Larry & Cecily Lancit are not only partners in marriage, life, and the television industry, they are also the dynamic duo who co-created and produced the PBS series Reading Rainbow, an EMMY AWARD winning American educational children's television series that encouraged children to check out books from their local library and read. Reading Rainbow originally aired on PBS and afterwards on PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go! from July 11, 1983 to Nov. 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until Aug. 28, 2009. During this time, it was the most used program in American elementary schools. In its 21-seasons, Reading Rainbow won 16 National Daytime Emmy Awards, including seven Emmys for Best Children’s Series. Anyone not familiar with Reading Rainbow just needs to watch one episode of the popular children’s television show to understand the impact it had on libraries and their surrounding communities. Nowadays, the husband and wife team operate Paradise Coast TV, an independent television production company based in Naples, Florida and the Paradise Coast TV Visitor Channel. They have recently completed a documentary, Blues on Beale, highlighting the 36th Annual International Blues Competition in Memphis, and they are now moving their focus to work to support mental health and recovery institutions, pulling back the curtain to help resolve stigma from drug addiction and mental/emotional disorders. Both Larry and Cecily are also lead personalities in the feature documentary, Butterfly in the Sky, a chronicle of the history and impact of Reading Rainbow over its 23-year presence on PBS. The documentary recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
