Paramount/Famous Storyboard: Top Cat

Here is the first half of my father's storyboard for the Paramount Modern Madcap cartoon Top Cat (1960). These boards and the couple of others I have lead me to believe that it is not the exact finished version that was ultimately turned in. Why? For one reason, it is drawn on a combination of self-formatted board stationary, with inserted revisions drawn on standard board stationary. Also, you might notice (mostly when I post the second half) that the name J. Caesar Bandwagon is interchangeable with Barney Bandwagon, as is Fairmount Pictures with Blockbuster Pictures, and that the word Priemere (sic) is later spelled correctly. Also, the page numbering occasionally skips, although there seems to be no gap in continuity. Anyway, we'll discuss this fascinatingly irrelevant topic later. Here it is in oversized scans:

Remainder of boards to follow.

In the meantime, you might:

Watch Top Cat on The (In)Complete Harveytoons DVD set, found on Disc 1 - Side B, Show 13, 3rd cartoon.

See two other online Spector storyboards. Before Spectorphile, Michael Sporn graciously offered me several guest posts on his Splog. Click HERE to bring up the two posts which comprise the complete boards for Galaxia, plus extra goodies; At Cartoon Brew, Jerry Beck surprisingly posted (well, I was surprised) Fido Beta Kappa HERE as an announcement for Spectorphile's start-up.

Irv Spector's Coogy, in Living Color

Here's a wordless Coogy strip in color. My father didn't do too many Coogy's sans dialogue. This one I kind of like for being rather simply stark and direct in both artwork and gag. The Tribune eventually began to pressure him into being less wordy. That was a bit tough for him to do, as at this point in his motion picture animation career he was already moving more into story than straight animation as the writer within him began to emerge. Being involved with story in one form or another would stay with him through the end of his career. That's good for us, since this Coogy is meant to occupy you while I prep my next post -- a Paramount/Famous storyboard.

From May 10, 1953:

(bigger is better -- click to enlarge)

You may have never seen a color Coogy unless you've been over to All Things Ger, which is where I swiped it. In fact, I hadn't seen too many in color either until Ger began acquiring Sunday comics sections of the NY Herald Tribune and began to post them. You can see more colors over there, including many originals that I sent him before I started Spectorphile.

Irv Spector at Ed Graham Prods: INA - Red Riding Hood; Scattered Boards and Layouts, Assorted Rough Stuff

Here's the second part of my father's work for the INA (Insurance Company of North America) Red Riding Hood sixty-second commercial spot. All I have are bits and pieces of boards and layouts. However, since I know you read the shooting script in the previous post you'll have no trouble filling in the rest with that keen sense of photographic recall you all possess. Of course the wolf eats Red, Grandma and the insurance agent at the end -- don't you wish you could do that? At least to an insurance agent?

Here's another small section of boards done a bit differently, and then a few sheets of layout. After that it gets mighty thin, possibly clickworthy only for hardcore fans and squirrels.

Irv Spector at Ed Graham Prods: INA -- Red Riding Hood - Shooting Script & Character Designs

Back in November I covered Jack and the Beanstalk, which was the first of five 60-second commercial spots that my father did for Ed Graham Prods. They were described as "Very adult fables" and were narrated by Edward Everett Horton, who of course also did the same for Jay Ward's Fractured Fairy Tales.

My next couple of posts will deal with another of the commericals, Red Riding Hood, which was the fourth spot produced. On all five, my father did the direction, animation layouts and background layouts, and assigned each separate spot to a different animator. For Red, I'm pretty sure Tom Ray was the animator. My dad had known him since their days together in the 1930s at Leon Schlesinger Studios. Tom had originally been selected for the second spot, Cinderella, but fell ill and was replaced by Dick Thompson. However, on the direction of one of the animation layouts (next post) my father mentions him by his first name. It is also my belief that Tom did the character designs for all five spots.

If you enjoy pencil work like I do, these might be worth your while to click on and enlarge.

Below is the shooting script for Red Riding Hood. I don't think they're really intended to be as terribly exciting to look at as storyboards and layouts; more along the lines of simply setting out the story. I mean, where's Grandma?! There'll be more detail in my next post. Nonetheless, I find them fascinating in their own right and the illustration ain't exactly chopped liver. I'm not certain who drew them and so won't make any claims or venture guesses. The originals must have been done in color -- unfortunately my set is b&w stat. That's Ed Graham's blue pen scrawl on the bottom of some.

Of note: Tom Ray is still around and working! You can check out his website here. I don't know if any animation historian or journalist has been out to interview him in the recent past, but if not, what are you waiting for? I wrote Tom a few years back, as our families used to get together in the 1960s. I asked him about the fantastic western street I still remember that he had built himself in his backyard(!), complete with saloon, general store, etc. Can you imagine? He told me it's now in a museum in Culver City.

Call for Super Chicken

When you find yourself in danger,

When you're threatened by a stranger,

When it looks like you will take a lickin', . . .

My dad was a big fan of Jay Ward's wonderfully absurd Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, but otherwise had no connection to Ward until later in the 1960's when he was briefly involved with George of The Jungle, of which Super Chicken (and Fred, of course) starred in their own episodes. In fact it was so brief I'd pretty much forgotten about it until I came upon this stash of model sheets among the Irvchives. I think the year was 1967 and I imagine he was doing story, but anyone who has access to the credits, on the George DVD for instance, your input is welcome.

Model sheets are all I have and I don't know who drew the ones above. However, I can vouch for the handwriting on these last two being my dad's, the secondary characters McTasty and Spike for episode 15.

(Actually, it was Spectorphile acolyte Weirdo who went ga-ga and called for Super Chicken when he saw that I'd appended the top model sheet to my earlier Taste Just Like Chicken post. So Weirdo, (and any other Super Chicken fans) this post's for you.)