CHRLX (formerly known as Charlex until 2014) is an American animation studio based in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
that produces
animation primarily for
commercials.
History
Charlie Levi and
Alex Weil
Alex Weil (July 31, 1951 – April 17, 2019) was the founder and executive creative director of the New York City based digital design and production studio Charlex (now CHRLX), which he founded alongside Charlie Levi (the company's name is a portm ...
founded Charlex (with the name being a portmentau of their first names) in 1979 "with $1,600 and a phone" to support their rock band and to work on commercials. When the band folded, Levi and Weil began working at Charlex full-time. In 1981, Charlex began producing an innovative weekly TV-ad campaign for the
National Enquirer
The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years.
The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in tabl ...
, and in 1984, they created
The Cars
The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes ( keyboard ...
' "
You Might Think
"You Might Think" is a song by American rock band The Cars from their fifth studio album, ''Heartbeat City'' (1984). The track was written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Mutt Lange and the Cars, with Ocasek also providing the lead vocals.
The s ...
" music video, for which they were awarded the "Video of the Year" –the very first winner– at the
1984 MTV Video Music Awards
The 1984 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 14, 1984. The inaugural ceremony honored the best music videos released between May 2, 1983 and May 2, 1984, and was hosted by Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler at the Radio City Music Hall in New ...
. Both projects helped Charlex get more work throughout the 1980s, including network IDs for the Fred/Alan agency, commercials, and opening titles for various programs. In 1986 Charlex produced the groundbreaking Cherry Coke ad that featured multiple composited layers of digital video which was a technical tour de force at the time.
In 1998, Charlex started using CHRLX as an alternative name for the company (removing the vowels from their name); the Charlex name was slowly phased out until 2014, although it is still CHRLX's legal name. In 2006, Charlex's short film ''
One Rat Short'' received a Best of Show award at the
SIGGRAPH 2006 Computer Animation Festival. CHRLX's co-founder Alex Weil died in 2019, but CHRLX continues to operate under the leadership of Chris Byrnes.
Filmography
Short films
*''Inner Tube'' (backgrounds and electronic effects; 1987)
*''
One Rat Short'' (2006)
*''Amarelinha'' (associate producer; 2007)
*''ShapeShifter'' (2010)
Music videos
*
The Cars
The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes ( keyboard ...
– "You Might Think" (1984)
*
The Cars
The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes ( keyboard ...
– "Heartbreak City" (transitional links; 1984)
*
Yes – ''
9012Live'' (1985)
Television/film
*''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'' (opening titles; 1984)
*''
Mr. Wizard's World'' (opening titles; 1985)
*''
National Geographic Explorer
''National Geographic Explorer'' (or simply ''Explorer'') is an American documentary television series that originally premiered on Nickelodeon on April 7, 1985, after having been produced as a less costly and intensive alternative to PBS's ' ...
'' (opening titles; 1990)
*''
The Howard Stern Show
''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...
'' (show opening; 1990)
*''
The Honeymooners
''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom which originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It fo ...
Anniversary Special'' (video restoration; 1990)
*''Real Mature'' (opening sequence; 1991)
*''
TNT
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100% Weird'' (opening sequence; 1992)
*''
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
Home Video'' (opening titles; 1993)
*''
David Blaine
David Blaine (born April 4, 1973) is an American illusionist, endurance artist, and extreme performer. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance and has set and broken several world records.
Early life
Blaine was born and r ...
: Magic Man'' (opening graphics; 1998)
*''
On the Run
On the Run may refer to:
* "On the run", a phrase often used to describe a fugitive, a person fleeing custody
Literature
* ''On the Run'' (novel), by Nina Bawden
* On the Run (novel series), by Gordon Korman
* ''On the Run'', a novel in the S ...
'' (credit sequence design; 1999)
*''
David Blaine
David Blaine (born April 4, 1973) is an American illusionist, endurance artist, and extreme performer. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance and has set and broken several world records.
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Blaine was born and r ...
: Frozen in Time'' (opening graphics; 2000)
*''
Capturing the Friedmans'' (visual effects; 2003)
*''
Maniac
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Maniac may also refer to:
Film
* ' ...
'' ("Windmills" animation; 2018)
Commercials
*
American Express
*
American International Group
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*
AOL
*
AT&T
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*
Avis
*
Bass Weejuns
*
Bausch & Lomb
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*
Blue Bonnet Butter Blend
*
British Airways
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The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
*
Bubble Yum
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*
Budweiser
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''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrela ...
*
Campbell Soup Company
*
Capella University
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Capella has 52 degree pr ...
*
Centrum
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Places In Greenland
* Nuuk Centrum, a district of Nuuk, Greenland
* Centrum Lake, Greenland In the Netherlands
* Amsterdam-Centrum, the inner-most borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands
* Rotterdam Centrum, a borou ...
*
Charles Schwab Corporation
The Charles Schwab Corporation is an American multinational financial services company. It offers banking, commercial banking, investing and related services including consulting, and wealth management advisory services to both retail and instit ...
*
Cinemax
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*
Cingular
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*
Clairol
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*
Coca-Cola
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*
Crest
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Buildings
*The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York
*"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York
*Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...
*
Dannon
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*
David Yurman
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*
Diet Pepsi
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*
DirecTV
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*
Dodge
*
Dole Food Company
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*
Dr. Scholl's
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*
Dunkin' Donuts
*
E-Trade
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*
Fidelity Investments
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*
Fila
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*
Ford Motor Company
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*
General Electric
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*
General Mills
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*
Georgia Lottery
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*
Gillette
*
Grey Goose
*
HA! TV Comedy Network
*
Häagen-Dazs
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*
Hanna-Barbera
*
Hannaford
*
Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...
[href="http://totallyjem.jemmagic.com/jemhasbrolicensing.html" TotallyJem!]
*
HealthCare.gov
HealthCare.gov is a health insurance exchange website operated by the United States federal government under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act or ACA, commonly referred to as “Obamacare”, which currently serves the residents of th ...
*
Healthy Choice
*
The Hershey Company
The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milksh ...
*
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...
*
Honeycomb
A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal prismatic wax cells built by honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen.
Beekeepers may remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey. Honey bees consume about of honey ...
*
HTC
HTC Corporation ( zh, t=宏達國際電子股份有限公司, s=宏达国际电子股份有限公司, p=Hóngdá Guójì Diànzǐ Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī, first=t) or High Tech Computer Corporation, (literally ''Hongda International Electron ...
*
IBM
*
Jarritos
Jarritos is a brand of soft drink in Mexico, founded in 1950 by Don Francisco "El Güero" Hill and now owned by Novamex, a large independent bottling conglomerate based in Guadalajara, Jalisco, property of the Hill & ac. Co. It is also dis ...
*
JCPenney
Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...
*
Jell-O
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*
JEM
*
Ken's Foods
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*
Kodak
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*
Kohl's
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*
Kotex
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*
Krylon
Sherwin-Williams Company is an American Cleveland, Ohio–based company in the paint and coating manufacturing industry. The company primarily engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coatings, floorcoverings, and related p ...
*
Lifetime
*
Lucent
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*
M&M's
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*
Maryland Lottery
*
Maxell
*
Milk-Bone
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*
The Movie Channel
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*
MSNBC
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*
Myers Rum Video Network
*
National Enquirer
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The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in tabl ...
*
Nexium
*
Nextel Communications
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*
NFL
*
Nickelodeon
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/
Nick at Nite
*
Nickelodeon Studios
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Opening on June 7, 1990, as ''The First World Headquarters for Kids'', the studio attracted young tour ...
*
Nike, Inc.
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*North Texas Municipal Water District
*
Ocean Spray
*
Pizza Hut
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*
Polaroid
*
Procter & Gamble
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*
Ralph Lauren Corporation
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*
Revlon
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*
Ribena
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*
Rite Aid
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*
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
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*Seagram's Escapes
*
Seton Healthcare Family
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*
Sprint Corporation
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*
Sony
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*
Sour Patch Kids
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*
Subway
*
Toshiba
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REGZA
*
True Value
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*
Valvoline
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*
Verizon Communications
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*
VH1
*
Visa Inc.
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*
White Mountain Cooler
*
WCVB-TV
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*
WTTG-TV
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Zale Corporation
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History
The company began in 1924 in Wichita Falls, Texas, when the two Russian-Jewish imm ...
*
Ziploc
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External links
*
References
American animation studios
Mass media companies established in 1979
Privately held companies based in New York City
1979 establishments in New York City
{{animation-studio-stub