Dragon Tales

Kalins helped him and Columbia TriStar Television obtain an $6.2 million grant from the Department of Education and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The grant proposal was written by former Days of Our Lives cast member and Finders Keepers host Wesley Eure.

Dragon Tales is inspired by the characters created in 1978 by Laguna Beach, California artist and retired educator Ron Rodecker.

In 1995, Jim Coane, then a producer at Columbia TriStar Television, found the artwork and developed it into a television series with several writers.

The project was considered something of a risky venture because it was not based on a well-known franchise like many children's television programs, such as Arthur or Paddington Bear.

In October 1995, Jim Coane met Marjorie Kalins, senior VP of programming and production at Children's Television Workshop, and showed her the idea for the series.