Jim Thurman
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| Jim Thurman | |
|---|---|
| Born | James George Thurman March 15, 1935  Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Died | April 14, 2007 (aged 72) Sheffield, Massachusetts, United States |
| Other name(s) | James Thurman Jimmie Thurman Jimmy Thurman Jamie Thurman Coach |
| Years active | 1960-2007 |
| Spouse(s) | Patricia |
James George Thurman (March 15, 1935 - April 14, 2007), 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.
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[edit] Career
Born in Dallas, 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.
Thurman then later played Dunce sidekick to Digby Dropout, in The Man from Alphabet in 1969. Thurman scripted both street and Muppet scenes on Sesame Street. He produced many animated sketches on Sesame Street beginning with the show's debut in 1969 and continuing until 2007.
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 various Cliff Roberts characters as well as Jake the Snake for Sesame Street. In 1982 Thurman teamed up with Paul Fierlinger to create, write, and voice Teeny Little Super Guy (also for Sesame Street).
He also wrote sketches for Jim Henson's The Muppet Show in the fourth season[1]. 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 the The Muppet Movie and Muppet Babies. In recent years Jim continued to write, do voice work, and also wrote a weekly column for his local paper. 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. Thurman is survived by his wife, Patricia; two sons; a daughter; four grandchildren; and a sister. He was preceded in death by his brother Jack Thurman of Kalamazoo, MI.
He died in Sheffield, Massachusetts on April 14 in 2007.
[edit] Filmography
- Roger Ramjet (1965) (also writer)
- Shrimpenstein (1965)
- The Man from Alphabet (1969)
- Christopher Clumsy (1973)
- Jake the Snake (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 Guy (1982) (also writer)
- Dirk Niblick of the Math Brigade (1987) (also writer)
- The Quitter (1988) (also writer)
- P. D. Eastman: Are You My Mother? (1991) (also writer)
[edit] Television Work
- Sesame Street (also writer from 1969-2007)
- The Electric Company (also writer from 1971-1977)
- The Bob Newhart Show (also writer from 1972-1978)
- Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (also writer from 1972-1984)
- The Muppet Show (also writer from 1976-1981)
- 3-2-1 Contact (also writer from 1980-1988)
- Muppet Babies (also writer from 1984-1991)
- Square One TV (also writer from 1987-1992)
- Mathnet (also writer from 1987-1992)
[edit] Home Video Work
- Best ABC Video Ever! (1989)
- Best Counting Video Ever! (1989)
- Dr. Seuss Beginner Book Video (1989)
- Sing Yourself Silly! (1990)
