this man is such a legend - so glad you posted this .. he’s still a genius at 90 - inspiring!

Well, they say he co-created Mr Magoo, and the Wall Street Journal credits Hubley by name (that’s who I always heard was his creator)

A writer co-created a cartoon character? Don’t tell John K!

Terriff! He must’ve gotten a good laff at that insipid “lawsuit” over that unthinkable (feature) film!! The “seeing impaired” was too #$&#*(ing bizzy being “politically correct” to know that, duh, he was born ” NEAR-SIGHTED”!!

From the first page of the novel:

“Slowly, purposefully, she slipped the silky fabric from her shoulders and let it drift to the floor. As she crossed the oaken floor between them, her desire for him grew with each step . Standing in front of the fireplace, wearing only stockings and a tiara, she held a martini in each hand. Smiling seductively, she raised one to offer it to him.

“What is it? Who’s there? Show yourself, by gum!” wailed Magoo, as he grabbed his umbrella and struck out at the blurry figure before him, catching her under the chin and again in the shoulder.”

He’s got my money!

I’m glad he’s recuperated from his accident where he mistakenly walked into a cement mixer, thinking it was the entrance to a trendy nightclub.——Sorry, couldn’t resist a good Magoo Joke.

From the research I’ve been doing on the UPA documentary, it appears to me that a number of people co-created Mr. Magoo. The latest is Willis Pyle, who apparently came up with the jowls, and other visual bits of the first version of Magoo. Knowing now how the artists worked at UPA, it’s hard to imagine one person creating any character completely alone. Of course, the guiding vision would have to, at least, include Kaufman, who created the Magoo persona, the caracter structure, and typical situations, that could be carried from one film to the next, that then led to the visual creation, and vocal creation, eg, Hubley and Backus.

Are we talking about the Magoo of “Ragtime Bear” as the first definitive version of the character? Magoo’s personality and appearance changed significantly after that initial cartoon, to make him more appealing and commercial.

Interesting that he now LOOKS like Magoo. I hope we all don’t end up looking like our creations!