Animation Fun Facts for Thursday Sept 29,2011

Birthdays: cartoonist Russ Heath

1959-Hanna Barbera's "Quick Draw McGraw" tv show. Ba ba Louie and El Kabong!

1976- At his birthday party musician Jerry Lee Lewis accidentally shot his bass player Norman Owens in the chest with s 357 magnum. He said he was using the gun to try and open a soft drink bottle and it accidentally went off. Owens survived and sued Lewis.

1996- The first Nintendo Game system, NES the first 64 bit game system, debuted in the US. It sold 500,000 the first day.

Animation Fun Facts for Tuesday Sept 27,2011

Birthdays: Thomas Nast, XIX centuy cartoonist who defined the image of Santa Claus, and created the Democratic Donkey and Republican Elephant.

1771-Young artist Francisco Goya enters a scholarship competition sponsored by the Academy of Parma. He loses to some obscure artist named Bettino. Judges say about his work: "Crude and ugly colors".

1961- Hanna Barbera's "Top Cat" show premiered. Do you remember the words to the theme song..? "Top Cat, the most effectual- Top Cat, who's intellectual: Close friends get to call him T.C., Providing it's with dignity. Top Cat, the indisputable leader of the gang... He's the Boss he's a pip, he's the championship, He's the most tip-top, Top Cat !"

1977- Bob McKimson, Warner director of countless Foghorn Leghorn shorts, falls dead of heart failure in front of Friz Freleng and Yosemite Sam animator Gerry Chiniquy while having lunch. Fellow artist Art Leonardi had asked Bob for a souvenir drawing that morning, Bob did him a Bugs Bunny but as he was leaving Art reminded him that he neglected to sign it. Bob said as he walked out "Oh, I'll get to it after lunch..."

Animation Fun Facts for Monday Sept 26,2011

Birthdays: Winsor McKay-1869, Theodore Gericault -1791,


1941- Max Fleischer's "Superman" cartoon debuts. They were much more expensive that the usual short cartoons- $90,000 to the usual $40,000, but Paramount wanted them.

1983- Filmation's "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe".

1987- A market research group called Q-5 tried to use a bank of computers to design the ultimate safe, wholesome, politically-correct children's show. They came up with "The Little Clowns of Happytown"-. Of the 26 children's series in syndication it remained dead last in ratings, He-Man, Jem and G.I. Joe on top. The people have spoken.

1990- The Motion Picture Association changed the rating for the naughtiest movies from X to NC-17.

Animation Fun Facts for Sunday Sept 25th

Will Smith is 43 ( he did a voice in the cartoon Sharktale)

1965- The Beatles cartoon show premiered.

Animation Fun Facts for Saturday Sept 24,2011

Birthdays, Pedro Almodovar, Jim Henson, Brad Bird is 54.


1934- Frank Thomas’s first day as a Walt Disney Animator.

1938- Bob Clampett's cartoon "Porky in Wackyland" ( Foo!)

1953-UPA's "Unicorn in the Garden" directed by Bill Hurtz, based on the cartoon style and story by James Thurber.

Animation Fun Facts for Friday Sept 23,2011

1962- H& B's show The Jetsons' premiered. It was the first ABC show to be presented in color. Jane! Stop this Crazy Thing! Jane!

1984-Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Frank Wells met the Disney Animation Dept. and are pitched storyboards for the film Basil of Baker Street, later called the Great Mouse Detective. Eisner dictates memos to start the television animation division. Up to now their thinking had been to dismantle the animation department and earn income from the licensees of the existing library. Roy Disney was instrumental in insisting the animation division remain.

Animation Fun Facts for Weds Sept 21,2011

Chuck Jones was born.


Sept 21st, 1945, Hockey Homicide, directed by Jack Kinney. The first of the Sport-Goofy Disney shorts.

Animation Fun Facts for Monday Sept 19,2011

Looney Tunes director Frank Tashlin born.

Actor Jeremy Irons The voice of Scar in The Lion King , is 63.


2005- British independent animated feature Valiant released under the Disney logo.

Animation Fun Facts for Sunday Sept 18,2011

Famed voice actress June Foray is 93

1572-the painter El Greco first appeared in history in a document paying his union dues to the Guild of St. Lawrence, the artists guild of Rome. His real name was Domenico Theotocopoulos. People just called him 'the Greek Guy" -El Greco.

Animation Fun Facts for Saturday Sept 17,2011

Cartoonist Jeff MacNelly born,

1932- Mickey Mouse short The Whoopee Party, premiered.

1972- Filmation's The Groovie Ghoulies" debuts. Character designs by Don Bluth.

Animation Fun Facts for Friday Sept 16,2011

1949-Chuck Jones "Fast and Furrious" the First Road Runner-Coyote cartoon.

1964- The Peter Potamus Show debuted.

Animation Fun Facts for Thursday Sept 15,2011

Famed Russian animator Yuri Noorstein born.

1930- The first Blondie comic strip.

1973- Star Trek animated series by Filmation premiered. This was the first time Kirk, Spock, Sulu and Uhura were untied again with a Roddenberry script since the original series was canceled in 1967.

Animation Fun Facts for weds Sept 15, 2011

Earl Hurd born, early cartoonist who invented cells.


1968-Filmation's "the Archies" Show "Sugar...ah, honey honey...."


1985- TV series The GummiBears.

Animation Fun Facts for Sunday 9-11

Pinto Colvig born, the originator of the voice of Goofy and Pluto


1960- Terrytoon's Deputy Dawg TV show.

1966- "Kimba the White Lion" debuts in the U.S.

1971- The “Jackson Five” Saturday morning cartoon show.

2001- By a fluke of luck, Seth McFarlane ( Family Guy, the Cleveland Show, American Dad) missed his morning flight out of Boston's Logan Airport to Los Angeles. It was United Flt 11, the first plane to hit the World Trade Center.

Animation Fun Facts for Saturday Sept 10th. 2011

Music composer Raymond Scott born. His music was used by Carl Stalling in a lot of Warner Bros cartoons.


1966- H& B's Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossible's debut.

1968- Hanna Barbera's Space Ghost and Dino Boy' debut.

Animation Fun Facts for Friday Sept 9,2011

1967- Jay Ward’s show George of the Jungle premiered, with SuperChicken and Tom Slick sequences.

Animation Fun Facts for Wednesday Sept 7th 2011

Happy 100th Anniv of the birth of Disney animator Fred Moore.

Julie Kavner, the voice of Marge Simpson born.

1963- Mushi productions cartoon series."Tetsuan Atomo" debuts in the U.S as AstroBoy.

1984-The Walt Disney Board formally fired Walt’s son-in-law CEO Ron Miller.

Animation Fun Facts for Tuesday Sept 6th 2011

Mad Cartoonist Sergio Aragones born,

1958- The Spunky and Tadpole show debuts! .

1969- Depatie-Freleng's the Pink Panther TV Show premiered.

Animation Fun Facts for Monday Sept 5th 2011

1943- Young British cartoonist Ronald Searle is captured by the Japanese in Burma. He spent his time as a P.O.W. working on the infamous Bridge on the River Kwai and making sketches of the nightmarish conditions of his fellow prisoners.

1994-Patrick McDonnell started drawing the comic strip MUTTS.

Animation Fun Facts for Saturday Sept 03rd

Mort Walker, the creator of Beetle Bailey comic stripp.'

1939- British Prime Minister Chamberlain's war announcement interrupts a Disney Cartoon "Mickey's Gala Premiere" showing on the nascent BBC television service. Television shuts down for the duration.

1946- After the War, the BBC television service resumes and an announcer says:" Well now, where were we?" They continue the Mickey cartoon from where it was interrupted in 1939. World War Two probably held back for a decade the development of television.

1950- Mort Walker's "Beetle Bailey" comic strip first appeared.

1960- The Hanna-Barbera show 'Lippy the Lion and Hardy-Harr-Harr" premiered.

Animation Fun Facts for Thur, 9/01/2011

1919- Pat Sullivan's 'Feline Follies" cartoon staring Felix the Cat. Felix is the first true animated star, not depended on a previous newspaper comic strip. His body prototype, a black peanut shape with four fingers, will be the standard for years to come and copied for characters like Oswald and Mickey Mouse. By 1926 he was the most popular star in Hollywood after Chaplin and Valentino. Lindbergh had a Felix doll in his plane and it has been speculated that Groucho Marx copied his famous strut. The first television image broadcast by scientists in 1926 was of a Felix doll.


1928- Paul Terry premiered his sound cartoon RCA Photophone system for a short called "Dinner Time". Young studio head Walt Disney came by train out from Los Angeles to see it. He telephoned his studio back in L.A." My Gosh, Terrible! A Lot of Racket and Nothing Else!" He said they could continue to complete their first sound cartoon "Steamboat Willie".