Paul Houlton Terry (February 19, 1887 – October 25, 1971) was an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

, screenwriter, film director and producer. He produced over 1,300 cartoons between 1915 and 1955 including the many

Terrytoons Terrytoons was an American animation studio in New Rochelle, New York, that produced animated cartoons for theatrical release from 1929 to 1973 (and briefly returned between 1987 and 1996 for television in name only). Terrytoons was founded by ...

cartoons. His studio's most famous character is

Mighty Mouse Mighty Mouse is an American animated Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox. The character was originally called Super Mouse, and made his debut in the 1942 short ''Th ...

, and also created

Heckle and Jeckle Heckle and Jeckle are postwar animated cartoon Character (arts), characters created by Paul Terry (cartoonist), Paul Terry, originally produced at his own Terrytoons animation studio and released through 20th Century Fox. The characters are a pa ...

Gandy Goose Gandy Goose is a Terrytoons cartoon character who first appeared in the 1938 short ''Gandy the Goose''. He is frequently paired with Sourpuss, a cat, beginning in the 1939 short ''Hook Link and Sinker''. Sourpuss' first appearance was in the 1939 ...

and

Dinky Duck Dinky Duck is a Terrytoons cartoon character who first appeared in the 1939 animated short ''The Orphan Duck''. Unlike fellow Terrytoons characters Mighty Mouse, silly Gandy Goose and the magpie duo Heckle and Jeckle, Dinky never became popular, ...

Early life

Born in California to Joseph and Minnie Perron, Terry's parents moved to San Francisco where he spent most of his early life there. In 1904 he began working as a news photographer and began to draw cartoons for newspapers, such as the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'', ''San Francisco Call'', and the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

''. He contributed to a weekly comic strip about a dog titled "Alonzo" for the ''

San Francisco Call ''The San Francisco Call'' was a newspaper that served San Francisco, California. Because of a succession of mergers with other newspapers, the paper variously came to be called ''The San Francisco Call & Post'', the ''San Francisco Call-Bulletin ...

'' in 1909, before it was taken over by his brother John a year later. He later transferred to the ''

New York Press ''New York Press'' was a free alternative weekly in New York City, which was published from 1988 to 2011. The ''Press'' strove to create a rivalry with the ''Village Voice''. ''Press'' editors claimed to have tried to hire away writer Nat Hento ...

'' in 1910, a newspaper in New York City. In 1914, Terry became interested in animation after seeing

Winsor McCay Zenas Winsor McCay ( – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip ''Little Nemo'' (1905–14; 1924–26) and the animated film ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' (1914). For contractual reasons, he worke ...

's ''

Gertie the Dinosaur ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' is a 1914 animated short film by American cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay. It is the earliest animated film to feature a dinosaur. McCay first used the film before live audiences as an interactive part of his vaude ...

''. While still working for the newspaper, he made his first film, ''Little Herman'', which he completed in two to six months in his living room and sold to the

Thanhouser The Thanhouser Company (later the Thanhouser Film Corporation) was one of the first motion picture studios, founded in 1909 by Edwin Thanhouser, his wife Gertrude and his brother-in-law Lloyd Lonergan. It operated in New York City until 1920, ...

film company of

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

in 1915. Later that year, he completed his second film, ''Down on the Phoney Farm'', which is notable for being the first appearance of Farmer Al Falfa. In 1916, he began working at

Bray Productions Bray Productions was a pioneering American animation studio that produced several popular cartoons during the years of World War I and the early interwar era, becoming a springboard for several key animators of the 20th century, including the ...

, directing and producing a series of eleven

Farmer Al Falfa Farmer Al Falfa (also known as Farmer Alfalfa),
at

Before the end of the year, Terry left Bray, taking the rights to Farmer Al Falfa with him.

Paul Terry Productions

In 1917, Terry formed his own production company, Paul Terry Productions and produced nine more animated films, including one Farmer Al Falfa film. Terry closed his studio to join the United States Army and fought in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After he was discharged from the army in 1919, he briefly supervised cartoons for

Paramount Magazine Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

until he eventually made a deal in 1920 to make the ''

Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to ...

'' series to screenwriter

Howard Estabrook Howard Estabrook (born Howard Bolles, July 11, 1884 – July 16, 1978) was an American actor, film director and producer, and screenwriter. Biography Born Howard Bolles in Detroit, Michigan, Howard Estabrook began his career in 1904 as a stag ...

Fables Pictures

In 1920, Terry entered into a partnership with

Amedee J. Van Beuren Amedee J. Van Beuren (born Amedee Vignot; July 10, 1879 – November 12, 1938) was the producer of Frank Buck's first three films, as well as many cartoons and short films. Early years Van Beuren was born in New York, the son of Alfred Vignot ...

, and founded Fables Pictures, which they signed a contract with

Pathe Pictures Pathe or Pathé may refer to: * Pathé, a French company established in 1896 * Pathé Exchange, U.S. division of the French film company that was spun off into an independent entity * Pathé News, a French and British distributor of cinema newsr ...

on June 7th, 1921. The first picture was released on June 19th on that same year. During this time, he began producing a series of

Aesop's Film Fables ''Aesop's Fables'' (later renamed ''Aesop's Sound Fables'') is a series of animated short subjects, created by American cartoonist Paul Terry. Produced from 1921 to 1933, the series includes '' Closer than a Brother'' (1925), ''The Window Wash ...

as well as new Farmer Al Falfa films under that banner. Terry experimented with the sound process in a Fable Cartoon called '' Dinner Time'' after pressure from Van Beuren, released in September 1928, two months before Walt Disney's ''

Steamboat Willie ''Steamboat Willie'' is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black and white by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Studios and was released by Pat Powers, under the name of Celeb ...

'' was released in November 1928. Terry's partnership with Van Beuren lasted until 1929, when Terry and Van Beuren disagreed over the switch to producing films with sound. Terry started up the

studio in New York, where he later moved the studio to

New Rochelle New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

in 1932. The

film company, purchasers of Terry's first films, were also located there. Van Beuren retained "Fables Pictures" and renamed it "

Van Beuren Studios The Van Beuren Corporation was a New York City-based animation studio that produced theatrical cartoons as well as live-action short-subjects from the 1920s to 1936. History In 1920, the Keith-Albee organization formed Fables Pictures for the ...

".Obituary News, October 28, 1971
/ref>

Terrytoons

Terry's

produced a large number of animated films, including

, and many other lesser-known characters. Theatrical distribution was at first through

Educational Pictures Educational Pictures, also known as Educational Film Exchanges, Inc. or Educational Films Corporation of America, was an American film production and film distribution company founded in 1916 by Earle (E. W.) Hammons (1882–1962). Educational pr ...

and then, after it was acquired in 1937, through

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

.Paul Terry’s “The Lorelei” (1931),
/ref> Terry was quick to adopt techniques that simplified the animation process, but he resisted "improvements" that complicated production. He was one of the first to make use of "cel animation", including animation of separate body parts. His studio was slow to switch to synchronized sound tracks and to color. He managed to keep his studio profitable while others went out of business. Terry was once quoted as saying, "

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

is the

Tiffany's Tiffany & Co. (colloquially known as Tiffany's) is a high-end luxury jewelry and specialty retailer, headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It sells jewelry, sterling silver, porcelain, crystal, stationery, fragrances, water bottles, watc ...

of the business, and I am the

Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...

Later years

Terry became the first major cartoon producer to package his old films for television. In 1955, Terry sold his animation studio and film library to

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

for $5 million and retired. In 1956,

Gene Deitch Eugene Merril Deitch (August 8, 1924 – April 16, 2020) was an American illustrator, animator, comics artist, and film director who was based in Prague from the 1960s until his death in 2020. Deitch was known for creating animated cartoons ...

was appointed as the creative supervisor of the studio, who replaced the old characters with new ones such as

Clint Clobber This is a list of characters in the ''Tom and Jerry'' animated short series, given in the order of the era they first appeared in. Main Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse Tom (originally called "Jasper") is an adult bluish grey and white domestic sh ...

and

John Doormat Terrytoons was an American animation studio in New Rochelle, New York, that produced animated cartoons for theatrical release from 1929 to 1973 (and briefly returned between 1987 and 1996 for television in name only). Terrytoons was founded by ...

. Deitch departed after three years. After Deitch's departure, Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle returned, as well as new characters such as

Deputy Dawg Deputy Dawg is a Terrytoons cartoon character, featured on the animated television series of the same name that aired from 1960 to 1964. Background The character of Deputy Dawg originated in 1959 as part of a projected series entitled ''Possible ...

. CBS made the Terrytoons library of films a mainstay of its Saturday morning programming and continued operating the studio, making both new theatrical films and series for television until the late 1960s. Terry died on October 25, 1971, aged 84, at the Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases in New York, New York. In Terry's later life, his home was the

Westchester Country Club Westchester Country Club is a private country club located in Town of Harrison, New York. Founded in 1922 as destination for sportsmen, it was known to professional golf players and spectators for more than four decades as the home of the "Westche ...

Rye, New York Rye is a coastal suburb of New York City in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. The City of Rye, formerly the Village of Rye, was part of the Town until it r ...

. During Terry's later years, he lived a leisurely retirement, painting and sculpting in his home all the way until his death. His nephew, Alex Anderson, was also an animator. Terry's wife Irma preceded him in death in 1969 at age 70. Daughter Patricia Terry-Leahy, who survives them, has her father's cremated remains in her

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

home.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Terry, Paul 1887 births 1971 deaths American cartoonists American comics artists Film producers from California American animated film directors American animated film producers American male screenwriters People from San Mateo, California Terrytoons people Film directors from California Screenwriters from California Bray Productions people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters