James Carl Smith (

né The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Jobb; October 8, 1954 – May 2, 2025) was an American animator and musician. He worked on '' Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures'' with his long-time working partner

John Kricfalusi Michael John Kricfalusi ( ; born September 9, 1955), known professionally as John K., is a Canadian illustrator, blogger, and former animator and voice actor. He is the creator of the animated television series ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', which ...

. Smith later briefly worked on ''

Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It originally aired from September 14, 1990 to December 6, 1992, airing in syndication before eventually settling a ...

'', and then along with Kricfalusi,

Bob Camp Robert Frank Camp (born February 7, 1956) is an American animator, writer, cartoonist, comic book artist, storyboard artist, director, and producer. He is best known for founding Spümcø and his work for developing and serving as a showrunner ...

and

Lynne Naylor Rae Naylor is a Canadian animator, artist, designer, director, and producer for television. She is best known for co-creating DreamWorks' '' The Mighty Ones'', co-founding the animation studio Spümcø with John Kricfalusi, Bob Camp, and ...

he founded

Spümcø Spümcø, Inc. ( ; stylized as SPÜMCØ) was an American animation studio that was active from 1989 to 2005 and based in Los Angeles, California. The studio was best known for working on the first two seasons of ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' for N ...

, where he co-developed ''

The Ren & Stimpy Show ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', commonly referred to as simply ''Ren & Stimpy'', is an American animated Comedy film, comedy television series created by John Kricfalusi for Nickelodeon. The series follows the misadventures of Ren Höek, an emotion ...

'' (from which he departed in 1992 alongside Kricfalusi) in 1991 and ''

The Ripping Friends ''The Ripping Friends: The World's Most Manly Men!'' (also known as ''The Ripping Friends'') is an animated television series created by John Kricfalusi, creator of ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' on Nickelodeon. The series aired for one season on Fox ...

'' in 2001. He was notable for remaining faithful to Kricfalusi, having refused to join

Games Animation Nickelodeon Animation Studio Inc. (also known as Nickelodeon Animation Studios or Nick Animation and credited as Nickelodeon Productions on-screen) is an American animation studio owned by Paramount Global through the Nickelodeon Group. It has c ...

(though he worked on ''

The X's ''The X's'' is an American animated television series created by Carlos Ramos for Nickelodeon. The series centers on a nuclear family of four highly trained spies who must conceal their identity from the outside world but normally having troubl ...

'' after its rebranding to

Nickelodeon Animation Studio Nickelodeon Animation Studio Inc. (also known as Nickelodeon Animation Studios or Nick Animation and credited as Nickelodeon Productions on-screen) is an American animation studio owned by Paramount Global through the Nickelodeon Group. It has c ...

), working with Kricfalusi on his projects amid other work until '' Cans Without Labels'' (2017). Smith composed and played the guitar for the ''Ren & Stimpy'' music theme intro, performing alongside production assistant Scott Huml and co-worker Chris Reccardi. Smith died of a heart attack on May 2, 2025, at the age of 70. His former

colleagues

and Richard Pursel used their respective social media profiles to pay tribute to him.

Filmography

References

External links

Lambiek Comiclopedia biography

Jim Smith's blog
* *

1954 births 2025 deaths Animators from Texas Spümcø People from Lubbock, Texas Warner Bros. Animation people Cartoon Network Studios people American illustrators American comics artists American guitarists Place of death missing {{US-animator-stub