Sunday, April 10, 2005
GOLDEN AWARDS
Hollywood is known for liking awards and awards shows. Many lumps of electroplate and crystal are handed out year round for various reasons. In 1983 the Hollywood Animators Guild Local 839, then called the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists, thought there should be a way for the animation workers to receive an acknowledgement from their peers for a lifetimes worth of work. So they
created the Golden Awards.
The Golden Awards honor the well known and the not-so well known. It's only requirement was fifty years of service in the animation field. The late, great Frank Thomas joked when he got his: "It's the first time I ever got an award for being old!" But besides famous artists like Frank the Golden Awards were at last a chance for the "great anonymous" craftsmen and women who made some of our favorite cartoon memories to receive some long over do recognition. Because of a problem getting volunteers for the support infrastructure the awards were allowed to lapse for a few years. So this years ceremony had to cover a long period, people who had entered the industry from 1943-1955. A lot of animation history to cover in those years, WWII, the Age of UPA, the great Warner Shorts like Rabbit Fire and One Froggy Evening, Disney's Cinderella and Peter Pan; and the dawn of a new technology called Television.
On warm, breezy, Saturday night April 9, 2005, Four hundred animators and their families packed the Pickwick Banquet Center strategically situated directly between the Walt Disney and Dreamworks Studios. Folks flew in from Phoenix, NY, England and Ireland. Guild President Kevin Koch and MC President-Emeritus Tom Sito introduced presenters Bill Melendez, Floyd Norman, Chuck Swenson, Martha Sigall, Tee Bosustow, Tina Price, Tim Walker, Gary Owens, Rusty Mills, Mark Kausler and Scott Shaw!
These luminaries handed out awards to the 55 present out of 72 honorees: Iwao Takamoto the creator of Scooby Doo, John Wilson the creator of the 1971 film Shinbone Alley, Chris Jenkyns the creator of Super Chicken, Paul Carlson of the How-To-Draw-Magoo books and many more. A complete list of the Class of 2005 is available on the Guilds website www.mpsc839.org
Now that the Golden Age Generation of the Walt, Chuck Jones, Friz, Hubley and the Nine Old Men are fading into legend, this event marked the honoring of the next tier of animation masters. Fred Wolf and Jimmy Murakami, Phil Roman, Gene Deitch, Gwen Wetzler, Eve Fletcher, Willie Ito, Tiger West, John Sparey, Lee Guttman, Corny Cole. For baby boomers like me, when you entered the business the great masters of the 1930's were distant idols you were fortunate to interact with at times. But this second generation were the on-the-ground, in-your-face supervisors and directors who worked with you every day. That night there were many of the Boomer Generation on hand to say thank you to their teachers and mentors.
Writer Leonard Maltin handed out a special award to June Foray, the voice of Rocky and Natasha Fatale. Other highlights were a rare gag reel of Termite Terrace artists clowning around, Footage of the Disney Strike of 1941 a montage of cartoons intercut with timely news footage of MacArthur, Marylin Monroe and Uncle Milty. Martha Sigal had copies of her new book Living Life Inside the Lines to autograph. Stuart Ng was there selling copies of rare animation books.
There were lots of laughs. One running gag was the number of artists who listed on their credits the TV series Qwicky Koala. We joked that development execs are even now are on their Blackberries checking on the rights for a possible revival series.
Multiple Accolades to organizers Bob Foster, Dave Brain and the TAG 839 staff for a masterful job. The 2005 Golden Awards was the largest gathering of top animation talent in a decade. The numbers of new people entering animation declined in the late 1950s as the large studio units closed and the industry shrank. So future awards ceremonies may not be as large as this one was. Discussions will start soon whether to make the event annual or every few years.
For now let's enjoy the glow of the magic that still lingers in the air. Congratulations once again to the honorees. It was a truly special night.
Tom Sito
(photos to follow) ¶ 11:34 AM
created the Golden Awards.
The Golden Awards honor the well known and the not-so well known. It's only requirement was fifty years of service in the animation field. The late, great Frank Thomas joked when he got his: "It's the first time I ever got an award for being old!" But besides famous artists like Frank the Golden Awards were at last a chance for the "great anonymous" craftsmen and women who made some of our favorite cartoon memories to receive some long over do recognition. Because of a problem getting volunteers for the support infrastructure the awards were allowed to lapse for a few years. So this years ceremony had to cover a long period, people who had entered the industry from 1943-1955. A lot of animation history to cover in those years, WWII, the Age of UPA, the great Warner Shorts like Rabbit Fire and One Froggy Evening, Disney's Cinderella and Peter Pan; and the dawn of a new technology called Television.
On warm, breezy, Saturday night April 9, 2005, Four hundred animators and their families packed the Pickwick Banquet Center strategically situated directly between the Walt Disney and Dreamworks Studios. Folks flew in from Phoenix, NY, England and Ireland. Guild President Kevin Koch and MC President-Emeritus Tom Sito introduced presenters Bill Melendez, Floyd Norman, Chuck Swenson, Martha Sigall, Tee Bosustow, Tina Price, Tim Walker, Gary Owens, Rusty Mills, Mark Kausler and Scott Shaw!
These luminaries handed out awards to the 55 present out of 72 honorees: Iwao Takamoto the creator of Scooby Doo, John Wilson the creator of the 1971 film Shinbone Alley, Chris Jenkyns the creator of Super Chicken, Paul Carlson of the How-To-Draw-Magoo books and many more. A complete list of the Class of 2005 is available on the Guilds website www.mpsc839.org
Now that the Golden Age Generation of the Walt, Chuck Jones, Friz, Hubley and the Nine Old Men are fading into legend, this event marked the honoring of the next tier of animation masters. Fred Wolf and Jimmy Murakami, Phil Roman, Gene Deitch, Gwen Wetzler, Eve Fletcher, Willie Ito, Tiger West, John Sparey, Lee Guttman, Corny Cole. For baby boomers like me, when you entered the business the great masters of the 1930's were distant idols you were fortunate to interact with at times. But this second generation were the on-the-ground, in-your-face supervisors and directors who worked with you every day. That night there were many of the Boomer Generation on hand to say thank you to their teachers and mentors.
Writer Leonard Maltin handed out a special award to June Foray, the voice of Rocky and Natasha Fatale. Other highlights were a rare gag reel of Termite Terrace artists clowning around, Footage of the Disney Strike of 1941 a montage of cartoons intercut with timely news footage of MacArthur, Marylin Monroe and Uncle Milty. Martha Sigal had copies of her new book Living Life Inside the Lines to autograph. Stuart Ng was there selling copies of rare animation books.
There were lots of laughs. One running gag was the number of artists who listed on their credits the TV series Qwicky Koala. We joked that development execs are even now are on their Blackberries checking on the rights for a possible revival series.
Multiple Accolades to organizers Bob Foster, Dave Brain and the TAG 839 staff for a masterful job. The 2005 Golden Awards was the largest gathering of top animation talent in a decade. The numbers of new people entering animation declined in the late 1950s as the large studio units closed and the industry shrank. So future awards ceremonies may not be as large as this one was. Discussions will start soon whether to make the event annual or every few years.
For now let's enjoy the glow of the magic that still lingers in the air. Congratulations once again to the honorees. It was a truly special night.
Tom Sito
(photos to follow) ¶ 11:34 AM
