JOHN "JAY" ROBBINS Jr.

ROBBINS John Nelson Robbins, Jr. "Jay" 1938-2016 John (Jay) Robbins, teacher, public television pioneer, award winning producer, author and artist passed away on December 11, 2016, after a long illness. Jay was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on January 18, 1938. He earned a BA in Art and Music at East Carolina University, where he studied piano. He was an accomplished classical and jazz pianist, playing with jazz combos during summer breaks and vacations. Jay began his career as a fifth grade teacher at Forestville Elementary School in Prince George's County, Maryland and after three years was selected by the Greater Washington Educational Television Association (WETA) to be its Studio Teacher of Language Arts for elementary school students. Jay combined his love of books, music, art, and teaching with the power of television to create nationally-recognized programs for children. He was a pioneer in the field of educational programming for children, with a particular focus on promoting reading. Jay started with WETA in 1962. Over the course of his 26-year career with WETA, he worked as a producer and on-camera host of nationally recognized programs such as "Cover to Cover," "More Books from Cover to Cover," "Readit," "Storybound," and "Bookbird." These series introduced children to award-winning books through a format that involved narration from the text, accompanied by illustrations, some of which Jay completed on camera. The program always ended at a climax in the story, motivating children to read the book themselves to find out how the story ended. Some of Jay's other WETA series were "The Short Story," designed for high school students; "Portraits: The Americans," a biographical series that focused on famous Americans such as Benjamin Franklin, Benedict Arnold, John James Audubon, and Buffalo Bill; and "Across Cultures," which introduced children to different cultures and peoples, such as the Japanese, peoples of the Ivory Coast, and the remote Tarahumara Indians of Mexico. Jay also produced the Menotti opera, "The Old Maid and the Thief" for WETA. Jay was invited by elementary schools across the country to promote reading. On these visits, he encouraged children to use their imaginations to create stories of their own. As he listened to them, he would illustrate their stories. Jay was also a children's writer himself, authoring the very clever "The Tooth Fairy is Broke," which is still in print today. In the 1970's, Jay's public television series for children were rated in the top ten among all instructional television series broadcast nationally. They were fixtures of children's programming blocks on PBS for many years, and some can still be seen in the U.S. and Canada in syndication. In the course of his career, Jay was the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including two National Educational Television Awards in 1966 for "Mr. Smith and Other Nonsense" (a poetry series) and "Cover to Cover," as well as a Producer's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992 from the National Academy for School Television and Video. Jay received a Gold Hugo, the top prize in the Chicago International Film Festival, in 1975 for "Cover to Cover," and the annual Central Educational Television Award in 1984 for individual achievement. Jay received multiple Emmys, including The Glenn Brenner Award for Excellence in Broadcasting in 1997, and two National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement in 1970 for producing the ballet "The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore" and in 1969-1970 for hosting "A Matter of Fiction." Jay was a lifelong birdwatcher and painted birds in the Audubon style, in addition to painting flowers of every kind. His paintings reflected his love of nature. Jay was a modest man of extraordinary talents. As Mrs. Elizabeth Campbell, founder of WETA, said of Jay, "He could play the piano. He could paint. He could talk. He loved young people and they loved him." Jay is survived by Paul Menszer, his loving partner of 39 years; loving sisters, Lynda Ruth Robbins and Carole Robbins Gregg; devoted nieces, Andrea Gregg (Amit Gupta), Christie Heslip, and Rachel Davis (Jason Davis); dear grand-nieces, Elianna and Olivia Davis and many devoted friends. Contributions may be made to WETA, John Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Sibley Memorial Hospital, or The Washington Home and Community Hospices. A celebration of Jay's life will be announced at a later date. Contributions may be made to WETA, John Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Sibley Memorial Hospital, or The Washington Home and Community Hospices. A celebration of Jay's life will be announced at a later date.