Friday, December 10, 2010
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. 
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 :)
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 :)
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.
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 :)
"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 :)
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!
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 
