Marlo Thomas’ ‘Free to Be’ Still Resonates

Nearly 30 years ago, actress Marlo Thomas set out to let children know that they were all “free to be you and me.”

In 1972, she produced a record album, “Free to Be ... You and Me,” which featured such enchanting tunes as “William’s Doll,” about a little boy who is teased because he wants a doll. The album spawned a best-selling companion book. And in 1974, Thomas brought her message to TV with “Marlo Thomas & Friends: Free to Be ... You and Me,” which aired on ABC. Through comedy sketches, music and animation, Thomas and other cast members--among them Alan Alda, Mel Brooks, Harry Belafonte and Roberta Flack--delivered various life lessons, like the fact that it was OK for boys to cry and that girls had a choice to either marry or be single.

*

This Friday, cable’s TV Land is presenting “Free to Be,” which won an Emmy as outstanding children’s special. Thomas recently discussed the show’s long-lasting appeal.

Question: Your niece, Dionne, was the inspiration for “Free to Be”?

Answer: She was about 3 or 4 [at the time]. They were selling the same books and things as when I was a little girl. I said to my sister, “Can’ t you come up with anything a little more progressive than ‘the prince comes and kisses you and everything is better’?” My sister said, “I can’t find it; see if you can find it.” I went to look and I was shocked. In fact, there were things even more stifling and oppressive that said boys are pilots and girls are stewardesses and boys are doctors and girls are nurses. I said I have to do something different. Then I got the idea to make a little record, because when I was growing up, my sister and I loved to listen to story records.

So we did that. Obviously, it hit a nerve. I think a lot of parents and aunts and uncles were looking for something different for their children.

Q: Why do you think “Free to Be” has endured the past three decades?

A: One of the reasons why it has lived so long and so strongly for so many generations is not only because the ideas are something that every child has to learn. Every kid has to learn who their role models are and that it’s OK to express your feelings and you shouldn’t be afraid and it’s a good idea to share the world and that people of all colors are your friends. Those are values that we need to learn as a child. Besides all of those strong values, [the project endures because of ] the people we rounded up--very gifted people like Mel Brooks, Sheldon Harnick, Ed Kleban, Mary Rodgers and Carl Reiner. These are Oscar-, Emmy-and Tony-winning people. Like all of their other work, it has a real life.

Q: Did the special run into any controversies?

A: The “William’s Doll” piece was very controversial. The network asked me to take that out and we said we couldn’t take it out, it is too strong a piece and so important for boys to know that it was OK to love a doll and cuddle a doll. How else were they going to know how to be loving and cuddly, which is certainly a part of growing up and becoming a whole person? I got so much mail from fathers on “It’s Alright to Cry.” In fact, one letter I received from a father who had a 2-year-old son said, “I wish I had ‘It’s Alright to Cry’ when I was growing up. I am going to play it every day for my son.” I will never forget that letter.

Q: Is it true that schools do their own productions of “Free to Be”?

A: When I was touring with the national company of “Six Degrees of Separation,” I was in many different cities and every city I went to I would receive a letter from a teacher asking if I could come see their production of “Free to Be.”

It’s quite exciting how creative [schools] are with it. One school sent me a photo album last year--they had done a “Free to Be” scrapbook. They were kids in the fourth grade and they had photographed everything free they saw. So they photographed things that were free you could eat and animals who are free and flowers. They also do graduations around “Free to Be.” Many people come up to me on the street and say, “I did ‘Free to Be’ at camp.” We did a Samuel French [publication] version for kids to do in school because there was such a big demand for it. We thought the sheet music and the book were enough but they wanted a play version, so we made that for them too.

Q: Did you get a lot of offers to adapt “Free to Be” for television after the album and book came out?

A: Oh, yes. We did it on ABC. They had wanted me to do it as a series

Q: Do you get a lot of people in their 30s coming up to you wanting to discuss “Free to Be”?

A: It’s mostly like 26-year-olds. I was told that Gwyneth Paltrow was on the Bravo series on the Actors Studio and somebody in the audience asked her what her inspiration was [growing up] and she said ‘Free to Be

Q: You must be excited about TV Land presenting “Free to Be.”

A: I am thrilled. It’s very sweet.

*

“Marlo Thomas & Friends: Free to Be ... You and Me” can be seen Friday at 8 p.m. and midnight on TV Land. The network has rated it TV-G (suitable for all ages).