VING RHAMES, GLORIA REUBEN, PATTY DUKE AND ROBERT BAILEY JR. STAR IN "LITTLE JOHN," A NEW "HALLMARK HALL OF FAME" PRESENTATION TO BE BROADCAST MAY 5 ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

LITTLE JOHN, a new "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation starring Ving Rhames ("American Tragedy"), Gloria Reuben ("The Agency," "ER"), Patty Duke ("A Season for Miracles") and Robert Bailey Jr. ("Bubble Boy"), about a father who takes in the child his estranged daughter believes she has given up for adoption, will be broadcast Sunday, May 5 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Twelve years earlier, when the unmarried Natalie (Reuben) became pregnant, she made the painful decision to give up her child for adoption and move on with her life. Unbeknownst to her, John (Rhames), her hard-working father, learned about the existence of the child and decided to take him in.

In the intervening years, Natalie worked hard to become a judge, eventually presiding over a family law court. She has the respect of her peers and a relationship with a fellow judge, Steven Albright (Ruben Santiago-Hudson), if only she could allow it. But, her deep-seated guilt and pain over the child she gave up prevent her from allowing the relationship with Steven to grow.

Meanwhile, John's health is beginning to fail. His sister convinces him that he and the boy should journey to Los Angeles to try to reconnect with Natalie. Feeling that she doesn't care about him, Little John initially doesn't want to meet his mother, but when his grandfather is hospitalized, he seeks her out. He convinces Natalie to come to the hospital with him but, when she realizes whom she is visiting, the reunion is too painful for her and she abruptly leaves.

Deeply discouraged, John and Little John decide to go. But then John has an epiphany: he realizes that the time to deal with the past is the present. Though initially unwilling, Natalie also realizes it is time to deal with the secrets that have tormented her since she made her fateful decision.

Patty Duke plays Natalie's law clerk, Sylvia.

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Ving Rhames starred as Johnnie Cochran in the Network mini-series "American Tragedy." His other television credits include the television movies "Sins of the Father," "Holiday Heart," "Don King: Only in America," "Deadly Whispers" and "Terror on Track 9." His feature film credits include "Mission Impossible" and "Mission Impossible II," "Bringing Out the Dead," "Entrapment," "Con Air," "Striptease" "Pulp Fiction" and "Dave."

Gloria Reuben stars in the CBS series "The Agency." She also starred in the series "ER," for which she earned multiple Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe nomination. Her other television credits include the movies "Johnny's Girl," "Confessions: Two Faces of Evil," "Percy and Thunder," "Soul Survivor" and "Feast of All Saints." Her feature film credits include "Nick of Time," "Timecop," "Happy Here and Now," "Pilgrim" and "Macbeth in Manhattan."

Patty Duke's television series credits include "The Patty Duke Show," "It Takes Two" and "Hail to the Chief." Among her television movie credits are "The Miracle Worker," "My Sweet Charlie" and "Captains and the Kings," each of which earned her an Emmy Award. She was also nominated for Emmy Awards for "Having Babies" and "Family Upside Down," as well as for "The Patty Duke Show." She starred in the "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation "Harvest of Fire" and in the television movies "The Patty Duke Show: Still Rockin' in Brooklyn Heights," "A Christmas Memory" and "When He Didn't Come Home," all on the Network. She won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Helen Keller in the feature film "The Miracle Worker."

Robert Bailey Jr. can currently be seen in the feature film "Dragonfly," starring Kevin Costner. His television movie credits include "Mission to Mars," "Jackie's Back!" and "Under Wraps." He has appeared in the television series "Walker, Texas Ranger," "Touched By An Angel," "City of Angels" and "Diagnosis Murder," all on the Network, as well as "The Practice."

LITTLE JOHN is a Hallmark Hall of Fame production. Richard Welsh ("My Sister's Keeper"), Marcy Gross ("A Place for Annie") and Ann Weston ("A Place for Annie") are the executive producers; Brent Shields ("In Love and War") is the producer. Dick Lowry ("Follow the Stars Home") directed the drama from a script by H. Haden Yelin ("The Echo of Thunder").

RATING: To Be Announced

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Press Contacts: Susan J. Marks  323/575-2119      susan.marks@tvc.cbs.com
                                Barbara Abseck           212/975-4637   beabseck@cbs.com