Douglas P. Crane (June 15, 1935 – December 17, 2020) was an American animator.
Life and career
Crane was born on June 15, 1935, in
Bronxville, New York
Bronxville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the Adminis ...
. He was one of eight kids in his family. "Often, it could be pretty tough trying to get my two cents into a conversation around the dinner table, It dawned on me that I could get my point across and also vent my frustrations by drawing pictures, usually of myself with my cartoon mouth wide open with balloon blurbs saying stuff like, 'Bobby, Shut Up!' or, 'Betty, Be Quiet!'", he said in a 2012 interview.
[Doug Crane, 'Heavy Metal' and 'Beavis and Butt-Head' Animator, Dies at 85 , Hollywood Reporter]
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After graduating from Eastchester High School
Eastchester High School is located in Westchester County, New York in the town of Eastchester. A part of the Eastchester Union Free School District, it is a former U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon school with approximately 1009 studen ...
in Eastchester, New York
Eastchester is a town in southern Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was over 34,641 at the 2020 United States census over 32,363 at the 2010 census. There are two villages within the town: Bronxville and Tuckahoe. The ...
, he got a job at Terrytoons
Terrytoons, Inc. was an American animation studio headquartered in New Rochelle, New York, which was active from 1929 until its closure in December 1972 (and briefly returned between 1987 and 1996 for television in-name only). Founded by Paul Te ...
in 1957, which was located at New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...
. He married his wife, Maureen Hurley, at the time.
Crane took a break from animating during the beginning of his animation career and went to the United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
in 1958. During his time with the army, he became a cartoonist and created a comic strip that ran in the military newspaper called ''Tiptoe and Timber''. Other things he did while in the army include illustrating recruitment pamphlets, creating and painting floats for base parades, and painting signage for the White Sands Proving Grounds
White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established in 1941 as the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, where the Trinity t ...
.
After returning from the army, he came back to Terrytoons
Terrytoons, Inc. was an American animation studio headquartered in New Rochelle, New York, which was active from 1929 until its closure in December 1972 (and briefly returned between 1987 and 1996 for television in-name only). Founded by Paul Te ...
and opened the Hanna-Barbera East Studios in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
alongside Red Auguston at the request of Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...
co-founder William Hanna
William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator, voice actor, and musician who is best known for co-creating ''Tom and Jerry'' and providing the vocal effects for the series' title characters. Alongside Joseph B ...
. Crane then went on to animate for films, television series, television commercials, half-hour specials. He also drew comic strips and comic books.
Crane worked on ''Challenge of the Superfriends
''Challenge of the Superfriends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from September 9 to December 23, 1978, on ABC. The complete series (16 episodes) was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is ...
'', ''The Smurfs
''The Smurfs'' (; ) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was created and introduced as a series of comic characters by ...
'', and ''Beavis and Butt-Head Do America
''Beavis and Butt-Head Do America'' is a 1996 American adult animation, adult animated comedy film, comedy road movie, road film based on the MTV animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head''. The film was co-written and directed by series ...
'', as well as one episode of the original television series, "Beavis and Butt-Head Are Dead".
He received a Clio Award
The Clio Awards, also simply known as The Clios, is an annual award program that recognizes innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design, and communication, as judged by an international panel of advertising professionals. The awar ...
and a National Television Commercials Award for his work on a Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
commercial. He was also an animation professor at his alma mater, School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design.
History
This school was started by Silas ...
, formerly known as the Cartoonist and Illustrators School, where he taught classical animation (Professor of Classical Animation) for 15 years. Crane was also invited to teach at the Institute of Animation and Film at the Academy of Art and Design, Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...
in Beijing, China
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
.[Doug Crane Dies: Animator For Terrytoons, Hanna-Barbera, MTV Was 85 - Deadline]
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Crane also spent time as the Artist In Residence at the Thornton-Donovan School in New Rochelle. He also served the Westchester County
Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...
residents as an Auxiliary police
Auxiliary police, also called volunteer police, reserve police, assistant police, civil guards, or special police, are usually the part-time reserves of a regular police force. They may be unpaid volunteers or paid members of the police servic ...
officer, a Grand Knight at the New Rochelle Knights of Columbus, and as the Municipal Arts Commissioner where he planned and carried out the weekend-long 40th Anniversary celebration for Terrytoons in February 1982.[
Crane died of cancer at age 85 on December 17, 2020, in ]Stuart, Florida
Stuart is a city in and the county seat of Martin County, Florida, United States. Located in southeastern Florida, Stuart is the largest of five Municipal corporation, incorporated municipalities in Martin County. The population is 17,425 accordi ...
.[Doug Crane Dies: 'Beavis and Butt-Head Do America' Animator Was 85 - Variety]
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Filmography
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crane, Doug
1935 births
2020 deaths
American comic strip cartoonists
Animators from New York (state)
Deaths from cancer in Florida
Eastchester High School alumni
Filmation people
Hanna-Barbera people
People from Bronxville, New York
Military personnel from New York (state)
School of Visual Arts alumni
Terrytoons people