Recently
I got an email from a Pinwheel fan who had a few questions for Mr. George James
who played “Jake” on Pinwheel. He asked if I would mind forwarding them to him and
of course I didn’t. After Mr. George sent back the answers I asked if I could
please blog the interview and was given consent.
So,
with that I would like to say a huge thank you to Nic Nagel for allowing me to
post this interview.
Re:
Fan Questions
George
James
Today,
(Monday, December 4, 2017) at 3:03 PM
Dear
Peggy Sue and Nic,
How
great it is to have people like you continue to show interest in Pinwheel. It
validates the idea that people were moved, involved and positively affected by
the show; which was the hope of all who took part in creating Pinwheel.
Nic
I hope that I can answer your excellent questions to your satisfaction.
1-How did he get to be on
Pinwheel?
This
could be a very long answer because I’m not sure where my road to Pinwheel
began. My parents exposed me to the magic of theatre and music and fostered in
me a love of people and of life of all types. I developed a passion for flexing
the imagination in pursuit of expressing thoughts and feelings, which I had no
lack of.
When
I first saw Sesame Street I immediately realized what a powerful vehicle for
presenting positive and informing ideas about the world children's television
had become.
It
was a time when children’s television was breaking new ground and creating
programming for children of all ages. A new idea had emerged that children’s
programming could and should entertain and inform everyone and play up to young
people rather than down. It was very exciting. At the time that all of this was
happening I was not involved in children’s programming, I was involved in
recording and record production, but the thoughts of what was happening in
children's television were ever present in my mind. And as luck would have it,
someone who knew someone who was looking for someone to join a team developing
a children’s show for the new and experimental initiative of creating
programming specifically for cable tv called me to audition.
I
auditioned and was hired by Warner Communications to be part of the Pinwheel
creation team as developer, music director, song writer and actor. I was
overjoyed!
I
hope that this explanation adds to the information that Peggy Sue has already
provided. If you want to know more specifics, I’ll be glad to answer.
2-Who was his favorite
character on the show?
Nic,
I’m sure you’re aware that the characters in the world of Pinwheel were by
design diverse. Each with their own particular charm and appeal. I grew to
appreciate the specialness of each of the characters and never considered which
one I liked best. Sal, Smitty and Kim were as sweet and lovable off set as they
were on camera. The brilliance of the puppet design and puppetry of Craig
Marin, Brad Williams and Olga Felgemacher (now Ola Marin) was always a source
of fascination and wonder. The artwork and puppetry of Jim Jinkins was as
fresh, clever and imaginative as it gets. What I’m getting at is that I held
everyone on the show in such high regard that picking one out as my favorite
would be difficult. I did like working with Minus thought.
3-What does he think of
Nickelodeon from the the 90's-now days? And did he think that Nickelodeon would
become this big when working for it?
We
had a saying between cast and crew that floated around the set which provided
much laughter as well as thought. It was “Life is change…how it differs from
the rocks”.
Of
course, we knew that rocks changed too but the point was made. What this meant
to many of us was that it was important to stay flexible and positive to the
prospect of and even the. inevitable of change. To resist change is stagnating,
to prepare for and initiate change is growth. I do regret that Pinwheel was not
given a chance to develop and grow, there was much more to be achieved. In the
early days of Pinwheel and Nickelodeon, although there were some rough edges, the
intentions and objectives of all involved were.
Heartfelt
and genuine. We knew that it was something new for television and we cared
deeply about what we were presenting to our audience. I am not that aware of
what Nickelodeon is like today, but I hope that some, if not all, of that
initial excitement and commitment is still present. I really had no idea how
big Nickelodeon would get, I don’t think that anyone did. But one did get a
sense of how big programming for cable tv was going to be. Although Pinwheel
aired into the 90’s we taped our last season in the mid 80’s in the infancy of
programming for cable tv.
4-Apparently in the shows
early years their where 3 more birds (besides Admiral) that came from Zintar.
Is this true?
The
Wonkles!
5-Does he have any funny
behind the scenes story's?
See
answer 3
6-If Pinwheel where to come
back would he return to his role as Jake?
If
Pinwheel came back and I was asked to be a part certainly I would, but I would
be different, Pinwheel House would be different, with hopefully the same
feeling from the heart!
Nic,
thanks for your great questions and for sharing the experience with me.
All
best,
George
“Jake” James
