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!