Best known for his voice of Fred Flintstone (replacing Alan Reed after his death), character actor Henry Corden has passed away at age 85.Outside of his Flintstone work, my favorite role of his was his recurring stint as Mr. Babbitt, the gruff landlord of THE MONKEES.He shall be missed.

Howard Green informs us of the passing of Ollie Johnston’s beloved wife, Marie, Friday morning at her home in La Canada surrounded by family.She was 87 years old. She and Ollie had been married for 62 years.

He really really likes it! Link

THE ART OF ANIMATION TIMING: A MASTER SESSION WITH FRED CRIPPEN takes place this Saturday, May 21st at 3pm. It’s at The American Film Institute (Ted Ashley Screening Room, 2021 N. Western Ave. Hollywood, CA). Fred is one of the true living legends of the animation biz — a veteran of the famed design studio UPA and creator of ROGER RAMJET. He has a lifetime of accumulated knowledge about the art form and he’s generously willing to share it all. We’ll be showing plenty of his films and discussing his distinctive approach to animation. Come prepared with your questions.

ASIFA-Hollywood members get free admission as always. Non-members pay $10, but here’s the deal: if you mention Cartoon Brew, admission is half-price ($5) for non-members. For a bit more about the event, see this earlier write-up. See ya there!

Animator Oscar Grillo sends us a new drawing everyday. This was the one he sent today.

Pardon my long silence. Deadlines aplenty. I’m happy to report that all the text for my 50s animation design book is now finished. The pressure of this book has hardly subsided; there are now impending deadlines for images, text revisions and pressing non-book matters (like a little thing called ANIMATION BLAST #9 that I’m itching to finish up and have sent to the printer). It’s interesting to note that there is now nearly three times as much text in the book as originally intended. There is so little information available about most designers from that period that it seemed like a disservice to print an artist’s work without offering proper biographic details and a discussion of their specific contributions to animation design. It’s going to be a huge challenge fitting in all of this text with the images, and not ending up with something that looks like a Chip Kidd book design, but I’m confident that my designer will come up with a classy solution.

I’m moved! Now it’s a month of unpacking boxes and reorganizing my storage space. But my long national nightmare is over. Back to blogging!First, I must note that my buddy Martha Sigall is continuing her national book tour - or at least the west coast leg - by appearing at the Chuck Jones Gallery in San Diego this Saturday.If you love the classic Warner Bros. cartoons you will really enjoy Martha’s book, LIVING LIFE INSIDE THE LINES, written from her point of view as an inker & painter at the Looney Tunes studio (and her subsequent stints at MGM, Bob Clampett, Bill Melendez, etc.). She will be signing books May 21st at 2pm at the gallery at 2501 San Diego Ave. in Old Town. Check the Chuck Jones website for more information.

This Saturday night, from 7-10pm is the opening reception for Gary Baseman’s new art show “For the Love of Toby” at Billy Shire Fine Arts (5790 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90232). The show’s novelty stems from the fact that the over seventy pieces of art–wood panel paintings, plush sculpture, vintage photographs and ephemera–are all character-driven. They revolve around Baseman’s creation, Toby, a surreal Fleischer-esque animal who will be instantly familiar to fans of Gary’s work. What’s next…a Toby animated cartoon…perhaps his time has come. A preview of the show can be found at HEAD MAGAZINE.