Cool News
ROCKY & BULLWINKLE Animator dies in truck crash...
Father Geek here with some tragic uncool news... Long time animator "Tex" Henson has died... I've met TEX many times over the years, listened to his tall-tales for days gone-by in the animation biz, watched as he drew various comic characters for my kids (Harry and Dannie)... he was a great, fun guy full of history and laughs... and a good friend who never turned his back on the fans. As I flip thru my stack of his art that he gave me over the last 30 years I can't help but shed a tear, not only for "TEX", but for the industry he was soooo much a part of... its changed so much... Gone for the most part are animation studios like the ones he drew for and oversaw. Drawing and painting by hand is fast becoming lost to the world of modern animated features, REAL cels and pencil tests from recent films are becoming rare as hen's teeth to collectors, annnnd that's sad indeed. "TEX" once told me that when he was over seeing the Mexico operation for Jay Ward during the ROCKY & BULLWINKLE hay-day, that they would run out of paint... that he would send out an assistant to get more to a local Mexican hardware store where they would buy regular house paint, bring it back and paint the cels. They would shoot the cels while they were still tacky... the stacks of used cels would instantly stick to each other, annnnnd that's why there are sooooo few old original cels around from that early series. Well, that's not a problem any more... cels have become extinct... Damn, I'm going to miss hearing him tell those stories...
Here's what Reuters and CNN had to say...
Damn, I'm going to miss hearing him tell those stories...
Here's what Reuters and CNN had to say...
DALLAS, Texas (Reuters) -- William Henson, the animator behind the
wise cracking chipmunks Chip 'n Dale, flying squirrel Rocky and the
beloved dimwitted moose Bullwinkle, died earlier this week at the age
of 78 after being hit by a pi ckup truck in suburban Dallas, a local
medical examiner said Thursday.
Known in the industry as "Tex" Henson, the animator joined the Disney animation
studios in California after graduating from high school in Dallas. He was a
cartoonist for Disney films such as "Song of the South", "Pecos Bill" and "Peter and
the Wolf."
Henson's first major claim to fame was when he joined forces with another Disney
animator to campaign for the comic chipmunk duo of Chip 'n Dale to become regular
characters in Disney animation. The chipmunks were then featured in about two
dozen films.
Henson left Disney, and after a stint in New York where he worked on cartoons such
as "Casper the Friendly Ghost", he went to Mexico to supervise a studio that turned
out some of the more memorable animated character on American television.
He supervised a team of about 180 animators who brought characters such as
Rocky, Bullwinkle and the spies Boris and Natasha to life. The studio also turned out
other cartoons featuring Underdog, Tennessee Tuxedo, and the cartoon rabbit of Trix
cereal fame.
"There wasn't much expected from those cartoons," Henson told the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram in an interview about 10 years ago.
"We were hackin' 'em out on the cheap, getting' the job done," he said, adding that
most of his employees did not speak English or understand the humor of their work.
"But we made 'em as funny-looking as we could under the circumstances and I
guess something clicked between the writing and the cartooning," he told the paper.
Henson later moved to the east Dallas suburb of Terrell and taught animation in the
Dallas school system. He also drew cartoons for a small newspaper in the area.
He died at Parkland Memorial Hospital of head injuries suffered in the auto accident,
the Dallas County Medical Examiner said.
-
+ Expand All
-
Another person responsible for some of my childhood memories passes. Thanks for providing those memories, Mr. Henson. You'll be missed.
-
I've always enjoyed those old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons and Chip and Dale are two of my Dinsey favorites. This is a dark day for animation.
John Cage
http://get.to/spidey -
Also, Tuesday, Glenn Quinn, co star of Roseanne and early episodes of Angel passed away at Age 32.
-
Condolences to his loved ones. And congratulations on a great life's work. RIP.
-
I hate to make light of the recently deceased. But Tex is probably ALREADY turning in his grave for that Rocky & Bullwinkle movie they put out about 2 years ago.
-R
-
Rest In Peace
-
...but I had no idea. This comes as a HUGE shock to me. I grew up in Terrell, Tx...the suburb of Dallas that he lived in in his last years. My friends and I would be playing outside in the front yard of my house, and this old guy with a twinkle in his eye named Tex would be walking down the sidewalk some days. He'd see us playing football or tag, and he'd stop for a minute to say hello, but he'd inevitably lead into a story abour his life as an animator. It seems so surreal now, but he would tell us all these stories about how he used to draw cartoons, and that he had been one of the guys to create Chip N' Dale. The reason this story is so incredible to me is that sadly, as kids, we all honestly thought he was just a little senile and lonely, and that the stories were all made up. I deeply regret being so cynical in my thinking now...I feel like I missed the chance to get to know someone very kind, accomplished, and interesting. God bless him.
-
Rocky and Bullwinkle was a favorite of mine growing up. Sorry to here of Tex's death.
And Dink, Terrell isn't a suburb of Dallas. They're in two different counties, Dallas and Kaufman. That's like calling Denton a suburb of Dallas. -
http://designtrain.com/jayward/
On a side note there should be more recognition for Filmation founder, Lou Scheimer(www.louscheimerproductions.com). Filmation is all but forgotten by most, but at least Filmation Archives gives fans a chance to get some of the company's better known work. www.filmationarchives.com -
Denton really is pretty much an over-sized suburb of the Metroplex. Not too much going on up there otherwise. I think any place within an hour or so radius of the D/FW area still counts as a suburb. Especially Ft. Worth, since north and south it takes up the bulk of Tarrant County. Dallas, I'm sure, would be the same way if it wasn't for fucking Plano. And what a waste that suburb is... crist. A whole lot of not really anything there, just malls and more malls. So glad I moved away.
-
fanmail from some flounder?
This and other lines permanently embedded in my memory and still used with love.
Dudley , Nell & her horse, Sherman, Peabody, Rocky and Bullwinkle... loved it all.
Very sad. I wish there could be more of this kind of talent and wit.
-
Two words: George Miller
-
Dec 06, 2002 11:37:45 PM CST
Father Geek & Harry - what about Glenn McQueen, fer Godsakes?
by half vader
One of Pixar's lead superanimators dies, and you don't even mention it?
Shame shame shame. -
It was my first job working at braums in Terrell, he would come in everyday for his cup of coffee. I remember first meeting him looking at his drawings, his stories. Every once in a while I would see him walking around town with his folder full of sketches in one arm.
-
Sad, sad day...i miss hand drawn cartoons.These new CG cartoons lack that organic feel to the characters. Using CG to create images you couldnt do by hand is cool and mixing them with hand drawn cels is even cooler..like Cowboy Bebop and other cool anime shows etc...but when every single image is made by computer graphics and coloring the show/movie looks like shit. Hopefully studios will realize this and use both as a way to create.
Am I wrong to hate glossy computer generated images? I mean its not really a cartoon anymore is it? -
I didn't realize it at the time, but Jay Ward and his partners in crime were really treating all us little baby boomers as adults. Don't believe me? Go back and listen to the puns and topical humor that fill up those classic episodes. And those voices! Hans Conreid, June Foray, Edward Everett Horton - how much of the current Saturday morning fare can claim that kind of cast? I wish I could have known Mr. Henson when he was still alive - I would have been proud to shake his hand. His animation was jumpy and decidedly un-fluid, but it was perfectly suited for the material that was written for it, and remarkable considering the restraints of time and resources. Rest in peace, Mr. Henson; you've earned it.
-
Thank you Tex.
-
Saddened to hear of his passing. I got to meet with him several times back when "comic" conventions with guests used to be held in this state. Tex always had the stories and that seems to be a common point of reference in this thread. He's gone but he'll never leave us if we remember his stories. As to that name, he says that he was related to Tex Avery but that he only got to work with Fred at the end of his career when he was doing a tv commercial (not for Raid). Tex Avery, by the way, was related to Judge Roy Bean: the Law the West of the Pecos.
-
RIP, Tex... Peace and blessings
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 325 total posts 322 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 106 total posts 106 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 63 total posts 60 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 74 total posts 58 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 159 total posts 51 posts
- If the Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day drops her pen, pick it up, but don’t look at her legs or else it will be on your record. -- 47 total posts 41 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 161 total posts 34 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 488 total posts 33 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 121 total posts 23 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 70 total posts 20 posts