Flip Wilson's variety show ran for four years and 94 episodes on NBC. A very popular and unique series, for having an African American lead, it was highly rated during its prime. This is the opening episode of the second season. The tribute to Charles Schulz' Peanuts comic strip (stylized like the You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown musical which had worked its way to Broadway by this time) is an all-star affair, with Lucille Ball, Donny Osmond, Ed Sullivan and I think Mitch Miller as Schroeder.
The Grumbacher Library series of instructional books was a midcentury go-to for people interested in drawing or painting. They had a lot of books, including specialty books on subjects like drawing the face and hands, painting horses, color mixing, painting street scenes, and then, there's this: "The Art of Cartooning."
"The Art of Cartooning" was written and drawn by Madison Avenue ad man and cartoonist Jack Sidebotham (1927 - 2010). He was famous then for helping create Harry and and Bert -- animated characters from a series of TV commercials for Piels beer which ran on television from 1955 to 1960. UPA animated the spots. They were voiced by the comedy team of Bob and Ray. Here's one of their commercials:
By the 1970s, Jack had turned his talent to ABC television's Saturday morning cartoons, designing some of the "Scholastic Rock" cartoons that ran for years. You know: Schoolhouse Rock, Multiplication Rock and so on. More at The Untold Truth of Schoolhouse Rock! There are some behind these scenes bits from the Schoolhouse Rock episode "Lolly Lolly Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here" that he worked on. The video is here.
In 1976, he created this oversized 32 page Grumbacher Art Library book, "hosted" by his two then-most famous characters, the animated beer salesmen Bert and Harry Piel.
I was going to scan the book for you, but good ol' Jeff Overturf already did. Here are the first couple of pages. Jeff has the rest.
Mike's Big Idea is a children's' book written by Rusty Hoffland, with great midcentury comic art illustrations by Valerie Anderson of Zastrow Studios. It's copyright 1965 by Hagen Advertising Inc. This looks like a promotional book that may have been handed out to potential credit union customers. No publishing company is cited in the title page. Heck, there's no title page except on the bottom of one page in caps it states:
PUBLISHED FOR CUNA SUPPLY COOPERATIVE,
AN AFFILIATE OF CUNA INTERNATIONAL, INC.
CUNA stands for Credit Union National Association, which is still around. Of the women who created this, that information is lost to time. Regardless, of all the midcentury illustrations, these may be the most midcenturyish. If I ever find more of Valerie Anderson's work, I will share.
Pen Tips on Cartooning by Charles Stoner is 48 page booklet that's copyright 1949 by C. Howard Hunt Pen Co. There were at least three editions. This is a second printing. Hunt pen nibs, made for a dip pen, are still available to buy. The nice thing about the book is that Mr. Stoner has plenty of samples of drawings along with an editorial note on most pages about what kind of pen nib he used. Other than him being the author of the booklet, I can find no other information about him online. The small drawing of an off-model Mickey Mouse at the top of the cover was probably made by a previous owner. Other than that, the book is clean and complete.
Clients worldwide. National Cartoonists Society. Jack Davis Award winner. Recognized New Hampshire Arts Education Teaching Artist. New Hampshire Institute of Art and Design at New England College Comic Arts Program Adjunct Professor. Need cartoons and illustrations? Contact: mike@mikelynchcartoons dot com
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