Reg Massie | Search Results | This is not my blog.

He gave his regards to Broadway (first of two posts) December 15, 2007

Posted by Jeff in 1929 through WWII, Dance, George M. Cohan, Movies, Musicals, Theater.
2 comments

George M. Cohan (1878-1942), the antagonist of my original screenplay Equity, was too sick with cancer to attend the premiere of Yankee Doodle Dandy, the movie based on his life starring James Cagney. But a few days later, in a scene reminiscent of the worst excesses of that wonderful movie, they got him in a wheelchair and sneaked him into the back of a Times Square movie theater so he could see it with a real audience.

Cohan’s verdict: “Nice movie. I wonder who it’s about?” He died less than six months later.

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Old inbetweeners refuse to fade away January 19, 2008

Posted by Jeff in Art, Cartoons, Zook.
15 comments

Watercolor by Virgil “Vip” Partch. Left to right: Sam Cobean, Tony Rivera, Bill McIntyre, Vip Partch, Reginald Massie (foreground), Dick Shaw.

This probably dates from late 1941 or 1942, after the Disney strike in which they all participated. All five would have been in their late twenties to early thirties at the time …

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“John Henry and the Inky-Poo” January 18, 2008

Posted by Jeff in 1946 through 1960, Cartoons, Movies, Puppetoons.
7 comments

The last completed movie my father ever worked on was his personal favorite.

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“Tubby The Tuba” January 17, 2008

Posted by Jeff in 1946 through 1960, Cartoons, Classical, Movies, Music, Puppetoons, Zook.
17 comments

Reg Massie, 1945

Unlike clay animators like Nick Park, Will Vinton or Art Clokey, George Pal’s animators worked in a “replacement technique” using hand-carved wooden puppets. A separate puppet (or puppet part) was used for each motion, rather than clay or hinged parts. A single walking sequence, for instance, could involve 12 pairs of legs for one character. An average Puppetoon short would use 9,000 puppets.

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