Two powerful couples, one in entertainment, one in politics, have joined forces this summer as TV producers Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason guide Bill and Hillary Clinton to what they all hope will be the White House.
Until the Democratic National Convention, where the Thomasons unveiled their movie about Clinton, "A Man From Hope," the Arkansas natives were little more than a blip on the Clinton campaign screen.Now Bloodworth-Thomason, 44, and Thomason, 51, creators of the CBS-TV shows, "Designing Women" and "Evening Shade," have emerged as astute architects of the Clinton dream.
But the Thomasons, both of whom were born in small Arkansas towns like Bill Clinton, say they are helping their old friend because they share his dreams - and his roots.
"Bill's life is a compelling story of an All-American kid who overcame a lot of adversity because he had a dream of becoming a part of something bigger than himself," Bloodworth-Thomason said. "The way he grew up and the way we grew up is not the way most kids grow up anymore."
As a child growing up in Arkansas, Bloodworth-Thomason dreamed of becoming a writer. Her husband wanted to be a filmmaker. They met in Hollywood. But their marriage made them treasure their Arkansas childhoods.
"We all had such a good group of parents," said Harry Thomason. "We really believed that one of us could be president. We didn't know what it was like out there. Hey, if I'd known how hard it was to go into filmmaking, I never would have done it."
While Bloodworth-Thomason worked until 5 a.m. the week before the convention editing the film, Thomason was in New York putting the finishing touches on the Clintons' appearance at the convention.
Thomason dreamed up the dramatic moment at the convention when the Clintons walked from Macy's into Madison Square Garden in a surprise appearance the day before the nomination.
The Thomasons have been the Hollywood muscle behind the Clinton campaign. Harry Thomason helped produce Clinton's 30-minute campaign "infomercials" and even leases Clinton planes from his charter company.
Thomason is no stranger to politics. His first filmmaking job was shooting a TV commercial for an Arkansas gubernatorial candidate in 1970.
But the bond between the Thomasons and the Clintons runs deep. That bond, said Bloodworth-Thomason, is Arkansas.
The Clintons give as well as receive when it comes to the Thomasons. Hillary Clinton came up with the name "Evening Shade," after a real Arkansas town, for the Thomasons' show.
Mrs. Clinton is also chairman of the Claudia Company, an organization founded by Bloodworth-Thomason, and named after her mother, that provides college scholarships for Arkansas women.
When the Thomasons were about to be ousted as producers of "Designing Women" after a much-publicized flap with former star Delta Burke, Bill Clinton spoke to a Sony Pictures executive on their behalf. The Thomasons stayed and Burke left instead.
Bloodworth-Thomason said that kind of Southern grit and loyalty stem from the humble childhoods she, her husband and Bill Clinton shared. Her memories sound as if they came from one of her scripts.
Bloodworth-Thomason is the granddaughter of C.T. Bloodworth, one-time chairman of the state Republican Party. She was born in Arkansas but her family was forced to move 30 miles away to Poplar Bluff, Mo. when she was a child because her grandfather was shot by a member of the Arkansas Ku Klux Klan.
Both her grandfather and Clinton's grandfather left school after the sixth grade, she said. Her grandfather studied to become a lawyer on his own. When he died, she said, he left her his entire book collection. "He's the reason I'm a writer," she said.
Thomason grew up in southern Arkansas. He was a high school athletic coach until he decided to realize his own dream to become a filmmaker. He went to the local library and checked out a book on the subject.
The Thomasons, who met in Hollywood and married in 1983, have a house in Little Rock and socialize with the Clintons.