Thursday, December 09, 2010

BRADLEY BOLKE

My dear friend Brad Bolke called me today to wish me well! Brad was the voice of Jangle Bells in RANKIN/BASS' THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS, CHUMLEY THE WALRUS, etc. We talked about many things including Howard Stern's father Ben recording the cast of Tennessee Tuxedo at 152 W. 52nd. He said he did all of his RANKIN/BASS recordings there as well. Brad's brother was the late, great Dayton Allen (Deputy Dawg, Howdy Doody show, The Steve Allen Show, Winky Dink, etc.). He said his brother appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in 1951 or 1952 as Ugly Sam and froze his #@*% off! I didn't know Brad did the voice of Grouicho Marx for the Plymoth De Soto animated commercials/promos. He brought up the DVD below that my friend Patrick Owsley did the cover art for....He said, "Patrick's art should be featured in a TOTAL TELEVISION book!" Brad appeared with us at the MUSEUM OF TELEVISION and RADIO in New York a few years back and can be seen in the documentary on the new YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS BLU RAY. He mentioned that he is still trying to get the smell out of his television set from the live action version he saw a few years back.

www.thedeeparchives.com

A nice Mary Blair that my friend Ron Murphy gave me from the May 1958 issue of AMERICAN ARTIST magazine
For my dear friend Gena (Who was working with Paul McCartney today!)
Maury Laws:


I didn’t write cartoon music or what I call hot licks, trendy stuff that would be outdated in five years. Something that’s very hot this year, they run away from in five years.

I couldn't agree more :)
From my NEW RANKIN/BASS book coming Holidays 2011! Artwork by Paul Coker, Jr.
c. 1971 RANKIN/BASS PRODUCTIONS/RICK GOLDSCHMIDT ARCHIVES

2010 RANKIN/BASS T-Shirts are in!

The limited edition RANKIN/BASS 2010 T-shirts are in and we are already out of Small (BUT expect to get more in). We do have Medium, Large and XL for $20 each plus $7 shipping AND this time we have XXL for $22 + $7 shipping. Beautiful Amanda Lehner is modeling the shirt and she is also appearing in THE STARVING ARTISTS' "Toxic Box" video! Email Wes at Rickgoldsc@aol.com for availability and purchasing info! This shirt is a dark grey with the "It's Sheer ANIMAGIC" logo on the back collar and it is a soft, slim fit type shirt.
Romeo Muller:

Live television did have an electric quality to it that’s missing today. I try to stay away from gratuitous violence as much as possible. I use violence only in a comical way. One of the threads that run through my work is that I always try to reform the villain.
Muller says he does not strive for moral themes in his stories but rather aims for “goodwill toward men”. Rudolph is about a little being with a flaw that makes him a hero. It’s simple, the children identify with it. We worry about ourselves & our faults & it’s gratification when somebody else saves the world.

I couldn't agree more :)
I did a phone interview this morning with Bob Mangels (Our annual RUDOLPH talk) that will appear on WJQZ 103.5 FM this Friday in Wellsville, NY at 8:45am NY time. I talked about a few things that I haven't mentioned yet.
photograph by Tom Repetny
Arthur Rankin :

"Atrocious" and "garbage" are his assessements of NBC's remake of Year Without a Santa Claus. "If something is good the first time, why remake it"? Mr. Rankin has also recently directed plays in Bermuda.

I could not agree more :)

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

RANKIN/BASS' SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN in ice for the 40th Anniversary



Joe Cutroni took these cool (pun intended) pictures on his cel phone!
The restored RANKIN/BASS ANIMAGIC figures of Santa & Rudolph will be on the SCI FI Channel tonight on a show called HOLLYWOOD TREASURES episode "Chasing Rudolph." Check your grid or local listings. Peter Lutrario and I are talking about a big 50th Anniversary party/display for the public, in New York with the RANKIN/BASS staff and ANIMAGIC figures to benefit charity! Plan on it! Maybe we can do this at the MUSEUM OF TV & RADIO again.

Here is a cool company ad that didn't make my books...

Art by Paul Coker, Jr.
Jules Bass :

"I attribute it all to the story." He suspects the unabashed simplicity of the Rankin-Bass specials explains their durability. "It was so simple, had it been less simple, it would have failed." Bass believes today's scriptwriters are fatally wedded to smart-ass irony. "The writers of today are brought up on The Simpsons," he says, and are unwilling to leave a story to its essence.

I could not agree more :)
Remembering a horrible day...30 years later...

RANKIN/BASS' KING KONG JUNGLE SET










My favorite Holiday songwriting duo!

c. 1972 RANKIN/BASS PRODUCTIONS/RICK GOLDSCHMIDT ARCHIVES (from THE ENCHANTED WORLD OF RANKIN/BASS: A PORTFOLIO)

Maury Laws in the early days!

Corey on the cover of a spanish newspaper...

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

GIN BLOSSOMS entertaining the troops!

GIN BLOSSOMS just finished a tour in Iraq and Kuwait, entertaining the troops! Read more at www.ginblossoms.net

BUILD-A-BEAR

Just found this in my newspaper....what is that on the right?!
RUDOLPH had an accident in New York...a popped nose and he deflated to the ground. I am not wild about this design. They had this guy in a Chicago parade and called him simply a "Reindeer" (Red nose and all).

RANKIN/BASS' Collector's corner




Bobby Bond voiced by Billie Mae Richards