All character images are the copyright and trademarks of their respective owners.
Cells on background: Collection of Virginia Mahoney
This blog is in memory of Seymour Kneitel, an exceptional animator and director from the Golden Age of Animation. His career in animation began at the age of 16, attending high school during the day while working after school and Saturdays for Bray Studios, an early pioneering animation studio. The major portion of his later animation career was spent with Fleischer Studios and its' two successor studios... Famous Studios and Paramount Cartoon Studios.
these are beautiful! the little audrey and casper cels are my favorite.
ReplyDeleteIn whose possession are they now?
ReplyDeleteHi Daniel-- I'm Seymour's daughter and the lucky owner of the above cells--
ReplyDeleteHi, were these cels used for promotional use?
ReplyDeleteI very much hope that these remain in the hands of his descendants.
ReplyDeleteThe cells were hanging in the entry hall to their offices-- sort of decorative and at the same time an introduction to their characters-- there was no other use than that.
ReplyDeleteOops, Bluto doesn't enlarge, at least not on my browser (Firefox). I love the "modern" look of these renderings, which gives them a mid-1950s feel.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great blog this is! And those cells are beautiful! I'm a lifelong Famous Studios and Paramount cartoon fan, so finding this blog was like opening a present on Christmas morning! I have a website dedicated to the Famous Studios and made-for-TV KFS Popeye cartoons, I write a column for The Official Popeye Fanclub News-Magazine, I wrote a book that's a fan valentine to the FS Popeye cartoons for Bear Manor Media, and I moderate a Yahoo Group dedicated to the FS version of Olive Oyl. But my knowledge of the creators is very limited. So, I look forward to reading more! Thanks so much, Ginny!
ReplyDeleteHi Steve- really glad you're enjoying!
ReplyDeleteHi Ginny!
ReplyDeleteI've been re-exploring the Noveltoon/Harveytoon series for a while, and was hoping you can help me with some research I've been doing for the character Little Audrey.
It seems, for a character intended to replace Little Lulu, the Famous crew put quite a lot of effort into making Audrey a strong character on her own.
I loved your Dad - if his name appeared in the opening credits I knew I was in for a good time! I've always wished someone would create a set of figures based on the Famous Studios designs of the Popeye characters...the boys in their navy whites and Olive with her pompadour hairdo!
ReplyDeleteThese are beautiful cells! Tremendous talent. I was staff artist for Harvey Cimics in the 90’s never saw these. I d love to own a Popeye one!
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