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| Big Blue Marble | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Children's television program |
| Directed by |
|
| Theme music composer | Skip Redwine |
| Composers | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Henry Fownes |
| Producers | |
| Production company | The Blue Marble Company |
| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | September 21, 1974 (1974-09-21) – January 1, 1983 (1983-01-01) |
Big Blue Marble is a half-hourchildren's television program that was aired from 1974 to 1983 insyndication including onPBS television stations.[citation needed]
Distinctive content included stories about children around the world and a pen-pal club that encouraged intercultural communication. The name of the show referred to the appearance ofEarth as a giantmarble, popularized byThe Blue Marble, a famous photograph taken in December 1972 by the crew ofApollo 17.[1]
Each episode featured a segment about the real life of a boy and a girl, one American, the other foreign. The show also had occasional stories about world ecology. In addition there was a weekly segment in which a singingglobe "Bluey" invited viewers to writeletters to the show, often requests forpen pals. The address to send the letters was inSanta Barbara, California. The character was voiced by executive producerRobert Wiemer.
The program was funded byITT. Production personnel included creators Ken Snyder, Henry Fownes, and Robert Garrison, and later executive producer Robert Weimer, producerRick Berman (who later became producer for theStar Trek series), writersLynn Rogoff and directorsJoe Napolitano,Joseph Consentino, Tom Hurwitz, John McDonald, J.J. Linsalata, Pat Saunders, andIra Wohl. Robert Saidenberg was supervising producer, Peter Hammer supervising film editor and Dale Glickman post-production supervisor of the series late in its run.Paul Baillargeon composed much of the series' music and recruited Wiemer's youngest daughterWhitney Kershaw to sing "Get Closer", the closing theme for the second half of the series' run.
Weimer often rewarded staff members with the opportunity to pitch story ideas and direct segments of the series. As a result, many got their first chance to work in that capacity. Some children featured on the show who went on to high-profile careers includeTisha Campbell (actress/singer),France Joli (Canadian disco singer) andKevin Clash (prominent Muppet performer ofElmo onSesame Street). Before they were well known, actorsSarah Jessica Parker andKelly Reno were featured in dramatic segments in the series.
Each of the first 78 half-hour episodes produced during the original three years of production contained animated pieces sequences by Ron Campbell Films, Inc., executive produced and directed byRon Campbell, written by Cliff Roberts.
In 1974,A&M Records released an album of songs from the show, also titledBig Blue Marble (catalog no. SP-3401).
Big Blue Marble was syndicated to television stations throughout theUnited States andCanada.C/F International was the most recent rights holder to the series; that company folded in 2008.
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