The Most Important Person
The Most Important Person is an animation/live action series of 66 short subjects of important topics in the lives of children.[1] They were produced in 1972 by Sutherland Learning Associates. From 1972 to 1975, these shorts were seen as part of CBS's Captain Kangaroo program.[2]
The husband and wife team, Dan and Elaine Weisburd, were the creative geniuses behind The Most Important Person. They created, directed, wrote the stories, composed the songs, recorded the voices for the series.
The main characters were an ostrich named Fumble, the fur-covered Hairy, the loquacious Bird and two children, Mike and Nicola.[3]
From 1975 to 1981, these shorts were later syndicated to local television stations, mostly independent stations that ran large amounts of non-CG animated cartoons and other children's programming. They also ran in the late 1970s on a few PBS stations running in-school programming. Some pre-1994 syndicated prints of The Underdog Show have also included Most Important Person shorts.
A later spin-off, The Kingdom of Could Be You, featuring the children from The Most Important Person, was also produced by Sutherland Learning Associates.
References
- Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 565–566. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. pp. 191–192. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 408. ISBN 978-1538103739.