Tam and Susan O’Connor Fraser, the team behind Tam Communications, a well-known television and digital production studio located in Northern California, founded TuffCubby in 2002. The founders’ vision: to develop compelling programming that captivates the imagination of audiences around the world. and has also aired on the Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, Discovery Health, The Military Channel,
and PBS. Internationally, our series and specials have aired on France 2 (France), Canal V (Canada), Discovery Europe and Latin America, the BBC and B Sky B (United Kingdom). In addition to the programs TuffCubby has created and developed, the company has also collaborated with independent producers on documentaries. One of our largest projects to-date was the launching of the Coast Guard Channel, an on-line source for video entertainment about the United States Coast Guard, watch the Coast Guard Channel at www.coastguardchannel.com. The company’s name can be traced back to Tam’s father, George Fraser, a wild animal trainer who always dreamed of having his own lion act. He started training lions and bears at the St. Louis Zoo with his ultimate goal of taking his show on the road. To accomplish his dream he purchased two young lions, Tuffy and Cubby, who were only one-year old at the time. George was unique in his training efforts as he used positive reinforcement, food and kindness, to train his lions versus the whips and chairs other trainers used at the time. During his first season at the St. Louis Zoo, he became famous for having developed the first comedic lion act. The following year, he achieved his dream, traveling and touring the country with his lions and his young family. George Fraser, who died in 1994, was integral in helping his son, Tam, pursue his own dreams of working in the entertainment industry, He bought Tam his first still camera, first film camera, first editing machine and taught his son how to writes scripts. To honor his father’s memory and pay homage to his lion act that was so unique and entertaining and to foster the history of his family, Tam and Susan thus named their company TuffCubby Entertainment.
