Popeye the Sailor: The 1960s TV Cartoons
By Fred M. Grandinetti
230 pages/$30 hardcover $20 softcover/Bear Manor Media
Like author Fred M. Grandinetti, I was a child of the 60s and was exposed to all the Popeye cartoons, and it took time for me to understand that some were excellent, some were good, and some were outright bad. It slowly became clear to me that the best was the theatrical shorts made in the 1930s by the Fleischer Studio. What was less clear was who made the others of varying quality.
Thankfully, Grandinetti provides us with a handy guide, breaking down which animation house did what, all in an attempt to corner the syndicated cartoon market when there were hours upon hours of time to fill.
Elzie Segar’s Thimble Theater featured the Oyl family, with new characters coming and going as needed for each serialized adventure. On January 17, 1929, readers met Popeye,...
By Fred M. Grandinetti
230 pages/$30 hardcover $20 softcover/Bear Manor Media
Like author Fred M. Grandinetti, I was a child of the 60s and was exposed to all the Popeye cartoons, and it took time for me to understand that some were excellent, some were good, and some were outright bad. It slowly became clear to me that the best was the theatrical shorts made in the 1930s by the Fleischer Studio. What was less clear was who made the others of varying quality.
Thankfully, Grandinetti provides us with a handy guide, breaking down which animation house did what, all in an attempt to corner the syndicated cartoon market when there were hours upon hours of time to fill.
Elzie Segar’s Thimble Theater featured the Oyl family, with new characters coming and going as needed for each serialized adventure. On January 17, 1929, readers met Popeye,...
- 7/31/2023
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
There’s one name that almost always gets a smile from nostalgic fans of TV cartoons: Jay Ward. After all, he helped to produce one of the earliest cartoon shows during television’s infancy, “Crusader Rabbit”. But it wasn’t until 1959 that Ward unleashed his masterpiece, “Rocky and His Friends”. Each half hours usually contained two short chapters of an ongoing adventure serial starring Rocky the Flying Squirrel and his dimwitted pal Bullwinkle the moose. And in between these installments were classic features often funnier than the show’s title stars. There was the satiric “Fractured Fairy Tales”, the campy “Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties”, the fables of “Aesop & Son”, and “Peabody’s Improbable History” in which the super-genius talking dog Mr. Peabody and his boy, the excitable seven year-old human named Sherman journeyed back through the years via Mr. P’s time travel invention the Wabac machine. After meeting some historical figure,...
- 3/7/2014
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
FX’s anthology series American Horror Story has been renewed for a third season of bat-shit cray-cray. Actress Jessica Lange, who has found a whole new generation of fans thanks to her Emmy and Golden Globe winning role on the series, will return as well.
Two video games are heading to the big screen, as CBS Films will bring Deus Ex: Human Revolution, while Warner Bros. is looking to sign Tom Hardy to star in their version of Splinter Cell, which was created with the help of Tom Clancy and has spawned several successful tie-in novels.
ABC has decided not to order the back nine for either 666 Park Avenue or Last Resort. However, both shows will remain on the air through the 13 episodes that the network ordered. So, both shows will remain in production, perhaps giving the creators a chance to finish off their tales. Both should eventually land on...
Two video games are heading to the big screen, as CBS Films will bring Deus Ex: Human Revolution, while Warner Bros. is looking to sign Tom Hardy to star in their version of Splinter Cell, which was created with the help of Tom Clancy and has spawned several successful tie-in novels.
ABC has decided not to order the back nine for either 666 Park Avenue or Last Resort. However, both shows will remain on the air through the 13 episodes that the network ordered. So, both shows will remain in production, perhaps giving the creators a chance to finish off their tales. Both should eventually land on...
- 11/19/2012
- by spaced-odyssey
- doorQ.com
Lucille Bliss, who provided the voices for the cartoon characters Smurfette, Crusader Rabbit, and Rags died of natural causes on Nov. 8 in Costa Mesa, Calif., the Los Angeles Times reports. She was 96.
The animation voice actress’ career spanned over 60 years; she was working as recently as last month. In addition to her groundbreaking double role in Crusader Rabbit (as the title character and Rags) and her most recognizable role in The Smurfs (as Smurfette), Bliss also gave voice to the stepsister Anastasia in Disney’s 1950 film Cinderella and the original Elroy in the 1960s TV series The Jetsons. Her smaller...
The animation voice actress’ career spanned over 60 years; she was working as recently as last month. In addition to her groundbreaking double role in Crusader Rabbit (as the title character and Rags) and her most recognizable role in The Smurfs (as Smurfette), Bliss also gave voice to the stepsister Anastasia in Disney’s 1950 film Cinderella and the original Elroy in the 1960s TV series The Jetsons. Her smaller...
- 11/16/2012
- by Maane Khatchatourian
- EW.com - PopWatch
Lucille Bliss, who is best known for voicing Smurfette in the 1980s animated series "The Smurfs," has died of natural causes at an assisted living center in California. She was 96. Bliss' career spanned over 60 years, starring in 1950 with a voice role in Disney's "Cinderella" as the step-sister Anastasia. She then got hired for the title role in "Crusader Rabbit," which was the first animated TV series. It was created by Jay Ward ("Rocky and Bullwinkle," "Duddley Do-Right"). The actress later voiced Elroy in the 1960s TV series "The Jetsons." She reportedly lost that job when she refused to work under a different name to cover up the fact that she was a woman voicing a little boy. Bliss also voiced characters on "The Flintstones," the animated "Star Wars" spin-offs, "Robots" and the TV series "Avatar: The Last Airbender."...
- 11/16/2012
- WorstPreviews.com
Lucille Bliss, the voice actress whose 60-year career including starring as Smurfette in the 1980s animated series The Smurfs, has died. She was 96. Bliss died Nov. 8 of natural causes at an assisted living center in Costa Mesa, Calif., the Orange County coroner told the Los Angeles Times. Photos: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2012 Bliss worked steadily up until the time of her death after getting her start in 1950 with a voice role in Disney's Cinderella as the stepsister Anastasia. Her big break came with the title role in the original Crusader Rabbit, the first animated series
read more...
read more...
- 11/16/2012
- by THR Staff
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Veteran character actor and voiceover artist Lucille Bliss has passed away at the age of 96. She died on Thursday, November 8th.
A native of New York, Bliss lived in both San Francisco and Los Angeles throughout her career. Her first professional voiceover job was playing wicked stepsister Anastasia in Walt Disney's classic 1950 feature film, Cinderella.
She went on to play Auntie Lou on ABC/Kron-tv's Birthday Party Show and have a long career in commercials and animated cartoons. Bliss was the original voice of Crusader Rabbit, the voice of the Kanine Krunchies jingle in 101 Dalmations, Miss Bitters in Invader Zim, and literally played hundreds of other roles.
She will likely be best remembered for playing spunky Smurfette on The Smurfs, a hugely successful animated series that ran on Saturday mornings on NBC for nine seasons.
A native of New York, Bliss lived in both San Francisco and Los Angeles throughout her career. Her first professional voiceover job was playing wicked stepsister Anastasia in Walt Disney's classic 1950 feature film, Cinderella.
She went on to play Auntie Lou on ABC/Kron-tv's Birthday Party Show and have a long career in commercials and animated cartoons. Bliss was the original voice of Crusader Rabbit, the voice of the Kanine Krunchies jingle in 101 Dalmations, Miss Bitters in Invader Zim, and literally played hundreds of other roles.
She will likely be best remembered for playing spunky Smurfette on The Smurfs, a hugely successful animated series that ran on Saturday mornings on NBC for nine seasons.
- 11/13/2012
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Hokey Smoke! Alexander Anderson Jr., the cartoon mastermind behind Rocky & Bullwinkle, has died. He passed away Friday at a nursing home in Carmel, Calif., at the age of 90 due to complications from Alzheimer's disease. He got his start in the 1940s as an apprentice for his uncle, Paul Terry, the legendary cartoonist whose Terrytoons produced Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle. Anderson teamed up with his old fraternity brother Jay Ward to form Television Arts Productions and hatched a slew of cartoon characters right out of their garage, including Crusader Rabbit, Rags the Tiger and that righteous Mountie Dudley Do Right. Their most famous and enduring creation was a clever flying...
- 10/26/2010
- E! Online
Right on the heels of Joseph Stein, another little-known face of classic entertainment goes the way of the dinosaur. Man, it's a sad day for the Old Guard.
Alexander Anderson Jr., the famous cartoonist responsible for Crusader Rabbit, Rags the Tiger and Dudley Do-Right as well as the famous interspecies duo Rocky and Bullwinkle, has died of Alzheimer's Disease at age 90.
As a young man, Anderson was an apprentice to his uncle Paul Terry, also a cartoonist who penned Mighty Mouse comics from his studio in New Rochelle, New York, before serving in World War II.
read more...
Alexander Anderson Jr., the famous cartoonist responsible for Crusader Rabbit, Rags the Tiger and Dudley Do-Right as well as the famous interspecies duo Rocky and Bullwinkle, has died of Alzheimer's Disease at age 90.
As a young man, Anderson was an apprentice to his uncle Paul Terry, also a cartoonist who penned Mighty Mouse comics from his studio in New Rochelle, New York, before serving in World War II.
read more...
- 10/26/2010
- by Anna Breslaw
- Filmology
Cartoonist Alex Anderson, who created beloved U.S. TV characters Rocky And Bullwinkle, has died after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 90.
Anderson died in Carmel, California on Friday, his wife, Patricia, confirmed to the New York Times.
He was the first cartoonist to draw Rocky the flying squirrel and his buddy, a moose named Bullwinkle, for 1959 ABC network series Rocky and His Friends, created by Jay Ward and Bill Scott. In 1961 the comedy moved to NBC as The Bullwinkle Show. Anderson was not involved in the production of either series.
Before the success of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Anderson worked with Ward to create Crusader Rabbit, which featured his other cartoon creations, including Dudley Do-Right, a Canadian Mountie.
But the pair's collaboration was marred by litigation following Ward's death.
When Anderson saw a documentary about the Rock and Bullwinkle characters in 1991 that failed to credit him, he filed suit against Jay Ward Productions, two years after Ward died.
A settlement was reached in 1996, with a court-mandated acknowledgement of Anderson as “the creator of the first version of the characters". The financial component of the settlement was sealed.
Anderson is survived by his wife, Patricia, four sons, a daughter, 14 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Anderson died in Carmel, California on Friday, his wife, Patricia, confirmed to the New York Times.
He was the first cartoonist to draw Rocky the flying squirrel and his buddy, a moose named Bullwinkle, for 1959 ABC network series Rocky and His Friends, created by Jay Ward and Bill Scott. In 1961 the comedy moved to NBC as The Bullwinkle Show. Anderson was not involved in the production of either series.
Before the success of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Anderson worked with Ward to create Crusader Rabbit, which featured his other cartoon creations, including Dudley Do-Right, a Canadian Mountie.
But the pair's collaboration was marred by litigation following Ward's death.
When Anderson saw a documentary about the Rock and Bullwinkle characters in 1991 that failed to credit him, he filed suit against Jay Ward Productions, two years after Ward died.
A settlement was reached in 1996, with a court-mandated acknowledgement of Anderson as “the creator of the first version of the characters". The financial component of the settlement was sealed.
Anderson is survived by his wife, Patricia, four sons, a daughter, 14 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
- 10/26/2010
- WENN
TV cartoonist Alexander Anderson, the creator of TV characters Rocky and Bullwinkle, has died at the age of 90. According to the Los Angeles Times, Anderson passed away at a rest home in Carmal, California last Friday. The cartoonist was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Anderson also created the characters Crusader Rabbit, Rags the Tiger and Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties with Jay Ward, a college fraternity mate he met at the University of California. Crusader the Rabbit was the first animated TV series of the 1950s, according to The AP. Rocky and Bullwinkle, Anderson's most popular characters, first appeared on television in 1959 in the animated series Rocky and His Friends and then in The Bullwinkle Show, and were later brought together in The Rocky and (more)...
- 10/26/2010
- by By Mike Moody
- Digital Spy
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.