Martin Bernard Taras (9 August 1914 – 2 November 1994), also known as Morrie Tarasinsky, was an American
cartoonist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
who mostly worked at
Famous Studios
Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was established as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contr ...
, the
New York–based animation division of
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
.
Career
Taras started his animation career at
Van Beuren Studios
The Van Beuren Corporation was a New York City-based animation studio that produced theatrical cartoons as well as live-action short-subjects from the 1920s to 1936.
History
In 1920, the Keith-Albee organization formed Fables Pictures for the ...
in 1934 until its closing in 1936. He was involved in the
1937 Fleischer Studios strike, but abandoned it shortly after to take a job for
Jam Handy. Following a stint 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 the early 1940s, Taras became an animator at Fleischer Studios' successor Famous Studios, where he is known for the creation of
Baby Huey
Baby Huey is a gigantic and naïve duckling cartoon character. He was created by Martin Taras for Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios, and became a Paramount cartoon star during the 1950s. Huey first appeared in ''Quack-a-Doodle-Doo'', a Paramount ...
. Huey debuted in the first Casper comic issue in September 1949, six months before his animated debut in the short "Quack-A-Doodle-Doo". Taras animated for theatrical shorts and drew comic books featuring characters such as
Casper the Friendly Ghost
Casper the Friendly Ghost is a fictional character who serves as the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a translucent ghost who is pleasant and personable, but often criticized by his thr ...
,
Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost,
Rags Rabbit,
Wendy the Good Little Witch
Wendy the Good Little Witch is a fictional comic book Character (arts), character from Harvey Comics. Like Casper the Friendly Ghost and Hot Stuff the Little Devil, Wendy is an opposite-type character, a girl witch who does good deeds.
Publicatio ...
,
Herman and Katnip, and
Buzzy the Funny Crow.
Gene Deitch
Eugene Merril Deitch (August 8, 1924 – April 16, 2020) was an American illustrator, animator, comics artist, and film director who was based in Prague from the 1960s until his death in 2020. Deitch was known for creating animated cartoons ...
.
Taras also served as animator and/or designer for television programs such as '' Batfink'', ''Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
'' (the 1967 series), '' Josie and the Pussycats'', '' Super Friends''; and for theatrical motion pictures such as '' Fritz The Cat'', '' Lord of the Rings'', and '' Wizards''.[Martin Taras- Lambiek]
/ref>
References
External links
*
1914 births
1994 deaths
American animators
American comics artists
Hanna-Barbera people
Famous Studios people
{{US-animator-stub