I'm sorry to report that Bob Inman, one of the two main background painters on
Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, has passed away. Bob was one of animation's unsung talents, largely because he spent his career painting for television animation which has never received the kind of recognition theatrical animation has. He was part of a generation of highly trained artists who were nominally known in the industry as background painters but who might be more properly defined as color stylists, using color boldly and expressively, oftentimes outshining the low quality animation that served as the foreground.
Bob started at Bob Clampett's Snowball Productions, churned out BGs by the dozen for Hank Saperstein's UPA TV productions of Mr. Magoo and Dick Tracy, painted numerous backgrounds in the manner of various French Impressionists for the stylish feature,
Gay Purr-ee and served as one of two main color stylists and painters on
Christmas Carol.
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| Stylish yet spartan BG from an unknown Magoo TV short |
When work at UPA dried up, he followed
Christmas Carol producer Lee Orgel over to Cambria for
The New Three Stooges and then moved to Chuck Jones' incarnation of the MGM studio, working under Maurice Noble on such productions as Tom & Jerry and
How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Bob later styled and painted
The Pogo Special Birthday Special and reunited with
Christmas Carol director Abe Levitow for
We're Off to See the Wizard.
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| Moody BG likely from a Magoo GE comercial |
He had brief stints with Jay Ward on the
George of the Jungle series and with Abe Levitow on
B.C.: The First Thanksgiving. Later years were spent on seasonal work at Hanna-Barbera along with stints for Bosustow & Associates and freelance for most of the commercial houses in LA. Bob returned to UPA in 1970 to once again work for Lee Orgel and Abe Levitow on
Uncle Sam Magoo, where he was chief color stylist for the special.
Shortly before retiring, he freelanced for Chuck Jones on his stylish
TV special,
Mowgli's Brothers, below is one of his color keys for the show.
He finally left animation in 1976, tiring of the on again, off again nature of the industry and spent the rest of his time pursuing his passion for fine arts painting.
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| Bob's unorthodox approach to color in Christmas Carol |
While the Saperstein years at UPA were without a doubt a factory system, the painters were left alone to style and paint as they saw fit. Being able to paint using various techniques and unusual color schemes were the hallmarks of Bob's time at UPA as evidenced by his work on
Christmas Carol and
The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo.
Right, one of Bob's more painterly backgrounds from the 4 part
Robin Hood episode of
The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo. Below, a background from the
Cyrano De Bergerac episode from the same series.
You can read a little more about Bob and see some more of his work
here from a profile I did over 5 years ago here on this blog.
Bob, like so many of his contemporaries in TV animation (David Weidman, Gloria Wood, Jack Heiter and Sam Clayberger among many others) has remained "in the background" of animation history. I was fortunate to have met and interviewed Bob Inman and, because he saved so many examples of his work, highlight his legacy for future generations. Thanks for the memories, Bob.
Right, one of Bob's more painterly backgrounds from the 4 part Robin Hood episode of The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo. Below, a background from the Cyrano De Bergerac episode from the same series. You can read a little more about Bob and see some more of his work here from a profile I did over 5 years ago here on this blog. 
Bob, like so many of his contemporaries in TV animation (David Weidman, Gloria Wood, Jack Heiter and Sam Clayberger among many others) has remained "in the background" of animation history. I was fortunate to have met and interviewed Bob Inman and, because he saved so many examples of his work, highlight his legacy for future generations. Thanks for the memories, Bob.
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