Gerry Oswald

**Gerry Oswald** (1897-1985), born in East Troy, Heya, was a leading executive of both Jumbo Entertainment and its parent company Prime Entertainment, being worth hundreds of millions throughout his career. He is most well-known for creating, directing, producing, and writing many children's cartoons and sitcoms, some of which would become among the most popular forms of media and continue to run long after his death. He especially became a household name after he starred as the main character in his own live action fantasy show, The Gerry Oswald Show (1956-1984), where he would teach kids valuable lessons, talk about life experiences, interact with other well-known people and characters, and expand on his reputation as a friendly, optimistic person. In his last years, he donated a significant amount of his net worth to help build the largest foster academy ever built, in Troy, Heya, only 25 minutes from where he was born. The Gerry Oswald Foster Academy, named after him for funding most of the project, would house 30,000 foster children, and funded by the state, would continue serving large amounts of children who have yet to be adopted, providing them with education, housing, free food, entertainment, and indoor parks, pools, and recreation.

## Career

### Shell Shocked! (1944-1956, 1962-1968, 1975-1982, 1989-2018)

Shell Shocked!, created by Brett and Nancy Gerarden, featured a group of crabs who would learn to solve problems and teach lessons in an underwater environment, as well as added slapstick humor. Oswald began as a writer for this show, previously a technical producer of many other shows under Jumbo and Prime Entertainment studios, but worked his way up to executive producer by the third season, and in the 1950's, with the departure of the Gerarden's, he served as the showrunner for the peak of its popularity. The show was abruptly cancelled in 1956 due to budget issues, but would be rebooted several times with Oswald continuing his role as executive producer and showrunner until his death.

### Breakfast at the Beach (1950-1968)

The show was greenlit after Oswald submitted his ideas and blueprint to the Jumbo/Prime executives, granting Oswald his first individual cartoon project. Breakfast at the Beach featured a middle-class family on the shores of Heatsville, selling breakfast items at the beach. The show taught a numerous number of subjects, including hygiene, food, animal species, oceans, aquatic life, and different cultures. The show became very popular, and had expressed positivity from critics over its progressiveness and inclusivity with other cultures and heritages.

### Time Bandits (1952-1994, 2004-2028)

Time Bandits was another side-project of Oswald's, co-creating the show with Ben Afrodo and sketching up the characters, scenes, and premises together. Time Bandits made its debut in 1952, and quickly became Jumbo's most popular kids show, with hundreds of millions of parents tuning in to each new episode every weekend at its peak. The show was a cartoon drama, featuring characters Ben, Freddie, and June, who faced a series of criminals who used time travel to assist in their crimes. The show would teach kids about other countries cultures, as the trio and their dog would explore these places and explain certain times in history to children, educating them on important events in history while providing with suspense and drama. The show would air many episodes, and receive mass praise from critics and high viewership ratings for its entire run, becoming one of the most popular children's franchises in modern Heyan history.