Mark Linn-Baker
Encyclopedia
Mark Linn-Baker is an American
actor
and director
famous for his role as Larry Appleton
on the television
sitcom
Perfect Strangers
.
in 1972. Graduating from Yale University
with an MFA
in Drama
in 1979, Linn-Baker found most of his early roles on stage. He appeared in the 1983 Broadway
version of the Doonesbury comic strip
. He appeared in Laughter on the 23rd Floor
in 1993, the 1996 revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
, the 1998 Roundabout Theatre Company
production of A Flea in Her Ear
, the 2003 musical A Year With Frog and Toad
, and the 2006 comedy Losing Louie.
Linn-Baker's first movie role was a small part in Woody Allen
's 1979 film Manhattan
. Unfortunately for the young actor, most of his scenes were later cut from the film. Three years later, he would land a far more memorable film role as Benjy Stone in the 1982
comedy film, My Favorite Year
, co-starring with Peter O'Toole
. In a manner similar to his future role in Perfect Strangers, Linn-Baker played the straight man
to O'Toole's outrageous character, Alan Swann.
Having attained success on stage and the big screen, Linn-Baker began to turn his sights toward television. In 1983, he appeared in an unsold detective show pilot
called O'Malley. The following year saw a role on the television movie, The Ghost Writer, and in the summer series, The Comedy Zone. Soon Linn-Baker was appearing in several high-profile television shows. He guest-starred on a 1984 episode of Miami Vice
as Bonzo Barry and portrayed hapless office worker Phil West on a 1985 episode of Moonlighting
entitled "Atlas Belched". Between parts, he would also appear in television commercials pitching products ranging from Kellogg's
Nutri-Grain
to Kraft's
Life Savers
.
In 1986, Linn-Baker was paired with Bronson Pinchot
on the ABC
series Perfect Strangers
. He played the role of Larry Appleton
, a young man living on his own for the first time in Chicago
. Larry's world was disrupted when a distant cousin from the (fictional) Mediterranean island
of Mypos, Balki Bartokomous
(Pinchot), showed up on his doorstep. Storylines revolved around Larry's attempts to show Balki the ways of American culture, although the neurotic Larry frequently proved to be just as naive as Balki. The show made Linn-Baker a star and ran for parts of eight seasons, ending in August 1993. During this period, he appeared in the film Noises Off.
In 2005, he was a regular cast member on the WB Network sitcom, Twins
. The show was canceled after a single season.
He also appeared in the 2010 movie How Do You Know as Ron.
In 2011 he starred in his sixth Broadway show "Relatively Speaking" in a one-act play by Woody Allen.
, Linn-Baker played Dick Donaldson, the wealthy, snobbish cousin of Becky Donaldson Katsopolis (Lori Loughlin
). In 1997, he guested on Family Matters
as the abusive boss of Harriette Winslow (Jo Marie Payton
). Linn-Baker guested three times on Hangin' With Mr. Cooper
as Larry Weeks. Additionally, he appeared on an episode of Law & Order
(as a girlie bar owner being muscled out by the mob).
On a 2003 episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent
, he guested as an insurance investigator who displays strong Asperger's Syndrome
traits. He gets a degree of empathy from Det. Robert Goren
and a number of behind-his-back snickers from Goren's partner Alexandra Eames
. His character made a return cameo appearance in the season 6 episode "Endgame
", where it was revealed Goren has kept in touch with the character through correspondence.
He also appeared in a Christmas episode of Ally McBeal as a man fired for seeing a unicorn.
In 2009, he appeared in an episode of the U.S. version of Life On Mars
, playing a character who collected women's underwear that he later used for masturbation. In 2010, he appeared in the episode of "Law & Order
"
"The Taxman Cometh" as Dr. Vincent Balicheck, a physician who used controversial therapies on cancer patients and that caused the patients to die in the year 2010, during a reprieve from the U.S. estate tax.
Linn-Baker also directed numerous episodes of Family Matters, Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, Step By Step and The Trouble with Larry. He appeared as a spokesperson for Peter Pan
peanut butter
in a series of commercials in the late 1980s and 1990s.
He joined his friend, fellow Yale Drama School graduate and former sidekick, Lewis Black
on the audiobook version of Black's second book Me of Little Faith
where he and Black recreate The Laundry Hour, an act they did in New York City
in the early 1980s. He guest-stars in several episodes of the children's TV show The Electric Company
in February–March 2009 as "Uncle Sigmund Scrambler".
Linn-Baker provided the voice for one of a quartet of aardvarks in the Sandra Boynton
album Philadelphia Chickens
. The other three were voiced by Joe Grifasi
, Michael Gross
, and Devin McEwan.
, the daughter of children's book author Arnold Lobel
, best-known for his Frog and Toad
series. Linn-Baker helped to adapt his father-in-law's stories into the Tony-nominated Broadway musical A Year with Frog and Toad
, in which Linn-Baker played Toad and Jay Goede played Frog.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
famous for his role as Larry Appleton
Larry Appleton
Larry Appleton is a fictional character on the television show Perfect Strangers, played by Mark Linn-Baker. Larry was often called Cousin Larry or just Cousin normally pronouncing cousin "cosin" by his cousin Balki...
on the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Perfect Strangers
Perfect Strangers (TV series)
Perfect Strangers is an American sitcom that ran for eight seasons from March 25, 1986, to August 6, 1993, on the ABC television network. Created by Dale McRaven, the series chronicles the rocky coexistence of midwestern American Larry Appleton and his distant cousin from eastern Mediterranean...
.
Early life and career
Mark Linn-Baker graduated from Wethersfield High School in Wethersfield, ConnecticutWethersfield, Connecticut
Wethersfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. Many records from colonial times spell the name Weathersfield, while Native Americans called it Pyquag...
in 1972. Graduating from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
with an MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in Drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
in 1979, Linn-Baker found most of his early roles on stage. He appeared in the 1983 Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
version of the Doonesbury comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
. He appeared in Laughter on the 23rd Floor
Laughter on the 23rd Floor
Laughter on the 23rd Floor is a play by Neil Simon.Inspired by Simon's early career experience as a junior jokesmith for Your Show of Shows, the play focuses on Sid Caesar/Jackie Gleason-like Max Prince, the star of a weekly comedy-variety show circa 1953, and his staff, including Simon's...
in 1993, the 1996 revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart....
, the 1998 Roundabout Theatre Company
Roundabout Theatre Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in New York City.-History:The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist and Elizabeth Owens and now operates five theatres, all in Manhattan: the American Airlines Theatre ; Studio 54 ; the Stephen Sondheim Theatre The...
production of A Flea in Her Ear
A Flea in Her Ear
A Flea in Her Ear is a play by Georges Feydeau written in 1907, at the height of the Belle Époque.-Plot:...
, the 2003 musical A Year With Frog and Toad
A Year with Frog and Toad
A Year With Frog and Toad is a musical written by brothers Robert and Willie Reale , based on the Frog and Toad children's stories written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel...
, and the 2006 comedy Losing Louie.
Linn-Baker's first movie role was a small part in Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
's 1979 film Manhattan
Manhattan (film)
Manhattan is a 1979 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen about a twice-divorced 42-year-old comedy writer who dates a 17-year-old girl before eventually falling in love with his best friend's mistress...
. Unfortunately for the young actor, most of his scenes were later cut from the film. Three years later, he would land a far more memorable film role as Benjy Stone in the 1982
1982 in film
-Events:* March 26 = I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff is released. Manoff would not appear in another movie until 1987's Backfire.* June = PG-rated film E.T...
comedy film, My Favorite Year
My Favorite Year
My Favorite Year is a 1982 American comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin which tells the story of a young comedy writer. It stars Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, Jessica Harper, Joseph Bologna, Lou Jacobi, Bill Macy, Lainie Kazan, Selma Diamond, Cameron Mitchell, and Gloria Stuart. O'Toole was...
, co-starring with Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
. In a manner similar to his future role in Perfect Strangers, Linn-Baker played the straight man
Double act
A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...
to O'Toole's outrageous character, Alan Swann.
Having attained success on stage and the big screen, Linn-Baker began to turn his sights toward television. In 1983, he appeared in an unsold detective show pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
called O'Malley. The following year saw a role on the television movie, The Ghost Writer, and in the summer series, The Comedy Zone. Soon Linn-Baker was appearing in several high-profile television shows. He guest-starred on a 1984 episode of Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
as Bonzo Barry and portrayed hapless office worker Phil West on a 1985 episode of Moonlighting
Moonlighting (TV series)
Moonlighting is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 3, 1985, to May 14, 1989. The network aired a total of 66 episodes...
entitled "Atlas Belched". Between parts, he would also appear in television commercials pitching products ranging from Kellogg's
Kellogg Company
Kellogg Company , is a producer of cereal and convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles, and vegetarian foods...
Nutri-Grain
Nutri-Grain
Nutri-Grain is a brand of breakfast cereal and breakfast bar made by the Kellogg Company.In Australia and New Zealand, Nutri-Grain is a breakfast cereal made from corn, oats, and wheat....
to Kraft's
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
Life Savers
Life Savers
Life Savers is an American brand of ring-shaped mints and artificially fruit-flavored hard candy. The candy is known for its distinctive packaging, coming in aluminum foil rolls....
.
In 1986, Linn-Baker was paired with Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Alcott Pinchot is an American actor. He has appeared in several feature films, including Risky Business, Beverly Hills Cop , The First Wives Club, True Romance, Courage Under Fire and It's My Party...
on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
series Perfect Strangers
Perfect Strangers (TV series)
Perfect Strangers is an American sitcom that ran for eight seasons from March 25, 1986, to August 6, 1993, on the ABC television network. Created by Dale McRaven, the series chronicles the rocky coexistence of midwestern American Larry Appleton and his distant cousin from eastern Mediterranean...
. He played the role of Larry Appleton
Larry Appleton
Larry Appleton is a fictional character on the television show Perfect Strangers, played by Mark Linn-Baker. Larry was often called Cousin Larry or just Cousin normally pronouncing cousin "cosin" by his cousin Balki...
, a young man living on his own for the first time in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Larry's world was disrupted when a distant cousin from the (fictional) Mediterranean island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
of Mypos, Balki Bartokomous
Balki Bartokomous
Balki Bartokomous is a fictional character on the television sitcom Perfect Strangers, played by Bronson Pinchot. Balki is from the island of Mypos, a fictional country in the Mediterranean Sea.- Character history :...
(Pinchot), showed up on his doorstep. Storylines revolved around Larry's attempts to show Balki the ways of American culture, although the neurotic Larry frequently proved to be just as naive as Balki. The show made Linn-Baker a star and ran for parts of eight seasons, ending in August 1993. During this period, he appeared in the film Noises Off.
In 2005, he was a regular cast member on the WB Network sitcom, Twins
Twins (TV series)
Twins is an American situation comedy series that first aired on The WB in the United States and on CTV in Canada in September 2005. The series is produced by KoMut Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television...
. The show was canceled after a single season.
He also appeared in the 2010 movie How Do You Know as Ron.
In 2011 he starred in his sixth Broadway show "Relatively Speaking" in a one-act play by Woody Allen.
Guest appearances
On a 1992 episode of Full HouseFull House
Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
, Linn-Baker played Dick Donaldson, the wealthy, snobbish cousin of Becky Donaldson Katsopolis (Lori Loughlin
Lori Loughlin
Lori Anne Loughlin is an American actress, best known for her role as Rebecca Donaldson-Katsopolis on the ABC sitcom Full House. As of 2011, she portrays the role of Debbie Wilson on 90210, the spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210...
). In 1997, he guested on Family Matters
Family Matters (TV series)
Family Matters is an American sitcom about a middle-class African-American family living in Chicago, Illinois, which ran on national television for nine full seasons. The series was a spin-off of Perfect Strangers, but revolves around the Winslow family...
as the abusive boss of Harriette Winslow (Jo Marie Payton
Jo Marie Payton
Jo Marie Payton is an American television actress, and singer, who starred most notably as Harriette Winslow on the ABC sitcom, Family Matters, and its parent series Perfect Strangers. From 2001 to 2005 Jo Marie Payton provided the voice for Suga Mama Proud on Bruce W. Smith's The Proud Family,...
). Linn-Baker guested three times on Hangin' With Mr. Cooper
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC from 1992 to 1997, starring Mark Curry and Holly Robinson. The show took place in Curry's hometown of Oakland, California. Hangin' with Mr. Cooper was produced by Jeff Franklin Productions, in association with...
as Larry Weeks. Additionally, he appeared on an episode of Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
(as a girlie bar owner being muscled out by the mob).
On a 2003 episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
, he guested as an insurance investigator who displays strong Asperger's Syndrome
Asperger syndrome
Asperger's syndrome that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development...
traits. He gets a degree of empathy from Det. Robert Goren
Robert Goren
Det. Robert "Bobby" Goren is a fictional character featured in the NBC-USA Network police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio....
and a number of behind-his-back snickers from Goren's partner Alexandra Eames
Alexandra Eames
Det. Alexandra "Alex" Eames is a fictional police detective with the NYPD Major Case Squad featured in the NBC-USA Network Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Kathryn Erbe...
. His character made a return cameo appearance in the season 6 episode "Endgame
Endgame (Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode)
"Endgame" is a sixth season episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. This is the Goren/Eames finale of the sixth season.-Synopsis:As condemned serial killer Mark Ford Brady gets closer to his execution date, he asks to see Goren in hopes to extend his sentence and leads him to hidden scrapbooks...
", where it was revealed Goren has kept in touch with the character through correspondence.
He also appeared in a Christmas episode of Ally McBeal as a man fired for seeing a unicorn.
In 2009, he appeared in an episode of the U.S. version of Life On Mars
Life on Mars (U.S. TV series)
Life on Mars was a science fiction crime drama television series which originally aired on ABC from October 9, 2008 to April 1, 2009. It is an adaptation of the BAFTA-winning original UK series of the same name produced by the BBC...
, playing a character who collected women's underwear that he later used for masturbation. In 2010, he appeared in the episode of "Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
"
"The Taxman Cometh" as Dr. Vincent Balicheck, a physician who used controversial therapies on cancer patients and that caused the patients to die in the year 2010, during a reprieve from the U.S. estate tax.
Linn-Baker also directed numerous episodes of Family Matters, Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, Step By Step and The Trouble with Larry. He appeared as a spokesperson for Peter Pan
Peter Pan (peanut butter)
Peter Pan is a brand of peanut butter produced by ConAgra Foods and named after the J.M. Barrie character. The product was introduced by Swift & Company in 1920 under the name "E. K. Pond". The product was renamed in 1928...
peanut butter
Peanut butter
Peanut butter is a food paste made primarily from ground dry roasted peanuts, popular in North America, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and parts of Asia, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia. It is mainly used as a sandwich spread, sometimes in combination as in the peanut butter and jelly...
in a series of commercials in the late 1980s and 1990s.
He joined his friend, fellow Yale Drama School graduate and former sidekick, Lewis Black
Lewis Black
Lewis Niles Black is an American stand-up comedian, author, playwright, social critic and actor. He is known for his comedy style, which often includes simulating a mental breakdown, or an increasingly angry rant, ridiculing history, politics, religion, trends and cultural phenomena...
on the audiobook version of Black's second book Me of Little Faith
Me of Little Faith
Me of Little Faith is the second book from comedian Lewis Black. It was released on June 3, 2008 in hardcover by Riverhead Books, and on audiobook from Penguin Audio....
where he and Black recreate The Laundry Hour, an act they did in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the early 1980s. He guest-stars in several episodes of the children's TV show The Electric Company
The Electric Company (2009 TV series)
The Electric Company is an American children's educational series for young children aged 4–8 on PBS, derived from the 1971 series. The series premiered as a four-episode mini-marathon on PBS on January 19, 2009, then became a weekly series with an episode shown each Friday. On September 7, 2009,...
in February–March 2009 as "Uncle Sigmund Scrambler".
Linn-Baker provided the voice for one of a quartet of aardvarks in the Sandra Boynton
Sandra Boynton
Sandra Keith Boynton is an American humorist, songwriter, children's author and illustrator. Boynton has written and illustrated more than forty books for both children and adults, as well as over four thousand greeting cards, and four music albums...
album Philadelphia Chickens
Philadelphia Chickens
Philadelphia Chickens is a book/Music CD combination by Sandra Boynton and Michael Ford, published in 2002.-Tracks/Chapters:-References:*Boynton & Ford . Philadelphia Chickens. New York: Workman Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 0-7611-2636-8...
. The other three were voiced by Joe Grifasi
Joe Grifasi
Joseph G. "Joe" Grifasi is an American character actor of film, stage and television.Grifasi was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Patricia and Joseph J. Grifasi, a skilled laborer. Grifasi graduated from Bishop Fallon High School, a now defunct Catholic high school in Buffalo. He played...
, Michael Gross
Michael Gross
Michael Gross may refer to:*Michael Gross , Israeli painter, sculptor and conceptual artist*Michael L. Gross , American professor of chemistry, medicine, and immunology*Michael Gross , American actor...
, and Devin McEwan.
Personal life
In 1995, Mark Linn-Baker married Adrianne LobelAdrianne Lobel
Adrianne Lobel is an American scenic designer and producer for theatre, opera, and dance known for her "very daring and creative sets."Lobel was raised in Brooklyn and took classes at the art school at the Brooklyn Museum, then worked as a draftsman at film studios...
, the daughter of children's book author Arnold Lobel
Arnold Lobel
Arnold Stark Lobel was a popular American author of children's books. Among his most popular books are those of the Frog and Toad series, and Mouse Soup, which won the Garden State Children's Book Award from the New Jersey Library Association.Lobel won the 1981 Caldecott Medal for his book...
, best-known for his Frog and Toad
Frog and Toad
Frog and Toad are the main characters in a series of easy-reader children's books, written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel.Each book contains five simple, often humorous, sometimes poignant, short stories chronicling the exploits of a frog and his friend, a toad, simply named Frog and Toad...
series. Linn-Baker helped to adapt his father-in-law's stories into the Tony-nominated Broadway musical A Year with Frog and Toad
A Year with Frog and Toad
A Year With Frog and Toad is a musical written by brothers Robert and Willie Reale , based on the Frog and Toad children's stories written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel...
, in which Linn-Baker played Toad and Jay Goede played Frog.