tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post4811057640279604905..comments2024-03-13T23:42:25.845-07:00Comments on Animondays: Breakfast with ShamusDavid B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-78526765018977075112009-01-23T09:10:00.000-08:002009-01-23T09:10:00.000-08:00Tom,Great story about Shamus! Thanks for sharing t...Tom,<BR/><BR/>Great story about Shamus! Thanks for sharing that...David B. Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-65001222980231694482009-01-23T07:31:00.000-08:002009-01-23T07:31:00.000-08:00ok, now I really want to read that book!ok, now I really want to read that book!Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16581487681954406675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-44194180272165798862009-01-20T21:27:00.000-08:002009-01-20T21:27:00.000-08:00Hey David:Long ago, when I was fresh out of art sc...Hey David:<BR/>Long ago, when I was fresh out of art school, I bought an original pencil Disney drawing at a local gallery. It was from "Mickey's Hawiian Holiday" and was a tight pencil of a crab sitting on Pluto's nose. The gallery owner told me it was drawn by Shamus, who I had never heard of (the Nine Old Men, yes, Shamus, no) His book had just come out; when I read it, I thought it was a wonderful documentary of what it was like to be in the biz in the old days when it was all starting. Amazing eye witness stories...the guy worked at every studio! Long story short--<BR/>I went to NYC on a business trip, and I looked up Shamus in the NYC phone book...there he was. I called him up and asked if I might come over and meet him. He graciously spoke with me in his home for about half an hour, and signed my copy of his book AND the Pluto drawing he has done so many years ago! I showed him some of the cartoon art I was beginning to do myself, and he said "You got a real nice style there, young feller!". I will never forget that trip and afternoon. I highly recommend everyone interested in animation history to read his book "Talking Animals and other People".<BR/>And thanks for keeping up your blog, it is terrific!<BR/><BR/>Tom BarrettTom Barretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06064028388642272365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-53897878151458194322009-01-20T09:49:00.000-08:002009-01-20T09:49:00.000-08:00Stephen,I wish I had known about this book when I ...Stephen,<BR/><BR/>I wish I had known about this book when I was a kid. Now we have a glut of books, websites, schools, DVDs, etc, that try to teach us how to animate. But, all this time later, books like Talking Animals and Other People are all the more special because they offer individual insights into animation and its history. In this field, that's all too rare.David B. Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-21314390431931404342009-01-20T08:38:00.000-08:002009-01-20T08:38:00.000-08:00When I first checked this out from my local librar...When I first checked this out from my local library as a kid, I was really hoping it was going to teach me how to animate. Instead it was filled with all these politics, attitudes, and strange names like "Ub Iwerks." <BR/><BR/>I got through it as best as I could without understanding much. it's definitely time for a re-read.stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15584521465654665967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-26371010452301045652009-01-19T11:25:00.000-08:002009-01-19T11:25:00.000-08:00Hi ROC,I think the tone of the book you are rememb...Hi ROC,<BR/><BR/>I think the tone of the book you are remembering is in there to some extent. He does have the agenda of preserving his own legacy, especially when you think of the fame that his contemporaries were finally achieving by the time he wrote the book. Think Chuck Jones, etc.<BR/><BR/>Shamus spent most of his years in NY animation, so I would consider him a NY animation guy who did some years in the West Coast. Plus, he was the first president of ASIFA-East, and that seals the deal. <BR/><BR/>Despite what Shamus may have tried to do with his book, he ended up painting a picture of a bygone era and in the process, revealed more about himself than he might have intended to.David B. Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-89407045385094933032009-01-19T09:49:00.000-08:002009-01-19T09:49:00.000-08:00The first book concerning animation I read was "Fr...The first book concerning animation I read was "From Script to Screen", this was the second. Probably shortly after his death.<BR/><BR/>The one thing that stays with me (since I've forgotten more about animation than I'll ever know) is his tone. There's a sense of being slighted by history, or trying to justify his legacy.<BR/><BR/>Knowing what I know now, you've inspired me to re-read it.<BR/><BR/>Is that mood really there?<BR/><BR/>If so, is it just part of the East Coast/West Coast continuum. He would be what we consider a "West Coast" animator in New York. There they probably considered him an Easterner.roconnorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04933040935053560675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-4418621088468503822009-01-19T08:53:00.000-08:002009-01-19T08:53:00.000-08:00I'm currently reading "The David Levy Story".It's ...I'm currently reading "The David Levy Story".<BR/>It's a lurid expose' of the dirty underbelly of the NYC animation community.Elliot Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15952897418341461593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-76961349919091472432009-01-19T07:20:00.000-08:002009-01-19T07:20:00.000-08:00I always enjoy reading the writings of artists, es...I always enjoy reading the writings of artists, especially when they have to do with issues other than technique, and talk more about ideas and philosophy of art (which to me seems so much more important than technique (especially when coming from the artist and not a critic or historian)), and anecdotals about working. <BR/><BR/>I will look forward to reading this one. Thanks, Dave.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13175400614261773704noreply@blogger.com