I have been enjoying Michael Sporn and Richard O’Connor’s ongoing reprinting of the NY Animation Union newsletter, Top Cel. If you haven’t already been leafing through these vital pages, you should really check them out. They are a virtual time capsule of animation history – the equivalent of a professional animators blog in the decades before the internet.
I have a bunch of Fleischer’s in-house magazine (Fleischer’s Animated News) from the mid-thirties… has anyone posted those on the internet yet? If not, I’d be happy to share mine – if there is enough interest.
In the meantime, I have about 40 issues of Schlesinger’s bi-monthly in-house “newspaper”, The Exposure Sheet, which I haven’t seen posted anywhere. These are informal, gossipy little newsletters, prepared by several assistants, inkers and painters in 1939-1940. If one reads them carefully, one can get a good idea of the fun Schlesinger’s employees were having making the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies – and glean bits of biographical information, news and minutiae about our favorite artists at the studio.
I won’t summarize all the interesting things you’ll find in this first six-page issue – I’ll leave that for you to discover – but I will point out the nice little “backgrounds” on Bugs Hardaway, Dave Monahan, Ken Harris and John McGrew (among others) – read those! (Click on the thumbnails below to enlarge pages). Enjoy!
P.S. Let me know in the comments below if you want to see the other 39 issues.
Jerry Beck is a writer, animation producer, college professor and author of more than 15 books on animation history. He is a former studio exec with Nickelodeon Movies and Disney, and has written for The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He has curated cartoons for DVD and Blu-ray compilations and has lent his expertise to dozens of bonus documentaries and audio commentaries on such. Beck is currently on the faculty of CalArts in Valencia, UCLA in Westwood and Woodbury University in Burbank – teaching animation history. More about Jerry Beck [
Utterly fascinating! It’s really interesting to read about the truly behind-the-scenes folks–those whose names never show up on the credits of the cartoons! Love the confident-yet-informal tone of the writing. Please do post more of these–they’re an untapped goldmine of atmosphere and information!
Yes, more please.
Here’s Jerry’s piece on that “Look” article mentioned-
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/classic/hollywood-censors-its-animated-cartoons-1939-2775.html
Do you know how long the Exposure Sheet lasted? It seemed really fun to read!
It appears to have been published from January 1939 till at least November 1940… two issues per month. At least that’s all the issues I have. It might have been published beyond 1940, but I have no evidence of it.
Amazing these have survived.
This kind of stuff may seem trivial but it’s invaluable in learning who was at the studio and what they were doing. It’s a shame the Guild’s west coast local’s newsletters aren’t around for persual like the ones Michael Sporn has been posting for the east coast.
Yes, show us more, plus the Fleischer’s Animated News!
Fleischer News? YES!
Yes, please post the Fleischer’s Animated News. It’s like history coming to life!
Yeah, go ahead and post the rest of your newletters. I like knowing more about what was going on at Termite Terrance at the time.
This is terrific! I mean, even if I wasn’t a ‘toon buff, this chatty little workplace newsletter from 70 years ago plus would catch my attention. Love it! Please, more!
These are fab and impossible to see. No one has posted them on line. I have a half dozen and I cherish them. Please post away.
Do any of the issues mentioned some of the pranks pulled by Clampett? I aways like that beer story that was mentioned in one of the Golden Collection sets.
It is very interesting indeed.
I’ve heard a lot about The exposure sheet, but never seen an exemplar.
I’d be delighted to see some others issues.
Who was Dave Mitchell anyway?
Dave Mitchell (aka Milton Kahn) was a gag man and studio assistant who, among his duties, put together the in-house newsletter.
What cartoons did Dave Mitchell work on, and for how long was he in the studio for?