What's new on the Jay Ward blog

This has nothing whatsoever to do with Mr. Magoo or Christmas but if you're a fan of Jay Ward you might want to check out the latest post at artofjayward.blogspot.com where I show very rare images from the original Dudley Do-right pilot produced in 1948, 13 years before he first appeared on The Bullwinkle Show.  The above image is NOT from the pilot but drawn by UPA and Ward director, Pete Burness. 

Activities on the Art of Jay Ward blog

As you may have noticed, updates on this blog are few and far between.  As new information or artwork comes in, I will post on this blog but in the meantime, check out my sister blog, artofjayward.blogspot.com where I continue to post new info and art on the Jay Ward studio.  Lately, I've been posting regularly on Bill Scott's gag cartoons on life at Ward's and will continue to do so for the next few weeks.  Bill Scott, Jay's partner and head writer, producer and all around voice artist (Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-right, Super Chicken, George of the Jungle, etc) came up through the animation ranks and, as a cartoonist armed with biting wit, made humorous observations on their difficulties with ad agencies, networks, their status in the industry, and even each other.

This week, a series on ad agency shenanigans:

Check out this and previous postings at artofjayward.blogspot.com.  And if you haven't bought the book, The Art of Jay Ward Productions, a limited number of copies are available HERE for half off the cover price of $49.95.  For those of you without calculators, that means just $25.  Christmas is coming, I'm just saying...

Gerard Baldwin, a life in animation

Readers of either of my books, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, The Making of the First Animated Christmas Special or The Art of Jay Ward Productions will instantly recognize the name Gerard Baldwin.  Baldwin was responsible for directing and animating the highly memorable, show-stopping sequence featuring the Despicables in Christmas Carol.   For Jay Ward, he directed and animated many of the best episodes of Fractured Fairy Tales, Aesop & Son and Dudley Do-right at Jay Ward as well as animating several pilots such as Hoppity Hooper, Super Chicken and George of the Jungle.  Baldwin had a flair for turning the limitations of low-budget animation into assets while squeezing out the highest possible entertainment value.

Now, you can learn a little bit more about the master himself in his new book, From Mister Magoo to Papa Smurf, A Memoir by Gerard Baldwin, available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Beginning at his beginning, Baldwin recounts growing up in New York, his decision to become an artist and his sideways move into the medium that would define his career, animation.  You'll read about his early days as an inbetweener at UPA, his military service, his return to UPA and his rise as an animator and director in the TV animation industry, culminating in becoming a producer on Hanna-Barbera's The Smurfs.  Between his stories from the animation trenches and his wry observations, there are a number of charming drawings illustrating anecdotes from his life.

During it's baby boomer heyday, television animation was usually looked down upon, especially by those in the industry.  Consequently, very few animators and directors from that era put their experiences and thoughts down on paper; this is rare insight into the art and commerce of 1960s animated cartoons that is of interest to not only those that grew up with the cartoons but for anyone who follows pop culture.  You can buy it here.

Sam Clayberger, designer at UPA

Sam Clayberger painting at UPA

I first met designer and painter Sam Clayberger as part of my research for my book, The Art of Jay Ward Productions.  As it eventually turned out, Sam became quite a resource for art for that book, having been Ward's principal background painter for most of the Ward studio's history.

Readers of my book may recall that most of Jay Ward's staff came from UPA after having left the studio as it was collapsing in 1959.  While many of the directors at Ward were already old pros by the time they arrived at UPA, most of what would become the design crew at Jay Ward Productions were recent grads of the LA art schools.  A prime example of that was Sam Clayberger who, sometime after graduating from Chouinard Art Institute, got a phone call from Chouinard instructor Don Graham informing him of a short term  opportunity at UPA moving desks.  Sam took the gig and parlayed that "quickie" into a full time job doing layout and later background painting.  He left employment at UPA after a few years in order to paint but kept money coming in as a freelancer first at Hanna-Barbera in their early days and later working for Ward as a full-time freelancer so he could continue to paint, later adding teaching at Otis Art Institute into his already full schedule.

Sam recently came across a small stack of his color thumbnails from his brief time at UPA where he worked on a number of Mr. Magoo cartoons, some of which are reproduced here for your enjoyment.  First up, Magoo's Cruise from 1958, in which Magoo arrives on a pier for a reunion cruise with old friends but is mistakenly taken on board what appears to be a Soviet submarine. Sam is credited with design and color, which would mean he designed and laid out the backgrounds as well as keying and painting them.  (Brief footnote here, one of the animators on each of the shorts listed here was Casey Onaitis, who animated on Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.)  The last image is an actual production background of the interior of the submarine.

Next, 1957's Magoo's Private War, in which he is credited for design (layout) and co-credited with Ervin Kaplan for color.  The color styling was all Sam's making it likely that Erv followed up on the backgrounds.  In the cartoon, Magoo mistakes a theatrical war film for an invasion and tries to calm the audience, telling them that "General Clayberger" will be coming to save them.  Most of the beginning shots are painted quite hot in contrast to the bulk of the film which takes place in either a darkened theater or on nighttime city streets.  The currently available transfer of this film is on the murky side in comparison to these color keys.

Finally, Merry Minstrel Magoo from 1958 wherein Magoo heads down to a TV station to audition for a talent show; Sam is credited with both design (layout) and color:

Unfortunately, these cartoons are not available online so if you'd like to see them to compare them to Sam's originals, you'll have to pick up the boxed set from The Shout Factory which is available here on Amazon.  Up next will be some of Sam's keys for black & white UPA commercials.  On March 23rd, be sure to check out my Jay Ward blog here for some examples of Sam's beautiful color keys for Jay Ward.

Where have I been?

Marketing, promoting and selling The Art of Jay Ward Productions, that's where!  Most of the spring and early summer was spent making the rounds of the various LA animation studios with Ward artist Sam Clayberger in tow as well as several book signings with June Foray. 

June Foray at the Larry Edmunds Bookshop in Hollywood

We even had an evening at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica with Sam and Allan Burns, whom you may remember as the co-creator and co-producer on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  For those who haven't read the book, Allan's writing career really got started at Jay Ward before he moved into live action comedy writing.

Sam Clayberger and Allan Burns at the Aero Theater

If you haven't yet purchased a copy of The Art of Jay Ward Productions and would like to, I have a limited number of artist signed copies.  These are signed by the aforementioned Sam Clayberger and Art Diamond, who has declined to make public appearances at signings so his signature on the books is very rare.  You can buy them here.

And for those who've wondered what happened to my Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol posts, I stopped because there didn't seem to be any more to say.  However, a few weeks ago, some very interesting material surfaced, material that I wish I had had for the 50th anniversary of the book, which you can still buy here for a limited time.  Stay tuned for an upcoming post revealing just what was discovered.

IT'S HERE!!!!!

At long last, The Art of Jay Ward Productions is here!  The book is jammed with art and photos, 980 to be exact, and fills 352 pages.  It's also heavy, weighing in at over 4 lbs!  Some images from inside the book can be seen at the visual essay I composed for Cartoon Brew, check it out here.  You can order it at www.artofjayward.com.

Pre-order The Art of Jay Ward Productions!

Although the book won't make its official debut until November 15th at the CTN Animation Expo, you can now pre-order the book at www.artofjayward.com.  Local purchasers can be the first to get their hands on this long-awaited book by pre-ordering the book and picking it up at Renegade Animation's Glendale office, see the book's website for more info.  If you order it before Oct. 15th and use the code EARLYBIRD, you'll save $10 off the publication price.  More page images and order information can be found here. 

The Art of Jay Ward Productions

Here's a peek at my forthcoming book, The Art of Jay Ward Productions.  The book came in at 352 pages, 980 images, 12 x 9", hardcover with dust jacket, and will make its debut at CTN-X, November 15, 2013 in Burbank, beginning with a Q & A with two of the surviving artists, followed by a book signing.  Retail price is $49.95.

The book is arranged chronologically and each show has its own chapter.  It starts with a brief, early history of the Ward studio, a chapter profiling all the key artists and then the individual shows take over the book: Rocky and Bullwinkle, Fractured Fairy Tales, Peabody and Sherman, Aesop & Son, Dudley Do-right, Fractured Flickers/The Nut House, Hoppity Hooper, Commercials (including both General Mills and Quaker Oats), George of the Jungle, Super Chicken and Tom Slick.  The final chapter profiles many of the unsold series that Jay Ward Productions developed and pitched.

Within each chapter, there are myriad, never-before-seen concept sketches, model sheets, storyboards, backgrounds and even a few cels.  I'll be taking pre-orders in October and will announce it here and on other animation blogs, like Animation Scoop and Cartoon Brew.  Stay tuned to this blog for more updates.