So Long, Eggman

 

I first learned of Ralph Eggleston's death in James Baker's wonderful tribute post. I didn't know he'd been ill, so it came as quite a shock.   

I first met Ralph at CalArts in 1983.  He was a 17 year-old incoming freshman.  I was a know-it-all junior with no interest in the freshmen.   However, it didn't take long for Ralph's name to get bantered about among my classmates.  Apparently, he had animated 30 seconds of full animation in his first weekend at school.  We all scoffed at this, and couldn't wait to see what kind of awfulness this kid cranked out.  

In the A-113 suite of the Character Animation Department, we shared a Lyon/Lamb video recorder to shoot our pencil tests (there were two, actually, but only one of them worked at any given time).  We crammed into the small pencil test room to see Ralph's opus, like wolves waiting for raw meat.  

We watched.  

Huh! 

Not bad!  

Now we had to meet this guy!  Ralph was best described as a feral nerd - skinny, shaggy, with a wild energy that was a bit hard to be around.  He was madly passionate about animation. 

Cut to 1987.  I led a small crew of mostly Americans working on "Duck Tales" in Taiwan.   Among them were CalArts alum Brian Pimental, Gregg Vanzo, Chris Wahl, Carlos Baeza, and 'The Egg Man'.   

Ralph was now a feral nerd in a foreign land.  Having sushi with the crew, he scarfed plate after plate of wasabi - just wasabi- for laughs.  His face would turn red, he'd twitch, his eyes bulge and tear up.  He'd grab our water glasses, guzzling them down.  The more we laughed, the more he'd eat.  He kept this up until the waitress cut him off.  Feral.  But funny! 

Cut to 1992.  I ran into Ralph in San Francisco.  I was working on "The Nightmare Before Christmas", and he was dating one of the young ladies on the crew.  His manner had changed drastically.  He was still Ralph, but calm, at ease, like he'd learned to harness that feral nerd energy, saving it for his work. 

I would see him sporadically over the next 30 years - usually at Sue and Bill Kroyer's Christmas parties.  We'd exchange Christmas cards, and I just assumed that he'd grow old with the rest of the CalArts gang.  He was robbed of that privilege, and we were robbed of his creativity and humanity.   There's an old Taoist saying that surely applies here, "The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long."   

So long, Eggman!

-Steve

James Baker's Days at Cuckoo's Nest

sketch by James Baker

I first met James Baker at Cuckoo's Nest Studio in Taiwan, in 1986.  He was working on Hanna Barbera shows,  and I was there for retakes on The Brave Little Toaster.  He gives an hilarious account of his experiences in his blog.  I can attest to the veracity of his tales - he tells it how it was!
http://www.james-baker.com/news/2014/04/one-flew-to-cuckoos-nest.html
Check it out!
-Steve

Bizarro Sketch Night - A Follow Up

Photo by Ted Mathot

This past Thursday night, Ben Walker hosted Bizarro Sketch Night as a fundraiser for Jamie Baker where artists sketch with their opposite hand  (see Wednesday's post).

Ben told FLIP,  "It went really well! Jamie had fun. We all did. It sounds like having "the playing field leveled" by drawing with our bad hands made for a lot of fun and talking amongst artists. I haven't gotten a total from Jamie but we clearly brought in a nice amount of funds for him."

Here's a few pics from the event....

Photo by Ben Walker

Photo by John Hoffman

Photo by Ben Walker

Photo by Ben Walker

Photo by John Hoffman

The man of honor, James "Lefty" Baker.  Photo by Ben Walker

Jamie told FLIP: "It was a hell of a lot of fun."
-Steve

Bizarro Sketch Night in San Francisco

If you're in the San Francisco area Thursday night, be sure to check out an unusual fundraiser being by Ben Walker. Bizarro Sketch Night is an event where artists draw using their "bad" hand. These sketches will then be auctioned, proceed to help artist Jamie Baker with medical bills incurred after a devastating stroke in December 2012.

Jamie Baker Art Auction Update

After a few misfires, the eBay auction site for Jamie Baker is up and bidding.  Among the highlights is this tree from the movie Coraline, signed by Neil Gaiman.  It was donated by Laika Studios, and as of this writing, had 19 bids toping at $3499.  And that's with seven days left.

Art Auction Benefit for Jamie Baker

James Baker, south paw.

This Saturday, there will be a huge art auction for story artist James Baker.  Last December, Jamie suffered a serious stroke, and while he is slowly recovering and learning to adapt, he has accumulated massive medical bills not covered by his insurance.

The Return of Jamie Baker

Jamie Baker's latest.

Back in May, FLIP told you about James "Jamie" Baker's struggles to recover after suffering a massive stroke in December.  And while he is still physically recovering, there is some very good news.   Jamie has started blogging - and drawing - again.  

For Jamie

Jamie Baker, last summer.

My old pal and animation colleague James "Jamie" Baker had a stroke just after last Christmas.  When I say 'old pal", I don't mean he is an old man.  He's pushing fifty, but still, not your typical stroke-having age.

Initially, he kept his condition very private. He was in bad shape, completely paralyzed on his right side - his drawing arm side.  Julia Lundman has been there with him through it all, and started posting to friends on the Caring Bridge website.  As Jamie became more lucid, he started sharing his thoughts and experiences of this truly horrifying ordeal, and in doing so let it be known that he had not lost any of his sharp Australian wit.

Animators with Shotguns

In 1992, I was in San Francisco doing storyboards for The Nightmare Before Christmas.  My friend and colleague James Baker called to see if I'd be into going skeet shooting.  Dave Gordon had shotguns and wanted to go to a shooting range in Oakland.  My experience with rifles was strictly of the arcade variety, but I had a car, which made me an ideal person to let tag along.

We headed over the Bay Bridge to a grassy firing range I swear I have seen on Mythbusters.  The first thing I learned about shotguns is that their recoil hurts.  On my first try, the gun kicked back so violently, it whacked me in the mouth.  I saw cartoon stars for a few seconds as I rolled my tongue along my teeth, taking inventory.  James didn't do much better, and Dave had to give us a lesson on how to hold on to the beastly thing.

After a few rounds, the range pro (or whatever he's called) came over and not only fine-tuned my rifle holding, but also adjusted my stance.  By simply pointing my toes in a certain direction, I became a clay pigeon killing machine.

Pull!   BLAM!   Pull!  BLAM!