Famous animator to visit Cd'A
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 9 years, 5 months AGO
Courtesy photo Famed animator Ron Campbell puts finishing touches on an image from “The Yellow Submarine.” Campbell will be coming to Coeur d’Alene in May to share his experiences in the cartooning industry working on such shows as “George of the Jungle” and “Scooby Doo.”
Courtesy photo Animator Ron Campbell directed The Beatles’ Saturday morning cartoon and helped animate “The Yellow Submarine” (pictured here). Campbell will visit Emerge Gallery May 5, 7 and 7 to exhibit, sell and create new works of familiar characters.
By DEVIN HEILMAN
Staff Writer
As a little boy growing up in Australia in the 1940s, Ron Campbell spent his Saturday afternoons in movie houses.
He was mesmerized by the animated images, captivated by characters like Tom and Jerry, chasing each other across the screen.
“I would watch the cartoons and I didn’t understand them at all,” Campbell said Wednesday in a phone interview from his Arizona home. “They were so fabulous. What were they? Were animals running around behind the screen? I didn’t associate it with the (projector) light above me at all.
“It seemed magical to me,” he said.
When his great-grandmother told him they were just drawings, his 7-year-old mind made a decision to make this his life.
This fascination with animation drew Campbell to a career where he would become a creator of that magic for generations of wide-eyed children. Campbell spent 50 years in children's television, directing and animating such beloved shows as "The Flintstones," "Scooby Doo," "Popeye," "The Smurfs," "Winnie the Pooh," and many more.
And even though he never met The Beatles in person, Campbell's talent was used in The Beatles Saturday morning cartoon from '65-'69 and their iconic psychedelic animated film, "The Yellow Submarine."
"It was almost an accident," he said of working on "Yellow Submarine." "It was my third year in America and I was working on other things. I didn't need it at all, but it just fell in my lap."
Campbell said he doesn't have one favorite cartoon character.
"I loved all the characters I worked with," he said. "I was always fortunate to be able to work on what I enjoyed."
At 77 years old, Campbell is still bringing these colorful characters to life, and he's going to bring his magic to Coeur d'Alene next month.
Campbell will be at Emerge Gallery in person to exhibit his Beatles cartoon art and share his experiences in the world of cartoons. He'll be selling original Beatles cartoon paintings as well as new works of familiar characters at the request of his visitors, who will receive certificates of authenticity with the pieces he creates.
"He does painting while he's there," said Campbell's representative, Scott Segelbaum. "People have been moved to tears seeing part of their childhood play out right before their eyes.”
Campbell will be at Emerge from 3-8 p.m. May 5, noon to 6 p.m. May 6 and noon to 4 p.m. May 7.
Emerge is located at 208 N. Fourth St. in Coeur d'Alene.