1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. Uh. Tracy. 4 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:20,320 Speaker 1: We're gonna keep talking about Windsor mackay today, about which 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 1: I'm very excited. I know you are. We're going to 6 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,360 Speaker 1: finish up this talk about the life of this artist 7 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: and animator, and if you haven't listened to the first 8 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:32,720 Speaker 1: part of this one, I really suggest that you go 9 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 1: back and do that, because otherwise you won't know about 10 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 1: Winsor's childhood and how he was drawn to art despite 11 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: his family's hopes that he would find a more stable career, 12 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:43,479 Speaker 1: and how he got into newspapers and writing comics in 13 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: the first place. In nineteen o five, McKay created his 14 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:51,559 Speaker 1: most popular strip, Little Nemo in Slumberland, which debuted on 15 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: October five of that year, and this strip builds on 16 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 1: some of the ideas that Winsor mackay had played with 17 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: in his earlier strips. Nemo was a young boy whose 18 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: dreams were depicted in the strip, and a lot of 19 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: times they were surreal and bizarre, and there wasn't really 20 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: a cohesive plot to the strips, they were more about 21 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: the exploration and the visuals. Yeah, he basically was kind 22 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 1: of lured into this, this mystical world of Slumberland by 23 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:24,039 Speaker 1: various characters, and it's just so spectacularly beautiful. Often it's 24 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:27,400 Speaker 1: drawn in a rich art nouveau style. And these strips 25 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: were huge hits, so much so that McKay became a 26 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 1: celebrity and the comics were translated into seven languages, and 27 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 1: almost instantly from that first appearance, readers were enthralled with 28 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: Nemo's adventures. As the strip went on, the world of 29 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,039 Speaker 1: Slumberland expanded and it became more and more detailed. It 30 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 1: was like an alternate universe that readers were allowed to 31 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 1: explore under McKay's guidance. Because of the nature of the 32 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: premise for a little Nemo, these strips were really imaginative. So, 33 00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: for example, at one point, for a brief run of 34 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: the strip, Nemo visited Mars and found it loaded with 35 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: pollution and just an oversaturation of industry. Nemo later found 36 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 1: himself and part of Slumberland that was populated by copies 37 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: of himself. Yeah, that Mars section is sometimes pointed to 38 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: as almost prescient because it really does kind of look 39 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:24,360 Speaker 1: a lot like what late twentieth century cities look like 40 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 1: in terms of being kind of obsessed with maybe not 41 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: always the right things, and uh, it really is kind 42 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: of a takedown of greed and uh, corporate entities gaining 43 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 1: too much power. And in nineteen o six, McKay's career 44 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 1: took on another facet, so the focus was still his drawings, uh, 45 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,240 Speaker 1: and Nemo was still doing Gangbusters, but he also started 46 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: creating drawings in front of vaudeville audiences as a form 47 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:54,120 Speaker 1: of performance. You recall from our first episode he had 48 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 1: first sort of performed unofficially for people when he was 49 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:00,840 Speaker 1: creating these large billboards and minds because he was just 50 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:04,519 Speaker 1: so fabulous to watch work. But at this point, uh, 51 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: it became a more structured act. And McKay was not 52 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:10,880 Speaker 1: only incredibly skilled as an artist, but he was also 53 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: so fast. So he was one of a number of 54 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,520 Speaker 1: artists who didn't act like this on the vaudeville stage 55 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: in acts that were called lightning sketches or chalk talks. 56 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: And this undoubtedly drew on the work under his mentor 57 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: that we also talked about in the first part of 58 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: this podcast who was John Goodison? As you recall, he 59 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: perfected drawing on blackboards very quickly when he was studying 60 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: with him. McKay's initial reaction at being offered regular performance 61 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 1: time at the theater was that he quote side deeply 62 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: and shuddered faintly at the idea of being paid several 63 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: hundred dollars to do it. He and the theater owner 64 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 1: advertised his appearances in contrast to other similar acts, which 65 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: usually featured the artists talking about their work while they 66 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: were drawing, But McKay played shy. He wasn't gonna talk. 67 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 1: He let the work be the focus, and in press 68 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: interviews before his first appearance, he played up how frightened 69 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: he was to work just on his own with no 70 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: editor to guide him. This wasn't made up. McKay was 71 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: nervous on the first day of his vaudeville career, according 72 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 1: to his diary entry from the day W. C. Fields, 73 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: he was working on the same bill, gave him a 74 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:24,920 Speaker 1: swig a scotch backstage to try to study his nerves, 75 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: but really he just needed to start drawing to stop 76 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: being nervous. He later wrote, quote, once I felt the 77 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: chalk in my hand, the tension eased, and after I 78 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:36,039 Speaker 1: had made the first mark upon the blackboard, I was 79 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: well at ease. Yeah, he wasn't really nervous about the 80 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: drawing part. It was just about being in front of people, 81 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:46,360 Speaker 1: and he wasn't really scared to not have an editor 82 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: because he was very confident. That part was kind of 83 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:50,800 Speaker 1: played up. But I think even he was a little 84 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:53,919 Speaker 1: surprised at how nervous he became when it was actually 85 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:56,360 Speaker 1: time to be standing backstage and wait for the matinee 86 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:00,160 Speaker 1: to start. He was also a really heavy smoker. He 87 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: mentions in that same diary entry that what he really 88 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 1: wanted was to just start chain smoking, but there was 89 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: a sign in the dressing room that said no smoking allowed. 90 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:10,799 Speaker 1: Uh So when W. C. Fields showed up and offered 91 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: him a little nip, it was sort of a huge 92 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: bit of good fortune, I suppose. Uh. The first part 93 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:22,800 Speaker 1: of his act was called Seven Ages of Man, and 94 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,160 Speaker 1: this is really fascinating because he would start it by 95 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: drawing too infants when one was a boy and one 96 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,279 Speaker 1: was a girl, and then he aged them by adding 97 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:32,719 Speaker 1: to the drawings. He never erased, but he just used 98 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 1: existing lines as the basis for entirely new features, and 99 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:39,600 Speaker 1: this was really fascinating to watch this transition take place. 100 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:43,200 Speaker 1: He also would draw popular characters from his strips, and 101 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:47,279 Speaker 1: the whole show got just rave reviews. His bookings increased, 102 00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:50,240 Speaker 1: and he found himself more taxed than ever in terms 103 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:52,719 Speaker 1: of his time because he was still producing his comics 104 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 1: while he was on the road. Nemo was so popular 105 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: that it was optioned early on for a musical adaptation. 106 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:04,120 Speaker 1: Several playwrights attempted to adapt McKay's surreal work, and they 107 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: didn't succeed. It wasn't until mid seven that the effort 108 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:12,160 Speaker 1: really got some momentum. This was mounted by producers Marcus 109 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: Claw and A. L. Erlinger, and it was an expensive, 110 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: spectacle latent piece that focused on the visual rather than 111 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 1: the script. The play ran in New York for fifteen 112 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 1: weeks and then it went on to tour for two seasons. 113 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:29,720 Speaker 1: Windsor's son Robert, on whom the character of Nemo was modeled, 114 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: would dress up as the character and would offer fans 115 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: a chance to see Nemo in the lobby of the theater. Yeah, 116 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: at this point, Windsor mackay has so many successful things 117 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: going on at once, and this was by most accounts 118 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: a really successful show. It sold out regularly, it got 119 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:51,039 Speaker 1: incredibly good reviews everywhere it went, but it was a 120 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:54,360 Speaker 1: money pit. It costs so much to stage because they 121 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: really focused on creating surreal sets and costumes that would 122 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: you know, accurately carry that sense from the comics onto 123 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:06,600 Speaker 1: the stage. That there was just no way this show 124 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: could be profitable. Throughout its run, though, McKay would arrange 125 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 1: as often as he could to book his own vaudeville 126 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,280 Speaker 1: act at theaters nearby to each of the venues where 127 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: the play was being staged, so he was simultaneously giving 128 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: these lightning talks on vaudeville, touring with the play, and 129 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,120 Speaker 1: sometimes you know, overseeing his son being kind of an 130 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:27,679 Speaker 1: actor in the theater in the lobby, and then keeping 131 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:30,320 Speaker 1: up his comics work, and he was making a really 132 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 1: nice living. But obviously this was burning the candle at 133 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: both ends. I feel like it's got additional it's got 134 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: more than two ends at this point. Yeah, it's like 135 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 1: the ends in the middle and maybe could we just 136 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:45,880 Speaker 1: wrap a wick around it and like that too. So 137 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: it wasn't long even with all this going on, before 138 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:52,560 Speaker 1: McKay also ventured into animation. His first film, Little Nemo, 139 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 1: was completed in nineteen eleven. It's ten minutes long. If 140 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,320 Speaker 1: you remember our lot of Reineger episode, we mentioned that 141 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:03,120 Speaker 1: she was making animation in the twenties, ten minutes seemed 142 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: really long for a cartoon. McKay's film is really less 143 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:11,160 Speaker 1: than two minutes of actual animation. The majority of it 144 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 1: is the lead up story of him telling his frands 145 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 1: he's going to make moving drawings and then them mocking 146 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:21,320 Speaker 1: him in disbelief. The opening card on the film read 147 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: winds Or mackay, the famous cartoonist for the New York 148 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: Herald and his moving comics, the first artist to attempt 149 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: drawing pictures that will move. Produced by the Vitograph Company 150 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:35,200 Speaker 1: of America. And the film opens, as we said, with 151 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 1: McKay telling his friends he's going to draw moving pictures, 152 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:41,480 Speaker 1: and they're completely incredulous at this idea. So he walks 153 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:43,560 Speaker 1: over to a page that's mounted on a wall, and 154 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 1: he draws the static image of three characters, and then 155 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:48,440 Speaker 1: he pulls that paper off and rolls it up, and 156 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:50,680 Speaker 1: then he draws another character, and he pulls that page 157 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:52,840 Speaker 1: off and rolls it up, and all the while his 158 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: friends are kind of chuckling to each other, and he 159 00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:58,200 Speaker 1: promises them that he's going to make four thousand drawings 160 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,080 Speaker 1: in a month that will move and then the film 161 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,559 Speaker 1: cuts to h delivery men bringing him a massive amount 162 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:07,840 Speaker 1: of paper and other supplies to do just that. The 163 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:12,560 Speaker 1: last two minutes are where we see his two clownish figures, 164 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:16,200 Speaker 1: a little Nemo dancing, and the Nemo draws a beautiful 165 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 1: lady who comes to life. The pair of them ride 166 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 1: away in the mouth of an alligator. Even by today's standards, 167 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:27,280 Speaker 1: the animated segment is smooth and impressive. It really is. 168 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:31,640 Speaker 1: It's quite beautiful. Uh yeah, that I can't say enough 169 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:33,560 Speaker 1: about it. I'm always sort of awe struck when I 170 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:36,560 Speaker 1: think about how early on an animation that was. And 171 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:39,080 Speaker 1: we're gonna talk a little bit more about Nemo's transition 172 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:41,800 Speaker 1: from comic strips to animation, but first we're going to 173 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:51,840 Speaker 1: pause for a little sponsor break. There were, of course, 174 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: other artists that were making animation in the US at 175 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 1: this time, one of them John Stuart Blackton, who also 176 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:01,240 Speaker 1: did vaudeville lightning sketches and was a little ahead of 177 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,920 Speaker 1: McKay in terms of starting to draw motion pictures. Oversaw 178 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:08,560 Speaker 1: the photography on McKay's Little Nemo short. But what made 179 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:11,560 Speaker 1: McKay's animation unique was that it took characters that were 180 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:15,520 Speaker 1: already really popular and then committed them to the new medium. 181 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:19,240 Speaker 1: So it basically started a new avenue of exploration and 182 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: revenue for cartoonists. In nineteen eleven, McKay moved papers once again. 183 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 1: He was hired away from The New York Herald by 184 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:30,920 Speaker 1: William Randolph Hurst. Nemo moved with McKay, although the strip 185 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,560 Speaker 1: took on a new name, in the Land of Wonderful 186 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:38,120 Speaker 1: Dreams that appeared in Hearst's New York American and ran 187 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:42,040 Speaker 1: for three years there. Yeah, his other cartoons moved over 188 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:46,680 Speaker 1: as well, and in fact, the Hearst publications ran a 189 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:51,960 Speaker 1: drawing by Windsor McKay kind of announcing this move, where 190 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 1: all of his characters were kind of delighted and happy 191 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:56,920 Speaker 1: that they were moving to a new home. Uh. That 192 00:10:57,040 --> 00:11:00,560 Speaker 1: turned out to be not really how things played out. 193 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:05,320 Speaker 1: But in he made a second animated short, and that 194 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:08,840 Speaker 1: was a film called How a Mosquito Operates. And in 195 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 1: this cartoon, we the audience see a large mosquito busily 196 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:16,079 Speaker 1: going about his job. That job being biting humans, and 197 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:20,240 Speaker 1: the mosquito systematically goes after a sleeping man diligent despite 198 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,600 Speaker 1: getting slapt out repeatedly, and the mosquito is so good 199 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:26,600 Speaker 1: at his job that it becomes massively swollen with blood, 200 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,840 Speaker 1: so much so that it has difficulty flying. There's a 201 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,800 Speaker 1: point where the mosquito's body is so swollen it's almost 202 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:36,520 Speaker 1: the size of the man's head, and it finally exerts 203 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 1: itself so much in trying to fly that it explodes, 204 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 1: waking the sleeping human victim to a shower of bug bits. 205 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:48,960 Speaker 1: That sounds horrifying and disgusting, and it sort of is, 206 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:52,040 Speaker 1: but it's also really engrossing. And what's really interesting is 207 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:56,160 Speaker 1: the characterization and the personality that the mosquito has, something 208 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:58,720 Speaker 1: that we take for granted in modern animation, but it 209 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:02,199 Speaker 1: was really novel in nineteen twelve to give a mosquito 210 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:05,240 Speaker 1: a personality. Yeah, most of the things that were being 211 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:09,959 Speaker 1: animated were humans, even if they were very stylized. So 212 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:12,760 Speaker 1: this was kind of the first time that someone was like, 213 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:15,480 Speaker 1: I think this, this mosquito can be a character and 214 00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 1: not just a thing. Um. But the project with which 215 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:22,440 Speaker 1: McKay is perhaps most famous for to this day, at 216 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:26,400 Speaker 1: least among anybody who follows animation was created from nineteen 217 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:30,200 Speaker 1: thirteen to nineteen fourteen, and that was Gertie the Dinosaur. 218 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 1: Gertie was important as an animated character in a number 219 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,920 Speaker 1: of ways. So one, she was the first character that 220 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 1: McKay created specifically for animation, rather than him using an 221 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:45,080 Speaker 1: existing comic that he had already drawn and adapting it 222 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:49,080 Speaker 1: to a motion picture. And second, Gertie was a massive 223 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:54,640 Speaker 1: feat of artistry. Mackay, who was working with an assistant 224 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:57,760 Speaker 1: named John A. Fitzimmons, drew every single frame of the 225 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:02,240 Speaker 1: Gurtie animation by hand, thousands thousands of drawings. And this 226 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:05,360 Speaker 1: was the time before the idea of separating layers of 227 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:08,679 Speaker 1: animations into the backgrounds and the cells for the moving 228 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:12,800 Speaker 1: characters existed, So every frame was a full version of 229 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:17,040 Speaker 1: the scene with all the background objects there and Gertie 230 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:20,960 Speaker 1: moving among those objects. The backgrounds for Gertie were also 231 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:25,240 Speaker 1: more complex than his previous efforts. Little Nemo animation had 232 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:28,360 Speaker 1: virtually no background elements. It was just the characters on 233 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:32,839 Speaker 1: a white page. The Mosquito animation has some backgrounds, but 234 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:36,120 Speaker 1: they're pretty uncomplicated. They consist mostly of lines used to 235 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:40,040 Speaker 1: suggest the walls of a room, but Gertie strolled along 236 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:43,959 Speaker 1: mountain paths that had rocks and other details. Yeah, there 237 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:47,040 Speaker 1: are trees, there's a water feature, there's a whole thing 238 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:50,840 Speaker 1: going on there. And throughout the production of this ambitious work, 239 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:55,360 Speaker 1: mackay was still doing his editorial cartoons and his vaudeville act. 240 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:59,240 Speaker 1: He basically never stopped working. But he also had no 241 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,800 Speaker 1: regular ship jewel whatsoever, So he would blaze through a 242 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 1: bunch of Girtie drawings and then hand them off to 243 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 1: his assistant Fitzsimmons to trace the backgrounds in from a 244 00:14:08,559 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 1: master version, and then he would be busy on the 245 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:13,800 Speaker 1: road doing his act and not come back to Gurtie 246 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,960 Speaker 1: for a week or more. To make Gurtye as efficiently 247 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:21,440 Speaker 1: as possible despite the heavy workload required, McKay pioneered a 248 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 1: number of practices that have become animation standards. One was 249 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:29,000 Speaker 1: reusing the drawings. So once he had timed out exactly 250 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:31,840 Speaker 1: how many images he needed to make Grtie breathe in 251 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:34,840 Speaker 1: for four seconds and out for two, he drew all 252 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: of those frames. But then he re photographed the same 253 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:40,920 Speaker 1: drawings for more than a dozen cycles so that you 254 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: see Gertie lying on her side breathing continually. Yeah, he 255 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:47,360 Speaker 1: has a great story about how he was trying to 256 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:49,560 Speaker 1: trying to time his own breath and it kept being 257 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:52,520 Speaker 1: a problem until he found himself in front of a 258 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:54,880 Speaker 1: clock that had a really unique and easy to follow 259 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:57,520 Speaker 1: tick that was like a metronome. And then, just as 260 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 1: we talked about in a lot of Rhineger episode, once 261 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:02,840 Speaker 1: he had that timing, he calculated it out by how 262 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:06,440 Speaker 1: many frames per second the film would run at, and 263 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 1: that's how he got the number of frames that he 264 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:12,160 Speaker 1: needed to make. And he also invented the concept which 265 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 1: came to be known as key framing, So he identified 266 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:17,800 Speaker 1: key poses that the character would hit, and then he 267 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: broke the workload down into the sections between one key 268 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:24,560 Speaker 1: pose in the next, and drawing those connectors between the 269 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 1: two came to be known as in between ng And 270 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:29,080 Speaker 1: this was all a way to manage the project and 271 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:32,720 Speaker 1: keep the story focused, and it also kind of combated uh, 272 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:35,440 Speaker 1: just growing very tired of the work because he would 273 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:37,280 Speaker 1: be like, Okay, I know I'm working on this section now, 274 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:39,760 Speaker 1: I can move over to this section now in this 275 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:43,880 Speaker 1: section now, but the other really interesting thing about Gertie 276 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 1: is how she was presented to audiences. Unlike previous animated shorts, 277 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:51,600 Speaker 1: Gertie didn't just appear on her own while she was 278 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:54,960 Speaker 1: shown on the vaudeville screen when their mackay was her 279 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:57,760 Speaker 1: live action co star, so he appeared on stage as 280 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:01,440 Speaker 1: Gertie's trainer carrying a bull whip. He spoke to her 281 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:04,240 Speaker 1: on the screen and she would respond. At one point 282 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:06,240 Speaker 1: in the act, he'd tossed Gertie a snack in the 283 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,760 Speaker 1: form of an apple, and then the on screen dinosaur 284 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: would catch the apple delightedly. It's so charming. It's just 285 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 1: so charming. Uh. And it's one of those things that 286 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: to me, I think if someone did this in the 287 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 1: modern era, people would be wowed and like, oh, this 288 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:27,320 Speaker 1: is so creative and interesting, and it's like this has 289 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 1: been going on since the nineteen Windsor McKay was way 290 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:33,720 Speaker 1: ahead of the rest of us. Uh. And while Windsor's 291 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 1: act with Gertie was a huge hit, they literally became 292 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 1: international stars. He did not repeat this act of, you know, 293 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:43,280 Speaker 1: creating an animation that he then went out as an 294 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: actor and interacted with. He turned back to editorial cartoons, 295 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:49,920 Speaker 1: which he was still doing as an employee of William 296 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:53,160 Speaker 1: Randolph Hurst, and it turned out that Hurst was not 297 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:56,160 Speaker 1: super happy about the fact that Winsor mackay had his 298 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:59,760 Speaker 1: hands in so many pies outside his job at Hurst Publishing. 299 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,200 Speaker 1: In his mind, he had hired a famous cartoonist and 300 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:05,960 Speaker 1: what he had gotten was a busy vaudevillian who was 301 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,520 Speaker 1: phoning in his editorial work. McKay was forced to sign 302 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:12,720 Speaker 1: an agreement eventually that he would only take vaudeville bookings 303 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:15,359 Speaker 1: in New York so that he could always be available 304 00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:18,560 Speaker 1: to his boss. Eventually, there was a second version of 305 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:21,000 Speaker 1: the Dirty cartoon. This was one that could play on 306 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:23,920 Speaker 1: its own outside of New York. It starts with an 307 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:26,840 Speaker 1: exterior shot of the Museum of Natural History in New 308 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: York City. The intertitle card announces the famous Windsor McKay 309 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:36,040 Speaker 1: is on a joy ride with Roy mccarnell, quote and others, 310 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:38,280 Speaker 1: and the car there and gets a flat in front 311 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:40,520 Speaker 1: of the museum, so they decide to go inside while 312 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:44,880 Speaker 1: that flat is fixed, and after they all are observing 313 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:48,199 Speaker 1: a dinosaur skeleton, McKay bets one of his friends, and 314 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:50,119 Speaker 1: the stakes in this bet are a dinner for the 315 00:17:50,119 --> 00:17:53,160 Speaker 1: whole group that he can bring that dinosaur to life 316 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:57,680 Speaker 1: with drawings, and McKay's process is depicted dramatically. This is similar, 317 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:01,720 Speaker 1: as you may recall to his previous work uh And 318 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:05,240 Speaker 1: at one point, McKay's friend comes to visit him in 319 00:18:05,359 --> 00:18:08,760 Speaker 1: his studio to check on the progress, and Windsor dispatches 320 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:11,680 Speaker 1: his assistant, who was played by his son, to get 321 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 1: the drawings from the photo department where they're being photographed. 322 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,520 Speaker 1: But the young man is carrying a huge stack and 323 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:20,120 Speaker 1: as he enters McKay's office he drops them in pages 324 00:18:20,119 --> 00:18:23,679 Speaker 1: fly everywhere, and at this point the friend that McKay 325 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:26,720 Speaker 1: has made the bet with seems completely incredulous that that 326 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:29,359 Speaker 1: Windsor McKay will ever be able to pull off this boast. 327 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:32,320 Speaker 1: And the next scene is the big dinner where McKay 328 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:34,800 Speaker 1: will succeed or fail in his bet, because that is 329 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:38,399 Speaker 1: when he's expected to show the moving dinosaur, and he 330 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:41,720 Speaker 1: initially just draws a picture of Gurty for the assembled friends, 331 00:18:42,119 --> 00:18:44,720 Speaker 1: who remind him that it has to move for him 332 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:47,920 Speaker 1: to win the bet. That's when the gurdy cartoon begins. 333 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:50,520 Speaker 1: McKay asks her to come out from our cave and 334 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:54,159 Speaker 1: the dinosaur shyly emerges, and the cartoon plays out with 335 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,720 Speaker 1: McKay's directions as her trainer appearing in the enter title cards. 336 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:01,639 Speaker 1: Needless to say, when there one the bet, the film 337 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:07,119 Speaker 1: wraps up with his friend paying for everyone's dinner. I 338 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:10,919 Speaker 1: obviously love the Gurtye cartoon. Um And while McKay was 339 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:14,840 Speaker 1: at this point really successful and quite wealthy from all 340 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:18,399 Speaker 1: of his artistic endeavors, his life started to have some 341 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:21,280 Speaker 1: challenges after the massive success of Gurty And we're going 342 00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:23,760 Speaker 1: to talk about some of those challenges after we take 343 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:33,160 Speaker 1: a quick break for a word from a sponsor. McKay's 344 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:36,679 Speaker 1: work as a newspaper cartoonist evolved over the next several years, 345 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:41,879 Speaker 1: and his dreamy fantasy scenarios were slowly supplanted by political commentary, 346 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:45,200 Speaker 1: unless made his cartooning career something of a complete circle, 347 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:49,360 Speaker 1: since his early working cartoons for periodicals had consisted largely 348 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:53,480 Speaker 1: of political material. This is actually interesting and that it's 349 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:54,919 Speaker 1: one of those things people point to you and go 350 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:59,960 Speaker 1: No one actually knows what winsor McKay's political opinions were, 351 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:02,600 Speaker 1: because he would always just say, I'm drawing what my 352 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:06,679 Speaker 1: editors tell me to. But he never other than a 353 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:10,879 Speaker 1: time when some of the more pacifist articles or pacifist 354 00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:13,840 Speaker 1: images were being published and people started to think that 355 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:17,639 Speaker 1: Hurst and mackay and anyone associated with it was somehow 356 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: pro german, and he wrote a letter speaking out against 357 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:22,680 Speaker 1: that was like, no, of course we're not. Other than that, 358 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:25,119 Speaker 1: he really never let on where he stood on most 359 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:28,359 Speaker 1: of the subjects, even though he had drawn cartoons that 360 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 1: kind of indicated he may have felt one way or 361 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 1: the other. But all of this transition to more politics 362 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:37,440 Speaker 1: and less of the fantasy cartoons was also part of 363 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:41,639 Speaker 1: Hurst's effort to control McKay. He kept reigning in the 364 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:45,400 Speaker 1: artist's opportunities to create new strips by way of assigning 365 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:49,520 Speaker 1: more and more editorial pieces. The nineteen teams continued to 366 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 1: bring challenges into McKay's life. Grifters tried to extort money 367 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 1: from him, claiming that they would reveal that his wife, Maud, 368 00:20:57,359 --> 00:21:00,600 Speaker 1: had had an extra marital affair. She hadn't had an affair, 369 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:03,119 Speaker 1: and the truth eventually came out in court, and then 370 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:06,760 Speaker 1: a few months later McKay's father, Robert died. Yeah, this 371 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:08,639 Speaker 1: was like one of those phases of life where he 372 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,400 Speaker 1: just got hit by hassle after hassle and then heartbreak 373 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:16,520 Speaker 1: and William Randolph Hurst opened an animation studio in nineteen sixteen, 374 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:19,120 Speaker 1: with McKay listed as one of the creators who would 375 00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:23,080 Speaker 1: be turning his popular characters into films. There this seemed 376 00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:25,800 Speaker 1: like it might be an uptick in the whole situation 377 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:27,919 Speaker 1: and that McKay might have a new outlet, but in 378 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:32,200 Speaker 1: fact this was a terrible fit. Windsor's approach to animation 379 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:35,879 Speaker 1: was really not compatible with the factory style production that 380 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,919 Speaker 1: Hirst wanted, and the other studios were already starting to 381 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:43,199 Speaker 1: do instead. McKay finally made another animated short with a 382 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:46,960 Speaker 1: very different style, released in nineteen eighteen. This one was 383 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:50,160 Speaker 1: the Sinking of the Lusitania, and as you may suspect, 384 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:53,080 Speaker 1: it was not a funny cartoon. It was an eight 385 00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:56,440 Speaker 1: minute animated account of the ship being struck by torpedoes 386 00:21:56,560 --> 00:21:59,200 Speaker 1: launched from a German U boat and going down, claiming 387 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:03,280 Speaker 1: almost twelve hundred lives. The thinking of the Lusitania used 388 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:07,080 Speaker 1: sell animation, so unlike the Guardy cartoons, the action of 389 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:10,000 Speaker 1: the scene was painted onto clear celluloid sheets and then 390 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:15,160 Speaker 1: overlaid onto the background. Which streamlined the animation process. Yeah, 391 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,080 Speaker 1: As a little historical side note, at one point it 392 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:22,119 Speaker 1: was believed that the U boat had launched two torpedoes 393 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:25,840 Speaker 1: against the Lusitania, and then later analysis was like, no, 394 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:28,720 Speaker 1: it actually got hit once, and then the second explosion 395 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 1: was from something inside the Lusitania exploding um which has 396 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:37,160 Speaker 1: come up when people talk about this cartoon being not accurate. 397 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,000 Speaker 1: But at the time he made it, it was believed 398 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:43,440 Speaker 1: that it was two torpedoes, and the sinking of the 399 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:47,600 Speaker 1: Lusitania was a passion project for McKay. It took two 400 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:49,680 Speaker 1: years to make it, and he paid for the production 401 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:52,600 Speaker 1: entirely out of his own pocket. It was one of 402 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:55,760 Speaker 1: his few remaining outlets away from his work because Hurst 403 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:58,200 Speaker 1: at that point had managed to cut off McKay's vaudeville 404 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:01,960 Speaker 1: performances by upping pay to a matching rate and adding 405 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:04,800 Speaker 1: a clause to his contract that he couldn't moonlight as 406 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:09,000 Speaker 1: a vaudeville performer any longer. McKay clung to animation as 407 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:13,680 Speaker 1: his one remaining non Hearst controlled creative outlet. He made 408 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:16,520 Speaker 1: several more animated shorts, including three that were based on 409 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:19,120 Speaker 1: his dreams of the rare bit bean strip. These were 410 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,639 Speaker 1: The Flying House, The Pet and Bug vaudeville. He also 411 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:27,360 Speaker 1: made The Centaurs featuring featuring two centaurs falling in love. 412 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 1: There was also Flips Circus about a circus owner in 413 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:37,160 Speaker 1: his various tricks, and The Midsummer's Nightmare. But just as 414 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:41,480 Speaker 1: Hurst had managed to block McKay's other interests, animation too 415 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:45,520 Speaker 1: was eventually cut off. Hirst realized that McKay was spending 416 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:48,800 Speaker 1: far more time on his side projects than his newspaper duties. 417 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:52,760 Speaker 1: He felt that Windsor McKay was turning in subpar work, 418 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 1: and there were, however, a number of vaudeville appearances that 419 00:23:57,160 --> 00:23:59,520 Speaker 1: Hirst did agree to allow his employee to book. It's 420 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:02,840 Speaker 1: unclear how they came to this arrangement or agreement, because 421 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:06,560 Speaker 1: there was sort of this weird their relationship. It looks 422 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:09,080 Speaker 1: so unhealthy and toxic when you're reading about it, because 423 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:12,680 Speaker 1: it is a lot about control and rebellion, and sometimes 424 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:14,879 Speaker 1: they agree on things and then everything turns around and 425 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:18,240 Speaker 1: falls apart. It really seemed that they never were in 426 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:22,200 Speaker 1: agreement about exactly what their relationship was. Because Hurst seemed 427 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:24,320 Speaker 1: to feel that he more or less owned his employees 428 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:26,560 Speaker 1: he thought that McKay should be on call for him 429 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,520 Speaker 1: at all times, and McKay saw his job as just 430 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:31,520 Speaker 1: that it was a way to make money while he 431 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:35,080 Speaker 1: was pursuing other interests, and even in his busiest periods 432 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:38,679 Speaker 1: where he was juggling multiple careers at once, Wizard McKay 433 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:43,480 Speaker 1: never missed a deadline. When McKay's contract with Hurst ended 434 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:46,520 Speaker 1: in ninety four, he left. He went back into the 435 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:49,639 Speaker 1: New York Herald and revived Little Nemo for another brief 436 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:53,000 Speaker 1: run there. He thought he would once again rule as 437 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:56,399 Speaker 1: the premier comics artist, but his relaunch of Nemo just 438 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:59,399 Speaker 1: didn't have the same enthusiastic audience at the strip had 439 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:03,800 Speaker 1: used to had previously enjoyed. Just three years later, after 440 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,119 Speaker 1: much wooing on the part of the papers leadership, he 441 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:10,880 Speaker 1: was back at Hurst's New York American, and that same 442 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:15,119 Speaker 1: year which he created a minor scandal when he was 443 00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:17,639 Speaker 1: addressing a group of artists at a dinner that was 444 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 1: held in his honor. He first started speaking about his 445 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,160 Speaker 1: split system, key framing and in between ng and other 446 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:28,639 Speaker 1: technical aspects of animation. But to the assembled crowd that 447 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:32,440 Speaker 1: had become pretty common knowledge and they were not especially engaged, 448 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:36,960 Speaker 1: and finally, a very frustrated and irritated McKay shifted the 449 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:40,720 Speaker 1: tone of his speech and he said, abruptly, animation should 450 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:43,960 Speaker 1: be an art. That's how I conceived it. But as 451 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,119 Speaker 1: I see what you fellows have done with it is 452 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:49,600 Speaker 1: making it into a trade. Not an art but a trade. 453 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:53,120 Speaker 1: Bad luck. And that was the end of his speech. 454 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:57,639 Speaker 1: McKay continued to be at odds with his job at Hearst. 455 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:01,200 Speaker 1: When the American tobacco company for the cartoonist a sum 456 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:04,040 Speaker 1: of money larger than his annual salary to take a 457 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:09,639 Speaker 1: side project drawing advertisements in McKay's editor blocked the deal. 458 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:12,960 Speaker 1: The owner of the tobacco company threatened to withdraw all 459 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,480 Speaker 1: advertising from Hurst magazines if he couldn't have McKay for 460 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:19,240 Speaker 1: the job. And then McKay was granted permission to take 461 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:24,400 Speaker 1: this offer. He got permission in writing to protect himself. Yeah. 462 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:26,479 Speaker 1: The verbal agreement of oh, I guess you can do 463 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:28,159 Speaker 1: it was not enough. He was like, I do not 464 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:30,400 Speaker 1: trust you people anymore. You need to put this down 465 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:34,359 Speaker 1: on paper. Uh. There's an interesting anecdote that comes up 466 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:37,200 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty two, which was when McKay was called 467 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:39,480 Speaker 1: on once again as a journalist for kind of the 468 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:43,959 Speaker 1: last time by William Randolph Hurst's son, William Randolph Hurst Jr. 469 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:47,480 Speaker 1: So Junior needed someone to travel with him to cover 470 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:51,280 Speaker 1: the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. 471 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:55,399 Speaker 1: After an alleged eighty five mile per hour car ride, 472 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:58,879 Speaker 1: Hurst Junior and McKay arrived at the scene ahead of 473 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:01,480 Speaker 1: any other reporter, so it was apparently two hours after 474 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:03,840 Speaker 1: it had been reported to the police, and they started 475 00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:06,760 Speaker 1: interviewing police on the scene. They had access that later 476 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,800 Speaker 1: journalists did not have, simply because they got there first 477 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:14,120 Speaker 1: before anyone thought to like close everything off. McKay sketched 478 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:16,680 Speaker 1: out images of the scene, including the ladder that had 479 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:19,359 Speaker 1: been used to reach the child's bedroom from the exterior 480 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:23,000 Speaker 1: of the house, and the story, including Windsor's art, was 481 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:26,680 Speaker 1: so sensational and popular that the New York Americans started 482 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:30,400 Speaker 1: running stories on kidnapping and homicide as often as possible 483 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:36,240 Speaker 1: to keep readership engaged. On July four, mackay, who was 484 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:38,680 Speaker 1: at home at the time, called out to Moud from 485 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:41,800 Speaker 1: her bedroom door that has head hurt and then he collapsed. 486 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:45,399 Speaker 1: Then he realized that his right arm, which was his 487 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:49,439 Speaker 1: drawing arm, was paralyzed. He was terrified, and soon he 488 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:52,960 Speaker 1: lost consciousness. He fell into a coma and died several 489 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:57,159 Speaker 1: hours later, having had a massive stroke. While Windsor mackay 490 00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:00,119 Speaker 1: is certainly talked about with reverence by people who of 491 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:04,200 Speaker 1: or have studied animation, he's not exactly a household name today, 492 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:08,560 Speaker 1: but his legacy lives on in virtually all animation. If 493 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:11,639 Speaker 1: you've ever been to Disney's Hollywood studios in Walt Disney World, 494 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:14,280 Speaker 1: you may have noticed that there is a giant dinosaur 495 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:16,320 Speaker 1: by the man made lake in the park. And I 496 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:18,240 Speaker 1: have often heard people when I'm there go, I don't 497 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:20,679 Speaker 1: understand what this dinosaur is doing here, because it's not 498 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:23,040 Speaker 1: from a Disney movie. It is, in fact a nod 499 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:26,639 Speaker 1: to Gurdie. While talking about Windsor and Gurdie on an 500 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,879 Speaker 1: episode of the TV show Disneyland, Walt Disney said, quote 501 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:35,720 Speaker 1: Windsor McKay's Gurdie and other animation novelties so stimulated a 502 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:39,840 Speaker 1: great public interest and created a demand for this new medium. 503 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:43,640 Speaker 1: This in turn encouraged other pioneers to creative efforts that 504 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:47,120 Speaker 1: in time led to the establishment of the animated cartoon 505 00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:52,680 Speaker 1: as an industry. I clearly love Windsor McKay um, even 506 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:54,200 Speaker 1: though there's part of me that thinks he might have 507 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:59,400 Speaker 1: been a pill to actually know. I have two postcards 508 00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:01,680 Speaker 1: today because trying to get a little bit caught up 509 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:04,480 Speaker 1: on the many awesome postcards that we get. The first 510 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:07,680 Speaker 1: one is from Christina, and she sent us a postcard 511 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:10,760 Speaker 1: from the nineteen sixteen rising. Uh. It's a picture of 512 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:14,960 Speaker 1: Sackville Street in Dublin in the aftermath, and it is 513 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:19,120 Speaker 1: um sort of terrifying image, but historically very cool. And 514 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:21,880 Speaker 1: she writes, Dear history ladies, I'm sending you this postcard 515 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:23,760 Speaker 1: as a thank you for the hours of enlightening and 516 00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:27,480 Speaker 1: educational audio entertainment you have provided me. I've especially enjoyed 517 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:29,920 Speaker 1: being able to listen to the Ireland themed episodes as 518 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:33,080 Speaker 1: I've been exploring this incredible country for the past two months. 519 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:36,520 Speaker 1: I've visited the g p O Dublin Castle. And then 520 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:39,160 Speaker 1: she lists the places that she has visited and uh, 521 00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:42,840 Speaker 1: how they are all steeped in history. All the best, Christina, Christina, 522 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:45,240 Speaker 1: I hope your travels have been delightful. Uh, and thank 523 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:47,080 Speaker 1: you so much for thinking of us and sending us 524 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:51,680 Speaker 1: a postcard. It's lovely. Yeah, it's also from some travelers. 525 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:55,480 Speaker 1: It is from Alice and Jesse and they write Ola, 526 00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:58,600 Speaker 1: Holly and Tracy were huge fans of the podcast. In fact, 527 00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:01,280 Speaker 1: you have been our two bonus t evel buddies throughout Cuba. 528 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:03,720 Speaker 1: They tell us about the cities that they've visited, and 529 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:05,320 Speaker 1: then they said, we thought it was only fair for 530 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:07,280 Speaker 1: us to send you a postcard and let you know 531 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:10,520 Speaker 1: how much we've enjoyed your company. The CPS. We tried 532 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:12,440 Speaker 1: to find a unique postcard for you. This one is 533 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:15,480 Speaker 1: from a Cuban film, UH, and it's very stylized and 534 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:19,480 Speaker 1: cool and UH has a little bit of an animated style. 535 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:21,040 Speaker 1: I don't know if this is an animated film. I 536 00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:23,160 Speaker 1: don't know this film, but now I'm gonna look it 537 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:27,640 Speaker 1: up because it looks fabulous. This is vampires on a habana, 538 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:30,440 Speaker 1: So if it is vampires and it appears to be 539 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:33,560 Speaker 1: one of them, is at least possibly both. And it's 540 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:36,960 Speaker 1: this stylized animation. I love it. Uh. Like I said, 541 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:38,600 Speaker 1: I'm gonna look it up because the Lord knows I 542 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:40,840 Speaker 1: love animation. If you would like to write to us, 543 00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:42,880 Speaker 1: you can do so at History Podcast at how stale 544 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:45,160 Speaker 1: works dot com. You can also find us across the 545 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:47,800 Speaker 1: spectrum of social media as missed in History and at 546 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,120 Speaker 1: missed in History dot com. If you would like to 547 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:52,440 Speaker 1: learn a little bit more specifically about Gerty and a 548 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:56,000 Speaker 1: little about windsor McKay, you can actually check out my 549 00:30:56,040 --> 00:30:58,960 Speaker 1: other podcast, Drawn, which is about the history of animation. 550 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:02,080 Speaker 1: The second episode in that series goes into some more 551 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:06,440 Speaker 1: depth about why Gertie was really uh landmark moment in 552 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:08,880 Speaker 1: animation history, and it's a really fun talk. We have 553 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:12,280 Speaker 1: some great animation historians on that episode. If you would 554 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:13,880 Speaker 1: like come, it is it us as we said at 555 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,880 Speaker 1: missed in history dot com, where our entire archive lives, 556 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:19,320 Speaker 1: as well as show notes for any of the episodes 557 00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:21,160 Speaker 1: Tracy and I have worked on. So we can't wait 558 00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:23,640 Speaker 1: to see you at missed in history dot com or 559 00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:32,600 Speaker 1: we can all explore history together. For more on this 560 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:43,960 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics, visit how staff works dot com.