Edd Gould

Edward Duncan Ernest "Edd" Gould (28 October 1988 – 25 March 2012) was a British animator, artist, and voice actor. He created ''Eddsworld'', a media franchise consisting of flash animations and web comics featuring fictionalised versions of himself and longtime collaborators Tom Ridgewell, Matt Hargreaves, Tord Larsson and others. After Gould's death in 2012, production of ''Eddsworld'' was passed on to Ridgewell who directed a run of further episodes under the title of ''Eddsworld: Legacy''. Following Ridgewell's departure from the series in 2016, it was passed to Hargreaves and Gould's family, returning in 2020 as ''Eddsworld Beyond''.

Early life

Gould was born on 28 October 1988, in Isleworth, Greater London, to Susan and Duncan Gould. He had a sister, Victoria "Vicky" (born 18 October 1985); and two brothers, George and James. He attended the Orleans Park School as depicted in his first Newgrounds entry "''Edd"'' and met Matt Hargreaves during a sports day event, who was then transferred into his class. Gould would often incorporate his friends into his comics, and Hargreaves became a prominent part of ''Eddsworld''.

Gould met Tom Ridgewell, a fan of his work, online shortly after he started making animations involving stick figures. He likewise met Tord Larsson, a Norwegian artist, online. Ridgewell and Larsson were included in the ''Eddsworld'' cast along with Hargreaves, appearing in the animated entry ''Eddsworld Christmas Special 2004''.

Career

In 2000, Gould began animating using a GIF program to publish his works on Stick Figure Death Theatre, an online animation community. When the website stopped accepting GIFs, he spent seven months learning how to use Macromedia Flash with help from tutorials by animator Lavalle Lee. Gould published his first animation on Stick Figure Death Theatre and Stick Suicide called “Bendee 1” on 7 November 2002. Gould made his first Newgrounds entry on 6 June 2003, titled "Edd."

In September 2008, Gould began studying as an independent animator at the University for the Creative Arts in Maidstone, moving into student accommodation with his childhood friend Hargreaves. He joined Cake Bomb, a creative media group founded by Ridgewell. He voiced the "I Like Trains" kid in TomSka's ''asdfmovie'' series on YouTube, and animated the second episode of ''asdfmovie''.

Gould's YouTube channel saw a spike in popularity during the late 2000s and early 2010s, which led to numerous collaborations and business opportunities. He and Ridgewell were requested to produce an episode of ''Eddsworld'' promoting climate change awareness for the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Gould and Ridgewell were featured in a televised interview on BBC Look North for their "''Climate Change''" episode. In 2010, Gould was commissioned to animate a short voiced by British double act Mitchell and Webb titled "''Almeratron''" for the BBC Comedy website. Gould also received a multitude of offers to work in television or adapt ''Eddsworld'' into a TV series, which he would decline in favor of internet production.

Illness and death

On 16 April 2011, Gould revealed he had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells. It was his second diagnosis after a period of remission, having been previously diagnosed with the same illness on 30 January 2006. He posted a video on YouTube entitled "Edd vs Cancer" featuring himself, Ridgewell, and Hargreaves discussing the diagnosis. He platformed his illness for several sketches on his friends' YouTube accounts, and continued to animate ''Eddsworld'' while he was physically able.

Gould died at the age of 23 from a recurring infection caused by the cancer in the early morning hours of 25 March 2012. Ridgewell and Hargreaves announced Gould's death in a short video two days later. His funeral was held on 10 April at All Saints' Church in Isleworth, where a eulogy compiled from video clips from fans and friends was shown.

The last episode he directed for ''Eddsworld'', "Space Face (Part 1)", was released posthumously to YouTube on 2 June 2012. Production of ''Eddsworld'' passed to Ridgewell who continued to produce episodes as part of Gould's will until his departure in 2016. Under Ridgewell's direction, profits went to CLIC Sargent (now Young Lives vs Cancer), a UK cancer charity supporting children, young people and their families. After the release of the final ''Eddsworld: Legacy'' episode "The End (Part 2)", control of the series was handed to Hargreaves and Gould's family. Beginning in 2020, uploads continued on YouTube as ''Eddsworld Beyond'' under the direction of Hargreaves.

Gould was cremated and buried at Mortlake Crematorium. In June 2012, Hargreaves and Ridgewell attended VidCon in Los Angeles and scattered some of Gould's ashes near the Hollywood Sign.

Filmography

References

External links

YouTube channel

Newgrounds account
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gould, Edd
1988 births
2012 deaths
English people of Canadian descent
Flash artists
English animators
English male voice actors
British surrealist artists
Actors from the London Borough of Hounslow
Alumni of the University for the Creative Arts
Deaths from acute lymphocytic leukemia
Deaths from leukemia in England
People educated at Orleans Park School
YouTube animators
YouTubers from London
Newgrounds people
People from Isleworth
YouTube artists