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Flashback!: I Met the Girl Who Spelled “Freedom”

December 17th, 2008 · 28 Comments

http://content8.flixster.com/movie/10/83/86/10838638_det.jpg

When Mary Kay Place showed up on last week’s episode of Pushing Daisies, I practically barked for joy. I love her, and a trip down her IMDb page reminded me that I am indirectly connected to one of her greatest TV movie projects: That’s right. I once met Linn Yann, the girl who spelled freedom.

For those who don’t recall The Girl Who Spelled Freedom–which aired as a Wonderful World of Disney special in 1986–let me refresh your memories: Cambodian family flees horrors of war, ends up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Gets taken in by well-meaning (but somewhat baffled) suburban family. Cultural confusions and horrible memories ensue. Young refugee Linn Yann proves brilliant, learns English quickly, and goes on to compete in the national spelling bee.

Remember? Yes? I’ve seen this movie about 45 times, and I can tell you, it’s inspiring. To see a little kid escape hardship and then enjoy the cushy distraction of spelling bee excellence… well… um… okay. Maybe she didn’t discover radium, but she overcame a lot.

Regardless, this movie (in which Mary Kay Place plays the brilliantly named suburban matriarch “Prissy Thrash”) is guaranteed to inspire me. Why? Because I’m from Chattanooga. I was seven when this movie aired, and let me tell you, I saw it. Everybody saw it. And when it came out on video, we all saw it again.

I even met some of the key players. My mom was an elementary school teacher, and she worked with Linn Yann’s principal, for instance.

But here’s the kicker: When I was in fifth grade, Linn Yann was a high school student with an internship at our local NBC affiliate. In the spring of that year, she came to do a story on my class. You see, I was part of an all-day program for gifted students… basically, it was the real-world version of that gifted class Bart Simpson joins in season one. Turns out Linn thought we were cool. and she thought I was plucky, so she interviewed me. Me! On the TV!

You guys, I felt like a superstar. First of all, I had seen Linn Yann’s life story, and now she was coming to talk to me. Second, my parents ordered Pizza Hut to celebrate the live broadcast of my television debut. In fifth grade, this was all I needed to be happy.

And to this day, I remember that I got interviewed while wearing a pale blue sweatshirt with a white, sewn-in collar. I looked good, y’all.

That was my first brush with fame, and now I want to know… what happened to Linn Yann? I’ve looked around the internet, and it seems like she was a news producer a few years ago, but now the trail is cold.

Here’s my request , Critical Condition family: Help me find Linn Yann! My dream is to feature her right here on this site. I want to interview the first person who interviewed me.

If we find her, I promise to wear a pale blue sweatshirt and film it for our reunion.

Tags: Flashback! · Television

28 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Lisa // Dec 17, 2008 at 3:10 pm

    Mark! I have no idea how to get in touch with Linn Yann, but I can’t wait until someone does! I had not thought about her story in a while. Makes me want to get onto Blockbuster online and rent a copy. I would love for you to post an interview with her. Good luck! (and we will hold you to the blue sweater thing)

  • 2 Collin H // Dec 17, 2008 at 10:13 pm

    Wait, what? That story took place in Chattanooga? I’ve lived here my entire life. I remember watching that movie on TV. How in the HELL did I not know this?

    I guess I’m going to have to add Linn Yann to my internal list of awesome Chattanoogans, right next to Sam Jackson and Lori Petty.

    I hope you find her, I’m curious as to what she’s been up to as well.

  • 3 JennyM // Dec 19, 2008 at 9:57 am

    DUDE, I’ll call my grandmother, she just might know. My grandparents are in Chattanooga and *I TOO* met Linn Yann (and her sister!) when I was a kid. Met her over tuna noodle casserole and sweet tea at my grandparents’ house, no less. I bet she knows someone who knows someone who knows where Linn Yann is…. Last I heard, I *think* she was a news anchor somewhere, but maybe that was her sister?

  • 4 JennyM // Dec 19, 2008 at 9:59 am

    I mean, *obviously* she was a news anchor somewhere, but I mean somewhere other than Chattanooga. My grandfather used to keep up with her, but he passed away recently and I haven’t heard about her lately.

  • 5 Mark Blankenship // Dec 19, 2008 at 2:29 pm

    Whoa, Jenny! Amazing! Please let me know if you hear anything.

  • 6 Mary D. // Dec 27, 2008 at 1:58 pm

    I just happened to think of Linn Yann and decided to look her up on the internet. Interestingly, I competed in the National Spelling Bee the same year Linn Yann was there and have a picture I took with her during the week. She also signed my autograph book – a big deal back then. I’d sure be interested to hear about her life since then.

  • 7 Anonymous // Jan 4, 2009 at 11:45 pm

    Linn used to babysit my sisters and I when we were little. Her mom still lives in the same house. I would call her ‘older sister’ because of the Chinese/Cambodian traditions. She was working as a pharmaceutical rep living in NC. She is also now married. I’ll be sure to pass along your website the next time I see the family.

  • 8 Mark Blankenship // Jan 5, 2009 at 2:07 am

    Please do pass along my info! As I said, I would love to feature Linn here on The Critical Condition.

    And I know my tone in this post is light-hearted, but I sincerely would love to meet her again.

  • 9 jean // Jan 5, 2009 at 10:10 pm

    My 6th grade classroom of deaf/hard of hearing students have enjoyed reading my “book” which matches the movie of The Girl Who Spelled Freedom. They read small portions or chapters of text and then view that portion of the movie. It’s a powerful and motivating story for students who are from non-native English speaking homes and also deaf. We would be thrilled to find the real Linn Yann!

  • 10 Laura // Jan 9, 2009 at 12:22 pm

    Hey Mark…

    Just had Christmas with her on Dec 29th. She’s doing great and is married. Shoot me an email and I will pass along the email and your website to let her know you want to contact her.

    signed,
    Her sister and daughter of the only Prissy Thrash I know…

    Laura Thrash Rice

  • 11 Sophorn // Mar 12, 2009 at 1:44 pm

    Hi Mark,

    I found your website trying to find her as well to be a guest blogger for my project to help Cambodia. Did you ever get in touch with her? I have an architecture professor that knows her and was about to send her an email. Let me know and in the meantime check out my site to see more on the Cambodia project.

    thanks,
    sophorn

  • 12 M.R. // May 14, 2009 at 5:03 pm

    I seem to remember that she left the Chattanooga area quite a few years ago and wound up in Secaucus, New Jersey.

  • 13 Philippe // Jul 19, 2009 at 2:01 am

    I met her once at Whitworth College (Spokane-WA) in October 1986 during the “Refugee Week Program” to speak about her experience at a Forum in front of about 1 000 persons. At that time, she was 16.
    No news of her since that time … 23 years ago.

  • 14 David // Nov 21, 2009 at 10:26 pm

    Go with Laura Thrash’s comments, she is the Laura Thrash from the Movie.

  • 15 Karen // Dec 5, 2009 at 4:38 pm

    Hi everyone. I saw The Girl Who Spelled Freedom on Disney in the late ’90′s and it touched me deeply. In 2001, we were blessed with a child born in Cambodia. We live in NC & I’ve been trying to get my hands on the film for years. The only sources I can find want $50 or more. Yikes. Anyway, I live in Northeastern NC at the coast. Is there anyway someone could pass my info on to Linn? I wondered if somehow she could meet my child. What an inspiration!

  • 16 Leigh // Apr 2, 2010 at 5:35 pm

    Why can’t we all write Mary Kaye Place or Wayne Rogers and surely they have kept up with her. She might be a doctor as I had heard years ago. Please keep this going. I am teaching a Cambodian girl right now who has not been in the states long. I want her to see this movie.

  • 17 anonymous // Apr 25, 2010 at 9:11 am

    Linn Yann Carroll lives in Greenville, South Carolina Area and works as a Pharmaceuticals Professional. We use to be fairly close. BTW John Teeter is not my name I made it up to post this.

  • 18 Mandi // Aug 4, 2010 at 1:17 am

    I am so excited to find this post! I was 6 years old when this movie aired. I was inspired by Linn to work hard at whatever I do in life. I’ve always told people that I want to meet her before I die. No one around me seems to understand why I love the movie so much. If Laura Thrash still checks this site, please tell her she still has plenty of fans (at least me, an elementary teacher) that watch the movie and hope to meet her some day. She is an inspiration!

  • 19 Kompalina // Aug 27, 2010 at 6:10 pm

    Nice story! I love that movie. It touched home for me. You can find Linn Yann Carroll by searching her in Linkedin, ah…the power of the internet.

    I am Cambodian (Khmer) also and my family was refugees living in the Thai border during the early 80s until we immigrated to the U.S. in ’83. We settled in the Bronx, NY. Life was hard for my family but we persevered and overcame the hardship.

    Many Cambodian families like us triumph and successfully turned our life around. Growing up, my parents had to overcome many barriers. However, they’ve always encouraged me and my two siblings to never give up, to obtain a good education, and to pursue higher learning. And we did, I graduated with a B.S. from Manhattan College ’03, my younger brother received his B.A. from UTC ’06 and my baby sister received her B.A. from John Jay Criminal Justice ’09.

    I am happily married to a loving husband, also Cambodian, he obtained his B.A. and M.S. in System Engineering from George Mason University ’00 and he’s now a manager for a well-known company. He emigrated from Cambodia when he was 16 years old, knowing very little but his hard work and perseverance made him what he is today. I am so proud of him!

    We will never forget the days of the killing fields in Cambodia. Of the atrocities that left many families without fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters. However, coming to the U.S. was our second chance and as Cambodians, we should make the best of our life here.

    My goal is to one day send my children off to Harvard, Yale or Princeton. :)

    Best wishes,
    Kompalina

  • 20 Sahn // Oct 24, 2010 at 2:56 am

    wow to the credit of Mark Good job! I am also an avid dreamer of someday getting a chance to meet her. We came from Cambodia in “83 to the states with my two older siblings, and me and my older sister. We strove to accomplish and achieve all that was here for us, always the importance of education. the most important opportunity ever given to us, was the opportunity to meet God! I mostly loved attending church around our neighborhood. There is always hope and a bright future, when the Lord JEsus takes over our life and leads us towards our dreams and goals. I will truly cherish the childhood, stable or unstable that was due in large part to relating to Lin Yann’s family and their greatest achievements.

  • 21 Bev // Dec 30, 2010 at 5:15 pm

    I worked as a stand in for Mary Kay Place on that film (in Vancouver, BC) so of course I met Linn Yann and family. I do not know how to find her and obviously that was so many years ago but I believe the director’s name was Simon Wincer perhaps he may be able to help. Also, wouldn’t her American family know where she is? Good luck!

  • 22 cerise // Jan 9, 2011 at 9:08 pm

    I have been looking for (Martha) Ying Yann online for sometime now. Martha is Linn’s older sister. Martha and I were very close in high school, she lived with my family for some time in her senior year. I have lost touch with Martha and want to get in touch with her again. Did you ever get in touch with Linn? I’m sure I could call the Thrash family and find her but, I’m being too lazy by simply searching online. I hope this enquiry is not too old to reach you.

  • 23 Alyson Smiley-McArthur // Mar 7, 2011 at 10:46 pm

    I just love the fact that I googled “The Girl Who Spelled Freedom” and found your page Mark! I loved the movie and met her during my 3rd grade regional spelling bee. Everytime I see anything about Cambodia and what they went through (like the episode of No Reservations I am watching) and I think of that movie.

  • 24 Jen F // May 17, 2011 at 9:27 pm

    I know this was posted a long, LONG time ago, but if you’re still looking for Linn Yann, her is her LinkIn page http://www.linkedin.com/in/linncarroll

  • 25 j rick brawley // Jul 4, 2011 at 10:43 pm

    I sat down to look up lynn because I just met her tonight at a fourth of july party at the home of Dr Sam Stone in Chester south carolina. She is a wounderful person, and I just had to know more about her. If you looked at her linkedin page posted above you see that she is a drug rep. she was there were other reps at the party. she visits the offices here in chester regularly and from meeting her tonight would love to hear from you. If you are not on linked in, join, then post here a message. otherwise send me an email and I will will put you in touch with her. I do not want to post info here.

  • 26 S. Trok // Jan 16, 2012 at 4:18 am

    Anyone knows where I can get a copy of that movie. I’m Cambodian and I was my kids to watch the movie

  • 27 Vanith Hoeum // Jan 25, 2012 at 3:42 am

    I am a tour guide of Angkor, Cambodia. I had once guided an American family last November 2011. We had a wonderful time together thought the trip of three days in Siem Reap Province , and I have learned a lot from this family. They told me one great movie is ” The girl who spelled freedom” and they explained that a girl in this movie is a Cambodian who was adopted since the civil war in Cambodia. They told me the difficulty of the American parents try their best to teach her how to adopt to the new society such as sleeping, eating, dressing, using toilet while she have never seen toilet in her life when she were in Cambodia, and the very difficult thing was to teach her to speak English. I found this story very interesting and it would be a great experience for me if I have a chance to see this movie. Anyone knows where I can get a copy of that movie?

  • 28 Godessofpeace // Feb 8, 2012 at 2:11 pm

    Vanith
    I haven’t looked for the movie, but I would check out amazon.com or ebay.com.

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