This is a goofy art project that I designed in 2004 with my friend, commercial
artist Bill Bryan, to pay tribute to one of my heroes, Sonny Eliot. It hasn't
been online since Sonny's death in 2012. What Sonny liked best about the project
was that it included his beloved wife Annette, who passed away earlier this
year.
It's
a real craft project that you can print on your computer and assemble with a
minimum of skill, to bring back the days of Sonny and Annette Eliot hosting the
J.L. Hudson's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Here's
my little tribute to Sonny and Annette, the Sonny Eliot Thanksgiving TV
Topper!
Listen to Ed Golick
and Sonny Eliot tell the story of how the TV Topper came to be by clicking here.
Thanksgiving
was one of my favorite holidays when I was a kid. I loved the smell of turkey
basting in the oven, homemade pumpkin pies cooling on the kitchen table and of
course, the J.L Hudson Thanksgiving Day Parade, broadcast live on WWJ-TV,
Channel 4 in Detroit
Sitting on the living floor just inches in front of the 21 inch Philco, I
enjoyed watching the colorful marching bands, spectacular floats and balloons
flicker by on the screen. But my favorite part of the parade wasn’t a float or
balloon; it was the parade’s host, Sonny Eliot. For 90 minutes, Mr. Eliot’s
clever comments and amusing anecdotes tickled my 9-year-old funny bone in a way
that hasn’t been tickled since.
For nearly two decades Sonny, along with his wife the lovely Annette, hosted
the J.L. Hudson Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Sadly, the old Hudson’s building is long gone, the parade now has a new name
and corporate sponsors for every band, float and balloon, and Sonny and
Annette no longer host the parade.
But that doesn’t mean your Thanksgiving has to be “Sonny Free.” Created
exclusively for you by www.detroitkidshow.com,
I present … drum roll please… the Sonny Eliot Thanksgiving TV Topper!
With just a printer and a pair of scissors you can create an amazing 3D paper
facsimile of Sonny and Annette Eliot sitting in the WWJ-TV press box , to place
on top of your TV set on Thanksgiving day. And with a little imagination, Sonny
can once again reign on your parade!
To create your official Sonny Eliot Thanksgiving TV Topper you need to print
two pages, located here and here. Photo paper or card stock works best, but
regular paper will work just fine. If
you used to watch the parade in black and white, for a retro look you might try
printing your TV Topper using just black ink.
1. With a pair of scissors or X-acto knife, CAREFULLY cut out the anchor desk, WWJ
flag, microphones and Sonny and Annette. Then cut the slots labeled A thru H, on
the anchor desk.
2. Fold the anchor desk on the dotted lines, put tab A into slot A, and tab B into
slot B.
3.
Mount the WWJ flag in front of the desk by inserting tabs C and D into the
corresponding slots.
4. Mount Sonny and Annette to the desk (no
dirty comments, please) by inserting tabs
G and H into their corresponding slots.
5. Microphones E and F should be
placed in their stands on the desk.
Place
your completed Sonny Eliot Thanksgiving TV Topper on your television set, step
back and be proud. And in the immortal words of Sonny Eliot, “As we go through life we
must remember that one good turn --- gets most of the blanket.” Happy
Holidays!