Gerard Baldwin and the art of TV animation

Readers of either of my books, The Art of Jay Ward Productions or Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, The Making of the First Animated Christmas Special will instantly recognize the name Gerard Baldwin.  Working 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 was also responsible for directing and animating the highly memorable, show-stopping sequence featuring the Despicables in Christmas Carol.  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.

Memorial Day and the animation artists who served

For most Americans, Memorial Day is a day off and the official kickoff of summer.  In a local Los Angeles suburb, it's not even referred to as Memorial Day but "Fiesta Days," whatever that means.  However, in spite of local governments and the media, the day was set aside to remember all those who served their country, often making the ultimate sacrifice.

Official logo of the First Motion Picture Unit

Many of the artists from animation's so-called Golden Age were not actually in combat during WWII but served in one form or another, usually working for the US Army Signal Corps in the First Motion Picture Unit turning out training films for the various service branches.  There were both East Coast and West Coast units, most of the veterans who worked for Jay Ward served on the West Coast at Fort Roach, Hal Roach's studio facility in Culver City.

Ward director Bill Hurtz is seated second from the right in the bottom corner.

The above image features many of the era's brightest stars from many of the different animation studios and full identification of the personnel can be found at here at Mike Barrier's essential animation history website.  More photos and even a short clip of the animation department from the FMPU can be seen at Mark Mayerson's blog here.  Other artists might have worked at the studios on training films for the military while not actually being a member of the service.  Not all of Ward's artists were old enough to have served in the FMPU during WWII and many served after that conflict. 

Roll call for Jay Ward's artists (staff, freelancers or subcontractors) who served their country in the US military:

Norm Gottfredson
Jim Hiltz
Bill Hurtz
Roy Morita
Sam Nicholson
Dun Roman
Jack Schnerk
Bill Scott
Al Shean
Al Wilson

Veterans still with us:

Gerard Baldwin
Sam Clayberger
Bob Inman
Alan Zaslove

May we always remember those who served.

This list is by no means exhaustive and if anyone knows someone who should be on it, please let me know.

Sam Clayberger and Dudley Do-right

Probably the most consistently funny series of all Jay Ward's productions, Dudley Do-right of the Mounties had a handful of its episodes produced in Hollywood, most of them directed and animated by Gerard Baldwin.  Sam Clayberger remembered painting a lot of RCMP forts but as you can see by the images below, he painted much more than that.  This first batch of images is from the first Dudley episode, Disloyal Canadians.  The first and fifth images are the color keys for the backgrounds reproduced on page 186 of The Art Of Jay Ward Productions.

You can see the video for Disloyal Canadians here.  Notice how the color is unlike any of the keys above. 

Next,Foreclosing Mortgages:

Color keys for Mechanical Dudley, the background for this first image is reproduced on page 188 in The Art of Jay Ward Productions:

Saw Mill:

Next week, some more color keys for Rocky & Bullwinkle, Mr. Peabody and Sherman and more!