Magoo’s Christmas

Once again I visited with Stu Shostak this week to do his Internet radio show. During the commercial breaks I peruse Stu’s huge archive of back-issue TV Guide magazines. And, as usual, I found an article worth sharing with Cartoon Brew readers – this time a May 27th, 1961 interview (thumbnail at left, click to enlarge) with actor Jim Backus which makes numerous references to his voicing of Mr. Magoo.

Meanwhile, animator Darrell Van Citters continues to mine the rich history of Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol on his blog dedicated to the UPA holiday special. He just posted a thorough piece about director Abe Levitow. It’s a must-read, with several rare personal photographs from Levitow’s family. Darrell is appearing with layout artist, Bob Singer, actress Marie Matthews (young Scrooge) and hopefully actress Jane Kean at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica on Saturday, December 18th at 4 PM. They’ll be showing the Magoo special on the big screen where it looks particularly amazing. And if you can’t make it, buy the new DVD/Blu-Ray. If you don’t have Darrell’s book, shame on you! If you do, buy another to give as a Christmas gift. You’ll be glad you did.