Joseph Oriolo (February 21, 1913 – December 25, 1985) was an American cartoon animator, 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''.

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 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'' 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. Joe Oriolo met

Otto Messmer Otto James Messmer (August 16, 1892 – October 28, 1983) was an American animator known for his work on the Felix the Cat cartoons and comic strip produced by the Pat Sullivan studio. The extent of Messmer's role in the creation and populari ...

(who was employed with the studio as a storyboard artist from 1944–46) before leaving in 1944. In 1939, he and author Seymour Reit created the character of

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 (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. Coo Coo Comics - Issue 3 (February 1943) - Bernie the Fox - Page 3, Panel 6

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, 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'' 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. 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