Mary Lou Retton
Host and Co-Executive Producer
‘Mary Lou’s Flip Flop Shop’
Production Team Biographies
Mary Lou catapulted to international fame at the 1984 Olympic Games by becoming the first American woman to win the Gold Medal in the all-around women's gymnastics competition, and by winning more medals than any other athlete at the ’84 Games. Today, Mary Lou is motivating children to find their own “gold” from within as the host and co-executive producer of “Mary Lou’s Flip Flop Shop TM ,” a
PBS children’s television series that is dedicated to teaching important life lessons to preschool and elementary school children, while encouraging them to lead active, healthy lifestyles.
As part of Mary Lou’s commitment to children, she is an active supporter of Children’s Miracle Network, serving on the board of governors and as national co-host of the organization’s annual telethon, which has raised $1.4 billion to treat more than 12 million children in need. In addition, Mary Lou inspires adults as a motivational speaker and author, with titles including “Mary Lou Retton’s Gateway to Happiness.”
Mary Lou’s historic Olympic performances and high-energy persona have continued to be recognized throughout the years. Honored as Sports Illustrated’s “Sportswoman of the Year” in 1984, Retton’s athletic accomplishments were acknowledged again the following year when she was the youngest inductee admitted into the USOC Olympic Hall of Fame. In 1990, Mary Lou was chosen as one of the top 10 “Most Admired” public figures by a Sports Marketing Group survey, and in 1992, Mary Lou served as a special advisor on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness. Then, almost a decade after her Olympic triumph, another national survey conducted by Sports Marketing Group named Retton and
Dorothy Hamill the “Most Popular Athletes in America.” At the turn of the millennium, Mary Lou was chosen one of the top 10 most popular “Wheaties” box covers, alongside Tiger Woods and Michael
Jordan.
Today Mary Lou resides in Houston, with “Mary Lou’s Flip Flop Shop” creator and husband, Shannon
Kelley, senior vice president of investments at Wunderlich Securities and a former quarterback for the
University of Texas, and their four children.
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Production Team Biographies/2
Bill Young
Co-Executive Producer
Bill Young is the founder of Bill Young Productions of Houston, the nation’s leading supplier of advertising materials for the touring entertainment industry. In 1999, Young and Mary Lou Retton formed Y&R Productions, Ltd., to produce
“Mary Lou’s Flip Flop Shop
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Along with his role as coexecutive producer of the children’s television series, Young also served as director for one episode.
As one of the country’s most recognized television and radio voices, Young has been the spokesman for
ABC’s “In Concert,” CBS Radio Sports, Fruit of the Loom, Paul McCartney World Tour and Purina. His directorial credits include Chevy Trucks, “Jekyll & Hyde,” Randall’s/Tom Thumb Food Markets, the national tours of “West Side Story,” and Wrangler. Young also served as the associate producer of the
Broadway production of “Jekyll & Hyde.” In addition, Young has directed music videos for artists such as Billy Dean, Clay Walker, Clint Black and George Strait.
Jimmy Cuomo
Production Designer
The winner of five Emmy awards, Jimmy Cuomo took the name of “Mary Lou’s Flip Flop Shop” literally when he designed the show’s unique, one-of-a-kind set. The brightly colored Flip Flop Shop set generates excitement through squiggly couches, leaning doors, spinning pictures and circular slides.
Based in Los Angeles, Cuomo’s production design credits include “Disney’s Adventures in Wonderland,”
“PeeWee’s Playhouse,” “Family Feud,” and “Turn Ben Stein On.”
Fred Holmes
Director
A nationally known children’s programming television director, Fred Holmes directed nine of the original
13 episodes of “Mary Lou’s Flip Flop Shop.” Holmes has directed other popular PBS children’s programs, including “Barney & Friends” and “Wishbone.” In addition, Holmes has written and directed a number of feature films and made-for-television movies, such as 1990’s “Travis,” “Harley” starring Lou
Diamond Phillips, and the made-for-television special “The Quest for Freedom.”
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Production Team Biographies/3
Calvin Yamin
Producer
A native Houstonian, Calvin Yamin oversaw the production of the first 13 episodes of the “Mary Lou’s
Flip Flop Shop” series. Along with production coordinator credits for a variety of motion picture films,
Yamin’s production credits include more than 50 episodes of “Power Rangers.”
Dr. Gary Moore
Music Director
Gary Moore created the more than 40 original songs for the first season of “Mary Lou’s Flip Flop
Shop.”
Moore has performed before President Ford, President Reagan, President Bush, and then
Governor George W. Bush. In addition, he has created or conducted concerts for an NBC Christmas special, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and choir tours to Austria,
England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Russia, Switzerland, and Washington, D.C.
Moore serves as senior associate pastor of Second Baptist Church of Houston, and is a graduate of the
University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Moore has a master’s degree from Southwest Baptist Theological
Seminary and a Doctor of Human Letters from Houston Baptist University.
Julie Harrigan Sharp
Writer
Along with writing all 13 episodes of “Mary Lou’s Flip Flop Shop,” Sharp has served as a writer for advertising agencies, including Metzdorf in Houston, Bozell & Jacobs in Dallas, and Gumpertz/Bentley/Fried in Los Angeles. As a freelancer, Sharp’s work was published in Austin Magazine , and she is currently writing a children’s book and a novel based in Texas.
Sharp graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in radio-television-film. She has three children and resides in Houston.
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For Additional Information Contact: Kristy Wilson, Fleishman-Hillard, 704-372-2827; Missy
Cousino, Fleishman-Hillard, 713-513-9505.