Today, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the nominees for the Daytime Emmy Awards. It’s the 33rd annual event, and this time around ‘Coconut Fred’s Fruit Salad Island’ was nominated for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program. The category is aptly named, because for me, the experience was indeed a special class. I felt like a freshman in high school some weeks as I struggled to learn how to produce a network program. My co-producer, Marge Dean, was surely serving as a coach, as was Executive Producer Sander Schwartz.

There were also several other ‘producers’ who aren’t listed in the credits. Christopher Keenan, who championed the show, is credited with Creative Development and Supervision, along with Kim Christianson. Together, they guided ‘Coconut Fred’ to the air. And Ray DeLaurentis, who is listed as Story Editor, and Matt Danner, who was the Supervising Director, were both as much Producers as I was. They’re each hysterical people without whom the show would have never made the air. Michael Diaz and Dana Cluverius each had the producer’s reigns over at the Kids’WB! network, and deserve a healthy share of the applause. Kathy Page actually WAS a producer – our Associate Producer, and she deserves a hand along with our dedicated Production Manager Eric Waldman is probably ABOUT TO BE a producer. And let’s not forget Sammy Oriti and Don Oriolo, who produced the original show pitch bible and served as consultants throughout the first season.

More thanks to Tim Iverson and Howard Schwartz for guiding me through my first production, and to Michael Donovan and Michael Hack for brilliant voice direction. And a giant thank you to Betsy McGowan for giving the show the green light and trusting our vision.

And this time I’m not going to forget the Flash animation crew. Tony Candelaria, Dominic DiJulio, Jennie Hoffer, Annette Huckell, Jason Jones and Damon O’Keefe all held down the WBA Flash farm, and the overseas teams had our back. Congrats to you all.

‘Coconut Fred’ was also nominated for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Live Action and Animation.’ Outstanding indeed – thanks Salami Studios! Thanks WBA Post Production! Thanks Will Anderson – your music rocks!

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