Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol

A blog dedicated to the making of the first animated Christmas special, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Update on "The Art of Jay Ward Productions" book

I thought I would provide just a little update on my next book, "The Art of Jay Ward Productions" for the few followers of this blog.  The book covers the years from 1958 through 1984, and will include pages of artwork from virtually every show the studio produced as well as lots of never-before-seen art from unsold series.  I'm even hopeful that the cereal companies will grant permission to use images from many of the commercials Ward produced for them over the years, but it's been a slow process so far.
     The book's scheduled release has been pushed back from October 2013 to February 2014 in order to coincide with the release of the Dreamworks feature, Mr. Peabody and Sherman.  While it provides me with a little more breathing room, there is still much to be done.  At this point, I anticipate the book having more pages and artwork than even the limited edition of Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.
     The manuscript is now complete and has gone through the editorial pass.  I'm about halfway through rough layout, which has been a time-consuming job simply because I've amassed over 4000 images over the last six months, with more pouring in each month.  I'm still on the lookout for original production art featuring Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-right and Tom Slick to fill out a few blank spots in the book.  I'm open to any other interesting finds so if anyone out there has Jay Ward art hiding in their collections or knows anyone who collects Ward art, please contact me at your earliest convenience.  Although I have many crew photos, I'm also on the lookout for more, so if you know someone who worked for Ward or if you're a family member of someone who worked there, I'd like to hear from you.  Below is a list of people I need photos for:



Jim Hiltz
Norm Gottfredson 
Gerry Ray
Joe Montell
Frank Hursh
Ellie Bogardus
Bill Littlejohn
Herman Cohen
Art Babbitt
Bob Maxfield
Fred Madison
Frank Smith

 

10 comments:

Joe R. Frinzi said...

Good luck with the book, Darrell. Sorry I can't provide you with any assistance, but I do look forward to purchasing a copy when it's released.

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Tonight I started Googling to see if there was a book on Jay Ward and voila - from the same mastermind behind the incredible "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" book. I'm so looking forward to this book, and do hope there will be Cap'n Crunch artwork in there as well, which was a huge inspiration as an artist growing up.

Darrell said...

Glad you found it! I hope there will be Cap'n Crunch art, too. If there isn't, it won't be for lack of trying--I've been trying to get permission from Quaker Oats, now a part of Pepsico, since last August and the wheels grind slowly in such a big company. I have lots of art for it, it's just pending approval.

Ed McCray said...

I'm highly looking forward to this upcoming book of your's! I still maintain that, having a large collection of "Art of" and "making of" books, your Magoo book is the best one I've ever seen HANDS DOWN! I can't wait to see what you do with Jay Ward!! I expect this to be an excellent companion to "The Moose That Roarded" (another one of the best Animation history books I've ever read.)

Might I suggest that you tackle "Beany & Cecil" next? They're LONG OVERDUE for their own book and it's a big part of Americana. (Don't forget that it was Albert Einstein's favorite TV show...) I can't think of a better author/designer for the job. :)

Darrell said...

Ed,

Thanks for your very nice comment about the last book. There are some exciting things to report on the new book and I'll be posting an update in the next few weeks.

Darrell

Jeff said...

I don't have a photograph of Ellie Bogardus, but here are some links to some background on her and examples of her art works.

Darrell said...

Jeff, where are the links, I would love to see the art.

Jeff said...

Darrell,

I see back in January that I didn't send the links to Ellie Bogardus' art. Check out the links at my blog, including the following one that has a portrait painted by her husband from many ears ago:

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2012/01/letters-from-france-more-about-ellie.html

There are a good number of posts about her art at my blog - you can search under her name. A listing of a number of them are found at:

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2011/01/street-art-manhole-covers.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2011/08/ellie-bogardus-exteriorinterior-art.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2011/11/ellie-bogardus-hotel-california.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2011/11/artists-house-ellie-bogardus.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2011/11/manholes-to-murals-bogardus-wall.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2011/12/ellie-bogardus-midnight-in-paris.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2011/12/ellie-bogardus-lost-generation.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2012/02/titled-drawing-another-ellie-bogardus.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2012/02/ellie-bogardus-commercial-side.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2012/03/plainfield-relative-another-ellie.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2012/09/cambria-time-capsule-artist.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2014/01/ellie-bogardus-i-believe-my-husband-and.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2014/03/a-gift-to-jo-from-toot-ellie-bogardus.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2014/04/two-for-toots-another-ellie-bogardus.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2014/12/ellie-bogardus-italian-period.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2015/05/across-landscape-more-ellie-bogardus.html


Take care,

Jeff

Jeff said...

Darrell,

I see back in January that I didn't send the links to Ellie Bogardus' art. Check out the links at my blog, including the following one that has a portrait painted by her husband from many ears ago:

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2012/01/letters-from-france-more-about-ellie.html

There are a good number of posts about her art at my blog - you can search under her name. A listing of a number of them are found at:

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2011/01/street-art-manhole-covers.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2011/08/ellie-bogardus-exteriorinterior-art.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2011/11/ellie-bogardus-hotel-california.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2011/11/artists-house-ellie-bogardus.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2011/11/manholes-to-murals-bogardus-wall.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2011/12/ellie-bogardus-midnight-in-paris.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2011/12/ellie-bogardus-lost-generation.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2012/02/titled-drawing-another-ellie-bogardus.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2012/02/ellie-bogardus-commercial-side.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2012/03/plainfield-relative-another-ellie.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2012/09/cambria-time-capsule-artist.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2014/01/ellie-bogardus-i-believe-my-husband-and.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2014/03/a-gift-to-jo-from-toot-ellie-bogardus.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2014/04/two-for-toots-another-ellie-bogardus.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2014/12/ellie-bogardus-italian-period.html

http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2015/05/across-landscape-more-ellie-bogardus.html


Take care,

Jeff