FUNKOVISION

I have been working with BRIAN MARIOTTI on his GREAT MAD MONSTER PARTY line at www.funko.com and here are a few of the NEW FUNKOVISION items I REALLY like! It's all coming back to you!

TODD KAUFFMAN

How can you re-make something that was GREAT to begin with? Ask my friend TODD KAUFFMAN (Click the 2nd link on the right). I would much rather see a very cool, stylistic take on something like H.R. PUFNSTUF or any classic cartoon (re: RANKIN/BASS, etc.) than seeing a LIVE ACTION remake of a cartoon.

HANNA-BARBERA Art!

No one does the classic HANNA-BARBERA art quite like my friend PATRICK OWSLEY! Check his blog by clicking on the link at the right!

SUNDAY Band Practice

Dennis is THE handy man around here! He customized a lighting fixture for my daughter's room and installed it, just before we started tearing into NIRVANA.

Practicing up for another show at BORDERS BOOKS & MUSIC in Schaumburg, IL...

MAIL CALL!

Sending out lots of mail still! E-mail: Rickgoldsc@aol.com if you would like to order anything. I even had to send out several duplicate packages due to the post office new service: PRIORITY DISAPPEARING MAIL (Delivery non-confirmation). Apparently the post office has hired several employees/magicians to make packages disappear into thin air. Oh well...

GROUND HOG DAY!

Another pic from the RANKIN/BASS TREASURY book of ARTHUR RANKIN, JR. working on MAD MONSTER PARTY (1967). Notice the unused JACK DAVIS poster on his drawing table! Not sure if PARDON ME PETE saw his shadow or not BUT I have had enough winter in CHICAGO! We got about 8 inches of snow Friday am.

Another cool image with H-B BANANA SPLITS in it!

HANNA-BARBERA

My son Josh and I have been collecting quite a bit of HANNA-BARBERA lately! My friend Patrick Owsley worked on all the H-B style guides a few years back. Check his blog by clicking on his name at the right. A few years back we had meetings with BILL HANNA & JOSEPH BARBERA and we talked about RANKIN/BASS and a few of their employees that worked for both companies. It was great hanging out with JERRY EISENBERG and IWAO TAKAMOTO and my pal SCOTT JERALDS. Wish I was on the West Coast right now...the snowy weather in Chicago today is brutal!

THE EASTER BUNNY IS COMIN' TO TOWN (1977)

Some people have been asking...What is up with the DELUXE EDITION of THE EASTER BUNNY IS COMIN' TO TOWN DVD? The answer...Nothing. The cover seen here at the right is the one you want to get. The DELUXE EDITION doesn't have any additional RANKIN/BASS material! It has some EASTER short cartoons that are unrelated. NEW WAVE did contact me about doing some extras for the disc BUT when I asked for payment...I never heard from them again.

THE NEW ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO (1960)

Another sneak peak at my RANKIN/BASS TREASURY book ! A few pictures provided by KYOKO KITA from the making of THE NEW ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO, which was the very first ANIMAGIC Production for RANKIN/BASS and RUDOLPH was their 2nd! Above you see ANIMAGIC puppet makers Reiko Yamagata and Kyoko Kita in action!

Animators Koichi Oikawa and Fumiko Magari prepare a scene for the RANKIN/BASS Production (then known as VIDEOCRAFT INTERNATIONAL). I posted tons of NEWS in JANUARY....to get it all, just click on JANUARY 2008 at the right!

Highland Park, IL

Looks like THE STARVING ARTISTS will be playing a place called GABE'S in Highland Park, Illinois soon. Met a cool band there recently and we are going to open one of their next shows. Stay tuned for details. In the meantime, still working on a few tracks to record at URANUS RECORDING STUDIOS in Tempe, AZ.

DVDs

Just got in some more RUDOLPH 1964 complete DVDs! Have had a rash of customers saying they never got their package and a few kooks that complain right away and blame me for this. I ship the next day. I also resolve problems without a problem.

EBAY

Posted some cool things on EBAY under seller ANIMAGIC1 and MISER BROS this weekend!

PATRICK is working on a FRED project!

Check out PATRICK OWSLEY's blog by clicking link at the right!

STEVE RUDE

My pal STEVE RUDE has some NEW things up! www.steverude.com

CBS NEWS Anchor RANDY SALERNO passes

Just got word that CBS NEWS ANCHOR Randy Salerno passed away last night in a tragic snowmobiling accident. KEVIN KREISS and I were on CBS NEWS with him during the Holidays of 2006 and he was a super nice guy. He will definitely be missed.

A few more pics from my upcoming RANKIN/BASS TREASURY book!

HIROSHI TABATA makes ANIMAGIC on the set of THE DAYDREAMER (1966)! Originally titled THE ENCHANTED WORLD OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON (by ARTHUR RANKIN, JR.), it was released as THE DAYDREAMER. I worked on the DVD and CD Soundtrack release for this film. The CD has a lengthy interview I did with R/B musical composer MAURY LAWS.

PREVIEW of my RANKIN/BASS TREASURY book!

ARTHUR RANKIN, JR. at the MULTIPLANE working on THE KING KONG SHOW (1966) TOEI.

ARIZONA article

It is so cold in Chicago right now....wish I was in ARIZONA already! Here is a copy of the AP ARTICLE that came out over the Holidays in an ARIZONA paper! http://www.azcentral.com/ent/pop/articles/1204realrudolph1204.html

RANKIN/BASS TREASURY

Talking about doing a RANKIN/BASS TREASURY book. Sent a large package off to PALACE PRESS this AM to the editor to discuss. Hope we can pull it off. This is what the fans are looking for!