Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Owen McCarron, R.I.P.

Canadian cartoonist and puzzle master Owen McCarron died on Monday at the age of 76. He was a longtime employee of the Halifax Herald Limited, which featured his cartoons and games in several newspapers published in Nova Scotia. He also published on his own, countless commercial giveaway comics and puzzle collections that featured his work.

American comic fans will know McCarron best for a flurry of puzzle comics and books he did for Marvel in the late seventies and early eighties featuring their characters. They included a monthly comic — Fun and Games Magazine, which lasted for 13 issues commencing in 1979 — a short-lived Sunday newspaper strip and several dozen activity books. McCarron wrote, drew and designed most of this material, and also did a few ink jobs for Marvel's superhero comics. His work was clever and well-drawn, and I recall being very impressed with his puzzle-making ability.

• Posted at 11:10 PM · LINK

Briefly Noted...

There's a short article over on Slate about what they do when the voice of a cartoon character passes away. I was among those interviewed for the piece.

• Posted at 5:03 PM · LINK

Winch, Continued...

Somewhere down this page, April Winchell writes about her complex, contentious relationship with her father, Paul. I obviously don't want to get in the middle of a family matter but people are writing me to ask if what she says is true or exaggerated or wacko or what. I'll just say that I don't think anyone who knew Paul well will think that any of her comments are out of line, and some might be surprised at the amount of compassion shown.

This might be worth noting. Friday evening, I attended a party for June Foray and when I came home, I had an e-mail from a friend with the rumor that Paul Winchell had died. I was skeptical since I'd just come from a gathering of folks who knew Paul and it had not been mentioned. In fact, I had a chat with Paul's agent there and he obviously hadn't heard any such thing. I couldn't check the truth of the rumor that evening since everyone I would have called was still at the party. It took me until around 5:00 the next afternoon to get in touch with someone who confirmed it and I posted my announcement here at 5:36.

By this point, the rumor was making its way through newsgroups and, as nothing had hit the mainstream news outlets, folks were wondering if it was true. After I made my post, some there began arguing as to whether I was a reliable enough source that my report could be believed. (And by the way, that does not bother me at all. I don't think you should even believe every word on the New York Times website, let alone my silly little offering here. A healthy skepticism about anything posted to Ye Olde Internet is not a bad idea.)

A little after 7:00 Saturday evening, April posted on her site that she had just received a call from someone telling her that her father had died. So I heard about it around 21 hours before she did, and I posted it on my site more than an hour before anyone thought to call and inform the man's daughter. That ought to tell you something.

• Posted at 9:53 AM · LINK