MY FATHER, CARTOONIST: JACK W. BRADBURY

Friends, this "Chutinterview" is the first of a series called: "My Father, Cartoonist" who will bring some heirs, sons of a generation of artists who were unknown (Because of a policy of copyright at the time, not identify the names of the designers) for the lovers of comics!

In these passages we posted here, Jack Bradbury personally tells us in an unprecedented interview with his friend Dave Bennett in 1986 as he began to draw, and some facts of his career.

- "I first got interested in cartoons when I was in grammar school. Because I liked cartooning, I started looking through all the fields.

I wasn't much interested in commercial art, but from what I had seen of the newspaper strips, I knew that was at least the direction I wanted to head. 

Then, about 1933, I saw Disney's "Three Little Pigs" which was playing at the Fifth Avenue Theater in Seattle.

It took the whole town by storm and this opened up another area of interest for me.

The entire town was going around singing the theme song.

I heard through a friend that they were looking for new art talent at Disney's. 

I wrote and sent down some of my work.

They sent back an answer and said for me to come on down and take a two week tryout. 

Of course, they did that for everybody. They said to be sure to have enough money to take care of yourself and enough money to get back home if necessary. So I did. 

I had about $50.00 which was enough to get there and live on for a couple of weeks. 

I passed the test, and then went to work for Disney at the great high salary of $15.00 a week."

Jack Bradbury was soon made a full animator at the studio from 1938-1941, where he worked on several key scenes in Disney animated features: including the stag fight in "Bambi", the "Pegasus family"

gliding in to a watery landing in "Fantasia," and Figaro walking across Gepetto's bed in "Pinocchio."

He also continued to produce animation for the shorts including "Ferdinand the Bull" (The sequence where the young bulls were fighting in the field and the scene where Ferdinand sits on the bee) and "Farmyard Symphony."

- "I started working on: "The Wind in the Willows". 

Jack Kinney was directing some of the sequences. I had just gotten started when the strike happened.

We all went out on strike, and were out for about six or seven weeks. When it was all over, I got a telegram to come back. 

I came back to work for awhile, then Disney started to lay off a bunch of guys."

In 1947, Bradbury also started doing work for "Western Publishing"
where he illustrated coloring books, activity books, big little books ("Goffy in Giant Trouble"), and hundreds of comic books for the Dell/Gold Key labels. 
He drew practically all the Disney characters: "Mickey Mouse", "Goofy", "Little Hiawatha", "Gyro Gearloose", "Li'l Bad Wolf" and "Chip N'Dale" - not to mention all the "Disney ducks".
He was the main artist on Pluto stories but could and did draw almost every animated character they published. 
His renderings of the Disney characters were so "alive" and so faithful to the source material that Walt Disney himself reportedly told the "Western" editors that they didn't need studio approval of anything that Jack Bradbury drew!
In addition to the Disney characters, Bradbury also drew comic books featuring the Walter Lantz stable of characters, the Warner Brothers characters and Bob Clampett's "Beany and Cecil."
Yet, Bradbury never wrote any of the stories that he illustrated. 
His characters, while on model, could often be distinguished by looking a little taller and thinner than some other artists.


- "There was plenty of work over at Western but the only trouble was that you couldn't write your own material. 
By only doing the drawing you couldn't make as much money. 
Your work couldn't be as fast either, because it all had to be okayed by some editor before you could ink it. 
Western's comics also had eight panels to the page instead of six (Like for the Davis Studio material). 
Tom McKimson was the art editor there. 
I continued to draw for Western until about 1969. 
Then I started having some eye trouble.
Towards the end, I was only penciling with somebody else inking the stuff (Ellis Eringer or Steve Steere).
In 1978, they asked me if I would prefer just getting into the writing. 
I had never written for Disney before, except I had contributed an occasional story to Western and sold a few. 
I had never gone into it seriously. 
So I said, "yes" and wrote for awhile with sort of on and off success. Toward the end of that time, I was getting close to retirement age, so I got to the point where I quit. 
I was getting tired of everything, and just stopped".
Bradbury told Bennett.


Bradbury's eye problem was called: "Macula Degeneration" which is basically degeneration of the retina where the little protein spots in the center of the retina move out and your center vision goes with it.
Master "Jack" Morin Bradbury was born in Seattle, Washington on December 27, 1914 and passed away on May 15, 2004 - at the age of 89. 


To complete this tribute, in 2015 I first came in contact with the son of him: Jack W. Bradbury - which has virtually the same name as his father - and physically, is very similar too.
He did not follow the same profession, but became a Doctor Emeritus in Biology and Ornithology.
Mike, Jack and Joel Bradbury made a website to tell parts of the story of this incredible talent.

"The Comic Art of Jack Bradbury"

jbrad.org

The artist Jack Bradbury with extreme competence, moved by all styles and creators, but always showing each frame, its own character, which was unmistakable!

The Bradbury family was a little reluctant at the beginning of our emails, in our conversations and questions, but I finally got photos and sketches, and the exact sequence of dates, end this quick interview with an exciting Christmas card was sent only for family and close friends in the 1950s, and an unpublished photo of Jack Bradbury!

* 17/08/2015

Hello Mr. Jack W. Bradbury.

I'm from Brazil, and I have a blog that talks about Disney comics for free, worldwide. It's called: "Chutinosaco".

I've had the opportunity to interview several Disney artists, especially from Italy.

I have a thousand daily views, and many people would like to know a little about his father: Jack Bradury - certainly one of the great geniuses of comics.

Did you, or one of his brothers, would give me an email interview?

Should be 2 questions from Brazilian fans of the work of him, and where everyone can view photos, sketches and informations about his father.

If you can respond positively, email return, will send the questions.

Thank you, and see you soon!

* 06/09/2015

Mr. Dias,

My brothers and I have posted a website with a brief history of our father Jack M. Bradbury, and digital access to all of his comics that are now public domain. Thanks for the scans. We really love.

We are all pretty busy these days, so would like you to check out that website first to see if it answers your questions.  

Feel free to translate any of the material into Portuguese, as you see fit.  

If you then have remaining questions that can be answered briefly, email me and I will try to get to them. 

To anticipate a few of them: our father was a highly ethical and talented man, a devoted husband and a loving father. 

He had a great sense of humor, and always supported his sons’ aspirations and dreams. 

I don’t know what else you might need, but hopefully that helps.

Best regards.

Dr. Jack W. Bradbury

Robert G. Engel Professor of Ornithology Emeritus

Department of Neurobiology and Behavior

Cornell University

* 24/04/2016

Hi, Mr. Bradbury, Im Luiz Dias, from the "Chutinosaco's Blog Brazil". 

Sorry for the delay in sending these questions in honor of his father, who reduced to just two. 

I'm doing interviews with the sons of great artists, these geniuses of comics.

1) Please, will you and your brothers remember something interesting about the work of Mr. Jack Bradbury, perhaps the way of how he worked in comics of Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Uncle Scrooge and other Disney characters?

I know tell us if he came to work personally with Mr. Paul Murry or  Mr. Tony Strobl, while working in Walt Disney Studios?

I wonder if you could show us the pictures of some Disney stories drafts that his father created this time? Brazilian fans are wondering! 

P.S: Always remember that the pictures you can send us will be used only to illustrate this interview, okay?

2) The Brazil loves his father's work, today one of the greatest designers in the world comics!

I want to thank you for answering these two questions, and congratulate you and your brothers for making this wonderful site. 

I would like to leave a message upon who was drawings of Master Jack Bradbury his father, to his devoted fans here in Brazil. 

A big hug from Brazil!

* 25/04/2016

Hi Luiz.

My brother Joel is traveling in Europe at the minute,  so I shall try to answer your questions:

Our father worked for the Disney Studios on animation (Snow White, Pinocchio, Ferdinand the Bull, Fantasia, Bambi) during the 1930’s.

He left the studio in the early 1940’s, and after World War II ended, he joined several other cartoonists (Mostly former Disney people), doing comic books that were not Disney characters. 

These are largely what is available on the website (Spunky, Stanley, Timothy Turtle, etc.).


The Comic Art of Jack Bradbury      http://jbrad.org/



In 1950, our family moved from Glendale (Which was near to the Disney studios in Burbank, California) to Newport Beach.

Our parents found a house in Newport with enough bedrooms for our Dad to have his own drawing room, and it was here he did all the Disney comic books.

These were actually handled by a publishing company (Western) and not by the Walt Disney Company, directly. 

The publishers would send our father a story with some very rough small layout suggestions. He would then compose it on the larger drawing sheets, draw the art, have somebody else put in the lettering, and then ink it in and send it to the publishers.  

He did not write the stories. The publishers had other people doing that. 

Our father was very careful when drawing animals other than the standard characters. 

I was already interested in biology then and had a lot of field guide books. 

He often came and borrowed my books to draw a parrot, or a bat, or a weasel.

We could always tell his comic books at the store because the proportions on the bodies of the animals, and the characters, were always very carefully correct. His drawing room was stacked on all sides with old comic books and other reference books.

It was wonderful to have our father working at home.

He always had a good sense of humor, loved his wife and children, and was a very devoted family man. 

But he often worked 7 days a week to meet his deadlines. 

Our father often drew birthday cards for us, and also drew Christmas cards that we then mailed to family and friends.

I am attaching one from the 1950’s which shows both his excellent art ability and his good humor. 

We are shown putting up our stockings for Christmas.

I hope this is useful to you.

With best wishes. 

Jack W. Bradbury

* 26/04/2016

Hi Jack, greetings.
His answers were great, and so I can honor the great talent of his father, who performed with joy and good vibes your amazing work!
In 2013 prepared for the Brazilian fans a virtual compilation of comics, made by his father, to The Walt Disney Company.
It's called: "Chutinosaco Special 01- Grandmasters Disney."
I also belong to a group of people passionate about Disney comics called: "Esquiloscans Group" where a virtual comic book edition was created for a tribute to Jack Bradbury , called: "Masters of (Cesar) Brito," which is the name of a man specialized in Brazil upon Disney comics.

Here, I am sending links to you and your brothers may know in Portuguese - the stories in classic comic drawn by him in the 1960s.

When leaving the post on my blog, I'll let you know, okay?

Just like to ask two more things: If you have a Disney character design to send me, and an unprecedented picture of her father in order to post.

A big hug and see you soon!

Luiz,

We have no Disney materials of my father's, and in any case, they would be copyrighted and the Disney company is very serious about access rights. 

That is why my brother (Joel) did not put any Disney comics up on our website. Maybe it is easier in Brazil.

Attached is a photo of our father visiting an Asian garden park in 1973. I do not have any good photos of him doing his cartooning.
Hope this is what you want.
I really enjoyed the two virtual comic books you sent us.
We appreciate this tribute to our father.

With best wishes.

JACK W. BRADBURY