Wooden toy train
"Thomas the Tank Engine" is a character created by the Rev. W. Awdry in "The Railway Series" of children's books, first published in the U.K. in 1945. In 1984 a television series called "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" was made, adding to the popularity of the characters. It was first broadcast in the United States in 1989. John W. Lee founded the company "Learning Curve Toys" in November 1992 with a wooden railway system called "Thomas & Friends" based on the Thomas the Tank Engine characters. This made the wooden toy trains even more popular than before. Learning Curve introduced some new designs for the track surface, such as the "Clickety Clack" rails patented 1995 and the newer tracks in 2002 with a relief to supply better traction grip for battery powered four wheel drive trains patented in 1998.
Dave Thomas (actor)
He wrote for, produced, and starred in "The Dave Thomas Comedy Show" (1990). In 1991, he starred in the Showtime comedy, "Public Enemy #2". In 1992, he tried his hand at reality TV and co-executive produced ABC's "America's Funniest People" with Vin Di Bona, but left after thirteen weeks to appear in the film "Coneheads". In 1993, he officially co-starred in ABC's "Grace Under Fire" with Brett Butler and Tom Poston and continued with the show for 5 seasons. In 1995 Thomas starred in ABC TV movie "Picture Perfect" with Mary Page Keller and Richard Karn. In 1996, Thomas played the title role in the Fox TV movie "Mr. Foster's Field Trip" aka "Kidz in the Wood" with Julia Duffy. In 1996, he wrote the book "SCTV: Behind the Scenes" (McClelland & Stewart, publishers). From 1999-2002, he voiced various roles on the animated series "Mission Hill". He also voiced Rex Banner in the Simpsons.