Jerry Beck | |
|---|---|
 Beck at the 2023 WonderCon | |
| Born | February 9, 1955 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Animation historian, author, blogger, video producer |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Board member of | ASIFA-Hollywood |
| Spouse | [1] |
| Awards | June Foray Award, 2008 Independent Publisher Book Award, 2014 Inkpot Award, 2015 |
Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955, in New York City) is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer.
Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including The 50 Greatest Cartoons (1994), The Animated Movie Guide (2005), Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons! (2007), The Flintstones: The Official Guide to the Cartoon Classic (2011), The Hanna-Barbera Treasury: Rare Art Mementos from Your Favorite Cartoon Classics (2007), The SpongeBob SquarePants Experience: A Deep Dive into the World of Bikini Bottom (2013), Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide (2005), and Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons (with Will Friedwald, 1989) alongside The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons (2010). He is also an authority on the making of modern films, with his books detailing the art of Mr. Peabody and Sherman, DreamWorks' Madagascar, and Bee Movie. Beck is also an entertainment industry consultant for TV and home entertainment productions and releases related to classic cartoons and operates the blog "Cartoon Research". He appears frequently as a documentary subject and audio commentator on releases of A&E's Cartoons Go to War as well as DVD collections of Looney Tunes, Popeye the Sailor, and Woody Woodpecker cartoons, on which he serves as consultant and curator.[2]
Early in his career, Beck collaborated with film historian Leonard Maltin on his book Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, Revised and Updated Edition (1980).
In 1987, Beck was instrumental in the creation of Animation Magazine. He went on to write for other magazines including: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The Whole Toon Catalog, Animation Blast, Animator, Wild Cartoon Kingdom and Animation World Network.
Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including The 50 Greatest Cartoons (1994), The Animated Movie Guide (2005), Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons! (2007), The Flintstones: The Official Guide to the Cartoon Classic (2011), The Hanna-Barbera Treasury: Rare Art Mementos from Your Favorite Cartoon Classics (2007), The SpongeBob SquarePants Experience: A Deep Dive into the World of Bikini Bottom (2013), Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide (2005), and Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons (with Will Friedwald, 1989) alongside The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons (2010). He is also an authority on the making of modern films, with his books detailing the art of Mr. Peabody and Sherman, DreamWorks' Madagascar, and Bee Movie.
In 2004, Beck and fellow animation historian and writer Amid Amidi co-founded the blog Cartoon Brew,[3] which focused primarily on current animation productions and news. Beck sold his co-ownership in Cartoon Brew in February 2013 and started an IndieWire blog, Animation Scoop, for reports on current animation while continuing to write about classic animation at Cartoon Research.[4][5]
In the 1990s, Beck taught courses on the art of animation at UCLA, NYU, and The School of Visual Arts. Through 2018 he also taught animation history at Woodbury University in Burbank, California. As of 2020, Beck teaches in the Character Animation department of CalArts School of Film/Video and ANIM 3000 - History of Animation at MTSU.[6]
Jerry Beck co-produced or was a consultant on many home entertainment compilations of Looney Tunes, MGM Cartoons, Disney Home Video, Betty Boop, and others.
In 1989, he co-founded Streamline Pictures and brought anime films, Akira, Vampire Hunter D, and Hayao Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky to the United States. He also compiled collections of cartoons from Warner Bros., Woody Woodpecker, and the Fleischer Studios.
As vice president of Nickelodeon Movies, he helped develop The Rugrats Movie (1998) and Mighty Mouse.
In 2006, Beck created and produced an animated pilot for Frederator Studios at Nickelodeon. That cartoon, Hornswiggle, aired on Nicktoons Network in 2008 as part of the Random! Cartoons series.
In 1993, Jerry Beck became a founding member of the Cartoon Network advisory board and he currently serves as Vice President of the ASIFA-Hollywood board.
On a regular basis Beck moderates panels at various venues (festivals, conventions, premieres, museums, screenings, etc.) along with hosting programs/retrospectives of classic cartoons at same. In the past this included shows at the now shuttered Cinefamily and Cartoon Dump monthly live Hollywood performance.
His presentations include:
On June 25, 2021, Beck married voice actress Cheryl Chase, his girlfriend of 33 years.[1]
