THE DREAMER OF OZ
A SPECIAL PRESENTATION MOVIE ON THE NBC-TV NETWORK
Outstanding performances and colorful, state-of-the-art special
effects highlight this heartwarming family drama inspired by the
life and imagination of L. Frank Baum, the man who created the
world's favorite children's fantasy, "The Wonderful Wizard of
Oz."
Twenty years after her husband's death, Maud Gage Baum arrives at
the 1939 premiere of the film "The Wizard of Oz," where a young
reporter encourages her to tell her story.
Her reminiscences
begin when she meets struggling young actor L. Frank Baum. They
fall in love and, against her mother's wishes, Maud turns down a
chance to become the first woman to attend Columbia Law School
and marries Frank instead.
Through a variety of failed careers, Baum keeps his family
together with love, perseverance and a talent for spinning
wondrous children's stories.
Maud notices the way the local
children flock to hear Frank's tales about an imaginary place
called the Emerald City, and encourages him to write them down.
These stories, inspired by real characters in Baum's life, take
shape as an unlikely volume called "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,"
and Baum gambles everything he has on its publication. The book
becomes such a success that Baum goes on to write 13 more "Oz"
books.
In order to bring to life the vivid imagery of Baum's magical
tales, THE DREAMER OF OZ features several stunning fantasy
sequences based on the book's original illustrations.
Through
these colorful passages viewers are reintroduced to the Magic
Kingdom and such favorite characters as The Cowardly Lion, The
Tin Woodsman and young Dorothy, inspired by Baum's beloved niece
who died at the age of six.
THE DREAMER OF OZ offers a unique glimpse into the creation of a
timeless classic. But most of all, it is an inspiring story of
the love that enabled one determined dreamer to create the
greatest children's fantasy of all time.
With all the warmth,
adventure and charm of the original "Wizard of Oz" itself, THE
DREAMER OF OZ is destined to be a perennial family favorite for
many years to come.
THE DREAMER OF OZ
page 2
CAST
L. Frank Baum
Maud Gage Baum
Mathilde Gage
Dorothy
William Denslow
Al Badham/The Cowardly Lion
JOHN RITTER
ANNETTE O'TOOLE
RUE McCLANAHAN
COURTNEY BARILLA
DAVID SCHRAMM
CHARLES HAID
CREDITS
Teleplay by
Story by
Directed by
Produced by
Co-Producers:
Executive Producers:
Richard Matheson
David Kirschner and
Richard Matheson
Jack Bender
Erv Zavada
Laura Moskowitz and David Brooks
David Kirschner and Robert M. Myman
A Production of Bedrock Productions, Inc. and Adam Productions,
Inc., presented by Spelling Entertainment Inc.
Running Time: 96 minutes
IN COLOR
THE DREAMER OF OZ
page 3
THE DREAMER OF OZ
STARRING JOHN RITTER, ANNETTE O'TOOLE
AND RUE McCLANAHAN
"The Dreamer of Oz" stars John Ritter, Annette O'Toole and Rue
McClanahan. The fact-based two-hour television movie tells the
story of L. Frank Baum, a man who repeatedly failed to achieve
success in business and creative endeavors until his love for
children and story telling prompted him to gamble his meager
income on the publication of his book, "The Wonderful Wizard of
Oz."
"The Dreamer of Oz" is produced by Bedrock Productions, Inc. and
Adam Productions, Inc., presented by Spelling Entertainment, Inc.
"The Dreamer of Oz" is made possible in part by Campbell Soup
Company.
At the 1939 world premiere of the now classic film, "The Wizard
of Oz," L. Frank Baum's widow, Maud, arrives unnoticed by all,
save a single young reporter who encourages her to tell him her
story.
Maud's memories begin with her courtship by the young
Shakespearean actor and continue through the growth of their
family and her husband's many fruitless business ventures to his
eventual success as an author of children's books.
John Ritter stars as L. Frank Baum and Annette O'Toole stars as
his inspiring wife Maud. The telefilm also stars Rue McClanahan
as Mathilde Gage, Maud's mother and a staunch suffragette who
disapproves of her daughter's marriage. Jack Bender directs the
screenplay by David Kirschner and Richard Matheson from a story
by Kirschner and Matheson.
Kirschner and Robert M. Myman are
executive producers and Erv Zavada is producer.
John Ritter is the Emmy Award-winning star of such television
series as "Three's Company" and "Hooperman." He has also starred
in numerous television movies, including "In Love With an Older
Woman," "Unnatural Causes" and "My Brother's Wife."
Annette O'Toole has starred in such films as "48 Hours," "Smile,"
"King of the Gypsies," "Superman III" and "Cross My Heart." Her
television movie credits include "The Entertainer," "The War
Between the Tates," "Stand By Your Man," and she appeared as Rose
Kennedy in the miniseries "The Kennedys of Massachusetts."
THE DREAMER OF OZ
page 4
Rue McClanahan is winner of the 1987 Emmy Award for Best Actress
in a Comedy Series for her starring role as Blanche in "The
Golden Girls."
Her most recent television movies include "My
Daughters," "The Man in the Brown Suit" and "Liberace."
David Kirschner is currently president and chief executive
officer of Hanna-Barbera Productions.
He created the animated
feature film "An American Tail," which he coexecutive produced
with Steven Spielberg, and produced the film "Child's Play."
Robert M. Myman is John Ritter's partner in Adam Productions.
His many executive producer credits include television series
like "Hooperman" and "Anything But Love," and television movies
such as "Letting Go," "My Brother's Wife," and the Emmy-winning
"Unnatural Causes."
Jack Bender's directing credits include "My Brother's Wife,"
"Shattered Vows," "Letting Go" and "In Love With an Older Woman."
Richard Matheson is the writer of such films as "The Incredible
Shrinking Man," "Somewhere In Time," and "Duel," the television
movie starring Dennis Weaver and directed by Steven Spielberg.
He wrote 16 scripts for the original series, "The Twilight Zone,"
and has also written 11 novels.
THE DREAMER OF OZ
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STATE-OF-THE-ART VISUAL-EFFECTS-HELP CAPTURE THE IMAGINATION OF
L. FRANK BAUM FOR NBC'S "THE DREAMER OF OZ"
When NBC's "The Dreamer of Oz" airs on Sunday, December 23 from
9:00-11:00 p.m. (ET/PT), viewers will receive a rare television
treat. Starring John Ritter, Annette O'Toole and Rue McClanahan
in the story of L. Frank Baum, the man whose fanciful imagination
created The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the two-hour television movie
features state-of-the-art visual effects usually found only in
big budget feature films.
Special effects director Sam Nicholson, whose credits include
"Ghostbusters II," "Repossessed" and the television series "Max
Headroom," describes the look of the visual effects as one of
"believable fantasy."
"What's really different about the special effects of 'The
Dreamer of Oz' is that they are the result of the integration of
film effects technologies with the latest in sophisticated video
technologies," says Nicholson. "It was once believed that only
film could be used to produce sophisticated visual effects, but
with the introduction of digitized video, this is no longer true.
This film celebrates the compatibility of film and video with
regard to special effects."
The technologies which Nicholson used for "The Dreamer of Oz"
include blue screen photography, digitized image processing,
matte paintings and motion control photography, in which a
camera's movements are controlled by computers as it slowly
passes over a miniature model, typically a landscape.
The
resulting image of the model appears life-size.
Another technique used extensively in the telemovie is the
compositing of several different images onto a single frame of
film. This allows the filmmakers to arrange the elements in any
given picture in order to achieve the desired effect.
"In a scene featuring the Scarecrow, for example, we combined
footage of the character with that of a field of corn. We then
took a full-sized barn and reduced it, much as a Xerox machine
reduces an image, to what we decided was Munchkin-size and put it
in. After that, we took a still picture of a French door and,
coloring it to match the barn, added it as well," notes
Nicholson.
"The finishing touch was to add pictures of purple
flowers around the structure."
THE DREAMER OF OZ
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Perhaps the single biggest element in the project was the
depiction of Emerald City.
For this, Nicholson supervised the
construction of a miniature model measuring 1,600 square feet.
The model includes a complete Munchkin village with houses,
streams and full landscaping. In the distance the Emerald City
castle is actually a bas relief etched in Plexiglas surrounded by
green crystals which form the Emerald City skyline.
Further
compositing of images provided waterfalls, flying birds and
clouds drifting across the sky.
"The goal was to show how the objects of Baum's awesome
imagination were transformed into the characters and settings of
'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,'" declares Nicholson.
"It took
months of preparation and long weeks of work, but it was worth
it."
THE DREAMER OF OZ
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- Synopsis At the 1939 world premiere of the film "The Wizard of Oz," a
young reporter is the only one who recognizes Maud Baum (Annette
O'Toole), widow of L. Frank Baum (John Ritter), the author of the
world famous children's book.
She begins to reminisce about
their life together...
While touring as an actor with a Shakespearean troupe, Baum is
introduced to the lovely young Maud by his older sister. The two
are immediately smitten with each other.
Their love grows and
they eventually marry, in spite of the objections of Maud's
mother,
Mathilde
Gage
(Rue
McClanahan),
an
opinionated
suffragette who protests Maud's decision to sacrifice her
education for an insecure future.
The couple leads an itinerant theatrical life until Maud tells
Frank she is expecting a baby. He quits the touring company and
takes a job at a retail store in Syracuse, New York.
It soon
becomes clear that Frank has a talent for spinning imaginative
tales. When little Frank, Jr. crawls out onto the roof of the
family's house with his father's straight razor, Frank Sr.
distracts his son's attention with a fanciful story until he can
pull the boy to safety.
After his second child is born in 1888, Frank decides to move his
family to the Dakota Territory on the advice of Maud's sister,
Helen (Nancy Morgan). There he finally meets his little
six-year-old niece, Dorothy. He also meets and hires Ned Brown,
a little person left behind by a traveling circus, who has been
doing odd jobs about the town.
Frank opens Baum's Bazaar, a general store full of the most
exotic merchandise he can find, in order to support his family.
He also spends much of his time entertaining the children with
the stories which will eventually become the basis for his famous
book. Unfortunately, when a drought hits the farming community,
the shop finds itself bereft of customers and the Baums' bank
account dwindles. To make matters worse, young Dorothy is taken
ill and dies.
THE DREAMER OF OZ
page 8
In order to pay off his creditors, Frank purchases the Dakota
Pioneer, a local newspaper, from its retiring editor. With the
exhausting schedule he must put in, however, he makes a
typographic error in one of the issues, prompting the town bully,
Al Badham (Charlie Haid), to challenge him to a duel with
pistols.
Unable to find a way out, Frank meets Badham in the
main street of the town, only to win by default when his cowardly
opponent suddenly turns and runs away.
When the newspaper folds from lack of money, Frank once again
decides to move his family, this time to Chicago, where he gets a
job in a retail store. There Maud also gives him a special gift,
a blank book with the engraved title, "The Magic Land," in which
she encourages him to write down the stories he has been telling
the children through the years. When he then takes a job as a
traveling salesman, Frank uses his time on the road to write down
his stories, incorporating characters based on the many people he
has met over time.
Frank struggles to write his book in spite of Mathilde's
suggestions that he get a better job, and his story of the Land
of Oz begins to take shape. His first published book, a prose
version of the Mother Goose rhymes, is well reviewed, but
financial success still eludes him. He remains on the road as a
salesman until a heart condition proves serious enough to curtail
his travels.
Frank concentrates all his energy on writing and finally achieves
enough financial success that he is at last able to concentrate
on his own book, now entitled "The Emerald City."
He and his
artist/collaborator William Denslow work hard on the project and
are dismayed when no one is willing to publish it.
In desperation, Frank devotes the future royalties of "Father
Goose," his one financially successful book to date, to pay for
the publication of "The Emerald City." When Maud panics over his
decision, Mathilde proves a surprising ally. She tells Frank she
has read his books and now believes in him. At the publisher's
suggestion, the Baums retitle the book "The Wonderful Wizard of
Oz," and wait anxiously for word of its success or failure.
Almost penniless by the approach of Christmas that year, Frank
summons his courage to ask his publisher for a check for any
outstanding royalties.
He is delightfully stunned when the
amount of the check is many times more than he expected. "The
Wonderful Wizard of Oz" goes on to become a best seller,
prompting 13 more books, a musical play and a silent film by the
time Frank succumbs to his heart condition in 1919 at the age of
63.
THE DREAMER OF OZ
page 9
Her memories told, Maud enters Grauman's Chinese Theatre for the
world premiere of the now classic film, "The Wonderful Wizard of
Oz."
THE DREAMER OF OZ
page 10
- Production Information When L. Frank Baum (John Ritter) is introduced to the beautiful
and
captivating
Maud
Gage
(Annette
O'Toole),
the
young
Shakespearean actor decides to give up his life as a bachelor and
settle down to marriage. In marrying the itinerant actor, Maud
foregoes her plans for a legal career in spite of the objections
raised by her mother, Mathilde Gage (Rue McClanahan), a devoted
suffragette who protests her daughter's decision to sacrifice her
education for an insecure future.
With children on the way, Baum abandons his acting career, but a
succession of business failures seems to confirm Mathilde's
conviction that Frank will never amount to anything.
As the
devoted Maud struggles to keep the family intact, Frank finds
comfort in his ability to entertain the children with fanciful
stories of imaginary characters. After years of listening to her
husband's tales of "The Magic Land," Maud gives Frank the gift of
a blank book and encourages him to write the stories down. The
death of his beloved niece Dorothy finally inspires Frank to fill
the blank pages with the story that continues to delight readers
of all ages, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."
"The Dreamer of Oz" is produced by Bedrock Productions, Inc., a
sister company of Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc., and Adam
Productions, Inc., presented by Spelling Entertainment, Inc., in
association with Campbell Soup Company. The two-hour fact-based
NBC television movie, a heartwarming story about the strength of
family and the power of imagination, will air on Sunday, December
23 from 9:00-11:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Executive producers are David
Kirschner and Robert M. Myman. Erv Zavada is producer, and the
director is Jack Bender.
The teleplay is by Richard Matheson
from a story by Kirschner and Matheson.
For the cast members, a strong motivation to join the project was
provided by the pleasure they have received over the years from
the classic film version of Baum's famous book, yet each
expressed his or her own personal connections to the story, as
well.
"Like L. Frank Baum, I have always loved children, even before I
became a father myself.
If there are children present at
parties, I usually spend more time with them than with the
adults. I'm always the tallest kid in the group," notes Ritter
with a smile.
"Another element which made me want to do this
film was that it's a great love story, too. I was also excited
about working with Annette and Rue."
THE DREAMER OF OZ
page 11
For Annette O'Toole, the opportunity to portray Maud Baum was
irresistible.
"She was a pretty extraordinary woman for her
time," says the actress. "College educated, she was one of the
first women to be accepted to Columbia Law School, yet in a time
when women had to choose either a family or a career, she fell in
love with a wonderful man and dedicated herself to raising a
family.
She was a strong, devoted woman, in many ways the
family's backbone."
"Frank's mother-in-law, Mathilde Gage, along with Susan B.
Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was one of the foremost
leaders of the suffrage movement," says McClanahan. "She was a
strong-willed,
independent
woman
who
wasn't
particularly
sympathetic to a dreamer like Frank. It took her a long time to
come around to his side, and therefore provides a good foil to
him in the story."
ON LOCATION IN LOS ANGELES
"The Dreamer of Oz" was shot on locations in and around Los
Angeles, all under the watchful eye of Robert Baum, great
grandson of Frank, who supplied family photographs and original
Oz memorabilia to the various production designers for purposes
of research. "It's really amazing how much John Ritter resembles
L. Frank," observes Baum. "He not only looks like him, but even
has that same gentleness of character my relatives always
remembered."
Also featured in the cast are Charles Haid of "Hill Street Blues"
fame as the character who inspired the Cowardly Lion, and Jerry
Maren, who portrayed one of the representatives of the Lollipop
Guild in the original film version of "The Wizard of Oz."
SPECIAL EFFECTS TO CELEBRATE IMAGINATION
As a film that celebrates the beauty of imagination, "The Dreamer
of Oz" contains a number of special visual effects normally used
only in big budget feature films. The special effects director
is Sam Nicholson, who has provided effects for such films as
"Ghostbusters II," "Repossessed" and "Millennium," and the
futuristic television series "Max Headroom."
The visual effects for "The Dreamer of Oz" includes such
technical
processes
as
model
miniatures,
motion
control
photography, blue screen photography, digitized image processing
and matte paintings to depict Baum's fanciful storytelling.
THE DREAMER OF OZ
page 12
The design of such settings as the Tin Man's cottage, Emerald
City, a fantasy forest and a Kansas cornfield is inspired not
only by the original book illustrations, but also by the work of
such period artists as Maxfield Parrish.
"All the different photographic elements will be digitally fused
together with such additional elements as stock footage of, for
example, Yosemite Valley's Vernal Falls," notes Nicholson. "Our
goal is to create a look of believable fantasy."
Perhaps the most important function of the fantasy sequences in
the film is in helping to illustrate how the people in Baum's
life inspired the characters of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."
Notes
Executive
Producer
Kirschner,
"In
this
movie,
we
concentrate on the people and experiences which served as the
inspiration for L. Frank Baum's books. This includes, of course,
the portrayal of his beloved niece, Dorothy, who died at the age
of six and later became the inspiration for his lead character."
Following are the cast and production credits for "The Dreamer of
Oz." The film is a production of Bedrock Productions, Inc. and
Adam Productions, Inc., presented by Spelling Entertainment, Inc.
"The Dreamer of Oz" is made possible in part by Campbell Soup
Company.
LOGLINE:
A two-hour television film inspired by the life and imagination
of L. Frank Baum, creator of the classic children's book "The
Wonderful Wizard Of Oz."
AIR DATE:
NETWORK:
Sunday, December 23, 1990
9:00-11:00 p.m. (ET/PT)
NBC-TV
CAST
L. FRANK BAUM.........................................John Ritter
MAUD GAGE BAUM....................................Annette O'Toole
MATHILDE GAGE......................................Rue McClanahan
DOROTHY..........................................Courtney Barilla
DENSLOW.............................................David Schramm
HARRIET BAUM........................................Nancy Lenehen
AL BADHAM/THE COWARDLY LION..........................Charlie Haid
CHARLIE...............................................Pat Skipper
HELEN................................................Nancy Morgan
TIN MAN............................................Derek Loughram
SCARECROW............................................David Ellzey
GEORGE HILL........................................Steven Gilborn
THE DREAMER OF OZ
page 13
HARRY (OLDER)........................................Jason Ritter
FRANK, JR. (3 YRS)....................................Joshua Boyd
FRANK, JR. (5-9 YRS)...................................Tim Eyster
FRANK, JR. (TEENAGER).........................Christopher Pettiet
MANAGER...........................................Dennis Redfield
STAGE MANAGER......................................Richard Marion
KILLER/HAMLET........................................Scott Paulin
OPIE...................................................Paul Linke
MR. MUNCHKIN..........................................Jerry Maren
MRS. MUNCHKIN................................Elizabeth Barrington
MUNCHKINS..............................................Arturo Gil
.......................................................Joe Griffo
PRODUCTION CREDITS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS...............................David Kirschner
Robert M. Myman
PRODUCER...............................................Erv Zavada
CO-PRODUCERS......................................Laura Moskowitz
David Brooks
DIRECTOR..............................................Jack Bender
TELEPLAY BY......................................Richard Matheson
STORY BY..........................................David Kirschner
Richard Matheson
PRODUCTION MANAGER.................................Robert Doudell
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY...............................Tom Burstyn
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR..........................Anna-Lisa Nilsson
PRODUCTION DESIGNER....................................Jim Hulsey
ART DIRECTOR.........................................David Negron
COSTUME DESIGNER..........................Jennifer Von Mayrhauser
MAKE-UP ARTIST......................................Craig Reardon
CASTING DIRECTOR.....................................Molly Lopata
VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR...........................Sam Nicholson
VISUAL EFFECTS PRODUCER................................John Green
EDITOR...............................................Jerry Ludwig
THE DREAMER OF OZ
page 14
BIOGRAPHIES
JOHN RITTER
John Ritter stars as L. Frank Baum, the author of the classic
children's story, "The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz," in "The Dreamer
of Oz," an NBC Television movie.
Ritter grew up in Los Angeles, the youngest son of the late
country western star, Tex Ritter. After completing two years at
the University of Southern California as a psychology major, he
participated in the USC-USA Edinburgh Theatre Festival in 1968.
The experience prompted him to switch his major to Theater Arts.
Following graduation, Ritter began his career on the stage,
performing over the next four years in "Desire Under the Elms"
with Eva Marie Saint at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC,
"The Glass Menagerie" and "Butterflies Are Free" with Jean
Stapleton, "As You Like It," "The Tempest" and "Forty Carats."
His most recent stage appearance was in 1985 in Los Angeles,
starring opposite the late James Coco in "The Unvarnished Truth."
As the star of the long-running hit comedy series "Three's
Company," Ritter earned an Emmy Award, as well as a Golden Globe
and People's Choice Award. He also received an Emmy nomination
and a People's Choice Award for the Premiere season of
"Hooperman."
Among his numerous television movies are "Leave Yesterday
Behind," "The Comeback Kid," "Pray TV," "In Love With An Older
Woman," "Sunset Limousine," "Love Thy Neighbor," "Letting Go,"
"Prison For Children," "The Last Fling" and the highly praised
"Unnatural Causes," which received six Emmy nominations.
Among Ritter's motion picture credits are "Hero At Large," "They
All
Laughed,"
"The
Barefoot
Executive,"
"The
Other,"
"Nickelodeon," "Real Men" and "Skin Deep."
Ritter's Adam Productions, Inc. produced the series "Hooperman"
in association with 20th Century Fox television.
The company
also produced "Anything But Love," on ABC, and produced the
television movies "Daughter of the Streets," starring Jane
Alexander and Roxana Zal, and "My Brother's Wife," in which
Ritter starred with Mel Harris.
THE DREAMER OF OZ
page 15
John and his wife, actress Nancy Morgan, are active on behalf of
the
United
Cerebral
Palsy
Association,
cohosting
that
organization's telethons for the past nine years. John and his
brother Tom are also in their fourth year of hosting the Emmywinning "Superfest," a public television special devoted to films
concerning the physically challenged.
ANNETTE O'TOOLE
Annette O'Toole stars as Maud Gage Baum, wife of L. Frank Baum,
the writer of the classic children's story, "The Wonderful Wizard
Of Oz," in "The Dreamer of Oz," an NBC Television movie.
O'Toole first received critical acclaim for her performance as a
savvy beauty pageant contestant in Michael Ritchie's satirical
film "Smile." She starred opposite Robbie Benson in "One On One"
and with Eric Roberts in "King of the Gypsies." O'Toole's other
film credits include "48 Hours" with Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy
and "Cat People" with Malcolm McDowell and Nastassia Kinski. She
portrayed Superman's girlfriend Lana Lang in "Superman III" and
starred with Martin Short in the comedy feature about a
disastrous first date, "Cross My Heart."
Most recently, she
starred in Alan Rudolph's "Love At Large."
O'Toole has also appeared in a number of television movies,
including "The Entertainer" starring Jack Lemmon, "The War
Between the Tates" starring Elizabeth Ashley and Richard Crenna
and "Copacabana" starring Barry Manilow.
She also portrayed
country singer Tammy Wynette in the television movie biography
"Stand By Your Man," and Oliver North's wife, Betsy, in the CBS
miniseries, "Guts and Glory." Most recently on television, she
starred as family matriarch Rose Kennedy in the miniseries "The
Kennedys of Massachusetts."
O'Toole's
stage
credits
include
"Vanities,"
which
subsequently filmed for HBO, and "Merton of the Movies."
was
RUE McClanahan
Rue McClanahan stars as Mathilde Gage, a leader in the
suffragette movement and mother-in-law of L. Frank Baum, the
writer of the classic children's story, "The Wonderful Wizard Of
Oz," in "The Dreamer of Oz," an NBC Television movie.
McClanahan, winner of the 1987 Emmy Award for Best Actress in a
Comedy Series for "The Golden Girls," is a veteran of theatre,
film, television and commercials.
THE DREAMER OF OZ
page 16
Born in Headtown, Oklahoma and educated at the University of
Tulsa, the actress studied with Uta Hagen and Harold Clurman in
New York and at the Pasadena Playhouse, and began her
professional career in the theatre.
Among McClanahan's theatre credits are the Broadway production of
"Father's Day" and the Off-Broadway productions of "Who's Happy
Now?," "MacBird," "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and "Dark of
the Moon."
McClanahan received acclaim for her regular role as Vivian
Cavender Harmon in "Maude," the award-winning comedy series which
ran from 1972-78.
She also starred in "Mama's Family" as Aunt
Fran in 1983.
Other television credits include guest star appearances on such
series as "Trapper John, MD," "The Love Boat," "Gimme A Break,"
"Lou Grant" and "Crazy Like A Fox." Among her television movie
credits are "The Day the Bubble Burst," "The Little Match Girl,"
"My Darling Daughters," "The Man in the Brown Suit" and
"Liberace."
JACK BENDER (Director)
Jack Bender is a graduate of the University of Southern
California and has directed a variety of projects for both
television and theatre.
Bender's television movie
"Tricks of the Trade,"
"Shattered Vows," "In Love
Love."
He also directed
Mike," "Dirty Dancing" and
credits include "My Brother's Wife,"
"Letting Go," "Deadly Messages,"
With An Older Woman" and "Two Kinds of
the pilots of the series "Jack and
"The Paper Chase."
Among Bender's other series directing credits are "Fame," "Falcon
Crest," "American Dream," "Eight Is Enough," "Breaking Away" and
"King's Crossing."
Bender has also directed a variety of plays at such theatres as
the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, San Diego's Old Globe
Theatre and the Empty Space Theater in Seattle.
He has also
written the plays "Under the Freeway Sign," "A Trip to Chinatown"
and "It Came From the Sky."
DAVID KIRSCHNER (Executive Producer)
THE DREAMER OF OZ
page 17
David Kirschner is currently president and
officer of Hanna-Barbera Productions, the
producer of animated family entertainment.
chief executive
world's leading
Kirschner is a producer, writer and illustrator who came to
Hanna-Barbera after heading up his own firm, David Kirschner
Productions. There he produced the hit motion picture "Child's
Play."
His feature film career began when Steven Spielberg
filmed his story "An American Tail," which became the highest
grossing animated feature in history.
He also served as
executive producer of the film.
Kirschner is the author of "Rose
series of children's books. He is
to "An American Tail" and "Child's
"Halloween House," a film due to
Productions.
Petal Place," a successful
currently working on sequels
Play" for Universal, and on
be released by Walt Disney
ROBERT M. MYMAN (Executive Producer)
Robert M. Myman is John Ritter's partner in Adam Productions and
has executive produced three television series in association
with 20th Century Fox: "Hooperman," "Have Faith" and "Anything
But Love."
Among the other television movies for which Myman has served as
executive producer are "Down Payment On Murder," 'Letting Go,"
"Daughter of the Streets," "My Brother's Wife" and the
Emmy-winning "Unnatural Causes."
Additional production credits
include "The Comeback Kid."
He also served as executive producer an the comedy special "John
Ritter: Being of Sound Mind and Body" and the series "History in
the Company of Children."
As a practicing attorney, Myman is a partner in the law firm of
Myman, Abell, Fineman & Greenspan, representing clients in the
entertainment industry.
Before founding his current firm, he
practiced in the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office and
the civil litigation firm of Rose, Klein & Marias.