The Tracey Ullman Show is an American television sketch comedy variety show starring Tracey Ullman. It debuted on Fox on April 5, 1987, as the network's second original primetime series to air, following Married... with Children, and ran for four seasons and 81 episodes until May 26, 1990. It was produced by Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television. The show blended sketch comedy with musical numbers and dance routines, choreographed by Paula Abdul, along with animated shorts. The format was conceived by co-creator and executive producer James L. Brooks, who was looking to showcase the show's multitalented star. Brooks likened the show to producing three pilots a week. Ullman was the first British woman to be offered her own television sketch show in the United States.
The PATSY Award was originated by the Hollywood office of the American Humane Association in 1939. They decided to honor animal performers after a horse was killed in an on-set accident during the filming of the Tyrone Power film Jesse James. The letters are an acronym, and stand for Picture Animal Top Star of the Year. A later acronym was also included: Performing Animal Television Star of the Year.
Bachelor Party is a 1984 American sex comedy film directed by Neal Israel, written by Israel and Pat Proft, and starring Tom Hanks, Adrian Zmed, William Tepper, and Tawny Kitaen. The film revolves around a bachelor party that a group of men throw for their friend Rick Gassko (Hanks) on the eve of his wedding and whether he can remain faithful to his fiancée Debbie (Kitaen).
Daktari is an American family drama series that aired on CBS between 1966 and 1969. The series is an Ivan Tors Films Production in association with MGM Television starring Marshall Thompson as Marsh Tracy, a veterinarian at the fictional Wameru Study Center for Animal Behavior in East Africa.
Betsy Drake was an American actress, writer, and psychotherapist. She was the third wife of actor Cary Grant.
Ivan Tors was a Hungarian playwright, film director, screenwriter, and film and television producer with an emphasis on non-violent but exciting science fiction, underwater sequences, and stories involving animals. He started a Miami-based film studio now known as Greenwich Studios, and later a music company.
James Marshall Thompson was an American film and television actor.
Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park is located near Homosassa Springs, Florida, in the United States. The park is one of the notable locations in the state to view manatees. Visitors can get close to the animals on a floating observatory. Black bears, bobcats, white-tailed deer, American alligators, and river otters have also been seen in the park. The park is also home to the hippopotamus Lu, famously known for his performances in many movies for the past 40 years. The park is officially named Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in honor of Elmyra Felburn Schiller, a benefactor of the Florida state park system.
Antonie Marinus Harthoorn, or 'Toni' Harthoorn was a veterinarian and environmentalist known for his role in the development of large-animal tranquilizers and their impact on the conservation movement. Additionally, Harthoorn's animal sanctuary was the inspiration for the television series Daktari.
Marine World/Africa USA was an animal theme park located in the Redwood Shores area of Redwood City, California. The park was named Marine World when it first opened in 1968, before merging with a land-animal park called Africa USA in 1972. In 1986, the park relocated to Vallejo, California, and is now known as Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
Cheryl Lynn Miller is an American actress and musician.
Alan Samuel Lyle-Smythe MBE, M.C., who wrote under the name Alan Caillou, was an English-born author, actor, screenwriter, soldier, policeman and professional hunter.
Safari West is a 400-acre (160 ha) private wildlife preserve located 12 miles north of the city of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California, United States, owned and operated by Nancy and Peter Lang.
Ralph Helfer is an American ethologist, creator of Marine World/Africa USA, and author of books about animals.
Susanne Hart in South Africa), also known under the short form Sue Hart or as Susanne Harthoorn, was a South African veterinarian and environmentalist.
Harry Redmond Jr. was an American special effects artist and film producer whose career spanned decades in the entertainment industry. Redmond was the husband of the late production designer and illustrator, Dorothea Holt Redmond, who helped design Main Street in Disneyland and the Seattle Space Needle.
Gentle Giant is a 1967 American drama film about a young boy's friendship with an American black bear, based on the 1965 book Gentle Ben by Walt Morey. It was produced by Ivan Tors, directed by James Neilson and written by Edward J. Lakso and Andy White. The film stars Clint Howard, Dennis Weaver, Vera Miles, Ralph Meeker, Huntz Hall, and Bruno the Bear. The film was released on November 15, 1967, by Paramount Pictures.
Bruno, also called Ben or Gentle Ben, was a male black bear actor best known for playing the leading role of Ben the bear in the 1967-1969 CBS television series, Gentle Ben. He also played the adult Ben in the feature film prelude to the TV series, Gentle Giant (1967). In 1968, Bruno received a first-place PATSY Award for his work on the Gentle Giant film and a second-place award for his work on the TV series. After the Gentle Ben series ended, Bruno made another well-received appearance in the 1972 John Huston-directed film The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, starring Paul Newman.
Jambo is a wildlife anthology television series broadcast on NBC from 1969 to 1971.
