The art and animation of the McKimson Brothers...

I was tempted to title this blog entry 'Pay attention, I say...pay attention, son, This is a great book!!' but I decided against it basically because the title probably wouldn't appear completely in the blog listings and so I decided on the title you see above. This book, titled I Say, I Say...Son! looks at the animation/illustration careers of the McKimson brothers: Robert, Tom, and Chuck. Considering that the book's written by Robert McKimson, Jr. there's an understandable main focus on Robert Sr. and his life and times but it also covers the careers of Tom and Chuck, just as the book indicates. I purchased the hardcover book and I did this simply for posterity. Some may opt to purchase the on-line Kindle version for economical reasons or to simply receive the book faster than standard mail shipping. Whichever version you purchase is fine as long as you purchase it. It's one of those kind of books that I think will go out of print and be a rare find in months and years to come. The on-line version, who knows, may be around for eternity but the actual book won't be.

There are a few thorough reviews of this book already and so I'll by-pass re-writing what's already been said. Animation fans and cartoon fans will enjoy the book a whole lot. Anyone aspiring to be a cartoonist or work in the animation industry should purchase the book if only to grasp how far the industry has come since those earliest days and appreciate the technological advances that have come along. As others have mentioned, the book is chock full of illustrations and pictures of behind the scenes workers. There are several moments in the book where the story of the McKimson's is broken up between pages of illustrations. It can be a difficult read if you're not as familiar with these kind of books but the illustrated pages, as I noticed, have a light blue background and so if you look at the side of the book's pages you'll see how many blue pages to turn through before picking up where you left off reading...but, for me, I loved looking through the illustrated pages and I'd simply flip back to where I'd left off reading and then pick up reading once the images had ended.

One reviewer mentioned that the book comes across bitter but I didn't see it that way. In my way of thinking, being bitter means that you're holding a grudge or have a sour mood about whatever it may be. However, if one is familiar with the Warner Brothers cartoons and have some sort of knowledge about various erroneous credits over who created what or who designed what character, etc. etc. then you'll understand the reason for including, for example, images of copyright registrations showing Robert McKimson as the artist who came up with the physical appearance of the Bugs Bunny that we all know and recognize.

If you're familiar with the cartoons of Robert McKimson, or any of the McKimson brothers, but have a hard time finding anything about them on-line then this book is a definite must-have. As far as Chuck McKimson goes, his career as an animator and artist is tied in mostly with his brother's animation unit at Warner Brothers. If you look at any number of Robert McKimson cartoons you're bound to see Charles McKimson listed as one of the animators. The book features illustrations that Chuck did...especially a watercolor rendering of Miss Prissy. Among the pictures in the book is one of Robert and company examining what's referred to as a pencil test.

Chapter Six is titled 'Western Publishing' and it looks at the careers of both Tom and Chuck McKimson. While throughout the book you'll see illustrations credited to Tom and Chuck, as well as pictures of the two, it's mostly in Chapter Six where their individual contributions to animation and art is discussed. In this chapter it mentioned Tom's preference with illustrating comic books, coloring books, and other kinds of book-related media. The author relays the reasoning behind why Tom preferred book illustration to animation. Did you know that Tom and Chuck worked on the Roy Rogers comic books of the late '40s and early '50s? That is just one of the various bits of information found in the book.

The cover art, as you see, depicts a scene from any number of cartoons featuring Foghorn Leghorn and Henery Hawk. What you don't see is the image on the back of the book. It's of the character simply known as Barnyard Dawg and he's in a very familiar pose. The full image is seen on pages 114 and 115. Foghorn was and continues to be one of my favorite characters. For many, many, MANY years I never knew the character's name. I only referred to him as "that big rooster". I was raised on the Warner cartoons that aired on TV throughout the 1980's and 1990's and as many already know the title cards would always be removed. Anyway, as I got older, I found out what a leghorn was after I saw the phrase 'Foghorn Leghorn' written in an issue of TV Guide. The name had appeared in connection with a Bugs Bunny holiday cartoon that was going to air. So, I made the connection that Foghorn Leghorn must mean "loud chicken".

In the late '90s I was listening to an AM radio station that aired a show called When Radio Was. The show, hosted by Stan Freberg, consisted of Stan introducing and giving some insight about old-time radio programs that were to be re-aired during the hour. I knew of Stan Freberg from a few Christmas comedy CD's that I owned featuring various artists, Stan being one of them, but I didn't exactly know his ties with cartoons and advertising, etc. etc. until several years later. I didn't know he was the voice of Pete Puma, the character that appears on Robert McKimson's cartoon "Rabbit's Kin", until sometime in the 2000's.

Anyway...that particular episode of When Radio Was featured a re-airing of a Fred Allen radio show. This one featured a segment known as Allen's Alley and it had a character in it named Senator Claghorn, played by Kenny Delmar. As soon as I heard Claghorn speak for the first time I assumed they'd patterned the character after "that big rooster" but I learned it was the other way around.

The author, on page 119, goes into detail about Foghorn's creation and it's inspiration. Notable characters from Robert McKimson include Foghorn Leghorn, Speedy Gonzales, Tasmanian Devil, Miss Prissy, and Barnyard Dawg. Yes, Robert McKimson created Speedy Gonzales and directed the character's debut cartoon, "Cat Tails For Two", in 1953. There's an image of the character in the book indicating that his creation happened in 1951 but didn't make it onto the big screen until 1953.

The character was re-designed by the Friz Freleng unit after that first appearance. The Speedy cartoons were non-exclusive. Whereas Robert pretty much had exclusive use of Foghorn Leghorn, both the Freleng and McKimson units issued Speedy cartoons throughout the late '50s and into the mid '60s.

Robert McKimson's cartoons, for the most part, have been overshadowed by the directorial masterpieces and achievements of his peers, which included Tex Avery, Friz Freleng, Bob Clampett, and Chuck Jones. This isn't to say McKimson never directed any masterpieces of his own. McKimson's cartoons are just as great and just as popular but most of them never achieved the kinds of lofty acclaim, in later decades, that his peers cartoons have. McKimson did a series of hilarious cartoons featuring a nameless cat and dog. Once you see the character's faces you'll remember the cartoons I'm referring to. In one cartoon, "Early To Bet", the cat is constantly trying to win a card game. A character referred to as the Gambling Bug bites the cat at various moments throughout the cartoon...sending the cat into a delirious state of gambling fever. The dog, meanwhile, always wins. This causes the cat to have to pay a penalty for losing. The hook of the cartoon, and others in the series, is the cat's wild and outlandish reactions every time he reads a penalty that's about to be inflicted on him. The nameless cat and dog appear in another McKimson cartoon titled "It's Hummer Time" which tells of a the cat's desire to capture an elusive hummingbird. The joke is that the bird, much like the gambling bug in the other cartoon, continually leads up to physical trouble for the cat at the hands of the dog. This particular cartoon ends with some ironic justice for the cat.

The book gives great detail about the natural artistic talents of Robert, Tom, and Chuck McKimson and it goes a long way at examining Robert McKimson's contributions to the Warner Brothers characters as he was, at one time, in charge of checking everyone's drawings...from all units! He had his hand in a lot of cartoons that don't credit him simply because there's never been a "Reviewed and checked by" screen credit. If there had been such a credit, based on the information in this book, Robert McKimson's name would appear on a lot of cartoons.

Robert McKimson passed away too young, at the age of 66, in September 1977. His death came just weeks before his 67th birthday. Tom McKimson passed away in February 1998 at the age of 90. Chuck McKimson passed away in April 1999 at the age of 84.

The book contains a foreword by John Kricfalusi and an introduction by Darrell Van Citters. As mentioned, the book is a must-have for cartoon fans and those interested in reading about the brother's McKimson from one that would certainly know the most- Robert McKimson, Jr.

Remembering Mel Blanc...

July 10, 1989 is the day that the world lost Mel Blanc. I'm one of the millions of people who grew up hearing his voice on many cartoons. I never met him in person and have no connection to him or his family but like millions of others we've been impacted by his voice and have laughed at his visual performances. The death of the animation world's most celebrated voice actor not only made national but international news. One of the programs that I remember seeing at some point in the mid '80s when I was around 7 or 8 years old was a Lifetime show called Mother's Day hosted by Joan Lunden. The reason I remember this particular show is because Mel Blanc, of all people, made a guest appearance. In the show he was decked out in a sweatshirt with a picture of Bugs Bunny on the front.

In addition to voicing cartoon characters he also had an equal amount of time playing bit parts and recurring characters on many radio comedies of the '30s and '40s and then when television came along as the country's main choice of entertainment he often shown up in guest starring roles on TV comedies and talk-shows. The radio program with which Mel Blanc is so closely associated is the Jack Benny Program. Mel not only had recurring characters on the radio show but he also brought the characters to television in the '50s and '60s on Jack's television program (1950-1965). One of the characters, Sy, became part of a legendary comedy routine that highlighted the comedic timing of both Mel Blanc and Jack Benny. My grandfather introduced me to Jack Benny's television program...it happened around the mid '80s time period...the reruns were airing on the local PBS stations on Sunday morning. Ever since the mid '80s I've been aware of Jack Benny and Mel Blanc and have long been a fan of Warner Brothers cartoons of which Mel was the primary vocal star.

As others have said and I also agree, Mel Blanc was an actor first and foremost...one that used his expressive voice and entire body in most every performance...but it's the acting that brought everything together.

The vocalizations are what he's known for but it's his acting abilities that enabled those vocalizations to become believable. When you watch a cartoon and hear any number of his characterizations...the funny thing is...the character sounds real. It's one of those things that'll forever puzzle a lot of people. When you hear him as one of the radio characters he played...he sounds exactly like you'd expect his character to sound. Professor LeBlanc, the long-suffering violin teacher of Jack Benny, sounds pretty much the way you'd expect a long-suffering teacher to sound: easily irritable, agitated, sarcastic, and prone to fits of crying and misery. In Professor LeBlanc, Mel could go from misery and angst (during a violin lesson) to absolute joy and happiness (once the violin lesson was over!). Mel provided the voices of not only Professor LeBlanc but he was also heard as Sy the Mexican, Polly the Parrot, Carmichael the Polar Bear, Jack's Maxwell car, and the Train Depot announcer. These were just a few of the well-known characterizations...he provided voices for many nameless characters throughout his involvement in Jack's program from would-be burglars, to repairmen, plumbers, store clerks, and other occupational characters.

Speaking of store clerks...one of Blanc's most hysterical performances every Christmas season for many years was on Jack's program. In many holiday episodes Mel played the part of a nice, courteous store clerk who was driven insane throughout the course of the episode by Jack's annoying habit of changing his mind over what to buy someone for Christmas. Typically a routine would involve Mel having to wrap a gift...then unwrap the gift...wrap the new gift...put it back in the delivery room...then, upon another change of mind from Jack, Mel would have to retrieve the wrapped gift...unwrap it...wrap up the new gift...send it to the delivery room. This gift exchange routine would go on, at various moments, throughout each holiday episode. About mid-way through Mel would lose his temper just a little. By the episode's final exchange Mel would completely lose his mind and turn into a sobbing mess.

Mel turns into a sobbing mess in the clip below...

Mel asks for a Tip in this hilarious clip from one of Jack Benny's television programs. In the clip you'll see Jack, Mel, and Don Wilson (Jack's long-time announcer). I couldn't embed the above video because of the embedding option for it is disabled.

In the video clip below you'll see Jack and Don Wilson discussing the introduction of the show while Mel Blanc comes in about 2 and a half minutes later as a Taxi cab driver. Jokes follow about Mel's character being the owner of a cab service...Blanc then wonders what Jack's profession happens to be. Self-deprecating jokes from Jack as well as jokes from others teasing Jack's "celebrity status" were always prominent on Jack's program. This inquiry from Mel's character prompts Jack to deliver a line that comes off as an ad-lib (based on how Don Wilson and Mel both reacted to it!). You can find quite a few other clips featuring Mel and Jack on You Tube.



Lastly...and I'm not meaning to put a damper on things but a lot of the modern-day depictions of the Looney Tunes characters obviously lack Blanc's vocal touch.

It's one thing to keep the characters in the public eye (which I'm glad that they're doing) but at the same time the characters need to have voice actors who come near-perfect to Blanc's voice. At the present time Bob Bergen and Joe Alaskey are just two that spring to mind that sound similar to how Mel voiced the characters...while Frank Welker does a swell Barney Rubble.

Some of the artists who perform the role of Bugs Bunny put too much emphasis on trying to sound Brooklyn-Bronx and they end up over-doing it or they come off sounding nothing like Bugs Bunny and more like a stereotypical New Yorker.

As you can tell from my comments, I'm guilty of the following as are thousands of other people: Although it's probably unfair to have this kind of opinion but a lot of people judge new Looney Tunes cartoons NOT on the actual storyline but on how close the vocals are to Mel Blanc. Nothing makes a new Looney Tunes cartoon grow on me quicker than if the vocalizations are in the tradition of Mel Blanc. Animators and the musicians can re-create the look and sound of the classic cartoons but, for me, I tend to pay attention to the vocalizations, too. If the vocalizations aren't satisfactory it tends to put a dark cloud over the whole thing.

Mystery resolved: Hopefully this puts an end to the long-held belief that Mel was allergic to carrots. The truth is Mel didn't particularly like carrots unless they were boiled and had a lot of butter or syrup on them. The often told story is Mel had to quickly spit out the carrot that he'd bite into or become sick to his stomach due to some allergic reaction. The reason he'd spit out the carrot is simply to clear his mouth...the last thing you want is to be reading a script and a piece of carrot come up from behind a tooth or wherever and cause a reading to become wasted. People still like to say Mel was allergic to carrots. It's a funny and ironic scenario if it were true but in reality it's just an urban legend and completely, 100 percent false. Mel Blanc was NOT allergic to carrots!

Mel Blanc's son, Noel, often appears on radio programs to discuss animation, old-time radio, and his dad's legacy. He contributed to the various DVD collections that were issued in the middle of last decade (2000-2009) titled The Golden Collection. Each DVD release would feature 4 disc's of Looney Tunes cartoons. Loaded with extra features saw the inclusion of an on-going series titled Behind The Tunes. These installments ran an estimated 5 minutes and they featured clips of a specific cartoon or a profile of a specific character and there would be commentary on-screen by those who participated in the making of the cartoon...or there would be commentary by a relative. Noel Blanc appeared in quite a few of these brief documentaries. In one installment he speaks about Mel's performance and Oscar win for the cartoon "Birds Anonymous" which featured Sylvester trying to give up birds. Technically the producer of a short-subject received the actual award but those who worked on the cartoon rightfully claimed victory, too. Former producer of the Warner Brothers cartoons, Eddie Selzer, willed an Oscar to Mel according to Noel's recollections.

Mel is spoken of with reverence within the various documentary programs in the DVD collections and eventually the collection featured an in-depth look at Mel Blanc's life featuring clips of several of the directors, some of Mel's co-stars, and Noel too. The director's on-screen comments were all taped years before the DVD collections became a reality. Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng are the two who appear on camera with recurring frequency. Robert McKimson is highlighted in a 15 minute documentary; Frank Tashlin gets a documentary; and Bob Clampett has his own documentary, too. Tex Avery is frequently mentioned as is Art Davis.

Speaking of the Oscar...the following cartoons, all featuring Mel as the main voice artist, won an Oscar. I'm listing the actual director of the short-subject because I feel the director had much more creative influence over the cartoon than the producer:

1. Tweetie Pie: 1947 (Friz Freleng)
2. For Scent-imental Reasons: 1949 (Chuck Jones)
3. Speedy Gonzales: 1955 (Friz Freleng)
4. Birds Anonymous: 1957 (Friz Freleng)
5. Knighty-Knight Bugs: 1958 (Friz Freleng)

Mel Blanc's contributions to animation can still be heard. Somewhere in the world the classic Looney Tunes are still airing...if not the Looney Tunes then you're bound to hear his voice on The Flintstones and The Jetsons. Each series airs on the Boomerang channel in America. Mel voiced Barney Rubble and various incidental characters on The Flintstones and Mr. Spacely and other incidental characters on The Jetsons. Boomerang also airs "Wacky Races" and "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop". In the latter, Mel is heard as the Bully Brothers, Yak-Yak, and Chug-a-Boom (recreating the Maxwell vocalizations).

Mel Blanc: May 30, 1908 - July 10, 1989.

Hubie and Bertie...twice the mice is nice

One of the lesser known character teams in the Looney Tunes family are a couple of mice named Hubie and Bertie. Each mouse changed color and voice in different episodes but what most recall is that Hubie is always depicted as the smart mouse and Bertie is the dumb mouse. The mice are perhaps more popular visually than they are by name because in a few of Chuck Jones' cartoons there were mice characters and their design and look were based on Hubie and Bertie. Now, throughout the final three cartoons of the series, they tormented a neurotic cat named Claude but in their first cartoon they tormented a similar cat in speech pattern and personality but visually different from Claude. The character's all had distinct voices. Mel Blanc and Stan Freberg provided the voices for all of the episodes...but some sources say that an actor named Dick Nelson voiced the role of Bertie in one cartoon short, "Roughly Squeaking", from 1946, and that Freberg voiced Hubie...the mouse often voiced by Mel Blanc. Hubie and Bertie can be seen on the various DVD collections of the Looney Tunes. Their likeness has appeared on other cartoons as well...including cameo appearances on 1990's editions of Warner Brothers cartoons. As I mentioned earlier, the names of Hubie and Bertie may not ring a bell but once you actually see the mice you'll no doubt go "oh, now I remember those mice...". The duo headlined six cartoons:

1. The Aristo-Cat; 1943
2. Roughly Squeaking; 1946
3. House Hunting Mice; 1947
4. Mouse Wreckers; 1949
5. The Hypo-Chondri-Cat; 1950
6. Cheese Chasers; 1951

Mel Blanc's autobiography came along 21 years ago in 1988. It was issued a year before his death and I'd known of the book for years but never had the chance to read it until I came across a copy for sale on eBay about 5 years ago. I've since read the book and continue to read and skim the pages to continually remind myself of things I've read. There are several pictures that appear throughout and there's plenty of backstage gossip and other anecdotes that Mel recalls. There's also a chapter devoted to his career on Jack Benny's radio show called "Me 'n Jack". There's some candid moments in the book where Mel gives his opinions of cartoons now {1988} verses then and what he thinks about those who are dishonest in the radio and cartoon business and want to steal material. And so, people who do come across this book on-line somewhere and purchase it, you'll be in for a nice trip back in time as well as an open and honest look at the present through the eyes and mind of Mel Blanc.