Saturday Morning

"Hanna-Barbera: The Architects of Saturday Morning" exhibit
at Norman Rockwell Museum. Toy collection by Dave Nimitz.

And now for something completely different... Saturday cartoons!

I literally grew up in front of the TV set on Saturday mornings, watching Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, Hong Kong Phooey, Laff-a-Lympics, and hours of other creative cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera. They seriously fueled my own creativity as a kid. Today, we're opening a new exhibition at Norman Rockwell Museum on the art of the successful animation studio - unleash the flood of memories!

Hong Kong Phooey! Artwork by Willie Ito.

Last April I traveled out to Toronto to attend a huge animation festival, and interviewed two of Hanna-Barbera's original animators: Tony Benedict and Willie Ito. Tony, who wrote the script that introduced Astro to the Jetsons, will be attending tonight's opening. I have also been talking with Willie recently on the phone, and hearing more great stories about the studio and animation field; he was part of the team that brought Hong Kong Phooey to life, and was kind enough to give me a great drawing of the "#1 super guy" back in April.

Should be good fun. Scooby Doo was always my favorite... I'm tempted to dress up like Shaggy tonight, but it's been a rough week- no mask to pull off the head of the villain this time, so maybe I'll just let these great drawings take me back to a more innocent time. I'll share my video interview soon.

Shell-Shocked!

A couple months ago, Springfield Museums hired me to create a commercial for its upcoming exhibition Turtle Power! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Samurai Heroes, which will feature original TMNT art, as well as samurai swords, armor, and Japanese prints from its collection. Of course I yelled "cowabunga!" at the opportunity. 

Although I went to college in Hartford and have been working in Western Massachusetts over the last decade, I had never been to this fellow cultural organization, referred to as the "Quadrangle" for its assortment of museums in one central location (a new museum dedicated to Dr. Seuss, originally from Springfield, MA, will be opening in the new year). In late September I had a quick tour of the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, which is where Turtle Power! will be exhibited. A successful 19th century businessman (carriage manufacturing), Smith had quite the collection of European, American and Far Eastern objects — the oriental arms and armor are impressive, and will make up a good part of this new exhibit.

Turtle teammate Steve Lavigne
at Albany Comic Con, Oct. 2016.
Photo: Jeremy Clowe

As for the Ninja Turtles, I admit: I'm old enough to remember them as an edgy black and white comic book during late high school/early college. Shortly afterwards, they mightily morphed into the Turtle Power rangers that became a sensation in their own animated TV series, and toy stores (I had a suction-cupped Turtle on my car/apartment window during college). I wouldn't say I followed the franchise too carefully... in fact, I only just watched the 1990 movie (directed by Steve Barron of A-ha videos fame, with puppetry by Jim Henson). Like a good slice of pizza, I understand the Turtles' appeal. 

While working on the trailer, I also decided to watch Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a documentary that came out a few years ago. It was interesting to hear how this modest late-night creation by two comic book artists, then based in the Springfield area, exploded into such a global, merchandised phenomenon (in the UK they were known as the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, due to a ban on ninjas in the media of that part of the world). The doc also provided several interesting interviews detailing the Turtles' history, including illustrator Steve Lavigne, who was part of the early creative team.

So, imagine my surprise when I attended the Albany Comic Con last weekend, and Lavigne happened to be there! I spent a good amount of time speaking with him, and learning more about their creation (there actually used to be a TMNT museum/gallery in nearby Northampton). Peter Laird, who developed the characters with fellow artist Kevin Eastman, apparently still lives in Western Massachusetts as well. Maybe I'll run into them again during the run of the exhibition.

Turtle Power! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Samurai Heroes opens November 8 at Springfield Museums, and my commercial will start airing on TV stations in Massachusetts starting next week. Totally tubular, dudes!

Fairest of Them All

Switching gears from performing to interviewing, over the past couple of weeks I have had the pleasure of getting to know acclaimed dancer/choreographer Marge Champion. In the 1940s and 50s, she teamed up with her then-husband Gower Champion to become quite an successful dance team, performing on Broadway, TV, and such MGM musicals as Showboat and Lovely To Look At (here's a beautiful routine from the latter film):



One of Ms. Champion's other big claims to fame was serving as the live action model for Walt Disney's first feature-length animated film, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. "Uncle Walt" and the other Disney animators filmed her movements as a reference, which they later used to bring Snow White to life. Only a teenager at the time, it was Champion's first big break: every scene you see of the character in the 1937 film was actually based on her movements, many of which were improvised.

Reference photos of Marge Champion, who at the age of 14, began
serving as a live reference model for Walt Disney's "Snow White and The
Seven Dwarfs." Photos courtesy Marge Champion. ©Disney.

Dancer Marge Champion in New York.
Photo by Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell
Museum. ©Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

This summer Norman Rockwell Museum is hosting the traveling exhibition, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Creation of a Classic, which celebrates the 75th anniversary of this classic 1937 film that is beloved by viewers of all ages. Organized by The Walt Disney Family Museum, the exhibition explores the development of the animated masterpiece− from conceptual drawings and character studies, to watercolor backgrounds and colorful cels that brought Disney's ambitious project to life. 

As you can imagine, Marge Champion has considerable insight into the creation of the film, and I had the exciting opportunity to visit with her at her homes in New York City and the Berkshires (she has a part-time residence in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where our Museum is located) to conduct a videotaped interview and learn more. She had plenty of interesting stories to tell, including the fact that she went on provide model reference for Disney's Pinocchio (the Blue Fairy) and Fantasia (some key insight and ideas for the dancing hippos). She was even married for a short time to Art Babbitt, one of Disney's early animators (credited with the creation of Goofy). I have to thank my friends at CTSB-TV, who allowed me to use their Sony AVCHD camera to conduct the interview− the recording looked great, and I look forward to sharing the material in the coming months to help promote the exhibition.

Jeremy meets Snow White (Marge Champion).
Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

Of course I also asked her about her career in dance and connection with the Berkshires− she served for a long time as a board member of Jacob's Pillow, the dance festival that initially attracted me to the area. I think the most inspiring thing about Ms. Champion is that she is 93, but you would never believe it. She's mentally sharp and in great shape, reinforcing the idea that keeping your mind and body active over the years has its benefits.

The Museum will be honoring Champion as the guest of honor at a special opening gala for the exhibition on the evening of Saturday, June 8. I look forward to meeting her again at that time, and maybe learning a few new dance steps. I also look forward to seeing the art in the exhibition− my father was a big Walt Disney fan (he even got the animator's autograph back in the day), so here's another opportunity I'm sure he would be amazed to learn I was involved with.



Related Links: 

"The Real-Life Snow White," CBS News, October 13, 2009

"Snow White: Marge Champion, a Model Princess," Animated Views, October 7, 2009