Remembering Iwao Takamoto...his birthday was April 19th. It was actually his centenial birthday! The stuff that came out of this Hanna-Barbera legend's pencil was Amazing! I have copies of many of his early H-B drawings signed, but most will remember him for designing Scooby Doo. #Iwaotakamoto

Rudolph designer and Co-creator of all the characters in Rankin/Bass' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Antony Peters. #rudolphtherednosedreindeer #sixty

Paul Coker, Jr.

I just got off the phone with my pal Rankin/Bass Designer, Paul Coker, Jr. We had a long talk and I had quite a bit to fill him in on. He sounds great at 92 and staying healthy. He said it has been a while since he has drawn anything, but what a great output he has had over the years. #Paulcokerjr #Rankinbassproductions #madmagazine #Frostythesnowman #Heatmiser #Snowmiser #Thewackyworldofmothergoose #Santaclausiscomintotown
 

Remembering Wes a year after his passing. Wes really made our six books come to life and worked hard on all of our Rankin/Bass projects! He will be missed!

 

Wes was the best in the West!

Wes was the best in the West!  Thanks for all of your condolences for Wes!   He was a super guy and a big part of the success of what we did!   Wes will live on in our books and the work I continue to do and will dedicate all public appearances to him!   Like I said, we are trying to schedule a memorial event in West Hollywood during the Holiday season 2020!   It is sad I didn't get to say goodbye, but we talked quite a bit this year in making plans for sales and products.  Wes will not be forgotten!

wes

I have been checking on my older friends and just got off the phone with Paul Coker, Jr.!  He is doing well and said he loves the Frosty books and is getting lots of nice feedback, as it sits on his coffee table.  Paul is a sweet guy and a legend in the Rankin/Bass Universe and the world of MAD Magazine!

I have been talking a lot about the creators of all the characters in Rankin/Bass' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on the radio and at my appearances lately! In fact, one interview will air today on WJQZ in Wellsville New York at 8:45 AM and another in Rockford Illinois this week on WKCL 96.7 FM

 c. 2001 Miser Bros Press/Rick Goldschmidt Archives

 Antony Peters was a very close friend of mine and designed all of the characters as we know them in Rankin/Bass' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer including the lettering style used in the credits!  He started very early with Rankin/Bass as their original designer/Artist in the 1950s.  He worked on all of their commercials and developed The New Adventures of Pinocchio and later The Tales of the Wizard of Oz.  He even went to Canada to oversee the animation at Crawley studios for Oz.  He developed their feature film, Willy McBean & His Magic Machine and then designed all of the characters in Rudolph such as Hermey the Dentist, Yukon Cornelius, The Bumble, The Island of Misfit toys, etc.

Romeo Muller, Jr., seen here behind the great Sid Caesar, whom Romeo wrote for, created all of the characters in Rankin/Bass' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV Special including Clarice, The Misfit Doll, Sam the Snowman (Who he based on Nicely Nicely from Guys & Dolls), the foreman elf, etc.   Romeo is the reason we are still talking about Rudolph on it's 55th Anniversary!  I recently did an interview for Smithsonian Magazine about all of this, that will be out before Christmas!

Paul Coker, Jr.

 I just had a nice long chat with Paul Coker, Jr. (Designer of most of the Rankin/Bass TV Specials). I was a bit worried about him, as his phone was out of service for a while (What a relief!). I had to let him know about several projects and he told me he absolutely loved our last book and is looking forward to the new one. #paulcokerjr #rankinbass #madmagazine

Antony Peters, Co-Creator of all of the characters in Rankin/Bass' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

 

I have been doing a lot of interviews for radio, magazines, etc. this holiday season and I explain how Romeo Muller, Jr., writer of the TV Special created all of the characters in the classic, except for Rudolph and Santa Claus.   This is true, all of the concepts came from the pen of Romeo, but it was visualized by Antony Peters.  Antony and I became great friends before his passing.  He worked at Rankin/Bass Productions when it was known as Videocraft International in the late 1950s.   He always described himself to me as the art kid in the back room.   At any rate, he designed The New Adventures of Pinocchio and The Tales of the Wizard of Oz and the lettering style in the titles,   He even oversaw the animation on OZ at Crawley studios in Canada.   He came up with the original concept of Willy McBean & His Magic Machine and designed all of the characters in Rudolph, which was his last project at Rankin/Bass Productions.  It is his lettering style that was used in the titles (I like the original end titles from 1964 best, which we have now in color).  Tony was a talented artist and designer and we can thank him for the look of the Animagic characters! 

Frank Romano is in my room at 94 years young! He started at Ben Cooper in 1962 and designed all the classic costumes..including The Green Hornet!

 

Frank designed many of the classic Halloween costumes including Gumby and the Green Hornet!   We talked about the moving mouth year and the failure it turned out to be. 

Paul Coker, Jr.

Freshly signed by our pal Paul Coker, Jr.

 

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TONY PETERS

RANKIN/BASS designer TONY PETERS shows one of his story boards!