon voiceover on The Electric Company
and 3-2-1 Contact
, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
, and as head writer/producer for Square One TV; on the later series, he provided the voice of Mr. Glitch and scripted the Mathnet
segments, as well as Dirk Niblick of the Math Brigade
Thurman co-created the Math Talk package with Dave Connell, as senior producer. Thurman also wrote for Muppet Babies
. In recent years Jim continued to write, do voice work, and also wrote a weekly column for his local paper, the Berkshire Record. Thurman also wrote and voiced several animated sexual education specials for Buzzco Associates, Inc. He has also done voice work for home video releases such as the Richard Scarry
Learning videos and the Dr. Seuss Beginner Book Video series. In 2006, he wrote wraparound material and voiced Bob for the Old School Volume 1 DVD. He died in Sheffield, Massachusetts
on April 14 in 2007.
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning American writer, actor, photographer, director, cartoonist, and producer. He is best known for the writings of TV gags for the likes of Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
, Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
, Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
, Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
, and Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
.
Career
Born in DallasDallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
but raised in Vicksburg
Vicksburg, Michigan
Vicksburg is a village in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,320 at the 2000 census.The village is located mostly within Schoolcraft Township on the east side, though a portion is also within Brady Township.-History:...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Thurman received a degree from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. He began his career as a copywriter at various advertising agencies in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and San Francisco. Later he moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
with his writing partner Gene Moss, where they formed a boutique advertising agency, "Creative Advertising Stuff".
He also worked as a photographer with work displayed at the 1964 World's Fair and he contributed cartoons to Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
for Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
and The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. Soon after this period, Moss and Thurman had scripted all 156 installments of the 1965 cartoon series Roger Ramjet
Roger Ramjet
Roger Ramjet is an animated American children's television comedy series that first ran in 1965 and has aired in syndication since. Starring Roger Ramjet and the American Eagle Squadron, the show was known for its crude animation, frenetic pace, and frequent references to popular culture, which...
as well as the puppet comedy series Shrimpenstein, where Thurman voiced the title character for satirical children's television program.
In 1967 Thurman teamed up with Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
to began writing gags for The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show is a variety / sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33...
, scripting running gags and writing whole scenes.
In 1969, Thurman joined the writing team for Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, scripting both street and Muppet scenes as well as producing many animated sketches. He also played Digby Dropout's sidekick "Dunce" in The Man from Alphabet, a detective show which appeared in Sesame Streets pilots but was not used in the in the actual series due to poor testing results.
In 1982, Thurman teamed up with Paul Fierlinger
Paul Fierlinger
Paul Fierlinger is a creator of animated films and shorts, especially animated documentaries. He is also a part-time lecturer at University of Pennsylvania School of Design.-Early life:...
to create, write, and voice Teeny Little Super Guy
Teeny Little Super Guy
Teeny Little Super Guy was an animated short featured on PBS's Sesame Street. The shorts featured a small animated man, the Teeny Little Super Guy, who resides in a live-action, regular-sized kitchen. Robert W...
for Sesame Street. In 1972 Thurman teamed up with Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
to began writing gags for The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, , to April 1, . Comedian Bob Newhart portrayed a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers...
, scripting both therapy and regular scenes. One year later in 1973 Thurman did the voice of Christopher Clumsy for a Cliff Roberts
Cliff Roberts
Cliff Roberts was a professional American football player who played offensive lineman for one season for the Oakland Raiders.-References:...
-produced cartoon about shapes as well as Jake the Snake in 1988 (also for Sesame Street).
In 1977 Jim worked as a consultant for Warner Cable's innovation Qube system in Columbus, Ohio. He was on the creative team for the interactive "Columbus Alive" news magazine program.
He also wrote sketches for Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
's The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
in the fourth season. Thurman subsequently worked on most of CTW
Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop , is a Worldwide American non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world...
's other series, as a staff writer and cartoon voiceover on The Electric Company
The Electric Company
The Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that was produced by the Children's Television Workshop for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977...
and 3-2-1 Contact
3-2-1 Contact
3-2-1 Contact is an American science educational television show that aired on PBS from 1980 to 1988, and an adjoining children's magazine. The show, a production of the Children's Television Workshop, teaches scientific principles and their applications. Dr. Edward G...
, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids is an animated series created, produced, and hosted by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including Fat Albert himself. Filmation was the production company for the series. The show premiered in 1972 and ran until 1985...
, and as head writer/producer for Square One TV; on the later series, he provided the voice of Mr. Glitch and scripted the Mathnet
Mathnet
Mathnet is a segment on the children's television show Square One, of which five seasons were produced . This parody of Dragnet featured detectives at the Los Angeles Police Department who solved mysteries using their mathematical skills. There were two main characters: detectives Kate Monday and...
segments, as well as Dirk Niblick of the Math Brigade
Dirk Niblick of the Math Brigade
Dirk Niblick of the Math Brigade is an animated segment on the PBS television show Square One Television.The title character, Lt. Dirk Niblick, is tasked in each segment with helping friends through practical dilemmas through the use of mathematics...
Thurman co-created the Math Talk package with Dave Connell, as senior producer. Thurman also wrote for Muppet Babies
Muppet Babies
Jim Henson's Muppet Babies is an American animated television series that aired from September 15, 1984 to November 2, 1991 on CBS. The show portrayed childhood versions of the Muppets living together in a large nursery in the care of a human woman called Nanny...
. In recent years Jim continued to write, do voice work, and also wrote a weekly column for his local paper, the Berkshire Record. Thurman also wrote and voiced several animated sexual education specials for Buzzco Associates, Inc. He has also done voice work for home video releases such as the Richard Scarry
Richard Scarry
Richard McClure Scarry was a popular American children's author and illustrator who published over 300 books with total sales of over 100 million units worldwide....
Learning videos and the Dr. Seuss Beginner Book Video series. In 2006, he wrote wraparound material and voiced Bob for the Old School Volume 1 DVD. He died in Sheffield, Massachusetts
Sheffield, Massachusetts
Not to be confused with the city of Sheffield in the UK, or Sheffield, Vermont.Sheffield is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,257 at the 2010 census. Sheffield is home to...
on April 14 in 2007.
Filmography
- Roger RamjetRoger RamjetRoger Ramjet is an animated American children's television comedy series that first ran in 1965 and has aired in syndication since. Starring Roger Ramjet and the American Eagle Squadron, the show was known for its crude animation, frenetic pace, and frequent references to popular culture, which...
(1965) (also writer) - Shrimpenstein (1965)
- The Man from Alphabet (1969)
- Christopher Clumsy (1973)
- Out to Lunch (1974) (also writer)
- The Jean Marsh Cartoon Special (1975) (also writer)
- A Walking Tour of Sesame Street (1979) (also writer)
- Teeny Little Super GuyTeeny Little Super GuyTeeny Little Super Guy was an animated short featured on PBS's Sesame Street. The shorts featured a small animated man, the Teeny Little Super Guy, who resides in a live-action, regular-sized kitchen. Robert W...
(1982) (also writer) - Dirk Niblick of the Math BrigadeDirk Niblick of the Math BrigadeDirk Niblick of the Math Brigade is an animated segment on the PBS television show Square One Television.The title character, Lt. Dirk Niblick, is tasked in each segment with helping friends through practical dilemmas through the use of mathematics...
(1987) (also writer) - Jake the Snake (1988)
- The Quitter (1988) (also writer)
- P. D. Eastman: Are You My Mother?Are You My Mother?Are You My Mother? is a children's book by P. D. Eastman published by Random House Books for Young Readers on June 12, 1960 as part of their Beginner Books series.-Plot summary:...
(1991) (also writer)
Television Work
- Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
(also writer from 1969–2007) - The Electric CompanyThe Electric CompanyThe Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that was produced by the Children's Television Workshop for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977...
(also writer from 1971–1977) - The Bob Newhart ShowThe Bob Newhart ShowThe Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, , to April 1, . Comedian Bob Newhart portrayed a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers...
(also writer from 1972–1978) - Fat Albert and the Cosby KidsFat Albert and the Cosby KidsFat Albert and the Cosby Kids is an animated series created, produced, and hosted by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including Fat Albert himself. Filmation was the production company for the series. The show premiered in 1972 and ran until 1985...
(also writer from 1972–1984) - The Muppet ShowThe Muppet ShowThe Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
(also writer from 1976–1981) - 3-2-1 Contact3-2-1 Contact3-2-1 Contact is an American science educational television show that aired on PBS from 1980 to 1988, and an adjoining children's magazine. The show, a production of the Children's Television Workshop, teaches scientific principles and their applications. Dr. Edward G...
(also writer from 1980–1988) - Muppet BabiesMuppet BabiesJim Henson's Muppet Babies is an American animated television series that aired from September 15, 1984 to November 2, 1991 on CBS. The show portrayed childhood versions of the Muppets living together in a large nursery in the care of a human woman called Nanny...
(also writer from 1984–1991) - Square One TV (also writer from 1987–1992)
- MathnetMathnetMathnet is a segment on the children's television show Square One, of which five seasons were produced . This parody of Dragnet featured detectives at the Los Angeles Police Department who solved mysteries using their mathematical skills. There were two main characters: detectives Kate Monday and...
(also writer from 1987–1992) - Yoshi's Island (also writer)
Home Video Work
- Best ABC Video Ever!Richard ScarryRichard McClure Scarry was a popular American children's author and illustrator who published over 300 books with total sales of over 100 million units worldwide....
(1989) - Best Counting Video Ever!Richard ScarryRichard McClure Scarry was a popular American children's author and illustrator who published over 300 books with total sales of over 100 million units worldwide....
(1989) - Dr. Seuss Beginner Book Video (1989)
- Sing Yourself Silly! (1990)