Sep 19, 2011

Earl Kress (1951-2011)

Earl Kress (top left) with me at the Van Eaton Gallery in May 2010.

Earl Kress, my friend, animator, and Hanna-Barbera historian, died early this morning of liver cancer. He had just turned 60.

Earl's accomplishments are too many to begin with. In theater, he was responsible for stories in Disney's "The Fox and the Hound" and the Looney Tunes short "Little Go Beep." In comic books, Earl wrote many stories for Hanna-Barbera and also worked on Bongo Comics' "The Simpsons" and DC's "Looney Tunes." The list of his TV credits is too long to list here (check IMDB), but highlights include episodes of "Animaniacs," "Pinky and the Brain," and "Tom & Jerry Tales," not to mention the pilot I produced for "Hornswiggle not to mention the pilot version called "Hornswiggle".

He is also an avid animation historian and has produced several indispensable DVD and CD compilations: "Pic-a-nic Basket of Cartoon Classics" and "Hanna-Barbera Cartoon Sound FX" on his Rhino Records, important preservations of these classic television soundtracks. His expertise has made Warner Home Video's Hanna-Barbera DVDs the best: The Flintstones - Seasons 2, 4, 5 and 6, Top Cat - The Complete Series, Wacky Races, Huckleberry Hound - Volume 1, Yogi Bear - The Complete Series, and Magilla Gorilla - The Complete Series. Without Earl, the Flintstones laserdiscs planned by John K. would have been half as good.

Earle also served as vice president of the Animation Guild and was a founding member of the Animation Caucus, a writers' union.

But of course, Earl was more than a great writer and historian, he was a true friend and a wonderful lunch companion. When I needed help with some books on Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera, he was eager to share his knowledge and film collection, and on many occasions really helped me out. his work on "Hornswiggle" and several other projects we did together was top notch, He was thoroughly professional. That's what he is--a first-class professional and one of the good guys, nay, the best guys in the business.

I mourn his passing. A very sad day. He will be sorely missed. Rest in peace my friend.

POST SCRIPT: The internet radio show "Stu's Show" aired a tribute to Earl Kress on Monday and Mark Evania and I shared our memories. It will be available for free download for the next two weeks; scroll to the bottom of Stu's main page for the link.