During the Thanksgiving season of 2000, my boys' Sunday School teacher asked if they could get me to help them make a Thanksgiving movie. I immediately came up with the idea to do a film with a big Turkey being chased by Pilgrims.

I came up with the name Tom Turkey. I found a crazy looking bird beak. I put together a tail, wings and feet for my turkey. I chose the song "Turkey in the Straw" for this film.

The movie starts out with two Pilgrims going hunting. Tom Turkey walks out from behind the bushes. (Yes I filmed part of the movie outdoors)

Tom Turkey takes off running when he sees the Pilgrims carrying guns. They chase him around the tree a couple of times and then into the house.

I did some silly cartoonish scenes where the Pilgrims chase Tom Turkey into different rooms. The crazy turkey then sneaks out of a different door.

One Pilgrim finds Tom Turkey and chases him down the hall. He points a gun at the turkey. Tom Turkey then pleads for his life, begging the Pilgrim not to shoot him. Suddenly, a little pig appears. I used my pig puppet, Hogwash, for this scene.

The next scene has the Pilgrims seated at the table with Tom Turkey as their guest. One of the Pilgrims opens the oven and pulls out a platter with the pig with an apple in his mouth.

The trio bow their heads to give thanks. The movie ends with a close up of Tom Turkey winking at the camera.

This was my one and only portrayal of Tom Turkey.

This page is dedicated to my friend, Becky Riley, who is afraid of turkeys. When she was a little girl, she was flogged by a big white turkey named Goober and has had a phobia of turkeys ever since. Needless to say, we all teased her mercilessly about thiswhen we found out.