Gene London facts for kids

Gene London (born Eugene Norman Yulish, June 9, 1931 – January 19, 2020) was an American TV star and fashion designer. He was best known for creating and hosting a popular children's TV show called Cartoon Corners. This show was also known as The Gene London Show. It aired on WCAU Channel 10 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1959 to 1977. Many kids in the Mid-Atlantic part of the U.S. watched it.

On his show, Gene London would sit with a big sketchbook in front of his young audience. He would sing "The Land of Let's Pretend." Then, he would tell stories from famous authors like Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm. As he told the tales, he would draw pictures from the stories.

Gene London's Early Life and Dreams

Gene London was born Eugene Yulish in Cleveland, Ohio. His parents, Isadore and Minna Yulish, were immigrants from Russia. The family later moved to Miami Beach, Florida. There, his father opened a very successful supermarket. For a while, the family became quite wealthy.

Gene and his brothers, Stanley, Morton, and Charles, often entertained themselves. Their father was busy with his store, and their mother had many social duties. Gene loved comedy shows and pretending to be different characters. He enjoyed stories about historical figures like Marie Antoinette. He also loved literature, mythology, and Walt Disney cartoons. Gene was a very imaginative child. He once said that he would act out all the parts of a story by himself.

However, his father's supermarket business did not last. A larger store, A&P, opened nearby. Gene London said in 1974 that his family "lost everything" because of this.

Starting a Career in Entertainment

As a teenager, Gene London began to work. He was a counselor at Summerdale Day Camp near Philadelphia. There, he taught arts, crafts, and puppetry. He also worked on TV shows like NBC-TV's Hi Mom! with Shari Lewis. He was even a cast member on the puppet show Johnny Jupiter, playing Re-ject the Robot.

At age seventeen, he moved to New York City. He hoped to become a more successful entertainer there. In New York, he changed his name to Gene London. He also had some cosmetic surgery to improve his appearance. He then became a puppeteer on Herb Sheldon's children's TV shows on WABD-TV.

In 1957, Gene London took over as host of WABC-TV's Tinker's Workshop. He played "Tinker Tom, the Toymaker." He presented the character as a friendly big brother. He hosted the show until mid-1958. He left after a disagreement with the TV station's management. In 1959, he also appeared on special holiday episodes of NBC-TV's Today Show with host Dave Garroway.

The Gene London Show: A Look Back

Gene London's famous children's show had a few different names at first. These included Gene London's Cartoons & Stuff and The Wonderful World of Gene London. The show eventually became known as Cartoon Corners. Each episode began with Gene London singing his theme song. He would greet the children in his live audience as he walked onto the set. The set looked like a General store where he worked for a boss named Mr. Dibley. Mr. Dibley was a bit grumpy and only paid Gene a tiny amount of money.

Gene would flip the "Closed" sign to "Open for Business." Then, he would invite the children into the store. The store was next to a confetti factory. Gene made the dull store exciting. He was a talented artist and storyteller. He used a large drawing pad to illustrate scenes from the stories he told. The children would sit around him and listen. The show had a small budget, but Gene used his imagination to make it special. He pretended he had a magic golden fleece to help him. He and his cast performed clever versions of classic stories and Greek mythology. They taught kids to use their own imaginations. The show also featured cartoons from Disney and other artists.

The show first aired in black and white. In the winter of 1966, it began broadcasting in color.

New Stories and Adventures

In the early years, Gene London's character had a crush on Debbie Dibley, his boss's daughter. This storyline later ended when Debbie supposedly moved to Hollywood. Gene then introduced a new imaginary place for the show. It was a haunted house called Quigley Mansion. This mansion was next door to the general store and could be reached through a secret tunnel. In reality, Quigley Mansion was just a model. But Gene made the stories about ghosts, UFOs, and aliens so real that they became very popular. During this time, the show also featured public service programs from CBS. In these, Gene played a reporter trying to get more kids to read the newspaper.

In August 1967, a group of Brownies visited Philadelphia from Girardville, Pennsylvania. They came to be part of two episodes of the show. Before filming, Gene London gave them a tour of the studio. He showed them the sets and taught them about how the show was made. That same summer, Gene London also performed for a large audience at the Boscov's department store in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

That year, Gene London also created a special called "A Gene London Christmas Special." It was filmed in color at the Camelback Ski Lodge in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. It also featured scenes from Valley Forge Chapel. Gene narrated "Why the Chimes Rang." A choir from Philadelphia sang Christmas carols. This thirty-minute special aired on WCAU-TV on December 23, 1967.

Awards and Recognition

In 1961, Gene London's TV show won the Radio-TV Mirror Gold Medal. It was named one of "the Best Children's Programs on Television." In 1962, the Philadelphia Society of Clinical Psychologists praised his show. This was for its "News for Children" segments. The program also won a Freedoms Foundation Award.

By the 1970s, Gene London was a very successful TV performer. He even taught a class at The New School for Social Research in New York City. This course was about "the genius of Walt Disney."

Gene London: Fashion Designer

After Cartoon Corners ended, Gene London moved to New York City. He then started a new career in the fashion industry as a dress designer. Until 2001, he owned a retro clothes shop called 'Gene London: The Fan Club' in Manhattan. In later years, Gene London became a fashion consultant for Hollywood and Broadway. He also spoke for the Mikimoto jewelry brand. As a hobby, Gene London collected costumes worn by movie stars. He gathered about 60,000 gowns, dresses, and fashion accessories.

In July 2002, when he was 71, Gene London showed over 50 pieces from his Hollywood gown collection. This exhibit was called "Gene London Presents: Hollywood Glamour." It took place at the Showboat Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. On May 17, 2003, he displayed his gowns again. This was for the 80th anniversary of the Old Academy Players in Philadelphia. The exhibit included a deep red dress worn by actress Grace Kelly. She wore it in the Oscar-winning film The Country Girl (1954).

On October 3, 2009, the Reading Public Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania, opened "The Magic of Hollywood: the Gene London Costume Collection." This exhibit featured more than 100 gowns and costumes.

Gene London's Legacy

On November 20, 2009, Gene London was honored. He was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia's Hall of Fame. This recognized his important contributions to television.

Personal Life

Gene London married his partner of 39 years, John Thomas, in 2016. They had homes in Reading, Pennsylvania, and Florida.

Gene London passed away on January 19, 2020. He was 88 years old. He died in Reading, Pennsylvania, after a fall.