Free to Be... A Family is a television special hosted byMarlo Thomas broadcast on December 14, 1988.[1] It was a joint production of ABC andSoviet Union (three years before its dissolve) television. It was nominally a sequel to the popular 1974ABC Afterschool SpecialFree to Be... You and Me, also hosted by Thomas.[2] Among the performers on the 1988 show wereThe Muppets,Jon Bon Jovi,Penn and Teller,Carly Simon,Lily Tomlin, andRobin Williams.
After her husband, talk show hostPhil Donahue, hosted a series of U.S.–Soviet space-bridge telecasts throughout the '80s, Thomas decided that this kind of international understanding and cooperation should start at a much earlier age. "The purpose of the special was to emphasize the fact that kids in the U.S. and Russia are much the same and can relate to one another, in hopes of bringing peace between the nations."[3] Prior to the television special, there was a book, with contributions byChristopher Cerf among others, and a record album, both under the same title.[4]
It won the 1989Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program.[5]
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