Peter J. Alvarado Jr. (February 22, 1920 – December 27, 2003) was an American

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

and

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

artist. Alvarado's animation career spanned almost 60 years. He was also a prolific contributor to

Western Publishing Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and ...

's line of comic books.

Biography

Animation

Alvarado was born in Raton, New Mexico, and grew up in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

. He attended the

Chouinard Art Institute The Chouinard Art Institute was a professional art school founded in 1921 by Nelbert Murphy Chouinard (1879–1969) in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In 1961, Walt and Roy Disney guided the merger of the Chouinard Art In ...

in the 1930; after graduation he was hired as an assistant animator by the Walt Disney Studio. He provided uncredited work on '' Snow White and the Seven Dwarves''.
Evanier, Mark, "Pete Alvarado (1920-2004)". ''news from ME'' website. Last accessed 03/13/2007. Around 1939 Alvarado left Disney to find work in New York City, where he provided his earliest comic book art for

Funnies Inc. Funnies, Inc. was an American comic book packager of the late 1930s to 1940s period collectors and historians call the Golden Age of comic books, Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by Lloyd Jacquet, it supplied the contents of early comics, includi ...

, which supplied artwork for

Fawcett Publications Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett (1885–1940). It kicked off with the publication of the bawdy humor magazine ''Captain Billy's Whiz B ...

and

Timely Comics Timely Comics is the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely Publications became the name ...

(now

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

).
Pete Alvarado bio.

ASIFA-Hollywood ASIFA-Hollywood, an American non-profit organization in Los Angeles, California, United States, is a branch member of the "Association Internationale du Film d'Animation" or "ASIFA" (the International Animated Film Association). Its purpose is to ...

biopedia. Last accessed 3/13/2007. Alvarado returned to California and Disney Studio in 1941. He left Disney in 1946 to work for

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 1 ...

. Alvarado became the Background painter for

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...

, and his first screen credit was on the 1947

Pepé Le Pew Pepé Le Pew is an animated character from the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons, introduced in 1945. Depicted as a French striped skunk, Pepé is constantly on the quest for love. However, his offensive ...

short, "

Scent-imental Over You ''Scent-imental over You'' is a 1947 Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on March 8, 1947, and stars Pepé Le Pew. Plot A small Mexican hairless dog, wanting to be friends with the other dogs o ...

." He held this position until 1951, working on several cartoons such as the first

Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical cartoon short ''Fast and Furry-ous''. In each episode ...

cartoon,

Fast and Furry-ous ''Fast and Furry-ous'' is a 1949 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short was released on September 17, 1949, and stars Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, in their debut. This wa ...

, and

' Oscar-winning short For Scent-imental Reasons. His last work with Jones was "

Scentimental Romeo ''Scent-imental Romeo'' is a 1951 Warner Bros. '' Merrie Melodies'' animated short directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on March 24, 1951, and stars Pepé Le Pew. Plot In the Paris Zoo, Penelope Pussycat is starving and tries to beg ...

" in 1951, another cartoon featuring Pepé Le Pew.
Pete Alvarado". Comic Book DB website. Last accessed 03/13/2007. Alvarado went on to Replace

Cornett Wood Cornett Wood (September 12, 1905 – May 16, 1980) was an American animator and layout artist. Along with other Disney animators Harry Reed and John A. Waltz, Wood was a graduate of the Herron School of Art in Indianapolis. He served as an ...

as chief layout artist for

Robert McKimson Robert Porter McKimson Sr. (October 13, 1910 – September 29, 1977) was an American animator and illustrator, best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons from Warner Bros. Cartoons and later DePa ...

's unit. He left Warner Bros. entirely and was replaced by

Bob Givens Robert Herman Givens (March 2, 1918 – December 14, 2017) was an American animator and character designer, responsible for the creation of Bugs Bunny. He was the leading character designer for Leon Schlesinger, creating over 25 successful c ...

in 1953. Alvarado later joined DePatie-Freleng Enterprises after Warner Bros. closed their cartoon division. He worked on several

Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film ''The Pink ...

shorts, as well as the short lived animated series '' Super President.'' Around 1971 Alvarado joined

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

as a layout artist; he worked on such series as ''

The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that originally aired for one season on CBS Saturday morning from September 11, 1971, to January 1, 1972. With an ensemble voice ...

'' (1971), ''

Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch ''Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch'' is an American animated television series, produced by Hanna-Barbera, which originally aired for one season on NBC from September 7 to November 30, 1974. The show aired for 13 half-hour episodes. With an ensem ...

'' (1974), and many others. Alvarado also provided animation and layout work for

Film Roman Film Roman, LLC is an American independent animation studio currently based in Woodland Hills, California and formerly in Burbank. It was previously owned by Starz Inc., which is now a division of Lionsgate, and later by Waterman Entertainment, ...

(''

Garfield and Friends ''Garfield and Friends'' is an American animated television series based on the comic strip ''Garfield'' by Jim Davis. The show aired on CBS as part of its Saturday morning children's lineup from September 17, 1988 to December 10, 1994. The show ...

''). Alvarado was the recipient of the 2001

Winsor McCay Award The Winsor McCay Award is given to individuals in recognition of lifetime or career contributions to the art of animation in producing, directing, animating, design, writing, voice acting, sound and sound effects, technical work, music, profession ...

, for his lifetime of achievement in animation, as well as the

Animation Guild The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839 is a professional guild and union of animation artists, writers and technicians. It was formed in 1952. In 2002, the organization changed its name from Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists. The full name of the ...

's 1987 Golden Award.

Comic books

Concurrently with his animation work, Alvarado also worked as a prolific comic book illustrator. As noted above, he worked from 1939 to 1941 providing artwork for Funnies Inc. Alvarado returned to the comic book world in 1947, in collaboration with Charles McKimson (brother of animator

). McKimson was the art director at

Western Publishing Company Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and ...

, and the two (in collaboration with Charles' brother

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

) drew the ''

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

'' strip under the pen name "Al McKimson." Alvarado went on to draw the

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

newspaper strip and comic book, the Mr. Magoo newspaper strip for its entire run, a long period of the

Little Lulu ''Little Lulu'' is a comic strip created in 1935 by American author Marge (cartoonist), Marjorie Henderson Buell. The character, Lulu Moppet, debuted in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' on February 23, 1935, in a single panel, appearing as a flower ...

newspaper strip, some work on the

Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbor ...

and

Yogi Bear Yogi Bear is an anthropomorphic animal character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in ''The Huckleberry Hound Show''. Yogi Bear was the first ...

newspaper strip, and fill-in work for almost all the Disney newspaper strips, including an extended period as the main artist on the ''

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

'' strip. The bulk of Alvarado's work at Western was for their anthropomorphic animal comic books. Alvarado provided artwork for almost every Disney (

Chip 'n Dale Chip and Dale (also spelled Chip 'n' Dale) is a cartoon duo of anthropomorphic chipmunks created in 1943 by The Walt Disney Company. Concept The characters were first drawn by Bill Justice and introduced in the 1943 Pluto short '' Private ...

, Scamp), Warner Bros. (

Tweety Tweety is a yellow canary in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being an English onomatopoeia for th ...

& Sylvester, Road Runner), Hanna-Barbera (

) and Walter Lantz (

Andy Panda Andy Panda is a cartoon character who starred in his own series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Walter Lantz. These "cartunes" were released by Universal Pictures from 1939 to 1947, and United Artists from 1948 to 1949. The title ...

) licensed title. He also illustrated comic book adaptations of the animated films ''

The Rescuers ''The Rescuers'' is a 1977 American animated adventure comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. The 23rd Disney animated feature film, its story follows Bernard and Bianca, two members ...

,'' ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

'', and ''

Gay Purr-ee ''Gay Purr-ee'' is a 1962 American animated musical film produced by United Productions of America and released by Warner Bros. It features the voice of Judy Garland in her only animated-film role, as well as Robert Goulet in his first feature ...

''. Alvarado retired from animation in 1999. He died on December 27, 2003, in La Crescenta, California.

Notes

External links

* * *
Pete Alvarado biography
on Lambiek
Extensive list of Alvarado credits at Who's Who BioFor Pete's Sake!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarado, Pete Chouinard Art Institute alumni 1920 births 2003 deaths Disney comics artists American storyboard artists Warner Bros. Cartoons people People from Glendale, California Animators from California Animators from New Mexico People from Raton, New Mexico 20th-century American artists American comics artists People from La Crescenta-Montrose, California

Biography

Animation

Comic books

Notes

Further reading

External links