HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The most current project I am assisting with.... is a book by Robert Eckstein called THE HISTORY OF THE SNOWMAN; From Ice Age to The Flea Market (SIMON & SCHUSTER)! It will see a release in the Fall of 2007.

This is "Too Much!"

Today we got hit with a HUGE blast of Winter in CHICAGO, with several inches of snow courtesy of the SNOW MISER! We are definitely looking forward to SPRING! The SNOW MISER art at the right is by my pal PATRICK OWSLEY...click on the link at the right of my blog to visit his blog for some new TOTAL TELEVISION art he did for some new UNDERDOG DVD releases!

The Un-Produced JERRY LEWIS RANKIN/BASS Projects!

In my posting about the www.percepto.com soundtrack CD for THE DAYDREAMER, I forgot to mention that the CD includes three RARE demos from two JERRY LEWIS projects that ARTHUR RANKIN and JULES BASS were trying to pull together. Two tracks are from a special that was to be called PUNCH & JUDY featuring JERRY and CAROL BURNETT and the other project was based on THE BELLBOY for which MAURY LAWS and JULES BASS wrote a theme called 'Hey Bellhop!' ARTHUR & JULES were big JERRY fans and even sent MAURY LAWS to the set of THE BIG MOUTH to discuss the projects. Nothing was ultimately Produced except for ANIMAGIC figures for both projects. In recent years, I heard from JERRY and put him in touch with ARTHUR RANKIN. He wanted to resurrect these projects BUT the materials have long been disgarded...except for these RARE tracks coming out on the CD!

FUNKO 'MAD MONSTER PARTY?' series 2 figures are out now!

The FUNKO 'MAD MONSTER PARTY?' series 2 figures showed up yesterday and I must say I am very impressed with them! Especially the way they were painted! This photo doesn't do them justice. You have to see them in-person and out of the package. FRANCESCA's dress and the SKELETON's guitar have glitter paint and FRANCESCA's face is nicely detailed with flat paints! When you put them together with series 1, it is my opinion that you have the BEST quality RANKIN/BASS figure set to date! I listed one set on EBAY under seller ANIMAGIC1.

THE DAYDREAMER Soundtrack CD!

THE DAYDREAMER CD soundtrack is coming from www.percepto.com and I for one can't wait. It is definitely one of the BEST RANKIN/BASS Soundtracks and this special release also features an interview I did with Composer MAURY LAWS and three RARE RANKIN/BASS demos! A treasure trove of RANKIN/BASS audio to be sure!

01-28-2007

THE STARVING ARTISTS had a GREAT practice today! DENNIS RIORDAN (Bass player) took these pics of me in the CHICAGO Snow. We worked on a new song I wrote called "I Can't Give My Love Away" and plan to record the demo next weekend. We are also trying to set up a gig at NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY in DeKalb, IL with the band FROM HERE ON AFTER www.myspace.com/fromhereonafter

ARTIST Party at my house!

A few weeks back we had a nice get together of ARTISTS/FRIENDS! We are unable to get together as much as we would like and the ANNUAL ALEX ROSS Halloween party didn't happen the last few years, so we decided it was time to gather! From left to right TOM MARGARITES (Guitarist extrodinaire), Myself, MITCH O' CONNELL (PLAYBOY, TATTOO ART, etc.) and ALEX ROSS (KINGDOM COME, JUSTICE : DC COMICS, etc.)
TOM MARGARITES, MARK BRAUN, MITCH O' CONNELL and ALEX ROSS

Do you live in the ORLANDO, FLORIDA area?

Then check out the FX SHOW www.fxshow.com from JAN. 26-28 at the ORANGE COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER! The original ANIMAGIC SANTA & RUDOLPH RANKIN/BASS figures will be there along with a beautiful ELF GIRL at the www.timeandspacetoys.com booth! This will be a RARE opportunity to check them out in FLORIDA! ENJOY! There will also be an EXCLUSIVE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO Mego doll there with JACK DAVIS artwork on the package!

JACK DAVIS designed THE CONEHEADS for RANKIN/BASS

Legendary artist and friend JACK DAVIS designed THE CONEHEADS TV special in the 1980's for RANKIN/BASS. This may have actually lead to LORNE MICHAEL'S (BROADWAY VIDEO) buying the RANKIN/BASS library after GENERAL ELECTRIC sold it off. Believe it or not, this original color art was found in a dumpster along with another pose I have. It was tossed out during one of the moves of the RANKIN/BASS offices and luckily discovered by a friend of a friend.

SHIRLEY TEMPLE in ANIMAGIC by RANKIN/BASS

Here are a couple of ANIMAGIC figures created by RANKIN/BASS for a SHIRLEY TEMPLE series that was never Produced. SHIRLEY loved the figures BUT the deal never went through. ARTHUR RANKIN, SR. appeared in a few SHIRLEY TEMPLE films!

Going back on the radio in Rochester, New York 02-15-07

I will be back on LIVE LINE with DR. RUS D. JEFFREY 1420 WACK AM Thursday, February 15th at 8:40am Eastern. We will be discussing RICK GOLDSCHMIDT SINGS. It will be a 20 minute interview that will also be on the web. You can also check out DR. RUS' blog at www.drrus.blogspot.com

SPRING? EASTER?

I am already thinking about SPRING! Not a big fan of the cold. Just posted the PETER COTTONTAIL CD Soundtrack I put together on EBAY. We hope to have a filmed Documentary on RANKIN/BASS done by the Spring! I talked with PAUL COKER, JR. today (He did the cover art and designed HERE COMES PETER COTTONTAIL)! We made plans for the layout of the NEW cover for my book THE ENCHANTED WORLD OF RANKIN/BASS: A PORTFOLIO! I am also planning another trip to TEMPE, AZ in the Spring to record at URANUS STUDIOS with ROBIN WILSON and the rest of GIN BLOSSOMS! I have two demos ready and plan on playing open mike night with SCOTTY JOHNSON in March!

A few more pics I took for the ENCHANTED WORLD book

I was lucky enough to find the MATTEL KING KONG & BOBBY BOND handpuppet in the box years ago! One of just a handful of RANKIN/BASS items that existed before my first book. Basically the only shows that RANKIN/BASS did that were heavily merchandised were THE NEW ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO, TALES OF THE WIZARD OF OZ, THE KING KONG SHOW and THUNDERCATS & SILVERHAWKS. A few odds and ends came out from the SMOKEY THE BEAR SHOW, etc.

RANKIN/BASS collectibles!

Here are a couple of pictures I took of THE NEW ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO Collegeville Costume (Back when my daughter SARA was small enough to fit into it) for my first book THE ENCHANTED WORLD OF RANKIN/BASS: A PORTFOLIO. Now that I am working on doing a 3rd Printing of the book, I am thinking about including the explosion of merchandise that resulted from the release of the book! CVS PHARMACY and STUFFINS got the idea to do RANKIN/BASS merchandise, reading my book on a flight to JAPAN for a TOY SHOW in 1998, and the rest is history.

THE FLIGHT OF DRAGONS!

I have been getting alot of requests for the RANKIN/BASS special THE FLIGHT OF DRAGONS lately. I am having it transferred onto DVD-Rs right now. I have pushed for an official release BUT so far no luck. It is a very popular title in the RANKIN/BASS catalog and definitely deserves a DVD release with extras! E-mail: Rickgoldsc@aol.com

MLK

It is a bit FROSTY in Chicago today on DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'s Birthday! We got a little snow and some cold and icey weather! It was definitely a blast from JACK FROST!

JULES BASS' response to the longevity of the R/B Specials....

Bob McKenzie wrote some GREAT articles on RANKIN/BASS for the Canadian Newspaper THE NATIONAL POST over this past Holiday season! Here is an excerpt from one that appeared 12-20-06! Looks like JULES hit the nail right on the head! THANKS Bob!

FUNKO RANKIN/BASS' 'MAD MONSTER PARTY?' Series 2 figures coming soon!

Pre-order yours from www.timeandspacetoys.com

Our Friend IWAO TAKAMOTO passed today at age 81

IWAO will definitely be missed! He was a super gifted artist that refined and designed many of the HANNA-BARBERA characters. He brought his DISNEY background to HANNA-BARBERA as THE FLINTSTONES were launched. We had the pleasure of meeting with IWAO in his office at HANNA-BARBERA and we talked about RANKIN/BASS animator Steve Nakagawa and all the GREAT work IWAO had done over the years. He still had it...all the way to the end.

Heldover until Jan. 13th!

Center won’t let Rudolph race off yet
By Rodney Ho Monday, December 25, 2006, 01:42 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Richard L. Eldredge The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 12/25/06
Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts slid an extra gift under the tree today: Rudolph and Santa, the original figures from the classic 1964 Rankin/Bass Christmas special, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” are extending their stay in Atlanta through Jan. 13.
The stop-motion animation figures from the much-beloved seasonal TV ritual, long thought lost, were recently recovered and restored. Their stint at the Center for Puppetry Arts marks the pair’s public museum debut.

J5!

Another GREAT RANKIN/BASS Saturday Morning cartoon series was THE JACKSON 5 SHOW! Designed by legendary Illustrator JACK DAVIS (left). Michael Eisner was overseeing the ABC-TV Saturday morning lineup at the time and worked closely with ARTHUR & JULES on this one!

RANKIN/BASS' The OSMONDS Saturday Morning cartoon series ABC-TV

If you grew up in the early 1970's, I am sure you remember THE OSMONDS on Saturday Morning TV with their dog FUJI (Voiced by PAUL FREES). Donny Osmond is a super, nice guy and helped me with the OSMONDS section of THE ENCHANTED WORLD OF RANKIN/BASS: A PORTFOLIO. I was hopeing to incorporate THE OSMONDS into the ANDY WILLIAMS RANKIN/BASS project I started. It would definitely be GROOVY!

FLASHBACK! This was in the CHICAGO READER Christmas Eve 2004

This article was written by RICHARD KNIGHT (Dick O' Day). Richard first hosted a segment of WILD CHICAGO for WTTW-TV Ch. 11 in Chicago with me in 2003. This actually led the way to me being on CBS MORNING NEWS this year. HARVEY MOSHMAN, former Producer of the wildly popular WILD CHICAGO, is now senior Producer at CBS in Chicago.

THE MAD, MAD, MAD COMEDIANS (1970) The Highest Rated RANKIN/BASS TV Special!

A Couple of Misfits!

My friend PASTOR sent along a few COOL coloring books of FROSTY THE SNOWMAN today! The covers are cool because they have that GREAT OWSLEY/FONTANELLI art! The insides have some of the style guide art BUT also have some not-so-great art too. SIMON & SCHUSTER issued these for the Holidays of 2006! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The first RANKIN/BASS 'ANIMAGIC' series!

The very first RANKIN/BASS 'ANIMAGIC' Production was THE NEW ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO (1960). What a GREAT show and CANADIAN fans are especially fond of it! The voice actors were all CANADIAN and the series continued to air in Syndication there longer than it did in the states. I get many requests for episode copies from the GREAT WHITE NORTH! I love the early design of the show by TONY PETERS and the lettering that was used in the titles. It was Produced when RANKIN/BASS were known as VIDEOCRAFT INTERNATIONAL. JULES BASS put together his first Soundtrack LP for FTP RECORDS in the New York area.

A couple of pictures with our friend Raminder from the NUDE HIPPO: YOUR CHICAGO SHOW!

....and FROSTY too!

Looking forward to a Happy and Prosperous 2007! The FROSTY image was inked by my friend PATRICK OWSLEY and penciled by my friend MIKE FONTANELLI.