As is my annual tradition, here is my latest caricature of Jim Garner, and once again in his role as Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files. Though I've drawn him many times as Rockford, it seemed only fitting this year as 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the premiere of The Rockford Files way back in 1974.
Not too much to add here, but creating this year's entry was a very frustrating experience for me, as I had to learn how to do the colour work using a new program since I no longer have access to Photoshop. Just over a year ago I had to replace my old antiquated computer with a new one when it finally quit on me, but alas, I can't install my Photoshop disc on here since Adobe doesn't allow anything other than their subscription service which I refuse to subscribe to. I'd tried Apple's own program, Pixelmator, some time ago but found it to be pretty useless and difficult to decipher. So more recently I decided to give Sketchbook Pro a try, as it's fairly inexpensive to purchase and download. It will take some getting used to, but it does seem fairly comparable to Photoshop, albeit with several things that I can't seem to figure out yet.
Anyway, I was able to muddle my way through it enough to add colour to my (still) traditional ink line on illustration board approach. I'm afraid that this old dinosaur will never be able to give up my trusty Winsor & Newton sable brush and bottle of ink in order to create my caricature art. Fact is, I really wouldn't want to.
For this year’s tribute to James Garner, I’ve drawn Jim alongside Jack Lemmon in their roles as two former U.S. presidents in the 1996 comedy, My Fellow Americans. Interestingly, the film had originally been planned as another vehicle to reunite Jack Lemmon with his frequent co-star, Walter Matthau, but Walter had to bow out of the project due to an illness at the time. So Jim was brought in as a replacement and it may have worked out for the better, as the two portrayals seem slyly based on President George Bush Sr. (Jack’s cranky Russell Kramer) and then sitting President Bill Clinton (Jim’s suave Matt Douglas). Though older now, Jim Garner was still a rakishly handsome man, so much of the humour was based on the purported womanizing ways of Clinton, something that Matthau may not have been so successful in pulling off.
My Fellow Americans is a decent comedy, though admittedly was not a hit with the critics. I won’t go into any detail on the plot, suffice to say that both former presidents are thrown together in an attempt to clear their names on a big political frame-up, ending up on the run from sinister Deep State figures that are trying to silence them, but there’s a great comedic onscreen chemistry between these old pros, Garner and Lemmon, and they’re a lot of fun to watch! What I personally appreciate is the evenhandedness in how both the Republican (Lemmon) and Democrat (Garner) are satirized. They are both petty and flawed individuals, having spent decades in the ruthless game of partisan politics, but as the story progresses we are also shown the poignant and human side of both these men. As they are on the run for their lives through the rural landscape, they are aided along the way by good, decent, ordinary Americans, voters of both political stripes, but when hearing their stories the two former presidents also come to realize just how out of touch they both were with average Americans’ needs and concerns, which shames them into realizing just how poorly they’d served them while in office. Frankly, I don’t think this film could be made this fairly today, as the Hollywood film industry has lost whatever political balance and impartiality it used to have, and I suspect would give in to the temptation to make it a hatchet job on the Republican while playing the Democrat as a virtuous hero. As it is, I’m glad that My Fellow Americans is so evenhanded with its satirical comment and allows the humanity of both men to shine through by the end of the film. We could use more of that type of goodwill in our entertainment today.
Here is the trailer for those who might be interested in seeing the film:
I kept it simple for this year's tribute to my favourite actor, Jim Garner, just drawing one more caricature of him as Jim Rockford from TV's The Rockford Files. However, I thought I'd also give you all some insight as to how I go about creating one of my celebrity caricatures. As I've noted in past articles, I don't rely on just still photos to draw my subjects, preferring instead to study and sketch them from video so as to get more of a sense of their overall design and inner life and personality. But additionally I will go back and pause on a few freeze frames in order to study the structure and surface details in greater depth. Lately I've also been using my digital camera to grab a few reference pics directly from my TV screen. Here are some samples I took to develop this new caricature of Jim.
This first pic gave me the overall pose I wanted of Rockford with his familiar crossed arms looking very casual:
I rather liked this expression, where Rockford is looking a little concerned as to whether they've got a solid case against the guy he suspects is a hired killer who's attempted to kill his client:
I took this shot specifically for the mouth position showing both sets of teeth and tongue as he's speaking. Also the head angle is closer to the one I'm looking to draw:
Another pic that captures some of the overall expression I'm looking to depict in my drawing:
Like I mentioned before, I am also watching the video in action as I first gesture out my sketch, as that's the only way I can get a real feel for the personality and inner life of my subject. You can also see from my rough sketch how I start by gesturing and blocking in very loosely with a light blue pencil, then defining the forms with a soft black pencil while always thinking of it as "sculpting" the form as opposed to just drawing outlines. That illusion of solid structure remains an integral part of the process for me. Sometimes I find I have to do a few sketches, cobbling together elements from several in order to arrive at the final sketch, but this time I was able to get it all done in one shot:
Finally I use a lightbox to lightly trace the image in pencil onto a sheet of Bristol board, then tweak it a bit until I have the refined pencil art that is then ready for the fun part - the inking with my brush!
Once the line art is inked up, I scan that into my computer to colour it up with Photoshop resulting in the final full colour caricature of Jim Garner that heads up this post. Although I did decide to consult other photos through Google Image Search to select the colours of his shirt and blazer, as I've always preferred those 70's earth tones that Rockford wore rather than the grey outfit he's wearing in my reference photos above.
As is my annual tradition, I always like to salute my favourite actor, James Garner with a new caricature on the anniversary of his birthday. Many times I have based it on his TV series, The Rockford Files, but I also like to acknowledge some of his film roles from time to time. This year, I decided to draw Jim from his 1966 epic racing film, Grand Prix, a film I've enjoyed numerous times over the years. But the main reason for this choice is because I'd also like to pay tribute to Jim's co-star in that film, the beautiful Jessica Walter, who has sadly just passed away in recent weeks at the age of 80.
Jessica Walter really hit it big on the screen in 1971 when she starred opposite Clint Eastwood in Play Misty For Me, in which she memorably played a psychopathic stalker who is fixated on the radio DJ portrayed by Clint. When she'd had a prominent role in Grand Prix just five years prior, it was really only her second film of note, having appeared in The Group earlier that same year. Up until that time her career had consisted mostly of TV guest star roles.
In Grand Prix, Jim Garner plays Pete Aron, an American race-car driver who's driving for the Jordan-BMR racing team. At the beginning of the film, Aron's car is having gearbox problems, which leads to a horrific accident that sends the car of Aron's British teammate, Scott Stoddard (played by Brian Bedford) crashing into a cliff wall resulting in critical injuries. Jessica Walter plays Pat Stoddard, Scott's wife, who has already long felt neglected by her husband who has obsessively been competing with the memory of his dead brother, also a racer, killed earlier after a highly successful career of major victories. With Scott in hospital painfully recuperating, Pat finds herself smitten by the American driver and the two find themselves in an adulterous affair. Fact is, Pete Aron is still a pretty decent man who does not want to add more torment to his teammate, as he feels at least partly responsible for Scott's accident, so he ends the tryst with Pat before it gets out of hand.
The entire film plays much like a soap opera set against the Formula One racing circuit, with lives touched by pain, obsession, sex and in one case, a deeply felt love. In fact it is that subplot of the tender love that blossoms between the French driver, Jean-Pierre Sarti and an American magazine reporter sent to cover the Grand Prix for a fashion magazine, Louise Frederickson that is really at the heart of the film. As much as I like Jim Garner, I have to admit that the most poignant role in the film is that of the Frenchman, Jean-Pierre Sarti, played by the singer and sometime actor, Yves Montand. I really think he's terrific in it.
As I mentioned before, I've seen the film numerous times and the racing scenes were state-of-the-art for their time and continue to impress today. Grand Prix also has the distinction of being the only film I can think of that stars two actors that I had the pleasure of meeting in real life: James Garner and the British actor, Brian Bedford, who is famous to Disney fans for having voiced the animated title character in 1973's "Robin Hood"!
The caricature of Jim Garner and Jessica Walter is based more on publicity shots I've come across (like the one pictured above), as opposed to a specific scene from the film, mostly because I wanted to depict Jim in his racing uniform and he never appears alongside Jessica Walter dressed like that in the film. Here is a segment from the film that covers most of the characters I've described. At this point, Garner's character, Pete Aron has been removed from the racing team after the horrific accident and is trying to stay in the loop by (temporarily) taking a job as a reporter covering the rest of the racing season:
Remembering the great Marty Robbins on his birthday today.
I was fortunate enough to get to meet Marty backstage after his performance at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa back in 1982. I was there with my Mom, as we were both huge fans of Marty, and he was so gracious in chatting with us for about 15 minutes or so, even giving my Mom a kiss on the cheek! He was quite taken with my caricature of him (I painted up two originals so I could present one to him as a gift), and he even asked us if we'd like to watch his second show from the wings backstage, which we took him up on for several songs before we had to head home. Tragically, I heard the news just later that year in December that Marty had died of a massive heart attack, having had a history of heart problems throughout his life. I was absolutely crushed, as I'd have to rate my meeting with Marty as one of the most cherished of any of my celebrity encounters. He was a very kind and elegant gentleman, and remains one of my favourite country singers to this day.
Here's Marty singing his classic, El Paso, one of the greatest western ballads of all time!
As is my annual tradition on The Cartoon Cave, here is this year's new caricature to honour the late, great Jim Garner on his birthday. Though I've drawn him in a number of his film and TV roles over the many years, I must admit that I always prefer to return to his familiar role as Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files. This time, however, I also wanted to showcase Jim's co-star and longtime friend, actor Stuart Margolin, in his semi-regular role as Rockford's former cellmate and professional grifter, Angel Martin, whom Jim still inexplicably remains buddies with despite how often Angel takes advantage of his good nature. For no matter how many times Angel behaves like a despicable little weasel, somehow Jim not only tolerates him but seems to genuinely like and care about the guy. So does the audience, for that matter, and it's all due to Stuart Margolin's ability to imbue the character of Angel with such a manic, yet likeable, personality.
One of the recurring situations that will be familiar to all fans of the series is when Jim and Angel are confronted by gun-wielding heavies and, while Jim attempts to calmly talk their way out of the dilemma, Angel will desperately say anything he thinks the bad guys want to hear in the hopes of saving his own skin, even if it means selling out Jim in the process! Yet somehow Jim's wits (along with a sucker punch or two) manage to eventually get them both out of the scrape and back into Jim's gold Firebird to go burning up the pavement to safety.
I based my caricature on such a scene from the episode, The No Cut Contract, but here is a similar scene (and perhaps the definitive one!) from another episode, Chicken Little Is A Little Chicken. Enjoy!
I'm afraid I haven't been too active on this old blog for quite some time now and I do really miss it. Anyway, here's a new caricature of my favourite country singer, that crazy rascal, Jerry Reed, who had quite a successful career on both the country music charts and onscreen alongside his buddy, Burt Reynolds.
I watched a number of Jerry's performances available for viewing on YouTube before settling on this one as my main reference in developing this caricature. Here's Jerry singing a medly of songs along with the great Marty Robbins in this clip from Marty's syndicated TV show back in the late 70s. Enjoy!
As is my annual tradition here on The Cartoon Cave, I have created a new caricature to honour my favourite actor, James Garner on the anniversary of his birthday. This time around I decided to portray Jim in his role from his lesser known TV series, Nichols, which ran on NBC in the 1971/1972 season. This was a series that I had never seen in its initial run, nor had I ever found it available in syndication since that time, so I was entirely unfamiliar with it until several years ago when it was released on DVD.
Fact is, I've only gotten around to watching the series in the last few months, and am only about a half dozen episodes in, so I certainly make no claims to being an authority on the show. Although a western, it is certainly not a traditional western by any means, as it is set not in the 1800's but rather in 1914, when the automobile was first arriving on the scene. After a stint in the army, Nichols arrives back in the fictional border town of Nichols, Arizona, which was named after his grandfather who founded it. The town is now being run by a rather unsavoury clan called the Ketchams, and after some run-ins with the bullying, corrupt son, Nichols finds himself coerced into reluctantly accepting the position of sheriff by the family matriarch, a sly ol' gal called Ma Ketcham.
By the third episode, Nichols has imported an early motorbike, which he tools around on in lieu of a horse in his pursuit of lawbreakers. When doing so, he often wears the cap and goggles pictured in my caricature in place of his more standard cowboy hat. James Garner had high hopes for Nichols and was disappointed that it didn't catch on. I must admit, from the episodes I've watched thus far, though very good, they just haven't appealed to me in the same way as The Rockford Files had. But I still need to finish watching the series before I can make a final judgment! The series did have the distinction of being an early role for the actress, Margot Kidder, before she would go on to great fame through the Superman films. It also introduced the pairing of Stuart Margolin as a shifty deputy to Garner's sheriff, which would be a chemistry they would enjoy to much greater effect when Margolin became the equally shifty Angel Martin in The Rockford Files.
About a month ago I finally fulfilled a longtime wish - I got to meet one of my favourite female vocalists, Crystal Gayle! It came about quite quickly and unexpectedly, beginning with my scrolling through Facebook and seeing an advertisement for a concert Crystal was scheduled to perform the following week in St. Catherines, Ontario, which is just a 45 minute drive south from my place. I immediately checked the ticket site and found there were still some good seats available, so I made the purchase.
Four years ago I'd drawn a caricature of Crystal Gayle and posted it on her Facebook page, which I wrote about here. In response, I'd heard from a rep named Darrell in her management office telling me how much Crystal liked my picture. I was flattered and offered to send her a bunch of prints of it as a gift. So in planning my trip to see her in concert last month, I used that caricature as a way of hoping to get to see her after the show. Thanks to the same rep I'd dealt with four years ago, I was able to get permission to meet her as I'd hoped!
Crystal Gayle is such a lovely and gracious woman, and she was kind enough to pose for this photo with me and sign my caricature as well. As thanks, I'd brought her another dozen prints that she could give out to family and friends for Christmas. It's always a treat to meet celebrities whose work I've enjoyed all my life, and I'm very grateful to Crystal for her legacy of wonderful music!
Here is my caricature of Crystal Gayle once again:
I just love Ann-Margret, as she seems to epitomize the 1960's girl for me! There is a wonderful kinetic energy about her that just sums up all the fun and excitement I equate with the entertainment of that era. Ironically though, by her own admission, Ann-Margret claims that she really isn't like that off-screen. I remember reading a few years ago in her 1994 autobiography, Ann-Margret - My Story, where she described how she could switch that high energy movie persona on and off, and that she was in reality very shy and quiet due to her proper Swedish upbringing.
But it is that high energy, vivacious on-screen persona that we all love and remember from her major hit movies like Bye Bye Birdie and her pairing with Elvis Presley in Viva Las Vegas. For this caricature, I decided to sketch Ann-Margret from the opening and closing titles from Bye Bye Birdie, in which, over the course of the film, she has evolved from a flighty teenager infatuated with a famous pop music idol, to a (supposedly) more mature young woman who has come to the realization that her loyal high school sweetheart is a better man than the flaky pop star. This YouTube video combines both those beginning and end sequences, and it's quite amazing how Ann-Margret contrasts the evolution of her character through her vocal performance and body language:
Another quality I love about Ann-Margret is her willingness to mug for the camera, pushing her facial expressions in a song performance. This adds a slight eccentricity to her sexiness, which for me only adds to her great appeal. And look at this song sequence from Viva Las Vegas, in which she's preparing lunch for her boyfriend (Elvis), pouting over the fact he's spending more time fixing his race car while neglecting her. This performance, requiring singing (lip synching to her pre-recorded song, more specifically), while performing various perfectly timed physical feats as she travels throughout the houseboat cabin, is achieved in one continuous shot without any camera cuts! Ann-Margret has always been the consummate professional at anything she does, and she remains one of my all-time favourite actresses. Enjoy!
As you may have noticed, this blog has been pretty inactive for awhile. In fact, it's been inactive for exactly one year, as my last entry was also in celebration of James Garner's birthday!
Well, be that as it may, here is my latest caricature in tribute to my all-time favourite actor. I've always loved Jim's 1969 comedy western, Support Your Local Sheriff, so I thought I'd revisit that film with my cartoon interpretation of the scene where Jim's character, a drifter named Jason McCullough proves himself worthy of accepting the position of sheriff to the town Mayor, played by that wonderful character actor, Harry Morgan. Of course, TV audiences from that time will fondly remember Harry Morgan from two hit series of the era: as Officer Bill Gannon, the partner to Sgt. Joe Friday on Dragnet, as well as his long-running role on M*A*S*H as the gruff yet loveable Colonel Sherman Potter.
In this scene, Jason McCullough attempts to prove to the town officials his marksmanship by tossing a metal washer up in the air and shooting a bullet through the hole in it. Unconvinced that the bullet passed through the hole, Mayor Perkins places a piece of tape across the hole and asks him to do it again. When the washer comes down with a hole clear through the tape, the Mayor realizes he's dealing with a professional gunslinger and appoints Jason the job of town sheriff.
Luckily, that very scene is available to view on YouTube in this video clip. Enjoy!
As is a yearly tradition here on The Cartoon Cave, April 7th is dedicated to my favourite actor, Jim Garner. Unfortunately, due to time constraints I had to go with a less ambitious illustration than I had originally planned to do. So I fell back on drawing Jim once again as Jim Rockford from The Rockford Files. If Rockford is looking a bit concerned here, it's because I sketched him from one of the episodes, Hotel of Fear where he's having to deal with the shenanigans of Angel Martin, played so brilliantly by Stuart Margolin.
By the way, I'd like to dedicate this year's caricature of Garner to Robert Howe, who runs the wonderful tribute page to Jim on Facebook, The Official James Garner Fan Page. For a number of years, Rob's kept the spotlight shining brightly on Jim Garner and his career, and this is especially appreciated by all of Jim's fans in these years following Jim's passing in July 2014. Here's to you, Rob!
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Well, I heard the sad news today that we lost "Mr. Warmth", the brilliantly acerbic comedian, Don Rickles, at the age of 90. Those of us who came of age in the 60s and 70s will always fondly remember Rickles for his appearances on The Tonight Show and especially on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, where he humourously skewered so many of his fellow celebs with his comedic insults. I'm betting that as he walked through those pearly gates, he flipped a quarter to St. Peter and told him, "You're a helluva doorman!"
So long, Rickles - we'll miss ya'!
Here's a great clip from The Tonight Show where Rickles drops in during Johnny Carson's interview with Frank Sinatra:
I've written at length about ol' Jerry Reed in this previous post. Back in the 70s and 80s, Jerry was my favourite male country music star, as he was such an entertaining and manic personality in addition to being an incredible guitar talent. I remember reading in an interview with Jerry that he never thought of himself as a great singer, but rather, he felt he was more of a stylist with a brash, mostly humourous approach to his songs. In fact, he compared himself to Phil Harris, the former bandleader and vocalist also known for his brash, breezy humour, and even recorded one of Phil's hit songs, The Darktown Poker Club, although with the slight title change, The Uptown Poker Club, to reflect Jerry's more uptempo beat.
Anytime I need to lift my mood, I put on one of my Jerry Reed CDs or original LP records, and that crazy rascal can always get me smiling. Jerry would have hit the age of 80 today if he were still around, and I sure do miss him. I'd like to dedicate this tribute post to Jerry's daughters, Seidina and Lottie, in the hopes that they know just how much their Dad was loved by his legion of fans.
Also, since the summer of 2017 will mark the 40th anniversary of the crowdpleaser, Smokey and the Bandit, here's Jerry (who played trucker, Cledus "Snowman" Snow) singing his hit song from that film, Eastbound and Down. Pick it, Son!
This week we lost a bonafide TV legend with the passing of Mary Tyler Moore at age 80. We’re at a point in time now where many of our favourite TV stars from the 1960s and 70s are starting to disappear, and that saddens me greatly when I think back to how important they were to the popular culture of my youth.
Though she first gained stardom on The Dick Van Dyke Show from 1961 to 1966, Mary really hit it big just a few years later on CBS with her own The Mary Tyler Moore Show starting in 1970. This show, along with others like All In The Family and The Bob Newhart Show were part of a new era on CBS that featured more contemporary, sophisticated themes after what was known as "Rural Purge", in which folksy, small town series were being cancelled (despite still high ratings) in favour of shows that would attract viewers who were young urban professionals. Mary Tyler Moore and her MTM Productions would become one of the major players in this new media trend.
In honour of Mary, I’ve been revisiting The Mary Tyler Moore Show these last few days and it really is a warm and nostalgic trip back in time to what I believe to be a much more genuinely entertaining era of TV. It’s a great ensemble cast, for one thing, where Mary herself plays it relatively straight as Mary Richards, the fresh-faced, newly hired associate news producer, allowing the rich cast of comedic characters to shine around her. In the struggling local TV newsroom that forms the premise of the series there’s gruff, domineering boss/news producer, Lou Grant; the under-appreciated and sarcastic news writer, Murray Slaughter; and of course the delightfully vainglorious anchorman, Ted Baxter. Rounding things out on the homefront are Mary’s elitist landlady, Phyllis Lindstrom, and her best friend and neighbour, the lovelorn but sassy Rhoda Morgenstern.
What’s striking about the series is the basic decency and genuine goodness of its central character, Mary Richards, which I’m sure comes about naturally through the delightfully charming Mary Tyler Moore herself who really does typify the All-American Girl. One can’t help but root for Mary, and I’m sure that all viewers just fell in love with her. That era of TV is still magical to me, as I don’t think that same type of character could exist today in modern TV’s cynical and edgy style of sitcoms, sadly enough. Also, back in the early 70s, in those pre-VCR (and way before PVR) years, viewers had to make a point of staying home to watch these shows as they were broadcast, or miss out altogether. As a result, we all had a shared culture where viewers were aware of most of what was on our dozen or so TV channels, and would talk about the shows with each other at school or the office the day after they aired. We also watched these series on the one TV in the living room along with our family members, so I think that families were much closer and shared similar values as a result.
And Mary Tyler Moore was one of the most beloved and iconic TV stars of that 70‘s era, which is why there was such an emotional outpouring of adoration and sadness throughout social media at the news of her passing. So dear Mary, thanks for your legacy of great entertainment. There will never be another one as special as you, and you always did turn the world on with that big beautiful smile!
I was very sorry to hear that we lost the legendary Dixieland clarinetist, Pete Fountain this past Saturday, August 6th at the age of 86. I grew up listening to Pete’s music when I was a kid, as my dear Dad was a huge fan and played his jazz records regularly on the family hi-fi. In my Dad’s opinion, Pete Fountain was right up there with Louis Armstrong when it came to playing Dixieland jazz. Though I was quite young at the time, I loved what I heard and I inherited my Dad’s taste in “hot” jazz music.
I remember when I was a teen in the 1970s, Pete Fountain used to make regular guest appearances on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, where he would play an extended jazz session alongside Doc Severinsen and the NBC orchestra. Pete was a native of New Orleans, and I know he was often called upon to participate in the annual Mardi Gras parade. I’m sure that the people of New Orleans are now mourning the loss of one of their favorite sons. RIP Pete Fountain.
Here's a clip of one of Pete Fountain's guest appearances on The Tonight Show!
And if that wasn’t bad enough, I also learned that we lost Ricci Martin, son of the great Dean Martin on that same day as well. Ricci’s death was particularly tragic, as he was only 62. In recent years Ricci Martin had brought his touring show entitled A Son Remembers- Dean Martin’s Music and More to Mississauga’s Stage West hotel. My Mom and I had seen him in performance on two different tours there, and I had gotten to meet with him and present to him a caricature I did of his famous father. Ricci was a very dear guy, very gracious and generous with his fans, and I wrote about having met with him in an earlier blog post. I am heartbroken at his untimely passing, and I send my condolences to his family.
I’d like to dedicate this post and caricature to my late father and mother, John and Ann Emslie, for their instilling in me a love of great music. Thanks, Mom and Dad - I love and miss you both very much!
I heard earlier today that we lost the veteran character actor, William Schallert at the ripe old age of 93. Whether or not you know his name, anybody who grew up with TV from the 1960s and 70s will undoubtedly recognize that face, and probably his voice as well!
William Schallert will probably best be remembered in his dual roles as Martin Lane and twin brother Kenneth, fathers of twin cousins, Patty and Cathy respectively, on The Patty Duke Show. And it is a sad coincidence that we lost Patty Duke herself only this past March. Schallert can be seen in this show episode at the 4:45 mark:
But he was also a very familiar face appearing on countless TV series of the era in guest star roles, including Perry Mason, The Lucy Show, Mission: Impossible, The Wild Wild West, and the famous Star Trek episode, The Trouble With Tribbles. Get Smart fans will also fondly remember Schallert as the ancient Admiral Hargrade, the original Chief of Control.
Although he was usually cast as the easygoing, lanky and likeable gentleman and fatherly type, there were the rare occasions where he was cast against type as the villain. One of these roles had Schallert cast as a sharpshooting hired killer in the episode, The Empty Hours on the early police drama, 87th Precinct, based on the series of crime novels by Ed McBain (of which I am a huge fan!)
William Schallert was primarily a TV actor, but he did make a number of films as well. When I think back on it, I suspect that my introduction to him was when he played the gentle and understanding Professor Quigley in Disney's 1969 comedy, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. He was the foil to Joe Flynn's bombastic and frugal college head, Dean Higgins, where he championed the students' various causes against a highly reluctant college administration.
I mentioned earlier that TV viewers of that era would likely know William Schallert's voice, even when heard separately from his familiar image. That's because Schallert's pleasant, folksy voice was pitching numerous products on TV commercials throughout the 60s and 70s. There was one voiceover he did that I was not aware of as being him, though. One of the regular commercial assignments he had was as Milton the Toaster, the animated character on the Kellogg's Pop Tart ads. Here he affects a Brooklyn accent, so I didn't find out it was him until years later!
William Schallert was one of the last oldest surviving veterans of 1960's TV, so his passing really does make many of us sad and wistfully nostalgic for that innocent and vastly entertaining era. RIP William Schallert, and thanks for all the wonderful memories!
I see that today, May 1st, is the birthday of that master Disney animator, Eric Goldberg. Here's a photo of myself and Eric when he came to do a presentation at Sheridan College back in September 2013. Eric is a delightful, jolly little fellow, and his sprightly animation for Disney famously includes the Genie from Aladdin, which Eric caricatured to resemble his voice actor, the great Robin Williams. I have written about that in this previous blog post.
But my favourite animation by Eric Goldberg is the brilliant Rhapsody In Blue segment from Disney's Fantasia 2000, which he directed with so much passion (with wife, Susan Goldberg art directing), as he got to base the overall look on the style of one of his artistic heroes, New York's legendary Broadway caricaturist, Al Hirschfeld. I too share Eric's admiration for Hirschfeld, as he has been the biggest influence on my own approach to drawing caricatures.
I know that Eric was just up this way again only a week ago, giving a lecture and workshop at the Toronto TAAFI animation festival. I regret not being there to see him myself, but I've heard back from several of my former Sheridan College students who were thrilled to hear his lecture and learn animation tips from him. I'm sure it would have been a most enjoyable event.
"Sorry, Jimbo, but I can't help you out this time".
This scene played itself out many times over on the hit NBC series, The Rockford Files, whenever private investigator Jim Rockford would pop into LAPD headquarters hoping his buddy, Sgt. Dennis Becker would run a licence plate for him or agree to provide any other professional favour that only the police can.
So on what would have been the 88th birthday of my favourite actor, James Garner, I'd also like to pay tribute to Jim's dear friend and colleague, Joe Santos, who played Sgt. Becker and whom we sadly lost just a few weeks ago on March 18, 2016, after he suffered a heart attack at the age of 84.
Joe Santos was completely believable as the constantly beleaguered, overworked and under-appreciated Sgt. Dennis Becker, with his Brooklyn accent and moon face always sporting a hangdog expression. Though he was Rockford's best friend off-duty, on the job Dennis had to be careful not to be seen doing Jim any favours that might go against official police protocol, lest he be caught by one of his superiors, either Lt. Diehl or Lt. Chapman, both of whom detested poor Rockford and still viewed him as a bad news ex-con (despite his being innocent of his charge and given a full pardon after being released from prison). Fortunately, friendship and loyalty always won out in the end, with Dennis following up on Rockford's tips and often showing up with his fellow cops just in the nick of time to get Jim out of a tight spot in the climax of many episodes.
The Rockford Files had one of the best ensemble casts of any TV detective show back in the 1970s, and due to Jim Garner's legendary generosity to his fellow actors, all his co-stars remained loyal friends to Jim off-screen as well. Though Joe Santos played many other roles in his long career (including the role of Frank Sinatra's father, Marty, in the 1992 TV miniseries, Sinatra), he will always be best remembered as harried but loveable Dennis Becker, who happily, eventually got promoted to Lieutenant for all his hard work and dedication!
So here's to both Jim Garner and Joe Santos - two wonderful actors and good friends, both on and off screen!
I've worked as a cartoonist in the print medium for over 30 years, including 10 years as a Character Artist with the Disney Company. For 11 years I taught Character Design in the Animation program at Sheridan College. Currently, I freelance for various clients with my cartoon and caricature illustration.
Though my feet may be physically planted in this 21st century, my mind prefers to take up residence in the 1960's - a time when everything in commercial art and popular entertainment still made sense to me. It was Sinatra's world and I'm still livin' in it. Welcome to The Cartoon Cave...
