^--that's wierd and I am anxious to know if it is true.
I'm in Houston, and tonight I went out to discover standing ice covering my Beetle. In Texas! I'm wondering where's all this global warming they keep ballyhoo about.
Screw this. I'm going to go stand outside of my apartment with some Krylon and hairspray.
We're lucky apple cider never goes out of style. And thanks again for the doodle!
I like that you do drawings that cushion the blow of a two day absence. Few people are so thoughtful.
I'm actually quite pleased it's cold somewhere. It's shockingly mild in southwest England, but very windy and rainy. I'm being buffeted. Buffeted! I say shockingly because I worry that this is climate change in action and our children are all going to boil.
Out of town? Thanks for letting me know. I'll be right over! Heh heh heh...
We've had an unseasonably warm winter up here in Canada. All our squirrels and bunnies are extra fat because there's so much food around. This global warming is scary - but on the bright side, with a little luck I'll be able to plant orange trees.
Canadian squirrels and bunnies just may be gaining weight in anticipation of some arctic apocalypse only they can perceive. Dumb animals is a misnomer. More like sentient public crappers, a condition humans only reach in advanced age.
Toonamir: Pinky and the Brain? Yeah, that's Tom and I, except that I don't have an English accent. The original concept drawings of Pinky looked a lot like me but I think the studio was afraid I'd sue so they went in another direction.
I wouldn't have sued or even have asked for money. I was just flattered to get the attention.
Hey Eddie, if John doesn't know about this yet, show him that someone out there is caring about his lessons. The lesson links are on the bottom of the article.
I don't think for a second that the studio though you'd sue...the design(by Lynne Naylor)stayed pretty close to the original, except they took the poindexter glasses off of the Pinky model. Glasses being a bitch for Korea to draw/animate.
The final voice choices were both a letdown...although LaMarche ripping off Orson Welles was certainly a hit with the public, so what do I know(Minton sounds much funnier, FWIW). The subpar "Ringo" or whatever it was for Pinky was just meh.
And although he got it from Don Martin, et al, the incessant "Narf"s! And "poits!" are all from Eddie storyboards(he drew those expressions on his panels all the time)...I always thought it was dumb to have the characters actually say the word "narf" as opposed to the kind of incoherent "doh!" exclamation of the real Eddie in conversation, but ... *shrugs*
Lawsuit or no, it was beyond annoying that the writers involved with "creating" that show never mentioned anywhere, ever that the two main characters were developed and inspired by direct caricatures of two of the show's original artists/directors/writers. Klassy.
Warners never OFFICIALLY mentions it. Everyone knows it because people who were there at the time once mentioned Pinky and Brain's physical head inspirations with regularity, before the Warner legal tack devolved into its present attitude to stamp it out. Many of those interviewed on both 2006 Animaniacs DVD collections mentioned it for the record but the legal department demanded that those references be edited out before the DVDs hit the street. BTW, neither Eddie nor Tom were at Warners at the point Pinky and Brain were designed, placing that decision on shady legal ground. Eddie had long left the company and Tom was working at Disney on "Darkwing Duck". Warners never officially acknowledged that Friz Freleng had been the model for Yosemite Sam during his lifetime, either. See a pattern here?
Anon, you're wrong to think Eddie wasn't right there during "Animaniacs!" development and production. He was working at Warner's until May of '92, leaving to work on the second season of "Ren and Stimpy"(which was only in production a matter of months before Nick shut Spumco production down). So Eddie not only worked at WB during the entire development of "PATB", he actually did a voice audition for the part of the character based on him, "Pinky". Apparently he wasn't quite right to play himself-*sarcasm*-but in any case, obviously the final voice was a long, long way from Eddie's own.
I believe that Minton too was still at WB when "Animaniacs!:" development was going on...he certainly was there during its production, writing "Toby Danger!" as well as other scripts for A!--he even specialized in PATB scripts.
Jorge, "everyone" knows it because Eddie is and was a WB director, wrote his own scripts, hired every one of the artists later employed by Spumco, and was already famous among the artists for his "Narf!" stuff as well as the fact that, since everyone knew Him and his friend and coworker Minton, knew what a caricature looks like of the two of them. Put a pair of black glasses on "pinky" and stick his front teeth out a bit more and voila. "Everybody" in this case means about 100 artists and writers. PATB, however, veered way off anything but a glancing resemblance to Minton and Fitzgerald after development. And personally, I don't buy at all that there's some legal reason that any mention of Eddie and Tom as models would be deleted; neither man has the reserves or the attitufde to sue a company like WB, plus the fact is that EVERYTHING, including caricatures that are based on employees is "work for hire" and the studio owes the artists nothing but their union-stipualted salaries. They both know that. If it's true that any credit or mention of the REAL origins of the characters were deleted, it was just to be petty, most likely. If the show hadn't been as successful, I'd guess they's be much more honest or liberal with mentioning inspirations.
Funny. I just learned from You Tube (Paulson & LeMarche gave it up) the character design for Pinky (from Pinky and The Brain) was based on you! Your facial features, that is. Somehow, that makes a lot of sense, and I don't know why ... Well we're recovering from a another freeze in Dallas, I have to use the hairdryer on the Chevy Lumina to defrost the car door. LAst time I tried using my hor breath - you guessed it, lips stuck to the door for twenty minutes.
NARF? Eddie is responsible for NARF? In that case, you have had a remarkably large impression on me and my youth. And the sir who served as the best man in my wedding owes the lexicon of his catchphrases to your creative genius.
While looking around I noticed that they did make a character of you once. Don't know which show, I never really watched either of them. You probably know what I'm talking about. It's a little less than 3/4 down this page.
Anonymous: I like Hertzfeldt.I wish he was more prolific. I'm not a fan of graphic novels though I have an open mind and I always hope that maybe the next one is the one that'll grab me.
I'm not aware that I copied anybody when I used to say "Narf" all the time. It certainly sounds like something Don Martin might have written but I don't remember reading it.
The word I still say frequently is "Egad!" It seems like an odd and archaic word when you see it in print but it sounds natural in speech. I'm constantly being shocked by things and I need a word to express that.
Anonymous: I was definitely at Warners while the Animaniacs development was taking place but Tom Reugger worked with a small set of developers and I was only dimly aware of what was going on in that department. I knew my likeness was being used because I'd see pictures of me as a mouse lying on the xerox from time to time. I wrote a script for the series early on but it became obsolete when the characters later developed in a different direction.
I did a reading for the voice of Pinky but I didn't get the job. Maybe I sucked, maybe the problem was that I didn't do other voices. Professional voice people will do two extra character voices for the same rate as one so a studio has an incentive to use them, even if if they're not a perfect fit for the original voice.
Warners put me in a tiny sound-deadening booth with a huge set of headphones and the instruction to lean forward offbalance, close to the giant fuzzball microphone. It was so silent in there that I could hear my heart beating. I was asked to laugh with my characteristic laugh and what I did probably sounded forced.
Steve: T-Bone sounded great, especially the first song. I could hear Johnny Winter and Hendrix in it.
Sorry-the Don Martin assist was really re" Poit!", not "narf". The "narf" thing was silly as your actual verbal tic was more like a sort of verbal "nefff" or "errpf!" imho. Leave it to writers to make a "narf" out of it.
I've no doubt whatsoever that the "direction" you got in the booth was terrible--it certainly sounds that way. And in any event, what you know about voice actors is true-you didn't stand a chance of getting the part of 'yourself' no matter how good you'd come off in the test. It's not a wacky coincidence that the same 4 people did virtually all the voices on those show, with the notable exception of the kids of one of the producers. I'm sure in that case, however, that there weren't any other children (or adults who could sound like children) anywhere available in the SAG roster, so that's understandable.
Neat drawing Eddie!
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you could post about Pinky and the Brain,
I once heard from a reliable source,
that Pinky is based on you.
^--that's wierd and I am anxious to know if it is true.
ReplyDeleteI'm in Houston, and tonight I went out to discover standing ice covering my Beetle. In Texas! I'm wondering where's all this global warming they keep ballyhoo about.
Screw this. I'm going to go stand outside of my apartment with some Krylon and hairspray.
We're lucky apple cider never goes out of style. And thanks again for the doodle!
Pinky, huh...
ReplyDeleteI like that you do drawings that cushion the blow of a two day absence. Few people are so thoughtful.
I'm actually quite pleased it's cold somewhere. It's shockingly mild in southwest England, but very windy and rainy. I'm being buffeted. Buffeted! I say shockingly because I worry that this is climate change in action and our children are all going to boil.
Out of town? Thanks for letting me know. I'll be right over! Heh heh heh...
ReplyDeleteWe've had an unseasonably warm winter up here in Canada. All our squirrels and bunnies are extra fat because there's so much food around. This global warming is scary - but on the bright side, with a little luck I'll be able to plant orange trees.
Have a good break Eddie! My progress toward enlightenment will continue with your return.
ReplyDeleteCanadian squirrels and bunnies just may be gaining weight in anticipation of some arctic apocalypse only they can perceive. Dumb animals is a misnomer. More like sentient public crappers, a condition humans only reach in advanced age.
ReplyDeleteNo DON'T GO MAN!!! WAHHHHHH!!!
ReplyDeleteToonamir: Pinky and the Brain? Yeah, that's Tom and I, except that I don't have an English accent. The original concept drawings of Pinky looked a lot like me but I think the studio was afraid I'd sue so they went in another direction.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have sued or even have asked for money. I was just flattered to get the attention.
Have fun!
ReplyDeleteI wonder where he is....
ReplyDeleteWe'll Miss You!
ReplyDeleteHey Eddie, if John doesn't know about this yet, show him that someone out there is caring about his lessons. The lesson links are on the bottom of the article.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_k
I don't think for a second that the studio though you'd sue...the design(by Lynne Naylor)stayed pretty close to the original, except they took the poindexter glasses off of the Pinky model. Glasses being a bitch for Korea to draw/animate.
ReplyDeleteThe final voice choices were both a letdown...although LaMarche ripping off Orson Welles was certainly a hit with the public, so what do I know(Minton sounds much funnier, FWIW). The subpar "Ringo" or whatever it was for Pinky was just meh.
And although he got it from Don Martin, et al, the incessant "Narf"s! And "poits!" are all from Eddie storyboards(he drew those expressions on his panels all the time)...I always thought it was dumb to have the characters actually say the word "narf" as opposed to the kind of incoherent "doh!" exclamation of the real Eddie in conversation, but ... *shrugs*
ReplyDeleteLawsuit or no, it was beyond annoying that the writers involved with "creating" that show never mentioned anywhere, ever that the two main characters were developed and inspired by direct caricatures of two of the show's original artists/directors/writers. Klassy.
Have fun, Uncle Eddie, and stay warm! You Los Angeleans aren't used to this cold.
ReplyDeleteTo tide us over till Eddie comes back...
ReplyDeleteT Bone Blues
See ya
Steve
Warners never OFFICIALLY mentions it. Everyone knows it because people who were there at the time once mentioned Pinky and Brain's physical head inspirations with regularity, before the Warner legal tack devolved into its present attitude to stamp it out. Many of those interviewed on both 2006 Animaniacs DVD collections mentioned it for the record but the legal department demanded that those references be edited out before the DVDs hit the street. BTW, neither Eddie nor Tom were at Warners at the point Pinky and Brain were designed, placing that decision on shady legal ground. Eddie had long left the company and Tom was working at Disney on "Darkwing Duck". Warners never officially acknowledged that Friz Freleng had been the model for Yosemite Sam during his lifetime, either. See a pattern here?
ReplyDeleteAnon, you're wrong to think Eddie wasn't right there during "Animaniacs!" development and production. He was working at Warner's until May of '92, leaving to work on the second season of "Ren and Stimpy"(which was only in production a matter of months before Nick shut Spumco production down). So Eddie not only worked at WB during the entire development of "PATB", he actually did a voice audition for the part of the character based on him, "Pinky". Apparently he wasn't quite right to play himself-*sarcasm*-but in any case, obviously the final voice was a long, long way from Eddie's own.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Minton too was still at WB when "Animaniacs!:" development was going on...he certainly was there during its production, writing "Toby Danger!" as well as other scripts for A!--he even specialized in PATB scripts.
Jorge, "everyone" knows it because Eddie is and was a WB director, wrote his own scripts, hired every one of the artists later employed by Spumco, and was already famous among the artists for his "Narf!" stuff as well as the fact that, since everyone knew Him and his friend and coworker Minton, knew what a caricature looks like of the two of them. Put a pair of black glasses on "pinky" and stick his front teeth out a bit more and voila. "Everybody" in this case means about 100 artists and writers. PATB, however, veered way off anything but a glancing resemblance to Minton and Fitzgerald after development. And personally, I don't buy at all that there's some legal reason that any mention of Eddie and Tom as models would be deleted; neither man has the reserves or the attitufde to sue a company like WB, plus the fact is that EVERYTHING, including caricatures that are based on employees is "work for hire" and the studio owes the artists nothing but their union-stipualted salaries. They both know that. If it's true that any credit or mention of the REAL origins of the characters were deleted, it was just to be petty, most likely. If the show hadn't been as successful, I'd guess they's be much more honest or liberal with mentioning inspirations.
Ringo, cockney--whatever. It was the same voice guy, in any case.
ReplyDeleteI bet Eddie is going ice fishing for the next few days. Right?
ReplyDeleteFunny drawing, Eddie! All bundled up to fight the crisp cold wind. I have to echo chloe, thanks for softening the blow with a drawing.
ReplyDeleteGreat link, Steve!
Funny.
ReplyDeleteI just learned from You Tube (Paulson & LeMarche gave it up) the character design for Pinky (from Pinky and The Brain) was based on you! Your facial features, that is.
Somehow, that makes a lot of sense, and I don't know why ...
Well we're recovering from a another freeze in Dallas, I have to use the hairdryer on the Chevy Lumina to defrost the car door. LAst time I tried using my hor breath - you guessed it, lips stuck to the door for twenty minutes.
here is the link from YouTube
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvUVIMv-Z50
NARF? Eddie is responsible for NARF? In that case, you have had a remarkably large impression on me and my youth. And the sir who served as the best man in my wedding owes the lexicon of his catchphrases to your creative genius.
ReplyDeleteHoly shit, man. Thanks.
Had no idea.
While looking around I noticed that they did make a character of you once. Don't know which show, I never really watched either of them. You probably know what I'm talking about.
ReplyDeleteIt's a little less than 3/4 down this page.
http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles.php?link=1120
The site even censored your photo. Don't worry though, I tried to figure out what it was of and thought of much dirtier thoughts in the process.
Have a nice day.
http://www.geocities.com/kickassartists/rich/inteview.html
ReplyDeleteI really dont want to get a blog but someone should post this link on johns blog to get his opinions on this interview
also what do you think of modern day graphic novels eddie? I think theyre pretensious trash!
id also like yours and johns opinion on don hertzfeldt
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: I like Hertzfeldt.I wish he was more prolific. I'm not a fan of graphic novels though I have an open mind and I always hope that maybe the next one is the one that'll grab me.
ReplyDeleteI'm not aware that I copied anybody when I used to say "Narf" all the time. It certainly sounds like something Don Martin might have written but I don't remember reading it.
The word I still say frequently is "Egad!" It seems like an odd and archaic word when you see it in print but it sounds natural in speech. I'm constantly being shocked by things and I need a word to express that.
Anonymous: I was definitely at Warners while the Animaniacs development was taking place but Tom Reugger worked with a small set of developers and I was only dimly aware of what was going on in that department. I knew my likeness was being used because I'd see pictures of me as a mouse lying on the xerox from time to time. I wrote a script for the series early on but it became obsolete when the characters later developed in a different direction.
ReplyDeleteI did a reading for the voice of Pinky but I didn't get the job. Maybe I sucked, maybe the problem was that I didn't do other voices. Professional voice people will do two extra character voices for the same rate as one so a studio has an incentive to use them, even if if they're not a perfect fit for the original voice.
Warners put me in a tiny sound-deadening booth with a huge set of headphones and the instruction to lean forward offbalance, close to the giant fuzzball microphone. It was so silent in there that I could hear my heart beating. I was asked to laugh with my characteristic laugh and what I did probably sounded forced.
Steve: T-Bone sounded great, especially the first song. I could hear Johnny Winter and Hendrix in it.
Sorry-the Don Martin assist was really re" Poit!", not "narf". The "narf" thing was silly as your actual verbal tic was more like a sort of verbal "nefff" or "errpf!" imho. Leave it to writers to make a "narf" out of it.
ReplyDeleteI've no doubt whatsoever that the "direction" you got in the booth was terrible--it certainly sounds that way. And in any event, what you know about voice actors is true-you didn't stand a chance of getting the part of 'yourself' no matter how good you'd come off in the test. It's not a wacky coincidence that the same 4 people did virtually all the voices on those show, with the notable exception of the kids of one of the producers.
I'm sure in that case, however, that there weren't any other children (or adults who could sound like children) anywhere available in the SAG roster, so that's understandable.
You would have made a much better Pinky.
You make a much better Cigarettes the Cat.
ReplyDeleteSee ya
Steve
Yeah, you do make a real good Cigarettes the Cat. I can't wait to hear you do it again hopefully sometime soon.
ReplyDeleteYour best line: "Yeah!? Well...FFFFFFFUCK YOU TOO!"
What's a graphic novel?
ReplyDeleteA 20-dollar comic book.