In 1964 the Beatles invaded the United States, performing on “The Ed Sullivan Show” for an audience of 73 million people. The Beatles went on to dominate the U.S. pop charts for years.
Now, more than five decades later, the Fab Four continue to be the most celebrated musical group in rock history and Beatlemania is alive and well.
“Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson recently announced he is going to be putting together a new film featuring footage from the Beatles’ 1969 “Let it Be” sessions, and Capitol Records is re-releasing the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album at the end of September.
Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the release of the Beatles’ classic animated film, “Yellow Submarine” (released in the United States on Nov. 13, 1968).
With interest in the band still high among its fans, Ron Campbell, the director of the 1960s Saturday morning Beatles cartoon series and one of the animators of “Yellow Submarine,” will visit Main Street Gallery, 131 Main St., Manasquan, Sept. 13-15, according to a press release.
The hours for Campbell’s appearances are 4-8 p.m. Sept. 13, noon to 6 p.m. Sept. 14 and noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 15. The gallery may be reached at 732-223-1268 or www.mainstreetgallery.com
Campbell will showcase his original Beatles cartoon paintings created especially for the show and paint original remarques (small works) for customers who purchase any of his art work.
The Beatles cartoon series aired on ABC-TV from Sept. 25, 1965 through April 20, 1969. In addition to directing, Campbell wrote the forward to the definitive book on the series, “Beatletoons.”
Campbell will also feature other artwork based on his 50-year career in cartoons, including “Scooby Doo” (celebrating its 50th anniversary that weekend), “Rugrats,” “Smurfs,” “The Flintstones,” “The Jetsons” and more. The exhibit is free and all works are available for purchase.
Campbell was born in 1939 in the Australian state of Victoria and educated at Swinburne Art Institute in Melbourne. He began his animation career in the late 1950s, soon working on “Beetle Bailey,” “Krazy Kat” and “Cool McCool,” according to a biography.
He moved to the United State and Hanna-Barbera, going on to write and produce cartoons for “Sesame Street” and to animate on the original “George of the Jungle” and “Tom Slick” TV shows.
His Hollywood studio, Ron Campbell Films Inc., produced and directed the animation for “The Big Blue Marble,” which won many awards, including a Peabody for Excellence in
Broadcasting and an Emmy for Best Children’s Show of the Year.
In the late 1960’s, Campbell, who was working in Hollywood with his friend and colleague Duane Crowther, now deceased, animated many scenes in “Yellow Submarine,” including the Sea of Time sequence and much of the action between the Chief Blue Meanie and his sidekick Max.
In his book “Up Periscope,” “Yellow Submarine” producer Al Brodax gives Campbell a great deal of credit for saving the movie and tying it all together at the last minute, according to the press release.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Campbell produced, directed, animated or storyboarded other hit shows of the era, including “The Flintstones,” “The Jetsons,” “Captain Caveman” and “Scooby-Doo.”
The 1990s took Campbell to Disney TV Animation where he contracted animation direction and storyboarded on “Bonkers,” “Goof Troop,” “Darkwing Duck” and “Winnie The Pooh.” In addition, his studio produced publicity films for Disney.
He also spent much of the decade storyboarding for “The Rugrats,” “Rocket Power” and the adult cartoon “Duckman.” During that time, Campbell was nominated for an Emmy for a storyboard for “Aaahh!!! Real Monsters” and another for “The Rugrats,” according to the press release.