Tom Whedon is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 television screenwriter and son of 1950s TV screenwriter John Whedon

John Whedon

John Ogden Whedon was an American screenwriter. He is best known for his writing for the television series The Donna Reed Show during the 1950s...

. He and first wife, political activist Lee Stearns, are the parents of Film and TV Screenwriter Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel

Angel (TV series)

Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...

, Firefly

Firefly (TV series)

Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear....

, and Dollhouse

Dollhouse (TV series)

Dollhouse is an American science fiction television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon under Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on February 13, 2009, on the Fox network and was officially cancelled on November 11, 2009. The final episode aired on January 29, 2010...

). Tom and second wife, Pam Webber, are the parents of scriptwriter Zack Whedon

Zack Whedon

Zack Whedon is an American screenwriter and comic book writer. He graduated in 2002 with a film degree from Wesleyan University where he served as president of the Eclectic Society...

 (Deadwood

Deadwood (TV series)

Deadwood is an American Western drama television series created, produced and largely written by David Milch. The series aired on the premium cable network HBO from March 21, 2004, to August 27, 2006, spanning three 12-episode seasons. The show is set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, before...

).

He was an original writer for the 1950-60s children's television show Captain Kangaroo

Captain Kangaroo

Captain Kangaroo is a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for nearly 30 years, from October 3, 1955 until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running children's television program of its day...

.

As early as 1964, he collaborated with Jon Stone

Jon Stone

Jon Stone is best known for writing and producing Sesame Street, and is credited with helping develop characters such as Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch. He is regarded by many as one of the best children's television writers. He started working for children's programs in 1955...

 on a concept for a puppet-centered children's television series using the fairy-tale Cinderella

Cinderella

"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...

 as a basis. During this process, they became acquainted with the creative, but then relatively unknown, 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...

 and his Muppets. The trio went on to make the Hey, Cinderella!

Hey, Cinderella!

Hey, Cinderella! is an adaptation of Cinderella, featuring Muppets. Kermit the Frog hosts the film. The music score was composed by Joe Raposo.The one-hour special was first shown on the CBC on March 16, 1969, and on ABC on April 10, 1970....

TV special for ABC in 1970.

In the 1970s, Tom Whedon (along with Stone) worked for the Children's Television Workshop

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...

, becoming head writer for the award winning show 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...

. Additional writing credits include the more adult fare of The Dick Cavett Show

The Dick Cavett Show

The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including:* ABC daytime ...

, Benson, Alice

Alice (TV series)

Alice is an American sitcom television series that ran from August 31, 1976 to July 2, 1985 on CBS. The series was based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start her life over again, and finds a job...

, and The Golden Girls

The Golden Girls

The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...

.

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