Themes: Unlikely Friendships, Orphans, Kids in Trouble
Main Cast: Ruth Gordon
Release Year: 1977
Country: US
Run Time: 76 minutes
Plot
The Prince of Central Park is 11-year-old Jay Jay (T. J. Hargrave). An orphan from Hell's Kitchen who has been shunted from one foster home to another, Jay Jay is conditioned to despise, or at the very least distrust, all adults and authority figures. Running off to Central Park, Jay Jay and his kid sister Laurie (Lisa Richard) set up housekeeping in an abandoned treehouse. There they remain, cut off from the adult world, until a third "outcast" joins them: Mrs. Miller (Ruth Gordon), a lonely widow with a boundless capacity for loving, giving, and caring. First telecast June 17, 1977, the made-for-TV Prince of Central Park was adapted by Jeb Rosebrook from a novel by Evan H. Rhodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Cast
Carol Gustafson - Ardis; T.J. Hargrave - Jay Jay; Dan Hedaya - Hot Dog Vendor; Eda Reiss Merin - Alice; Estelle Omens - The Preacher Lady; Lisa Richards - Laurie; Brooke Shields - Kristin; Marc Vahanian - Elmo; Ruth Gordon - Mrs. Miller; William Hubbard Knight - Rodney's Father; Tony Travis - Bus Boy
Credit
Hank Aldrich - Art Director, Shirley Rich - Casting, Harvey Hart - Director, Marjorie Fowler - Editor, Arthur B. Rubinstein - Composer (Music Score), Mike Maggi - Makeup, Leo Lebowitz - Camera Operator, Victor J. Kemper - Cinematographer, Harvey Hart - Producer, Fred C. Weiler - Set Designer, Jeb Rosebrook - Screenwriter