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EntertainnH ■■P'l %'K TV's Captain Kangaroo November is Diabetes Month ATTENTION DIABETIC METER RECALLALERT So far in 2006 there have been 16 manufacturer notifications. There have been over 20 different Class 1 High Risk Recalls for diabetic meters issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2005. A Class I recall means that there is a reasonable chance that the product will cause serious health problems or death. Most major diabetic meter manufactures have had a recall in the past 2 years! YOUR CURRENT METER MAY BE INVOLVED IN A RECALL. Making , ” Kangaroo Music The door-mounted bell at the Runcible Spoon, a boutique in Newport, R. 1., rings as shoppers bustle in and our, perusing the selection of elegant linens, artisan tableware anti imported ceramics as Bill Thomas, 62, works the register. Most customers don’t know that Thomas, whose wife, Joan, owns and operates tlte store, is one of the creative minds behind a whole gen eration of popular children's music. From 197-1 to 1985, he composed songs fix tile TV series Cttptain Kangitm, tlie longest-running children's program in tlie history of com mercial network television (1955-1992). The show, which starred its soft- Accuracy and consistency are extremely important when you test your blood! If you have Medicare call us now to get a NO COST to you replacement meter anti new testing supplies! Sorry, we are unable to help you if you are in an HMO. Call Discount Diabetic at 1-800-853-6127. If you have Arthritis, Medicare will cover a large, moist heating pad for you at NO COST to you. * Deductible and copay may apply. Call 1-800-853-6127 Now! spoken creator, Bob Keeshan, and a menagerie of colorful characters, featured hours of feel-good, kids-world-view music written by Thomas and other composers. "It was a great job and I loved doing it," Thomas says. "The beauty of it was, 1 wasn't restricted. I could write a song about almost anything." Thomas liad just gotten out of tlie Navy in 1969 and was sing ing at a |x)|xilar harbor |xib in Newport wlien a friend asked him to compose music for an independent film. One of the folks involved also worked for Captain Kangtm in New York. Coincidentally, Thomas had just finished writing a pilot for a childrens radio show with Nixl Paul Sttxikey of tlie folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. "Tlie producers of Captain liked the songs I had written," Thtxnas says, "and tliey wanted me to help them update the show's song library." Thomas was hired to compose songs to "fit" film fixxage from various archival sources about everyday things. "Originally, I'd write to whatever was on hand, he explains. He wrote dozens of songs and married tlietn to various movie clips, creating something entirely new in tlie process—“film songs” about how sunshine makes shadows, being a friend and what toys do in the dark (reassuringly, they stay where you leave them). Little did he know tliar his Captain Kangaroo creations would turn exit to be forerunners to content that years later would become tlie bread and heater of cable channels MTV and VIII. "I guess ycxi ccxikl make the leap atxl say the songwriters tor tlx- show came up with some of the first music videos,” lie says with a smile. One of his favorite pieces started with footage of a boy in a yellow slicker walking through a soggy forest in the Pacific North west. It originally was made as an ... educational short film about lum ber and foresting, intercut with j shots of wildlife. Thomas edited 1 the frxitage into a new storyline to support his song "Rainy Day * Zoo,” about the joys of taking a rainy-day trip to the city zoo. "That’s one 1 remember with the most admiration," he says. “There was so much beauty and peace in it; it seemed perfect tor tlx- show '' ."a, L T! mmas' music went hand-in-hand A with tlx* tranquil, J feel-gtxxJ send- V ments on which r‘ Keeshan insisted fix the program. ™ “There was an (Continued m page 18) Bill Thomas wrote songs for the popular children’s TV series. Page 16 JL l M •www.americanprofile.com i *