Morris Zukovsky and Albert Bertino are two more relatively unsung animation artists; the former’s career was overshadowed by his older brother and adopted daughter, while the latter made much of his mark working on various Disneyland attractions.
Zukor started in animation in 1935 at Tat’s Tales, a small West Coast studio as an assistant animator. In described his work day there, he noted that, “After the assistant work was done, I went to inbetweening; after inbetweening was done, I went to inking and then painting the cels, and then washing cels. That’s the way it was in those days.” After a year, he moved to Ub Iwerks, working on its ComiColor cartoons. It was there that he became involved in an early effort to organize what would become the Screen Cartoonists Guild. He recalled, “They used to hold our meetings in a beer joint, unbeknownst to the bosses. At the meetings, we would vote on who we would call back to the next meeting, until we finally built up a little following. At the same time, I understand Warner Bros. was also doing something similar. Finally, we got together and formed this one big union.”
He then went to Walter Lantz before joining the large contingent of West Coast artists recruited by Fleischer for their new Miami studio. There he worked on Gulliver’s Travels, briefly returned to Los Angeles before going back to Florida; however, his second stay was cut short when he was drafted into the Army. “At that time, they didn’t have an animation unit, so I got shipped off elsewhere for four years.” After the war he became an inbetweener and an assistant at Disney, but was able to move over to MGM (because it was a much shorter commute) until they closed down. He subsequently landed at Animation Inc., where he spent seven years. “I enjoyed working there better than I did anyplace else, because it was such a small unit.” He ended up at Filmation, where he had been working for 10 years when Dan McLaughlin interviewed him at the 1986 Golden Awards Banquet. Along the way, he also worked on John Wilson’s Shinbone Alley feature as an assistant.
His older brother was animator Lou Zukor and he was the adopted father of actress-singer-songwriter-clothing designer Donna Loren (who once appeared as a guest on The Mickey Mouse Club).
Bertino started at Mintz in 1934 and moved over to Harman-Ising after a year, “trying to get [into] what I thought was a better studio.” But after the company lost their MGM contract, he ended up at Disney, going from an assistant to animator and finally to the Story Department. He was still an assistant during the 1941 Disney strike, at which time he was making $47.50 a week. His animation credits included Hockey Homicide and Make Mine Music. As a storyman, he boasts of helping create, in films like Grin and Bear It, the “the Bear and Ranger characters before Hanna and Barbera stole it.” When TV came along, he worked on various episodes of the Disneyland/Disney’s Wonderful World of Color show for five years.
He got caught in the layoffs following the closure of Disney’s Shorts Department, leading him to “freelance” for such companies as UPA (Dick Tracey and Magoo TV cartoons), Walter Lantz (Doc and Champ), Terrytoons (Hashimoto and Hector Heathcoate), Bob Clampett (Beany and Cecil) and Grantray-Lawrence (Spiderman). He ended his career at WED, working on such Disneyland attractions as The Country Bear Jamboree (where he created the Big Al character, which he named after himself) and America Sings. He retired in 1977, but later helped create what is now the Monster Mansion attraction for Six Flags Over Georgia.
Unfortunately, outside of McLaughlin’s interviews, there seems precious little available on either man, especially for Zukor.
Next week: Johnnie Vita and Ed Aardal.
Harvey Deneroff is an independent film and animation historian based in Los Angeles specializing in labor history. The founder and past president of the Society for Animation Studies, he was also the first editor of Animation Magazine and AWN.com. Harvey also blogs at deneroff.com/blog.
From the Disney Wikia comes this fact: Bertino was portrayed by actor Thomas Bellin in episode 11 of the 1969 season of Dragnet, “Narcotics – DR-16”. Bertino is depicted designing posters for a student-led anti-drug group.
That the Joe Friday character is a close enough friend of the real Disney story person Al Bertino to put him in a key role in a 1960s Dragnet script (albeit played by a SAG member and not Bertino himself) must have meant that Jack Webb knew Bertino on some level. Webb was documented as a close friend of Walt Disney but nothing seems to exist in print regarding any relationship with Bertino.
In the late 1970’s former Disney assistant animator (and former Termite Terrace story and gag person) Jack Miller related to me that Al Bertino was known in the 1950’s at Disney as the story artist who delivered the funniest pitches of his shorts because he loaded them with descriptive verbal profanity. Miller recalled that his pitches were always hilarious, and then, months or years later, when the short he had pitched was released in theaters, the pictures could never be as funny because of the lack of swearing. I wonder if any audio tapes exist of Bertino’s vintage shorts pitches?
I own many of the original posters design by Al Bertino in 1969 for the stamp out stupidity drug campaign also featured in the Dragnet episode 1969 starring Jack Webb
These posters are signed by Al Bertino they are in mint condition and very Rare this posters will be sold at auction by Swan Galleries in New York
In July of 2022
If you have any interest in them : contact ez182130@msn.com
Do you have any more information about ‘Tat’s Tales’ and ‘Animation Inc.’?
Al also co-wrote Disney comics with Dick Kinney that were made for the oversea market and helped created Donald’s crazy cousin, Fethery Duck. A character I’m still waiting to see in an actual animation production.
Also, why isn’t Al listed in the book “Disney A to Z” yet? He isn’t even in the (now free) online edition on the D23 site.
Nic, while Al did write some comics for the Disney overseas program, I have seen no evidence that he co-wrote Dick Kinney’s Fethry Duck stories, or was otherwise involved in Fethry Duck’s creation.
I think you’re confusing Bertino with Al Hubbard.
I could’ve sworn I seen him credited on some of the Fethry comics. Maybe, I’m thinking of those comics with J. Rockterduck.
I own some original Al Bertino posters he designed in 1969
For a drug campaign call stamp out stupidity
These posters were featured on a episode of Dragnet starring Jack Webb
These rare posters are signed Bertino and are one of a kind because very few have survived n mint condition
These posters will be sold in July of 2022
By Swann Galleries in New York
Any interest contact me ez182130msn.com
I wonder what Al Bertino’s stories of working with Bob Clampett on the BEANY AND CECIL SHOW cartoons; that show was the only way I knew of BEANY AND CECIL, and it remains my favorite version because of the colorful characters that came out of it and weren’t part of the original live puppets series.
Were Morey and Lou Zukor in any way related to Adolph Zukor, the founder of Paramount Pictures?
Hi Jeff, Zukor was Morey and Lou’s pen-name, their birth name being Zukovsky. Adam 🙂
Hello,
My question did Al Bertino actual create, design those posters used in the 1969 anti drug campaign
stamp out stupidity ?
December 28, 2021
I own some mega rare posters created and signed by Al Bertino
That were also featured on the 1969 TV program Dragnet starring Jack Webb
AL Bertino along with Marlene Robinson design many of the posters featured in that Dragnet episode for the stamp out stupidity drug campaign if anyone is interested in seeing them contact me
These rare posters will be sold at auction in July of 2022
By Swan galleries , New York
ezzwalker2@icloud.com