Dreamers Draw Big Eyes
Virgil Ross remembered some fascinating details of his time working with Tex Avery and Ray Abrams at the Universal Cartoon Dept.
Tag Archives: Walter Lantz
The Ray Abrams Archives – Part 2: Envelope Art
Continuing our deep dive through a treasure trove of mementos from veteran animator Ray Abrams (Lantz, MGM, Avery, H-B) courtesy of his son William Abrams.
The Ray Abrams Archives – Part 1
The son of Lantz animator Ray Abrams has a whole cache of material that his dad saved – staff photos, gag drawings, personal sketches – and he’s graciously sharing them with us.
The Once and Universal King, 1930
A restoration of Universal’s “King of Jazz” brings back a storied gem from the studio vaults, including the animated prologue produced by Walter Lantz and Bill Nolan.
Signed by Walt? Drawn to a D
When Pinto Colvig switched from Lantz to Disney, his looping signature may have played a small role in leading to something iconic and happily everlasting.
The Mouse Strikes Back
Ben Clopton was a rugged cowpoke from Montana before he came to Hollywood. After he among others left Walt Disney to sign with Winkler Studios, it was The Mouse that got the last laugh.
The Mouse and Sennett: Chasing a Lost Cootie
Mack Sennett envisioned a gag seen through binoculars for a 1928 feature film. The resulting effort became a legend of a story that saw Walter Lantz getting his first big break as an animator in Hollywood.
Weird “Woody Woodpecker” Records
Take a look at two “studio cast” LP’s from the late 1950’s featuring Walter Lantz Car-Tune songs that filled out their track lists with previously released recordings.
Bolivar, the Ostrich Unspoken
How a St. Bernard from a 1936 cartoon and his subsequent Disney comics appearances may trace a path back to a forgotten character created by Pinto Colvig and Walter Lantz.
Pinto Colvig Got that Oswald Habit, 1930
Before he was the voice of Goofy, Pinto Colvig was the voice of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit for Universal and had a big part in the studio’s transition to sound cartoons.
