Joe Oriolo
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Joseph Oriolo (February 21, 1913 – December 25, 1985) was an American
cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...
animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games ...
, writer, director and producer, known as the co-creator of
Casper the Friendly Ghost Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a pleasant, personable and translucent ghost, but often criticized by his three wicked uncles, the Ghostly Trio. The ...
and the creator of the ''Felix the Cat'' TV series. He provided the voice of the Italian barber in ''
Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', or ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'' is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan ...
''.


Early life

Oriolo was born in
Union City, New Jersey Union City is a city in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2020 United States Census the city had a total population of 68,589,Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () is an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of ...
as an errand boy, where his talent as a draftsman and his ambitions advanced him to the position of an animator within one year. During the late 1930s, he worked on a number of studio shorts, and when the studio moved to Miami in 1938 he went with it. There, in addition to the shorts, he worked on both of the studio's feature-length films, ''
Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', or ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'' is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan ...
'' and ''
Mr. Bug Goes to Town ''Mr. Bug Goes to Town'' (also known as ''Hoppity Goes to Town'' and ''Bugville'') is a 1941 American animated Technicolor feature film produced by Fleischer Studios, previewed by Paramount Pictures on December 5, 1941, and released in California ...
'', as well as the two-reel ''Raggedy Ann & Raggedy Andy''. Paramount took over the Fleischer studio in 1942 and reestablished it in New York as
Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized control ...
. Joe Oriolo met Otto Messmer (who was employed with the studio as a storyboard artist from 1944–46) before leaving in 1944. In 1939, he and author
Seymour Reit Seymour Victory Reit (11 November 1918 – 21 November 2001) was an American author of over 80 children's books as well as several works for adults. Reit was the creator, with cartoonist Joe Oriolo, of the character Casper the Friendly Ghost. Re ...
created the character of
Casper the Friendly Ghost Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a pleasant, personable and translucent ghost, but often criticized by his three wicked uncles, the Ghostly Trio. The ...
for a children's book. Two subsequent books, ''There's Good Boos To-Night'' and ''A Haunting We Will Go'' followed before Oriolo sold the rights to Famous Studios. Casper went on to become one of the studios' most popular animated series before being sold to
Alfred Harvey Alfred Harvey (born Alfred Harvey Wiernikoff; October 6, 1913 – July 4, 1994), was the founder of comic book publisher Harvey Comics and the creator of the comic book characters Little Dot, Richie Rich, and Adam Awards. He was born to Russian ...
(whose
Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by A ...
began producing Casper comic books in 1952) on July 27, 1958. After leaving Famous Studios, Oriolo began working as a freelance animator on films for the armed forces and industrial films, as well as some of the earliest TV commercials. He began drawing comic books (including Fawcett's
George Pal George Pal (born György Pál Marczincsak; ; February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after ...
''
Puppetoons Puppetoons is a series of animated puppet films made in Europe (1930s) and in the United States (1940s) by George Pal. They were made using replacement animation: using a series of different hand-carved wooden puppets (or puppet heads or limbs) for ...
''), and began working with Otto Messmer on the
Felix the Cat Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer during the silent film era. An anthropomorphic black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, he was one of the most recognized cartoon characte ...
comic books until they ceased publication. In 1954, Oriolo assumed authorship of the separate Felix daily comic strips at the request of
King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editori ...
, which he continued to produce until 1969. In 1958, Joe became a business partner with William O. Sullivan, brother of Pat Sullivan, the original copyright owner of Felix the Cat. Together, they formed Felix the Cat Productions, Inc (named after the famous character of the same name) and created the pilot show for the award-winning ''Felix the Cat'' television series. Making use of many former Fleischer/Famous directors, 260 Felix shorts were made for television syndication in 1960. Oriolo built on this success in 1963 with both ''
The Mighty Hercules ''The Mighty Hercules'' is an animated television series based loosely on the Greek mythology character of Heracles, under his Roman name Hercules. It debuted on television in 1963. The show ran until 1966, coinciding with the sword-and-sandal ge ...
'' and ''
Beetle Bailey ''Beetle Bailey'' is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Mort Walker, published since September 4, 1950. It is set on a fictional United States Army post. In the years just before Walker's death in 2018 (at age 94), it was among the old ...
''. In 1967 Oriolo Studios created ''
Johnny Cypher in Dimension Zero ''Johnny Cypher in Dimension Zero'' is an American animated television series originally airing from 1967 to 1968. It told the story of Johnny Cypher, a scientist who had the power to travel through space and time into different dimensions, with ...
''. In 1969, ''
Ribbon no Kishi ''Princess Knight'', also known as ''Ribon no Kishi'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. This manga follows the adventures of Sapphire, a girl who was born accidentally with a blue heart of a boy and a pi ...
'' was brought to the U.S. by Joe Oriolo and Burt Hecht. It was retitled ''
Princess Knight ''Princess Knight'', also known as ''Ribon no Kishi'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. This manga follows the adventures of Sapphire, a girl who was born accidentally with a blue heart of a boy and a pin ...
'' and purchased from Mushi Productions; English dialogue scripts were written and voices dubbed. Later, the business arrangement between Oriolo and Hecht fell apart; and as part of the settlement, Hecht departed with the ''Princess Knight'' masters in 1970. As a result, the company ultimately scrapped the show before it could be broadcast. For a number of years, it was thought that all of the English-language dubs of the series had been either lost or destroyed. However, the English-language masters of the series were found in the Netherlands in 1996. By 1971, Oriolo had taken complete control of Felix the Cat and continued to market the character right up until his death.


Death

A resident of
Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey Woodcliff Lake is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the borough's population was 5,730,Hackensack University Medical Center Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) is a 781-bed non-profit, research and teaching hospital providing tertiary and healthcare needs located seven miles (11 km) west of New York City, in Hackensack, Bergen County, New Jersey. As ...
in
Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is a city in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.New Jers ...
. He is buried in George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey. '' Felix the Cat: The Movie'' is dedicated to his memory.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oriolo, Joe 1913 births 1985 deaths Animators from New Jersey American animated film directors American animated film producers American cartoonists American film directors of Italian descent American storyboard artists People from Union City, New Jersey People from Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey Fleischer Studios people Famous Studios people