Gary K. Wolf

Last updated
Gary K. Wolf
Born (1941-01-24) January 24, 1941 (age 81) [1]
Earlville, Illinois, U.S.
OccupationAuthor
Alma mater University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Years active1975–present
Notable worksThe Roger Rabbit series
Spouse
Bonnie Wolf
​
(m. 1969)​

Gary K. Wolf (born January 24, 1941) [2] is an American author. He is best known as the author of Who Censored Roger Rabbit? (1981), which was adapted into the hit feature-length film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).

Contents

Early life and career

Wolf was born on January 24, 1941. He grew up in Earlville, Illinois, the son of Ed and Hattie Wolf. His father owned the town's pool hall and later had an upholstering business, while his mother worked in the school cafeteria. [3] As an only child, Wolf would occupy himself by reading comic books and science fiction stories. Wolf graduated from Earlville High School in June 1959. He later attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Advertising and a Master's degree in Communications. He served as an Air Force Captain with the 5th Air Commando Squadron in the Vietnam War, where he won a Bronze Star and two Air Medals. [4]

Wolf and childhood friend John J. Myers, former Catholic Archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, co-wrote a novel named Space Vulture, released by TOR books during 2008. [5] Wolf and co-author Jehane Baptiste have a story named "The UnHardy Boys in Outer Space" in the annual anthology of humorous science fiction, Amityville House of Pancakes Vol 3 ( ISBN   1-894-95335-5). [6]

Wolf owns an extensive collection of carousel horses. Because of this, Wolf was featured on the cover of the September 4, 1976 issue of Peninsula Living Magazine; [7] the magazine issue itself also showcased his collection.

Wolf resides with his wife of 50 years, Bonnie, and their cats, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Roger Rabbit

Wolf is best known for a series of comedic mystery novels featuring the now famous Roger Rabbit, a cartoon character who inhabits an alternate universe where so-called "toons" (an abbreviation for the word "cartoons") and humans co-exist. The series begins with the novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? (1981), which was the basis of the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). The series continued with Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit? in 1991 and Who Wacked Roger Rabbit? in 2013; these two books were non-canonical to the original book, and had more in common with the hit Disney movie. The events of Who Censored Roger Rabbit? are retconned in Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit? as taking place within a dream Jessica Rabbit had.

Wolf filed a lawsuit in 2001 against The Walt Disney Company. Wolf claimed he was owed royalties based on the value of "gross receipts" and merchandising sales. In 2002, the trial court in the case ruled that these only referred to actual cash receipts Disney collected and denied Wolf's claim. In its January 2004 ruling, the California Court of Appeals disagreed, finding that Wolf's expert testimony regarding the customary use of "gross receipts" in the entertainment business could support a broader reading of the term. The ruling vacated the trial court's order in favor of Disney and remanded the case for further proceedings. [8] In a March 2005 hearing, Wolf estimated he was owed $7 million. Disney's attorneys not only disputed the claim, but also said Wolf actually owed Disney $500,000–$1 million because of an accounting error discovered in preparing for the lawsuit. [9] Wolf won the decision in July 2005, receiving between $180,000 and $400,000 in damages. [10]

In February 2013, Wolf announced that he and Erik Von Wodtke were working on a development proposal for a prequel film to Who Framed Roger Rabbit serving as a remake of the Disney buddy comedy The Stooge , starring Mickey Mouse and Roger Rabbit in place of the title characters, and depicting how Roger met his future wife Jessica in a subplot. Wolf stated the film was wending its way through Disney. [11]

Selected bibliography

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References

  1. ↑ "Internet Speculative Fiction Database on Gary K. Wolf". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
  2. ↑ Kahn, Joseph P. (February 28, 2007). "Intergalactic Allies: 'Roger Rabbit' creator Gary K. Wolf and Archbishop John J. Myers travel back in time and conquer the universe". Boston Globe. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  3. ↑ "'Roger Rabbit' creator on display in hometown of Earlville | Local | mywebtimes.com". Archived from the original on 2017-06-20. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  4. ↑ Wolf, Gary K. (10 July 2016). The Late Great Show!. ISBN   978-1535221313.
  5. ↑ "Gary K. Wolf: Roger Rabbit Creator and Archbishop of Newark Team up to Write Science Fiction Novel". Science Fiction Writers of America. 13 March 2007. Archived from the original on 1 July 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
  6. ↑ "Amityville House of Pancakes 3". Creative Guy Publishing. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
  7. ↑ "Gary K. Wolf". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26.
  8. ↑ Paul Sweeting (February 5, 2004). "Disney, Roger Rabbit author in spat". Video Business. Retrieved November 4, 2008.
  9. ↑ Jesse Hiestand (March 22, 2005). "Roger Rabbit Animated In Court". AllBusiness.com . Archived from the original on January 8, 2009. Retrieved November 4, 2008.
  10. ↑ "Disney To Pay Wolf 'Rabbit' Royalties". Billboard. July 5, 2005. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Mickey Mouse & Roger Rabbit in The Stooge". Dvdizzy. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Roger Rabbit Returns In "Who Wacked Roger Rabbit?"". Cartoon Brew. September 27, 2013.

Further reading

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