Alex Anderson (cartoonist)

For other uses, see Alexander Anderson.
Alex Anderson
Born Alexander Hume Anderson, Jr.
(1920-09-05)September 5, 1920
Berkeley, California, U.S.
Died October 22, 2010(2010-10-22) (aged 90)
Carmel, California, U.S.
Nationality American

Alexander Hume "Alex" Anderson, Jr. (September 5, 1920 in Berkeley, California – October 22, 2010 in Carmel, California)[1] was an American cartoonist who created the characters of Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Bullwinkle, and Dudley Do-Right, as well as Crusader Rabbit.[2] He was not directly involved in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, however.

Biography

Anderson was a nephew of Mighty Mouse producer Paul Terry, and began his career in 1938 at his Terrytoons animation studio.[3] Anderson and Jay Ward grew up together in Berkeley, California, and formed a business in the late 1940s to pitch cartoon ideas to television, including Crusader Rabbit, Rocky, Bullwinkle, and Dudley Do-Right. Only Crusader Rabbit was accepted, and after Anderson's other cartoon ideas failed to sell, he joined a San Francisco advertising agency, while Ward moved to Los Angeles to try to sell TV studios on a Bullwinkle series.

Mr. Anderson reportedly retained half-ownership of the characters and received regular payments until Ward died in 1989. In the early 1990s Anderson filed lawsuit against Ward's heirs to reclaim full credit as the creator of Rocky and Bullwinkle.

Following Jay Ward's death, Anderson, who had not received public recognition for creating Dudley Do-Right, Bullwinkle and Rocky, learned the characters had been copyrighted in Ward's name alone.[4] Consequently, Anderson sued Ward's heirs to reclaim creator credit.[5] In 1993[5] or 1996,[4] (sources differ), Anderson received a settlement and a court order acknowledging him as "the creator of the first version of the characters of Rocky, Bullwinkle and Dudley."[5] Ted Key, creator of the comic strip Hazel, had a similar situation with his characters Mr. Peabody and his pet boy Sherman.[6]

Anderson died due to complications of Alzheimer's disease at the age of 90 on October 22, 2010, at a nursing home in Carmel, California.[5] He was survived by his wife of 36 years, Patricia Larsen Anderson, his third spouse following divorces from first wife Gail and second wife Beverly.[5] He had two children from his first marriage, sons Terry and Scott, and three stepchildren, Matthew Kennedy, Carolyn Kennedy, and Daniel Kennedy.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Corliss, Richard (October 23, 2010). "Unsung Creator of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Alex Anderson Dies". Time. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  2. ↑ McLellan, Dennis (October 26, 2010). "Artist created TV's Rocky and Bullwinkle". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
  3. ↑ Washington Post obituary, Oct. 24, 2010
  4. 1 2 Lopez, Daniel (Oct 22, 2010). "Alexander Anderson Jr., creator of 'Rocky and Bullwinkle,' dies at 90". The Monterey County Herald via The Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Schudel, Matt (2010-10-24). "Alex Anderson, creator of Rocky and Bullwinkle, dies at 90". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on December 25, 2012. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  6. ↑ McLellan, Dennis (2008-05-06), Magazine cartoonist created maid Hazel, Los Angeles Times, retrieved 2011-05-05

External links


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