Jerry Beck

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Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Beck at the 2023 WonderCon
Born (1955-02-09) February 9, 1955 (age 69)
New York City, U.S.
Occupation(s) Animation historian, author, blogger, video producer
Years active1980–present
Board member of ASIFA-Hollywood
Spouse
​
(m. 2021)​
[1]
Awards June Foray Award, 2008
Independent Publisher Book Award, 2014
Inkpot Award, 2015

Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955) is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer.

Contents

Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons (with Will Friedwald, 1989), The 50 Greatest Cartoons (1994), The Animated Movie Guide (2005), Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide to the Coolest Cat in Town! (2005), Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons! (2007), The Hanna-Barbera Treasury: Rare Art Mementos from Your Favorite Cartoon Classics (2007), The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons (2010), The Flintstones: The Official Guide to the Cartoon Classic (2011), and The SpongeBob SquarePants Experience: A Deep Dive into the World of Bikini Bottom (2013). He is also an authority on the making of modern films, with his books detailing the art of Mr. Peabody and Sherman , DreamWorks' Madagascar , and Bee Movie . Beck is also an entertainment industry consultant for TV and home entertainment productions and releases related to classic cartoons and operates the blog "Cartoon Research". He appears frequently as a documentary subject and audio commentator on releases of A&E's Cartoons Go to War as well as DVD / Blu-ray collections of Looney Tunes , Popeye the Sailor , and Woody Woodpecker cartoons, on which he serves as consultant and curator. [2]

Career

Writing

Early in his career, Beck collaborated with film historian Leonard Maltin on his book Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, Revised and Updated Edition (1980).

In 1987, Beck was instrumental in the creation of Animation Magazine . He went on to write for other magazines including: Variety , The Hollywood Reporter , The Whole Toon Catalog, Animation Blast, Animator, Wild Cartoon Kingdom and Animation World Network.

Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including The 50 Greatest Cartoons (1994), The Animated Movie Guide (2005), Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons! (2007), The Flintstones: The Official Guide to the Cartoon Classic (2011), The Hanna-Barbera Treasury: Rare Art Mementos from Your Favorite Cartoon Classics (2007), The SpongeBob SquarePants Experience: A Deep Dive into the World of Bikini Bottom (2013), Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide (2005), and Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons (with Will Friedwald, 1989) alongside The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons (2010). He is also an authority on the making of modern films, with his books detailing the art of Mr. Peabody and Sherman , DreamWorks' Madagascar , and Bee Movie .

In 2004, Beck and fellow animation historian and writer Amid Amidi co-founded the blog Cartoon Brew, [3] which focused primarily on current animation productions and news. Beck sold his co-ownership in Cartoon Brew in February 2013 and started an IndieWire blog, Animation Scoop, for reports on current animation while continuing to write about classic animation at Cartoon Research. [4] [5]

Teaching

In the 1990s, Beck taught courses on the art of animation at UCLA, NYU, and The School of Visual Arts. Through 2018 he also taught animation history at Woodbury University in Burbank, California. As of 2020, Beck teaches in the Character Animation department of CalArts School of Film/Video and ANIM 3000 - History of Animation at MTSU. [6]

Producing and consulting

Jerry Beck co-produced or was a consultant on many home entertainment compilations of Looney Tunes, MGM Cartoons, Disney Home Video, Betty Boop, and others.

In 1989, he co-founded Streamline Pictures and brought anime films, Akira , Vampire Hunter D , and Hayao Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky to the United States. He also compiled collections of cartoons from Warner Bros., Woody Woodpecker, and the Fleischer Studios.

As vice president of Nickelodeon Movies, he helped develop The Rugrats Movie (1998) and Mighty Mouse.

In 2006, Beck created and produced an animated pilot for Frederator Studios at Nickelodeon. That cartoon, Hornswiggle, aired on Nicktoons Network in 2008 as part of the Random! Cartoons series.

Volunteering

In 1993, Jerry Beck became a founding member of the Cartoon Network advisory board and he currently serves as Vice President of the ASIFA-Hollywood board.

Speaking

Beck at Comic-Con 2015 Jerry Beck CC2015.jpg
Beck at Comic-Con 2015

On a regular basis Beck moderates panels at various venues (festivals, conventions, premieres, museums, screenings, etc.) along with hosting programs/retrospectives of classic cartoons at same. In the past this included shows at the now shuttered Cinefamily and Cartoon Dump monthly live Hollywood performance.

His presentations include:

Personal life

On June 25, 2021, Beck married voice actress Cheryl Chase, his girlfriend of 33 years. [1]

Bibliography

Awards

In 2008, Beck was the recipient of the June Foray Award. [9] In 2014, Beck received the Independent Publisher Book Award for Popular Culture. [10] In 2015, Beck was the recipient of the Comic-Con International Inkpot Award. [11] Beck was the 2019 honoree of the Los Angeles Animation Festival. [12] [13]

Related Research Articles

Charlie Dog is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes series of cartoons. The character was featured in nine cartoons between 1941 and 1958. He is generally characterized as a friendly wise guy.

<i>Bugs and Thugs</i> 1954 animated short film directed by Friz Freleng

Bugs and Thugs is a 1954 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on March 13, 1954, and stars Bugs Bunny, with Rocky and Mugsy. The film is a semi-remake of the 1946 cartoon Racketeer Rabbit. It is also the first Warner Bros short to feature Milt Franklyn as a musical director.

<i>Wabbit Twouble</i> 1941 Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Bob Clampett

Wabbit Twouble is a Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Bugs Bunny, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions and released on December 20, 1941, by Warner Bros. Pictures.

<i>You Ought to Be in Pictures</i> 1940 Warner Bros. animated short starring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck

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<i>Birds Anonymous</i> 1957 short film directed by Friz Freleng

Birds Anonymous is a 1957 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short, directed by Friz Freleng and written by Warren Foster. The short was released on August 10, 1957, and stars Tweety and Sylvester.

<i>Book Revue</i> 1946 film by Bob Clampett

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<i>The Scarlet Pumpernickel</i> 1950 film by Chuck Jones

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<i>Deduce, You Say!</i> 1956 film by Chuck Jones

Deduce, You Say is a 1956 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short was released on September 29, 1956, and stars Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. The title is a play on the exclamation, "The deuce, you say!"

<i>Ali Baba Bunny</i> 1957 animated short film by Chuck Jones

Ali Baba Bunny is a 1957 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies short directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on February 9, 1957, and stars Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

<i>Feed the Kitty</i> 1952 American animated short film directed by Chuck Jones

Feed the Kitty is a 1952 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The cartoon was released on February 2, 1952, and introduces bulldog Marc Anthony and kitten Pussyfoot.

<i>Acrobatty Bunny</i> 1946 Bugs Bunny cartoon

Acrobatty Bunny is a 1946 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on June 29, 1946, and stars Bugs Bunny and Nero the Lion. This was the first cartoon McKimson directed that starred Bugs Bunny.

<i>Plane Daffy</i> 1944 film

Plane Daffy is a 1944 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin. The cartoon was released on September 16, 1944, and stars Daffy Duck.

High Note is a 1960 American animated short film directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. It was originally released by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 3, 1960, as part of the Looney Tunes series. It features no dialogue, relying solely on the animation and music to carry the plot. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film (Cartoon) in 1961, losing to Gene Deitch's Munro.

<i>The Stupor Salesman</i> 1948 animated short film by Arthur Davis

The Stupor Salesman is a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Arthur Davis, and written by Lloyd Turner and Bill Scott. The cartoon was released on November 20, 1948, and stars Daffy Duck.

This is a listing of all the animated shorts released by Warner Bros. under the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies banners between 1940 and 1949.

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<i>Nasty Quacks</i> 1945 film

Nasty Quacks is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin, released on December 1, 1945, and starring Daffy Duck.

<i>Wholly Smoke</i> 1938 animated short film by Frank Tashlin

Wholly Smoke is a 1938 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin. The short was released on August 27, 1938, and stars Porky Pig.

References

  1. 1 2 Beck, Jerry (June 25, 2021). "In 1988 I met my best friend - and today, 33 years later, we snuck away and made it official". Facebook .
  2. ↑ Zahed, Ramin (September 17, 2007). "Cartoons Then and Now: Jerry Beck talks Woody, Popeye and More!'". Animated Views. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  3. ↑ Zahed, Ramin (February 12, 2013). "Jerry Beck Ankles Cartoon Brew". Animation Magazine. n.p. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  4. ↑ Yamato, Jen (February 12, 2013). "Blogger Jerry Beck out at Cartoon Brew". Deadline Hollywood . Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  5. ↑ "About Cartoon Research and Jerry Beck". Cartoon Research. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Jerry Beck".
  7. ↑ "Worst Cartoons Ever! DVD Review: They Stink! – Cinema Sentries". cinemasentries.com. July 24, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  8. ↑ Beck, Jerry (May 28, 2015). "This Weekend In LA: Classic Cartoons at The Old Town Music Hall". IndieWire. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  9. ↑ "49th Annual Annie Awards".
  10. ↑ "2014 Independent Publisher Book Awards Results".
  11. ↑ "Inkpot Award". December 6, 2012.
  12. ↑ "JERRY BECK: 2019 HONOREE". LAAF Blog. Los Angeles Animation Festival. October 22, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  13. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (December 4, 2019). "LA Animation Festival Unspools This Weekend". Animation Magazine. Animationmagazine.net. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
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