Friday, January 04, 2008
Ray Billingsley, "Curtis" cartoonist: Mr. Media Interview, Pt. 2
(Return to Part 1)
BOB ANDELMAN/Mr. MEDIA: So you’re not one of those guys who thinks that these strips that have been around for 30 or 40 years, they need to just stop, move out of the way for a younger guy?
RAY BILLINGSLEY: Well, no, not as long as they are still pumping out good stuff. That’s one of the reasons why I really like “Blondie.” “Blondie” changes with the times. I’ve watched it ever since I was a little kid, and I see all the changes. The artwork is still superior to many that I’ve seen, and the ideas are still there.
ANDELMAN: You know, that’s funny. I agree with you on “Blondie.” As a matter of fact, when you mentioned Dean Young, I was thinking, I can’t remember the last time that there was some other type of Blondie product. I think, “Boy, this would make a great TV show” sometimes or a great movie, because it has changed. Blondie has gone from just being kind of curvy to kind of busty, and she’s very attractive, and you know the situations are very modern, if you will, in terms of the…
BILLINGSLEY: Everything is up to date.
ANDELMAN: Dagwood’s office…
BILLINGSLEY: Not dated.
ANDELMAN: I did see that they have launched, after all these years, a Dagwood’s Sandwich Shoppe.
BILLINGSLEY: I can imagine what that’s like, a little bit of everything.
ANDELMAN: Yeah. Franchising those things.
BILLINGSLEY: Jared wouldn’t like that.
ANDELMAN: No, I think you’re right. I think that would definitely not be a place that we would see Jared.
BILLINGSLEY: Now here’s something for you. One of my favorite strips used to be Russell Meyer’s “Broom Hilda.” It was about a fifteen-year-old witch, and I mean, she was mean, crotchety, she drank, she smoked, she pinched men, she did everything, and I liked it because it was such outrageous humor, so you know, from time to time, I go that way, also. I like the good stuff, like the “Blondie”s, to the old-fashioned slap-stick sort of things.
ANDELMAN: Ray, let me ask you about one other thing, and we sort of touched on it, that you started very young in the business. I remember the first time that we spoke, you were telling me you worked for a kids’ magazine.
BILLINGSLEY: Right, right.
ANDELMAN: Is that what it was called, Kids?
BILLINGSLEY: Yeah, it was called Kids.
ANDELMAN: Okay.
BILLINGSLEY: I started off in this business when I was twelve years old, so I have literally grown up in this business.
ANDELMAN: And how old are you now?
BILLINGSLEY: Boy, wouldn’t you like to know?
ANDELMAN: Well, I think I have an idea. I think we’re about the same age.
BILLINGSLEY: Okay. How old are you?
ANDELMAN: Late 40s.
BILLINGSLEY: There you go. I’m looking at 50 in the face.
ANDELMAN: Okay. And that’s why I wanted to mention the name of that kids’ magazine, because for a generation of us, I think, in the early ’70s, that was a magazine that a lot of us picked up, and it had a big influence on us.
BILLINGSLEY: A funny story about that. I remember I was 12 years old, I was in my art class, and we had this, I think it was a 20-foot tall aluminum Christmas tree project that we had to build out in front of this hospital in New York, and I mean, it was cold, it was snowing, and I thought it was a dumb project. So by 12 years old, I was already carrying around like a little pad and pencil, and I was always doodling something. Mind you, my teachers hated that. But I was sitting off to the side, and I noticed there was a little media coverage. I saw a couple of people from the news hanging about. A woman approached me, and she asked me what I was drawing, so I showed it to her. She asked if she could keep it, so I said, “Sure, why not?” And she wanted my name and phone number, so I gave it to her. Back in that time, you didn’t have to worry. Kids were safe. So I think that was on a Thursday we were working on that project. On that Monday, I got a call from this woman, and come to find out she was the editor of Kids magazine, and she wanted me to come down and try my hand at doing some spot art for a couple of articles. So sure, I went on down there. I received $5 for my first illustration, and the first magazine came out, everything was fine.
ANDELMAN: Oh yeah, it’s a thrilling job.
BILLINGSLEY: It’s hard. It takes a lot of pavement work, but see, at the time, I was living in New York, so all the magazines were right there.
ANDELMAN: That is an advantage. There’s no doubt.
BILLINGSLEY: I had to take a subway or a bus, and there I was. Like I said earlier, I was starting to build up a reputation there in the city because I was a kid artist, so many times when I got to magazines, people would just be surprised to see me. “So you’re that kid we heard about? Yeah, we’ll put you on this job.” Okay. I’ll take it, I’ll take it. I mean, throughout this business, throughout all the years, I have done everything you can think of. I’ve done advertising, I’ve done storyboards, magazine covers, clip art. I’ve done all sorts of things. As a matter of fact, I actually did designs on underwear before they became popular. Those were my designs way back. I did a tuxedo shirt way back. It is like 25 years now, and these things really caught on. I used to see people wearing this stuff.
© 2007 by Bob Andelman. All rights reserved.
BOB ANDELMAN/Mr. MEDIA: So you’re not one of those guys who thinks that these strips that have been around for 30 or 40 years, they need to just stop, move out of the way for a younger guy?
RAY BILLINGSLEY: Well, no, not as long as they are still pumping out good stuff. That’s one of the reasons why I really like “Blondie.” “Blondie” changes with the times. I’ve watched it ever since I was a little kid, and I see all the changes. The artwork is still superior to many that I’ve seen, and the ideas are still there.
ANDELMAN: You know, that’s funny. I agree with you on “Blondie.” As a matter of fact, when you mentioned Dean Young, I was thinking, I can’t remember the last time that there was some other type of Blondie product. I think, “Boy, this would make a great TV show” sometimes or a great movie, because it has changed. Blondie has gone from just being kind of curvy to kind of busty, and she’s very attractive, and you know the situations are very modern, if you will, in terms of the…
BILLINGSLEY: Everything is up to date.
ANDELMAN: Dagwood’s office…
BILLINGSLEY: Not dated.
ANDELMAN: I did see that they have launched, after all these years, a Dagwood’s Sandwich Shoppe.
BILLINGSLEY: I can imagine what that’s like, a little bit of everything.
ANDELMAN: Yeah. Franchising those things.
BILLINGSLEY: Jared wouldn’t like that.
ANDELMAN: No, I think you’re right. I think that would definitely not be a place that we would see Jared.
BILLINGSLEY: Now here’s something for you. One of my favorite strips used to be Russell Meyer’s “Broom Hilda.” It was about a fifteen-year-old witch, and I mean, she was mean, crotchety, she drank, she smoked, she pinched men, she did everything, and I liked it because it was such outrageous humor, so you know, from time to time, I go that way, also. I like the good stuff, like the “Blondie”s, to the old-fashioned slap-stick sort of things.
ANDELMAN: Ray, let me ask you about one other thing, and we sort of touched on it, that you started very young in the business. I remember the first time that we spoke, you were telling me you worked for a kids’ magazine.
BILLINGSLEY: Right, right.
ANDELMAN: Is that what it was called, Kids?
BILLINGSLEY: Yeah, it was called Kids.
ANDELMAN: Okay.
BILLINGSLEY: I started off in this business when I was twelve years old, so I have literally grown up in this business.
ANDELMAN: And how old are you now?
BILLINGSLEY: Boy, wouldn’t you like to know?
ANDELMAN: Well, I think I have an idea. I think we’re about the same age.
BILLINGSLEY: Okay. How old are you?
ANDELMAN: Late 40s.
BILLINGSLEY: There you go. I’m looking at 50 in the face.
ANDELMAN: Okay. And that’s why I wanted to mention the name of that kids’ magazine, because for a generation of us, I think, in the early ’70s, that was a magazine that a lot of us picked up, and it had a big influence on us.
BILLINGSLEY: A funny story about that. I remember I was 12 years old, I was in my art class, and we had this, I think it was a 20-foot tall aluminum Christmas tree project that we had to build out in front of this hospital in New York, and I mean, it was cold, it was snowing, and I thought it was a dumb project. So by 12 years old, I was already carrying around like a little pad and pencil, and I was always doodling something. Mind you, my teachers hated that. But I was sitting off to the side, and I noticed there was a little media coverage. I saw a couple of people from the news hanging about. A woman approached me, and she asked me what I was drawing, so I showed it to her. She asked if she could keep it, so I said, “Sure, why not?” And she wanted my name and phone number, so I gave it to her. Back in that time, you didn’t have to worry. Kids were safe. So I think that was on a Thursday we were working on that project. On that Monday, I got a call from this woman, and come to find out she was the editor of Kids magazine, and she wanted me to come down and try my hand at doing some spot art for a couple of articles. So sure, I went on down there. I received $5 for my first illustration, and the first magazine came out, everything was fine.
Then they called me up, and they hired me as like a staff artist! Life changed for me right after that. I would go to school, and as soon as school was out, instead of going to play ball or something like that, I was going to work, and I remained with Kids magazine until I was 18, and I retired from there as an associate editor at 18 years old.And from there, I just kept on going. I found out that people paid you to draw. See, my father was very strict. He didn’t believe in allowances or things like that, so it was a good way for me to make money legally. I just kept on doing it, then I found out about the world of freelancing, and that was actually a lot of fun, because you never knew what you were going to be doing next.
ANDELMAN: Oh yeah, it’s a thrilling job.
BILLINGSLEY: It’s hard. It takes a lot of pavement work, but see, at the time, I was living in New York, so all the magazines were right there.
ANDELMAN: That is an advantage. There’s no doubt.
BILLINGSLEY: I had to take a subway or a bus, and there I was. Like I said earlier, I was starting to build up a reputation there in the city because I was a kid artist, so many times when I got to magazines, people would just be surprised to see me. “So you’re that kid we heard about? Yeah, we’ll put you on this job.” Okay. I’ll take it, I’ll take it. I mean, throughout this business, throughout all the years, I have done everything you can think of. I’ve done advertising, I’ve done storyboards, magazine covers, clip art. I’ve done all sorts of things. As a matter of fact, I actually did designs on underwear before they became popular. Those were my designs way back. I did a tuxedo shirt way back. It is like 25 years now, and these things really caught on. I used to see people wearing this stuff.
© 2007 by Bob Andelman. All rights reserved.
Labels: Curtis, Jump Start, Ray Billingsley, Robb Armstrong
¶ 2:33 PM
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