Monday, October 28, 2024

Edward Hopper's Sketchbooks

Here's Edward Hopper's notebook, looking like a comic book or graphic novel. This is from the Today's Inspiration Facebook group.


Hopper and his wife kept detailed notes on the paintings he’d sold or which were being bought in installment, and these are those notebooks, like ledgers almost. There's a book that reproduces them: Edward Hopper: A Journal of His Work. 

A few more samples. Via Rob Stolzer, here are some prelims for his Nighthawks painting:




 

 

Thursday, October 24, 2024

See You Soon

Some Fall of 2024 colors along the Maine/New Hampshire border (Province Lake) and around home. 

This is from a trip this past weekend. 

I'll be away for a couple of days. Back to the blog soon.







Wednesday, October 23, 2024

1981 BBC Review of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

From the BBC Archive:



Astronomer Patrick Moore, sports journalist Julie Welch and playwright Alan Plater join Ludovic Kennedy to review the BBC television adaptation of Douglas Adams' science-fiction comedy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Does this latest incarnation of THHGTTG hold a candle to the original radio series? Clip taken from Did You See...?, originally broadcast on BBC Two, 14 February, 1981. 
 


Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Video: "See You At the Polls" Election PSA (1956) with Groucho and Bob Hope

Here's a great 30 minute PSA film hosted by Bob Hope! "See You At the Polls" was produced by the Heritage Foundation and the Ad Council.

From the jeffsabu YouTube page.

Groucho shows up with George Fenneman around six minutes in, with an appeal to the public to exercise their right to vote, oddly sincere considering it's Groucho!

Also featured: Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Spring Byington, Danny Thomas, Jimmy Durante, Ethel Merman, William Bendix, and many more.

This note from @fromthesidelines is on the YouTube page:

 "Incidentally, most of the segments were lifted from other TV shows and movie excerpts. For example, Bing's musical number was originally featured on the March 21, 1954 filmed episode of 'THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM.' Rosie Clooney's musical segment was from her syndicated TV series. Bob Hope and Jane Russell in an excerpt from 'The Paleface' (1948). Ethel Merman and Donald O'Connor in a number from 'Call Me Madam' (1953). And Byron Palmer was in a segment from the syndicated 'THIS IS YOUR MUSIC' series. Jimmy Durante, Anna Maria Alberghetti and Peter Lawford's musical number was originally presented on the final episode of Durante's 'TEXACO STAR THEATRE' [June 23, 1956]."

  

Monday, October 21, 2024

1987 B. Kliban Interview by Heidi MacDonald

 

From 1987, here's an interview with gag cartoonist B. Kliban conducted by Heidi MacDonald (and it's copyright that year by her) from SPLAT! #3, SPLAT! sports a cover by Howard Cruse and was published bi-monthly by Mad Dog Graphics, a division of Strnad Publishing and Tom Mason.

What's amazing here is the backstory to his Cat book, which was and still is a big deal. It almost didin't happen at all. Kliban was just doing weird cat drawings and filing them away. One day Playboy cartoon editor Michelle Urry just happened to drop by his studio and open the drawer of cat drawings. She loved them. It was she who said these should be published. 

Michelle was a great editor and much missed by Playboy cartoonists. Playboy was, after all, a premiere cartoon market that was very difficult to break in to. I remember getting a rejected cartoon from Playboy in the mail. (This was back in the day when submissions were mailed, natch.) There was a note from Michelle to me that she thought it was a good, funny cartoon and disagreed with Hef who had decided not to buy it. That's what is called a "good rejection" in the business. 

Here's this terrific interview by Heidi MacDonald:








Friday, October 18, 2024

From the Dick Buchanan Files: The Life and Cartoons of Tom Henderson

Tom Henderson's single panel magazine cartoons were everywhere. Within a year of his first sale, he was a top-selling gag cartoonist. Here's Dick Buchanan with a lot more about Tom Henderson's life, work, and, also, of course, many samples of his work. Thanks and take it away, Dick!



TOM HENDERSON
(1920 – 1970)




Tom Henderson. “What’s Funny About That?” E.P. Dutton Inc., 1954.


Tom Henderson was a cartoonist and illustrator best known for his work in The Saturday Evening Post.
He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, but grew up in Chicago where he attended Wabash College and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. 


Henderson sold his first cartoon in 1945 and he was top cartoonist in point of sales to five largest magazines for 1946. He contributed to the Saturday Evening Post. Collier's, Look, This Week Magazine, True Magazine, Popular Science and1000 Jokes Magazine among many others.


In 1956 Henderson created a weekly feature, “Fan Fare,” for This Week Magazine. This series appeared weekly featuring one of Henderson’s favorite targets, the wealthy, entitled, clueless members of the upper crust.


Like many other cartoonists Henderson, in addition to drawing gag cartoons for magazines, had many advertising clients. He created illustrated advertising campaigns for clients including General Electric, Shell Oil Co., American Express, Yale & Towne, Pennsylvania Tire Co., and Johnson & Johnson, among others.


Here just a few of the gag cartoons Tom Henderson created over the years . . .

 
American Magazine April, 1945.

 

 

This Week Magazine April 1, 1945.



Liberty Magazine August 10, 1946.



True Magazine August, 1946.



This Week Magazine April 27, 1947.



American Legion Magazine March, 1947.



The Saturday Evening Post September 27, 1947.



The Saturday Evening Post February 21, 1948.



Holsum Advertisement, week of May 28, 1949.



The Saturday Evening Post July 1, 1950.



The Saturday Evening Post February 7, 1951.



The Saturday Evening Post June 21, 1952.



This Week Magazine July 13, 1952.



The Saturday Evening Post June 6, 1953.



The Saturday Evening Post October 23, 1954.



Collier’s July 8, 1955.



American Legion Magazine March, 1956.



This Week Magazine August 4, 1957.



Look Magazine April 29, 1958.



The Saturday Evening Post November 21, 1959.



American Legion Magazine January, 1964.



Boys’ Life November 1968.


 

Related:

Tom Henderson's son has a site here.















Thursday, October 17, 2024

Virgil (VIP) Partch: How an Animated Film Is Made

From Animation Magazine's Spring 1988 issue, here's "How an Animated Film Is Made" by Jerome K. Muller and with drawings by Virgil (VIP) Partch. Hat tip to Antonio Marques for this!







Winter Is Coming

 


It got below freezing here in New Hampshire and, according to the live Mt. Katahdin cam, it's even colder up there. Mt. Washington already has had its first snowfall, and the other day, plows were out on the Kancamagus Highway that traverses the White Mountains. I live in the foothills. No snow here yet but am I glad I brought in a couple of outdoor plants into the house last night. Phew!