Family Classics

Family Classics
The set of Family Classics and host Frazier Thomas.
Genre	Classic Films
Created by	Fred Silverman and Frazier Thomas
Presented by	Frazier Thomas Roy Leonard
Theme music composer	Dennis Berry
Opening theme	"Moviescope"
Ending theme	"Moviescope"
Country of origin	US
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	38
No. of episodes	971
Release
Original network	WGN-TV
Original release	September 1962 (1962-09) – December 2000 (2000-12)

Family Classics is a Chicago television series which began in 1962 when Frazier Thomas was added to another program at WGN-TV. Thomas not only hosted classic films but also selected the titles and personally edited them to remove those scenes which he thought were not fit for family viewing. After Thomas' death in 1985, Roy Leonard took over the program. The series continued sporadically until its cancellation in 2000. A few props from the Family Classics set are on exhibit at Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications.

In 1962, Fred Silverman, then a WGN-TV executive, conceived the idea of the show by scheduling classic family films at a prime time Friday night position rather than a late show slot where children wouldn't see them. The show was a huge ratings success and inspired the networks to schedule recently released films in prime time. When the networks began showing first run films in prime time, the show was rescheduled to Sunday afternoons.

The theme music was a piece of library music recorded on the Berry/Conroy label, entitled Moviescope, and was written by Dennis Berry. The camera would slowly zoom in on the set designed by Thomas that resembled a study with a painting on the wall of Garfield Goose done by Roy Brown, a model sailing ship sitting on top of a shelf of books with the titles of the films to be shown that were repainted encyclopedias and dictionaries also done by Brown that Frazier would introduce.

Frazier Thomas died in 1985 therefore, any movie released after this date, was NOT part of the original Family Classics.