‘FAT ALBERT’ COMEBACK STARTS CHRISTMAS EVE

‘FAT ALBERT’ COMEBACK STARTS CHRISTMAS EVE

LOS ANGELES (Wireless Flash) – Santa Claus isn’t the only fat guy who’ll visit your house Christmas Eve – so will Fat Albert. That’s because the 1977 Fat Albert Christmas Special will be aired for the first time in almost two decades this Christmas Eve on UPN. It could be the start of a Fat Albert comeback, since cartoon creator Bill Cosby is now reportedly making a live-action version of the series. That thrills animator Lou Scheimer, who helped Cosby create the series back in the 1970s and later created He-Man in the ’80s. Scheimer says he still gets Fat Albert fan letters but is happier that the show “...never received one letter of bigotry” despite being one of the first cartoons focused on African-Americans. There’s no word on when the new Fat Albert film will be completed, but Scheimer admits he’s been in talks to do some short animated segments for the flick.

Fri 12-21-01