Ron Campbell (animator)
Encyclopedia
Ron Campbell is an animator
, director
, and producer
, best known for his work on the 1960s The Beatles (TV series), as well as the animated feature film Yellow Submarine.
brought both his Krazy Kat
and Beetle Bailey
cartoons to Australia for production, Ron was recruited to work on the project.
After Krazy Kat, Ron went on to direct many installments of The Beatles (TV series) for King Features. The show debuted on 25 September 1965, and remained number one in the ratings for the duration of its four-year run. Ron later wrote the forward to the book Beatletoons: The Real Story Behind The Cartoon Beatles, where his involvement in the show is also talked about extensively.
Due in part to the enormous success of the program, Ron was hired by Bill Hanna (of Hanna-Barbera
fame) and relocated to Hollywood, California. In Hollywood, Ron would go on to work on a wide array of animated television series including, but not limited to: The Smurfs
, The Jetsons
, The Flintstones
, Scooby-Doo
, Rugrats
, Rocket Power
, and Ed, Edd n Eddy
.
once again contracted Ron from London, where he was producing The Beatle’s feature length animated motion picture, Yellow Submarine. Brodax asked Ron, and his colleague Duane Crowther, if they could animate many of the connecting sequences in the movie. Together, they subsequently ended up animating around twelve minutes, or roughly one seventh of the entire film. In his 2004 memoir Up Periscope Yellow, chronicling the making of Yellow Submarine, Brodax accredits Ron for essentially helping pull together various elements of the movie.
.
He would also go on to produce and direct animation in both the Emmy and Peabody
award winning children’s shows, The Big Blue Marble and Sesame Street
. Following this, Ron worked on the hit animated series, The Smurfs
.
, Goof Troop
, and Darkwing Duck
. In addition to this, he also worked with Klasky-Csupo for Nickelodeon
, and storyboarded on such shows as: Rugrats
, Rocket Power
, and Duckman
for the USA Network
.
As of 2008, Ron is retired from his fifty-year career as a screen cartoonist and lives in the Phoenix, Arizona area. He now creates original pop art paintings based upon the films he was involved with in one capacity or another. His paintings are sold through Scott Segelbaum’s Rock Art Show
, where he occasionally appears, both exhibiting and selling his artwork
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
, director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, and producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, best known for his work on the 1960s The Beatles (TV series), as well as the animated feature film Yellow Submarine.
Early career
Ron Campbell’s career began in 1958 animating various commercials for Australian television. However, when Al BrodaxAl Brodax
Al Brodax is an American film and television producer. He was sometimes credited as "Al Broadax."-Career:At the age of eighteen, Brodax enlisted in the US Army and served in World War II...
brought both his Krazy Kat
Krazy Kat
Krazy Kat is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George Herriman, published daily in newspapers between 1913 and 1944. It first appeared in the New York Evening Journal, whose owner, William Randolph Hearst, was a major booster for the strip throughout its run...
and Beetle Bailey
Beetle Bailey
Beetle Bailey is an American comic strip set in a fictional United States Army military post, created by cartoonist Mort Walker. It is among the oldest comic strips still being produced by the original creator...
cartoons to Australia for production, Ron was recruited to work on the project.
After Krazy Kat, Ron went on to direct many installments of The Beatles (TV series) for King Features. The show debuted on 25 September 1965, and remained number one in the ratings for the duration of its four-year run. Ron later wrote the forward to the book Beatletoons: The Real Story Behind The Cartoon Beatles, where his involvement in the show is also talked about extensively.
Due in part to the enormous success of the program, Ron was hired by Bill Hanna (of Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
fame) and relocated to Hollywood, California. In Hollywood, Ron would go on to work on a wide array of animated television series including, but not limited to: The Smurfs
The Smurfs
The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...
, The Jetsons
The Jetsons
The Jetsons is a animated American sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing in prime-time from 1962–1963 and again from 1985–1987...
, The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
, Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo is an American media franchise based around several animated television series and related works produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969...
, Rugrats
Rugrats
Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series premiered on August 11, 1991, and aired its last episode on June 8, 2004....
, Rocket Power
Rocket Power
Rocket Power is an American animated television series that aired on Nickelodeon.-Premise:Rocket Power involves the daily situations of a group of best friends named Oswald "Otto" Rocket, Regina "Reggie" Rocket, Maurice "Twister" Rodriguez, and Sam "Squid" Dullard, as they live in the fictional...
, and Ed, Edd n Eddy
Ed, Edd n Eddy
Ed, Edd n Eddy is an original animated television series created by Danny Antonucci and produced by Canadian-based a.k.a. Cartoon. It premiered on Cartoon Network on January 4, 1999. Ed, Edd n Eddy was one of Cartoon Network's longest running and most successful franchises and the longest-running...
.
Yellow Submarine
In 1968, Al BrodaxAl Brodax
Al Brodax is an American film and television producer. He was sometimes credited as "Al Broadax."-Career:At the age of eighteen, Brodax enlisted in the US Army and served in World War II...
once again contracted Ron from London, where he was producing The Beatle’s feature length animated motion picture, Yellow Submarine. Brodax asked Ron, and his colleague Duane Crowther, if they could animate many of the connecting sequences in the movie. Together, they subsequently ended up animating around twelve minutes, or roughly one seventh of the entire film. In his 2004 memoir Up Periscope Yellow, chronicling the making of Yellow Submarine, Brodax accredits Ron for essentially helping pull together various elements of the movie.
Ron Campbell Films, Inc.
In 1971, Ron Campbell founded his own animation studio, Ron Campbell Films, Inc.; the company’s first project would also place him as associate producer for ABC’s television special Nanny and the ProfessorNanny and the Professor
Nanny and the Professor is a U.S. fantasy situation comedy created by AJ Carothers and Thomas L. Miller for 20th Century Fox Television. During pre-production, the proposed title was Nanny Will Do. The series first aired as a mid-season replacement on January 21, 1970, on ABC and was last telecast...
.
He would also go on to produce and direct animation in both the Emmy and Peabody
Peabody
-Places:United States* Peabody, Indiana* Peabody, Kansas** Peabody Downtown Historic District, in Peabody, Kansas* Peabody, Massachusetts* Peabody, Cambridge, Massachusetts, a neighborhood* Peabody River, in New Hampshire-Institutions:...
award winning children’s shows, The Big Blue Marble and Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
. Following this, Ron worked on the hit animated series, The Smurfs
The Smurfs
The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...
.
Disney, Nickelodeon & Retirement
The 1990s took Ron Campbell to Disney Animation, where he worked on several cartoons, including: BonkersBonkers
- Television :* Bonkers , a Disney animated series* Bonkers , an ITV comedy series* Bonkers!, a 1979 ATV variety show starring The Hudson Brothers* "Bonkers", a pricing game from The Price Is Right- Music :...
, Goof Troop
Goof Troop
Disney's Goof Troop is an American animated television series from The Walt Disney Company featuring Goofy as a father figure and bonding with his son Max.-Premise:...
, and Darkwing Duck
Darkwing Duck
DarkWing Duck is an American animated television series produced by The Walt Disney Company that ran from 1991–1992 on both the syndicated programming block The Disney Afternoon and Saturday mornings on ABC. It featured the eponymous anthropomorphic duck superhero whose alter ego is mild-mannered...
. In addition to this, he also worked with Klasky-Csupo for Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
, and storyboarded on such shows as: Rugrats
Rugrats
Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series premiered on August 11, 1991, and aired its last episode on June 8, 2004....
, Rocket Power
Rocket Power
Rocket Power is an American animated television series that aired on Nickelodeon.-Premise:Rocket Power involves the daily situations of a group of best friends named Oswald "Otto" Rocket, Regina "Reggie" Rocket, Maurice "Twister" Rodriguez, and Sam "Squid" Dullard, as they live in the fictional...
, and Duckman
Duckman
Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man is an American animated sitcom that aired from 1994–1997, created by Everett Peck and developed by Peck. The sitcom is based on characters created by Peck in his Dark Horse comic...
for the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
.
As of 2008, Ron is retired from his fifty-year career as a screen cartoonist and lives in the Phoenix, Arizona area. He now creates original pop art paintings based upon the films he was involved with in one capacity or another. His paintings are sold through Scott Segelbaum’s Rock Art Show
Rock Art Show
The Rock Art Show is a traveling art show, now based in Philadelphia, presented by local radio stations, with art of and by rock musicians. The show features over 150 framed drawings, paintings, lyrics, photographs, animation cels, gold records, concert posters, album art and other art forms...
, where he occasionally appears, both exhibiting and selling his artwork