A Chat with Lillian Friedman Astor
Here is a rare conversation with Lillian Friedman Astor, the first woman animator in a major American studio – as part of Myron Waldman’s unit at Fleischer Studios in New York.
“Forgotten” OVAs #11: “Gunsmith Cats”
When Chicago becomes too lawless for the police to handle, who you gonna call? Teenage lesbian bounty hunters – Also known as ‘Gunsmith Cats – that’s who!
A Letter From Bill Melendez
When I was working on my dissertation and future book The Colored Cartoon almost twenty years ago, I wrote to several animators to see what memories they would share about…
Animation Anecdotes #255
Producer Gary Goldman told about recording actor John Carradine as the voice of the great owl in The Secret of Nimh: Carradine suffered from acute crippling arthritis and that he was on pain killers.
Happy Easter From Lou Bunin, The White Rabbit and… Perry Como!
Here is a real rarity. Several sequences of the White Rabbit from ‘Alice in Wonderland’ animated by Lou Bunin and composited with a live action Perry Como.
Robert McKimson’s “Easter Yeggs” (1947) Starring Bugs Bunny
“I wanna Easter egg! I wanna Easter egg! I wanna Easter egg!” Bob McKimson’s Easter Yeggs is undeniably the most memorable Easter cartoon from the Golden Age.
Walt Disney’s “The Truth About Mother Goose” on Records
A few years after the release of Disney’s Oscar-nominated featurette, Disneyland Records produced a fascinating album using portions of the Bill Peet script.
Chatting with Lloyd Vaughan and Tom Ray
Animation veterans Lloyd Vaughan and Tom Ray both began their careers at Leon Schlesinger’s around the same time and both later worked with Chuck Jones – though not necessarily at the same time.
Forgotten OAVs #10: “Riding Bean”
This OAV was originally intended to be the first in a Riding Bean series, but artist Kenichi Sonoda and Toshiba EMI, the video distributor, had a disagreement and Sonoda cancelled it.
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 [Click Here]
