Chuck Redux

It's June in January!

Legendary actress, June Foray, the voice of such renowned cartoon characters as Natasha, Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Witch Hazel and little Cindy Lou Who, will be making a special appearance this evening, January 5th, at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena at 8 PM and performing in word and song with Will Ryan and the Cactus County Cowboys.  Be there or be square!  

Send in the Clowns: Chuck Jones and Ringling Bros. Clown College

Chuck Jones met the clown TJ Tatters, also known as Steve Smith, in the early 1990s.  Smith, a graduate of the Ringling Bros. Clown College and its director from 1985 until 1995, invited Jones down to Sarasota, Florida on several occasions to speak with the students.  As was his nature, Chuck gifted many of the students a drawing of their favorite Warner Bros. character.  On one such trip he drew this:

 This past September, the Clowns (past, present and future) got together on Cape Cod for a reunion and to celebrate Chuck's birthday, Valerie Kausen, Chuck's granddaughter went out to join them in their festivities.  

“Being at the Clown College Reunion made my heart so happy to feel the love and respect that each and every one of those fabulous laugh loving people loved Chuck as much as I do. My face hurt from smiling so much. I had such a great time!", said Valerie, seen here with Steve Smith (aka TJ Tatters), Clown Hall of Fame member, and the talent development coordinator for Chuck Jones Film Productions, in Provincetown this past September for their Reunion.  

 

Museum of Science and Industry--Chicago Hosts Dr. Seuss Exhibit

Three of our Chuck Jones Gallery staff attended this past weekend's opening gala for "Dr. Seuss and the Art of Invention" at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.  

Making the scene at "the Bean" (AKA "Cloud Gate" by Anish Kapoor) are from left, Scott Dicken, VP of retail for Linda Jones Enterprises, Micah Murray and Kate Bowerman, art consultants at the Chuck Jones Gallery in San Diego.  Afterwards, they took an architectural tour of Chicago from a boat (and got soaked--the weather is less predictable in Chicago than it is in southern California) and later in the day headed down to the Museum for the opening gala.

Scott, Kate and Micah smile for the birdie at the gala reception for the opening of "Dr. Seuss: the Art of Invention" at the Museum of Science and Industry.

The next day, before heading home, they stopped at the studio of artist Peter Mars, who had contributed an homage image of the Lorax to the current exhibit.  From left, artist Peter Mars, Scott Dicken, Micah Murray and Kate Bowerman.  

"It Held Me Smellbound."

When Chuck Jones's 1949 short animated film starring Pepé le Pew, "For Scent-i-mental Reasons" won the Oscar for best short animated film at the Oscars held in March of 1950, he received many congratulatory telegrams (of course, he did not get the actual Oscar statuette, that honor was bestowed upon the producer, the irascible Eddie Selzer), but of all of the congratulations, the telegram below, from the inimitable Tex Avery is perhaps the most delightful.  This artfact will be on display at the soon-to-open Chuck Jones Experience at Circus Circus in Las Vegas.

 

WNYH! (We Need Your Help!)

One of Chuck Jones Center for Creativity's most ardent partners and supporters is the amazing non-profit TEAM KIDS.  They have been selected as one of 10 finalists for a Cox Cares Grant of $10,000.00!  No one is more deserving, but, and this is where you come in, TEAM KIDS needs your vote!  The non-profit with the most votes wins the grant of $10,000.00 and will be named Cox's Non-Profit of the Year.  Please, please take a moment (okay, maybe 4 minutes, 5 tops) and go to Cox Cares and vote for TEAM KIDS.  We thank you and TEAM KIDS thanks you!  To learn more about TEAM KIDS, visit their website.  

Dr. Seuss AKA Stroogo Von M.

Green Cat with Lights by Dr. Seuss

In his early career as a magazine humorist and advertising-copy artist, the nom de plume underwent a number of per­mutations—Theo Seuss 2nd, Dr. Theo­phrastus Seuss, and the cumbersome Dr. Theodophilus Seuss, Ph.D, I.Q., H2SO4. Geisel started to recede, even as Seuss enlarged. When a children’s book titled And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street by “Dr. Seuss” appeared in 1937, the future was set.  Four “fame-producing” decades later and Ted’s painting, Green Cat with Lights, has been completed and mysteriously signed, “Stroogo Von M.” But why? 

Audrey Geisel says “ Ted liked to hang that artwork in the entryway of Seuss House. When people would come in, they would invariably ask about the painting. Ted would answer, ‘That’s my Stroogo Von M. How do you like it?’ In return, what he would get from friends was an honest opinion without them knowing it was his painting.” 

 

Ted’s “tongue in cheek” humor may have prompted him to positively recycle the name “Stroogo.” Stroogo first appeared as the henchman who would walk up and down walls in Ted’s short-lived 1935 comic strip “Hejji.” He resurfaced as Dr. T’s henchman in the 1953 movie, The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T., a project Ted had high hopes for, but which soured him on moviemaking for the rest of his life.

Green Cat with Lights falls into the category of Ted’s “Big Cats” along with Joseph Katz, Indistinct Cat, Cat from the Wrong Side of the Tracks, Alley Cat for a Very Long Alley, and Wisdom of the Orient Cat. These are some of the most sought-after and cherished artworks of the entire collection.

Green Cat with Lights is a fine art edition measuring 34" x 24" unframed.  Call your Chuck Jones Gallery art consultant for more details and to add this beautiful new edition from the most iconic of American children's authors and illustrators to your collection.  

Chuck Jones Gallery--San Diego: 888-294-9880

Chuck Jones Gallery--Santa Fe: 800-290-5999

Chuck Jones Gallery--Tustin: 800-959-7175

This artwork may also be ordered online at ChuckJonesGallery.com.  

Maurice Noble, Chuck Jones, Ted Geisel and Dr. Seuss

According to the book "Stepping into the Picture, Cartoon Designer Maurice Noble" by Robert J. McKinnon, Maurice Noble was delighted at the opportunity to work with Ted Geisel again 20 years after the war (that would be World War II, for you youngsters) where they had first met (Geisel was a Major in the film unit headed by Frank Capra and Noble was but a Corporal then) when Chuck Jones announced that he had secured the rights to produce "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and several other Dr. Seuss books in 1965.  

Original background layout design by Maurice Noble for "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas."  Gouache and colored pencil on 12 field (10.5" x 12.5") MGM animation paper.

"As work commenced on "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," it quickly became evident to Maurice that Dr. Seuss was a perfectionist, and everything had to be done "just right."  But he also realized that the famed author lived by the same credo to which he [Noble] had always subscribed--the production comes first--and this made working with Geisel a rewarding experience.  "Ted literally slaved over his books.  I know that sometimes he would take weeks to come up with just one line," said Noble.  "And he wanted to have as much care taken in the creation of the film.  When he made a criticism, it was never a personal thing; it was purely 'what is good for the production?'  So you would go over it again and again, and eventually get it so felt 'right.'  There was no animosity in terms of "This is my book and it must be done this way."  

Original background layout design by Maurice Noble for "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas."  Gouache and colored pencil on 12 field (10.5" x 12.5") MGM animation paper.

"When working with Geisel, Noble noticed that the author often spoke of Dr. Seuss in the third person.  "Sometimes I'd make a suggestion for the picture and he would say something like, 'Well, I think Dr. Seuss would do it this way.'  This was a typical remark.  It was as if Dr. Seuss was a separate creative personality."  

Original background layout design by Maurice Noble for "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas."  Graphite and colored pencil on 12 field (10.5" x 12.5") MGM animation paper.

Chuck Jones had this to say, according to McKinnon, "Authors use a lot of adverbs and adjectives, and when you get into our field, they're of no use to you.  So you have to translate into action what they've used as words... To me Maurice did a remarkable job translating into the style."

Regardless of the difficulties encountered by Jones and Noble in working with Geisel, the results speak for themselves.  The crew knew early on that they working on something special, much in the same way they felt about working on 1957's Warner Bros. masterpiece, "What's Opera, Doc?"  The production just had its own life and the possibility of being a great work of art.  

"Seuss Menagerie to Star on Sunday" -- The Debut of "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" on December 18, 1966

We just came across this wonderful article in the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity's archives that appeared in the Los Angeles Times the week before the Chuck Jones directed "Dr.Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" was to make its debut on CBS (pre-empting "Lassie, no less) on Sunday, December 18, 1966.  In the same box with the clipping (it's a wonderful read BTW, click it to enlarge) were these two photographs.  The top one shows Chuck Jones working with Boris Karloff during the taping session for the soundtrack and the bottom one is (from left) Ted "Dr. Seuss" Geisel, Les Goldman and Chuck Jones admiring the album covers of Seuss' "Horton Hatches an Egg" and the upcoming "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (it with cover art by Chuck Jones.)

Of course, what delights us most of all, is the photo in the article of Chuck Jones looking very Grinch-y indeed as Ted Geisel adds his own twist on the Grinch look.  Can you imagine how much fun it must've been to have been in the room with those two?  Oh, heavens, the mind reels!  

The art for the album cover:  

Special Guests Visit the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity

Craig Kausen (center,) chairman of the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity along with Linda Jones Clough (Chuck Jones' daughter) welcome Warner Bros. animation director Matt O'Callaghan (far left,) Katherine Concepcion and art director Alan Bodner (far right) to the offices of the Center in Tustin, California.

O'Callaghan is the director of the most recent Warner Bros. theatrical short cartoons (in 3-D!) "Coyote Falls" and "Fur of Flying" (with a third one in the can and ready to be released with an upcoming Warner Bros. feature!)  If you haven't seen the cartoons yet, they are excellent.  Working within a 3 minute time frame, O'Callaghan and his crew created a modern, yet traditional animated film that was long on laughs and short on, well, it was too short, it was that good!

Alan Bodner, Matt O'Callaghan and Craig Kausen pause for a photo-op in front of Chuck Jones' custom animation desk at the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity in Orange, California.  (And yes, that's a life-size cut-out of Chuck Jones on the left.)

Chuck Jones 'draws' Matt O'Callaghan.  "Animation is life." --Chuck Jones

Alan Bodner takes inspiration from Chuck Jones' animation desk at the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity.  The Center is located at 131 W. Chapman (just a 1/2 block west of the Orange Plaza) in Old Towne Orange, California.  Drop-in & Draw classes are held most Saturday mornings from 9 AM to Noon. Materials charge is $10.00 for children 10 & under and $15.00 for everyone else.  Call 949-660-7793 for more information or email CreativitySeason@ChuckJonesCenter.org.  

Photos courtesy Katherine Concepcion.  

Muralist, Actor, All Around Bon Vivant, Jimmy Mulligan to Appear at Creativity Season!

Don't know what to do on Saturday, October 23rd from 6 to 9 PM?  Head on down to the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity, 131 W. Chapman, Orange, California for their first annual fund-raiser, CREATIVITY SEASON!  Tickets are still available, but space is limited so click here and get yours now!  

Muralist and actor (and all around bon vivant), Jimmy Mulligan, will be our special guest.  He was at the Center this past Saturday and working with a terrific group of kids, painted this:

Plus he talks about the experience here: