1.
Futurama
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Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series was envisioned by Groening in the mid-1990s while working on The Simpsons, he later brought David X. Cohen aboard to develop storylines and characters to pitch the show to Fox. In the United States, the series aired on Fox from March 28,1999, to August 10,2003, Futurama also aired in reruns on Cartoon Networks Adult Swim from 2002 to 2007, until the networks contract expired. It was revived in 2007 as four direct-to-video films, the last of which was released in early 2009, Comedy Central entered into an agreement with 20th Century Fox Television to syndicate the existing episodes and air the films as 16 new, half-hour episodes, constituting a fifth season. In June 2009, producing studio 20th Century Fox announced that Comedy Central had picked up the show for 26 new half-hour episodes, the show was renewed for a seventh season, with the first half airing in June 2012 and the second set for mid-2013. It was later revealed that the season would be the final season. The series finale aired on September 4,2013, while Groening has said he will try to get it picked up by another network, David X. Cohen stated that the episode Meanwhile would be the last episode of season 7 and also the series finale. Throughout its run, Futurama has received critical acclaim, the show has been nominated for 17 Annie Awards and 12 Emmy Awards, winning seven of the former and six of the latter. Futurama-related merchandise has also released, including a tie-in comic book series and video game, calendars. In 2013, TV Guide ranked Futurama as one of the top 60 Greatest TV Cartoons of All Time, Fox expressed a strong desire in the mid-1990s for Matt Groening to create a new series, and he began conceiving Futurama during this period. In 1996, he enlisted David X. Cohen, then a writer and producer for The Simpsons, the two spent time researching science fiction books, television shows, and films. When they pitched the series to Fox in April 1998, Groening and Cohen had composed many characters and story lines, Groening described trying to get the show on the air as by far the worst experience of my grown-up life. With The Simpsons the network has no input, Fox was particularly disturbed by the concept of suicide booths, Doctor Zoidberg, and Benders anti-social behavior. Groening explains, When they tried to give me notes on Futurama, I just said, and they said, Well, we dont do business that way anymore. And I said, Oh, well, thats the only way I do business, the episode I, Roommate was produced to address Foxs concerns, with the script written to their specifications. Fox strongly disliked the episode, but after negotiations, Groening received the same independence with Futurama, the name Futurama comes from a pavilion at the 1939 New York Worlds Fair. Designed by Norman Bel Geddes, the Futurama pavilion depicted how he imagined the world would look in 1959, many other titles were considered for the series, including Aloha, Mars. and Doomsville, which Groening notes were resoundly rejected, by everyone concerned with it. It takes approximately six to nine months to produce an episode of Futurama, the long production time results in several episodes being worked on simultaneously
2.
Vincent Price
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Vincent Leonard Price Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and performances in horror films. His career spanned other genres, including film noir, drama, mystery, thriller and he appeared on stage, television, radio, and more than one hundred films. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures, and one for television, born and raised in the Saint Louis, Missouri area, he has a star on the Saint Louis Walk of Fame. Price was an art collector and consultant, with a degree in art history and he lectured and wrote books on the subject. He was the founder of the Vincent Price Art Museum in California and he was also a noted gourmet cook. Price was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the youngest of the four children of Vincent Leonard Price, Sr. president of the National Candy Company and his grandfather, Vincent Clarence Price, invented Dr. Prices Baking Powder, the first cream of tartar-based baking powder, Price was of English descent and was a descendant of Peregrine White, the first white child born in Colonial Massachusetts, being born on the Mayflower while it was in the harbor of Massachusetts. Price had some Welsh ancestry as well, Price attended St. Louis Country Day School. In 1933, he graduated with a degree in art history from Yale University, after teaching for a year, he entered the University of London, intending to study for a masters degree in fine arts. Instead, he was drawn to the theater, first appearing on stage professionally in 1934 and his acting career began in London in 1935, performing with Orson Welless Mercury Theatre. In 1936, Price appeared as Prince Albert in the American production of Laurence Housmans play, Victoria Regina, Price started out in films as a character actor. He made his debut in 1938 with Service de Luxe and established himself in the film Laura, opposite Gene Tierney. His first venture into the genre, for which he became famous, was in the 1939 Boris Karloff film Tower of London. The following year Price portrayed the character in The Invisible Man Returns. In 1946, Price reunited with Tierney in two films, Dragonwyck and Leave Her to Heaven. There were also many villainous roles in film noir thrillers like The Web, The Long Night, Rogues Regiment and The Bribe, with Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner and his first starring role was as conman James Addison Reavis in the 1950 biopic The Baron of Arizona. He also did a comedic turn as the tycoon Burnbridge Waters, co-starring with Ronald Colman in Champagne for Caesar and he was active in radio, portraying the Robin Hood-inspired crime-fighter Simon Templar in The Saint, which ran from 1947-51. In the 1950s, Price moved into films, with a role in House of Wax
3.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
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The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a comedy science fiction series created by Douglas Adams. The broad narrative follows the misadventures of the last surviving man, Arthur Dent, certain narrative details were changed between the various adaptations. The various versions follow the basic plot but they are in many places mutually contradictory. The first radio series comes from a proposal called The Ends of the Earth, six self-contained episodes, all ending with Earths being destroyed in a different way. While writing the first episode, Adams realized that he needed someone on the planet who was an alien to provide context. Adams finally settled on making the alien a roving researcher for a remarkable book named The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. As the first radio episodes writing progressed, the Guide became the centre of his story, however, he later claimed that he had told this story so many times that he had forgotten the incident itself, and only remembered himself telling the story. His friends are quoted as saying that Adams mentioned the idea of hitch-hiking around the galaxy to them while on holiday in Greece in 1973. Adamss fictional Guide is a guidebook to the entire universe, originally published by Megadodo Publications. The narrative of the versions of the story are frequently punctuated with excerpts from the Guide. The voice of the Guide, also provides general narration, the first radio series of six episodes was broadcast in 1978 on BBC Radio 4. Despite a low-key launch of the series, it received good reviews. A one-off episode was broadcast later in the year and this episode was released as part of the second radio series and, later, The Secondary Phase on cassettes and CDs. The Primary and Secondary Phases were aired, in an edited version. The first series was repeated twice in 1978 alone and many times in the next few years. This led to an LP re-recording, produced independently of the BBC for sale, a second radio series, which consisted of a further six episodes, and bringing the total number of episodes to 12, was broadcast in 1980. The radio series greatly benefited from the narration of noted comedy actor Peter Jones as The Book and he was cast after it was decided that a Peter Jonesy sort of voice was required. The series was notable for its use of sound, being the first comedy series to be produced in stereo
4.
Douglas Adams
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Douglas Noel Adams was an English author, scriptwriter, essayist, humorist, satirist and dramatist. Adamss contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academys Hall of Fame, a posthumous collection of his works, including an unfinished novel, was published as The Salmon of Doubt in 2002. Adams was known as an advocate for environmentalism and conservation, as a lover of fast cars, cameras, technological innovation and the Apple Macintosh, Adams was born on 11 March 1952 to Janet and Christopher Douglas Adams in Cambridge, England. The following year in 1953, Watson and Crick famously first modelled DNA at Cambridge University, the family moved to East London a few months after his birth, where his sister, Susan, was born three years later. His parents divorced in 1957, Douglas, Susan, and their mother moved to an RSPCA animal shelter in Brentwood, Essex, Adams attended Primrose Hill Primary School in Brentwood. At nine, he passed the exam for Brentwood School, an independent school whose alumni include Robin Day, Jack Straw, Noel Edmonds. Griff Rhys Jones was a year below him, and he was in the class as Stuckist artist Charles Thomson. He attended the school from 1959 to 1964, then the main school until December 1970. Adams was six feet tall by age 12 and stopped growing at 6 ft 5 in and his form master, Frank Halford, said of him, Hundreds of boys have passed through the school but Douglas Adams really stood out from the crowd — literally. He was unnecessarily tall and in his short trousers he looked a trifle self-conscious, the form-master wouldnt say Meet under the clock tower, or Meet under the war memorial, he joked, but Meet under Adams. Yet it was his ability to write stories that really made him shine. He became the student ever to be awarded a ten out of ten by Halford for creative writing, something he remembered for the rest of his life. He also designed the cover of one issue of the Broadsheet, and had a letter and short story published nationally in The Eagle, in it, Adams rhymes futile with mute, while and exhausted with of course did. On the strength of an essay on religious poetry that discussed the Beatles and William Blake, he was awarded an Exhibition in English at St Johns College, Cambridge. He wanted to join the Footlights, an invitation-only student comedy club that has acted as a hothouse for comic talent, despite doing very little work—he recalled having completed three essays in three years—he graduated in 1974 with a B. A. in English literature. After leaving university Adams moved back to London, determined to break into TV, an edited version of the Footlights Revue appeared on BBC2 television in 1974. A version of the Revue performed live in Londons West End led to Adams being discovered by Monty Pythons Graham Chapman, the two formed a brief writing partnership, earning Adams a writing credit in episode 45 of Monty Python for a sketch called Patient Abuse. He is one of two people outside the original Python members to get a writing credit
5.
The Jetsons
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It was Hanna-Barberas Space Age counterpart to The Flintstones. It debuted as the first program broadcast in color on ABC-TV, in contrast, The Flintstones, while always produced in color, was broadcast in black-and-white for its first two seasons. Following its primetime run, the show aired on Saturday mornings for decades, starting on ABC for the 1963–64 season and then on CBS, New episodes were produced for syndication from 1985 to 1987. No further specials or episodes of the show were produced after 1989 due to the deaths of stars George OHanlon and Mel Blanc. The 1990 film Jetsons, The Movie served as the finale to the television show until 27 years later. The Jetsons are a family residing in Orbit City, the citys architecture is rendered in the Googie style, and all homes and businesses are raised high above the ground on adjustable columns. Housekeeping is seen to by a maid, Rosie, which handles chores not otherwise rendered trivial by the homes numerous push-button Space Age-envisioned conveniences. The family has a dog named Astro, that like Scooby Doo talks with a consonant mutation in which every word begins with an R. George Jetsons workweek is typical of his era, an hour a day and his boss is Cosmo Spacely, the bombastic owner of Spacely Space Sprockets. Spacely has a competitor, Mr. Cogswell, owner of the rival company Cogswell Cogs, Jetson commutes to work in an aerocar that resembles a flying saucer with a transparent bubble top. Daily life is leisurely, assisted by numerous labor-saving devices, which break down with humorous results. Despite this, everyone complains of exhausting hard labor and difficulties living with the remaining inconveniences, George Jetson, age 40, is the main character and protagonist of the series. He is a family man who always seems to make the wrong decisions. He works at Spacelys Sprockets turning the Referential Universal Digital Indexer on and he is married to Jane and together they have two children, Judy and Elroy. Jane Jetson, claims age 33, but has a 40-year old husband, Jane is Georges wife, mother of their two children, and a homemaker. Jane is obsessed with fashion and new gadgetry and her favorite store is Mooning Dales. She is a wife who always tries to make life as pleasant as possible for her family. Outside of the home, she is a member of the Galaxy Women Historical Society and is a fan of Leonardo de Venus, Judy Jetson, age 16, is the elder child in the Jetson family
6.
Hanna-Barbera
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Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated American television animation for over three decades in the mid 20th century. In late 1966, it was sold to Taft Broadcasting and spent two decades as its subsidiary and it is officially considered the very first major animation studio to successfully produce cartoons exclusively for television. For their achievements, Hanna and Barbera together won seven Academy Awards, eight Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, the pair was also inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1993. Hanna-Barberas fortunes declined in the mid-1980s when the profitability of Saturday morning cartoons was eclipsed by weekday afternoon syndication, in late 1991, the animation studio was purchased from Taft by Turner Broadcasting System, who used much of its back catalog to program its new channel, Cartoon Network. After Turner purchased the company, Hanna and Barbera continued to serve as creative consultants, Turner merged with Time Warner in 1996 and the studio became a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Animation, into which Hanna-Barbera was absorbed after Hanna died in 2001, Cartoon Network Studios continued the projects for the channels output. Barbera went on to work for Warner Bros, Animation until his death in 2006. As of 2017, the studio exists as a unit used to market properties and productions associated with the Hanna-Barbera library. Melrose, New Mexico native William Hanna and New York City-born of Italian heritage Joseph Barbera first met while working at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio in 1939. Their first directorial production and collaboration was the Academy Award-nominated Puss Gets the Boot, Hanna and Barbera served as directors of the shorts for over 20 years, with Barbera in charge of the stories and pre-production and Hanna in charge of supervising the animation. Hanna also provided the screams, yelps and yells for Tom Cat, in addition to the series being nominated for twelve more Oscars, seven of the cartoons won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject between 1943 and 1953. The trophies were awarded to their producer Fred Quimby, who was not involved in the development of the shorts. In addition to their work on the cartoons, the two men moonlighted on outside projects, including the title sequences and commercials for the CBS sitcom I Love Lucy. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer decided in early 1957 to close its cartoon studio, as it felt it had acquired a reasonable backlog of shorts for re-release, Hanna and Barbera, contemplating their future while completing the final Tom and Jerry cartoons, began producing animated TV commercials. During their last year at MGM, they developed a concept for an animated TV program about a dog, a coin toss determined that Hanna would have precedence in the naming the new studio. Harry Cohn, president and head of Columbia Pictures, took an 18 percent ownership in Hanna and Barberas new company, H-B Enterprises, Screen Gems became the new studios distributor and its licensing agent, handling merchandizing of the characters from the animated programs. Sidney and several Screen Gems alumni became members of the board of directors. H-B Enterprises was one of the first American cartoon studios to produce cartoons specifically for TV broadcast
7.
Unidentified flying object
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An unidentified flying object, or UFO, in its most general definition, is any apparent anomaly in the sky that is not identifiable as a known object or phenomenon. Culturally, UFOs are associated with claims of visitation by extraterrestrial life or government-related conspiracy theories, UFOs are often identified after their sighting. Sometimes, however, UFOs cannot be identified because of the low quality of evidence related to their sightings, during the late 1940s and through the 1950s, UFOs were often referred to popularly as flying saucers or flying discs. The term UFO became more widespread during the 1950s, at first in technical literature, UFOs garnered considerable interest during the Cold War, an era associated with a heightened concern for national security. Various studies have concluded that the phenomenon does not represent a threat to national security nor does it contain anything worthy of scientific pursuit, the Oxford English Dictionary defines a UFO as An unidentified flying object, a flying saucer. The first published book to use the word was authored by Donald E. Keyhoe, the acronym UFO was coined by Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, who headed Project Blue Book, then the USAFs official investigation of UFOs. He wrote, Obviously the term flying saucer is misleading when applied to objects of every conceivable shape, for this reason the military prefers the more general, if less colorful, name, unidentified flying objects. Other phrases that were used officially and that predate the UFO acronym include flying flapjack, flying disc, unexplained flying discs, unidentifiable object, the phrase flying saucer had gained widespread attention after the summer of 1947. On June 24, a pilot named Kenneth Arnold reported seeing nine objects flying in formation near Mount Rainier. Arnold timed the sighting and estimated the speed of discs to be over 1,200 mph, at the time, he claimed he described the objects flying in a saucer-like fashion, leading to newspaper accounts of flying saucers and flying discs. In popular usage, the term UFO came to be used to refer to claims of alien spacecraft, between 5% and 20% of reported sightings are not explained, and therefore can be classified as unidentified in the strictest sense. The term Ufology is used to describe the efforts of those who study reports. UFOs have become a prevalent theme in culture, and the social phenomena have been the subject of academic research in sociology and psychology. Unexplained aerial observations have been reported throughout history, an example is Halleys Comet, which was recorded first by Chinese astronomers in 240 BC and possibly as early as 467 BC. Such sightings throughout history often were treated as supernatural portents, angels, or other religious omens. On January 25,1878, the Denison Daily News printed an article in which John Martin, Martin, according to the newspaper account, said it appeared to be about the size of a saucer, the first known use of the word saucer in association with a UFO. In April 1897, thousands of people reported seeing airships in various parts of the United States, scores of people even reported talking to the pilots. Thomas Edison was asked his opinion, and said, You can take it from me that it is a pure fake, the largest had an apparent size of about six Suns, he said
8.
Bernard Quatermass
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Professor Bernard Quatermass is a fictional scientist, originally created by the writer Nigel Kneale for BBC Television. An intelligent and highly moral British scientist, Quatermass is a pioneer of the British space programme and he continually finds himself confronting sinister alien forces that threaten to destroy humanity. The role of Quatermass was featured in three influential BBC science fiction serials of the 1950s, and again in a serial for Thames Television in 1979. A remake of the first serial appeared on BBC Four in 2005, the character also appeared in films, on the radio and in print over a fifty-year period. Kneale picked the characters surname from a London telephone directory. The character of Quatermass has been described by BBC News Online as Britains first television hero, remained a modern Mr Standfast, the one fixed point in an increasingly dreadful and ever-shifting universe. In 2005, an article in The Daily Telegraph suggested, You can see a line running through him and he shares elements with Sherlock Holmes and Ellen MacArthur. Little is revealed of Quatermasss early life during the course of the films, in The Quatermass Experiment, he at one point despairs that he should have stuck to his original career as a surveyor. In Nigel Kneales 1996 radio serial The Quatermass Memoirs, it is revealed that the Professor was first involved in experiments in the 1930s. According to The Quatermass Memoirs, during World War II Quatermass conducted top secret work for the British war effort, which he subsequently refused ever to discuss. By 1953 Quatermass is the head of the British Experimental Rocket Group, although Quatermass succeeds in launching a three-man crew, the rocket vastly overshoots its projected orbit and returns to Earth much later than planned, crash-landing in London. Despite this trauma, Quatermass continues with his programme, now called the British Rocket Group. In this serial we see his daughter, Paula Quatermass, who works as an assistant at the Rocket Group, but there is no sign of a wife or other children. In the fourth episode of the serial he mentions that he never reached his twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, tying in with The Quatermass Memoirs later assertion of his wifes early death. At the beginning of the serial, Quatermass and the Pit, Quatermasss funding is being cut back. It is not clear what happens to the Rocket Group immediately after this and he has recently become the guardian of his teenaged granddaughter Hettie after her parents were killed in a road accident in Germany. After Hettie runs away home, he travels to London in search of her. He presses the button to detonate it himself, with Hetties help, Kneale initially named his leading character Professor Charlton, but during the writing process decided he wanted something more striking and memorable
9.
Science fiction
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Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations, and has been called a literature of ideas. Science fiction is difficult to define, as it includes a range of subgenres and themes. Author and editor Damon Knight summed up the difficulty, saying science fiction is what we point to when we say it, a definition echoed by author Mark C. Glassy, who argues that the definition of science fiction is like the definition of pornography, you do not know what it is, in 1970 or 1971William Atheling Jr. According to science fiction writer Robert A, rod Serlings definition is fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science fiction is the improbable made possible, Science fiction is largely based on writing rationally about alternative possible worlds or futures. Science fiction elements include, A time setting in the future, in alternative timelines, a spatial setting or scenes in outer space, on other worlds, or on subterranean earth. Characters that include aliens, mutants, androids, or humanoid robots, futuristic or plausible technology such as ray guns, teleportation machines, and humanoid computers. Scientific principles that are new or that contradict accepted physical laws, for time travel, wormholes. New and different political or social systems, e. g. utopian, dystopian, post-scarcity, paranormal abilities such as mind control, telepathy, telekinesis Other universes or dimensions and travel between them. A product of the budding Age of Reason and the development of science itself. Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan considered Keplers work the first science fiction story and it depicts a journey to the Moon and how the Earths motion is seen from there. Later, Edgar Allan Poe wrote a story about a flight to the moon, more examples appeared throughout the 19th century. Wells The War of the Worlds describes an invasion of late Victorian England by Martians using tripod fighting machines equipped with advanced weaponry and it is a seminal depiction of an alien invasion of Earth. In the late 19th century, the scientific romance was used in Britain to describe much of this fiction. This produced additional offshoots, such as the 1884 novella Flatland, the term would continue to be used into the early 20th century for writers such as Olaf Stapledon. In the early 20th century, pulp magazines helped develop a new generation of mainly American SF writers, influenced by Hugo Gernsback, the founder of Amazing Stories magazine. In 1912 Edgar Rice Burroughs published A Princess of Mars, the first of his series of Barsoom novels, situated on Mars
10.
Jim Nabors
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James Thurston Jim Nabors is a retired American actor and singer. Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Nabors moved to southern California because of his asthma, while working at a Santa Monica nightclub, The Horn, he was discovered by Andy Griffith and later joined The Andy Griffith Show, playing Gomer Pyle. Nabors and Ron Howard are the last surviving regular male cast members from that series, the character proved popular, and Nabors was given his own spin-off show, Gomer Pyle, U. S. M. C. Though known for his portrayal of Gomer Pyle, Nabors became a popular guest on variety shows in the 1960s and 1970s and he subsequently recorded numerous albums and singles, most of them containing romantic ballads. Nabors is also known for singing Back Home Again in Indiana, prior to the start of the Indianapolis 500, except for a few absences due to health or other conflicts, Nabors sang the unofficial Indiana anthem every year from 1972 until his final time in 2014. Nabors was born to Mavis and Fred Nabors in Sylacauga, Alabama, where he sang for his school and church. He attended the University of Alabama, where he began acting in skits, while at Alabama, he became a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity. Because of his asthma, Nabors moved to Los Angeles and worked as a cutter for NBC. He also worked at a Santa Monica tavern, The Horn and his act featured him as a character similar to the Gomer Pyle character he later portrayed, he sang in a baritone and sometimes spoke in his higher-pitched comedic voice. At the club, comedian Bill Dana saw Nabors act and invited him to appear on The Steve Allen Show, Nabors signed on to the show, but it was soon canceled. It was at The Horn where Nabors was discovered by Andy Griffith and was hired to play a role of Gomer Pyle. The show, which placed Nabors bungling, naive character opposite Sergeant Vince Carter, was also popular, Nabors resigned from Gomer Pyle, U. S. M. C. After five seasons—prompting producers Aaron Ruben and Sheldon Leonard to ask CBS to cancel it—because he desired to move to something else, most of the songs were romantic ballads, though he sang pop, gospel, and country songs as well. The climactic vocal performance on Gomer Pyle, U. S. M. C. Came in an episode titled The Show Must Go On, aired November 3,1967, in which Pyle sang The Impossible Dream in Washington, D. C. at a U. S. Navy relief show, accompanied by the Marine Corps Band. He hosted a variety show, The Jim Nabors Hour, which featured his Gomer Pyle co-stars Ronnie Schell, despite a poor critical reception, the show was popular. After the cancellation of The Jim Nabors Hour, Nabors embarked on a nationwide roadshow, typecast from his role as Gomer Pyle, Nabors found his subsequent roles mostly comedic. In a 1973 episode of The Rookies, he played his first serious role, also in 1973, Nabors sang The Star-Spangled Banner before Game One of the Major League Baseball World Series
11.
Robin Williams
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Robin McLaurin Williams was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Starting as a comedian in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. After rising to fame as Mork in Mork & Mindy, Williams established a career in both comedy and feature film acting. He was known for his improvisational skills, Doubtfire, Jumanji, The Birdcage, Night at the Museum, and Worlds Greatest Dad. Williams won the 1997 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as teacher Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting and he also received two Emmy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and five Grammy Awards throughout his career. On August 11,2014, Williams committed suicide by hanging at his home in Paradise Cay and his wife attributed his suicide to his struggle with Lewy body dementia. Robin McLaurin Williams was born at St. Lukes Hospital in Chicago and his father Robert Fitzgerald Williams was a senior executive in Ford Motor Companys Lincoln-Mercury Division. His mother Laurie McLaurin was a model from Jackson, Mississippi. Her paternal great-grandfather was Mississippi senator and governor Anselm J. McLaurin, Williams had two elder half-brothers named Robert and McLaurin. He had English, Welsh, Irish, Scottish, German, while his mother was a practitioner of Christian Science, Williams was raised in the Episcopal Church, where his father belonged. Williams wrote a list, Top Ten Reasons to be an Episcopalian, during a TV interview on Inside the Actors Studio in 2001, Williams credited his mother as being an important early influence for his sense of humor. He also said that he tried to make her laugh to gain attention, Williams attended public elementary school in Lake Forest at Gorton Elementary School and middle school at Deer Path Junior High School. He described himself as a quiet and shy child who did not overcome his shyness until he became involved with his school drama department. His friends recall him as being very funny, in late 1963, when Williams was twelve, his father was transferred to Detroit. The family lived in a 40-room farmhouse on 20 acres in suburban Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and he excelled in school, where he was on the schools soccer team and wrestling team, and was elected as class president. As his father traveled frequently for work and his also worked, Williams was attended to by the familys maid. When Williams was 16, his father took early retirement and the moved to Tiburon. Following their move, Williams attended Redwood High School in nearby Larkspur, at the time of his graduation in 1969, he was voted Most Likely Not to Succeed and Funniest by his classmates
12.
My Favorite Martian
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My Favorite Martian is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29,1963, to May 1,1966, for 107 episodes. The show starred Ray Walston as Uncle Martin and Bill Bixby as Tim OHara, john L. Green created the central characters and developed the core format of this series, which was produced by Jack Chertok. A human-looking extraterrestrial in a one-man spaceship crash-lands near Los Angeles, the ships pilot is, in fact, an anthropologist from Mars and is now stranded on Earth. Tim OHara, a newspaper reporter for The Los Angeles Sun, is on his way home from Edwards Air Force Base back to Los Angeles when he spots the spaceship coming down. The rocket-powered aircraft had hit the spaceship and caused it to crash. Tim takes the Martian in as his roommate and passes him off as his Uncle Martin. Uncle Martin refuses to reveal any of his Martian traits to people other than Tim, to avoid publicity, louis in 1849 and the early days of Hollywood, and brings Leonardo da Vinci and Jesse James into the present. Another device he builds is a separator that can take apart the molecules of a physical object. Another device can take memories and store them in form to relearn them later. Other devices create temporary duplicates, or levitate Martin and others without the need of his finger, Tim and Uncle Martin live in a garage apartment owned by a congenial but scatterbrained landlady, Mrs. Lorelei Brown, who often shows up when not wanted. She and Martin have a romance from time to time. She later dates a vain, cold-hearted, plain-clothes police officer, Detective Bill Brennan, the first two seasons were filmed in black-and-white, but the final season was shot in color, resulting in minor changes in the set and the format of the show. Brennans boss, the chief, was involved in many episodes in the third season. In its first season, My Favorite Martian did extremely well in the Nielsen ratings, however, by the end of the second season the show had dipped to #24. Still, the series was doing enough to be renewed for a third season. Ratings dipped even further in the season due to redundant stories, usually involving Martins time machine. Martin OHaras real name is Exigius 12½, revealed in We Love You, Mrs. Pringle, it was heard again when his real nephew, Andromeda, crash-landed on Earth in the shows third season. Andromeda, originally devised to bring viewers to the aging show
