Stephen Slesinger (December 25, 1901 – December 17, 1953), was an American radio/television/film producer, creator of comic-book characters, and the father of the licensing industry. Events 274 - Roman Emperor Aurelian Year 1901 ( MCMI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Events 546 - Gothic War (535–554: The Ostrogoths of King Totila Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. From 1923 to 1953, he created, produced, published, developed, licensed or represented most of the popular literary legends of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
Contents |
Biography
Slesinger was born on December 25, 1901, in New York. Events 274 - Roman Emperor Aurelian Year 1901 ( MCMI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The City of New York His Hungarian born father, Anthony, was a dress manufacturer and his mother, Augusta (nee Singer), was a prominent psychoanalyst.
He attended Ethical Culture Fieldston School from September 1914 until June 1919 and later Columbia University. The Ethical Culture Fieldston School, known as Fieldston is a private "independent" school in New York City and a member of the Ivy Preparatory Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League.
His younger sister was author/writer Tess Slesinger. Tess Slesinger ( July 16, 1905 &ndash February 21, 1945) was a Jewish - American writer and screenwriter and is credited
Slesinger died at 4:45 am on December 17, 1953, of gastric hemorrhage at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, CA. Events 546 - Gothic War (535–554: The Ostrogoths of King Totila Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Media Pioneer
In 1927, Slesinger set up shop in New York as a literary agent, and went on to represent, among others, Newbery Medal-winning writers Hendrik Willem van Loon (who won the first Newbery in 1922) and Will James, Western authors Zane Grey and Rex Beach, and journalist Andy Rooney. The City of New York A literary agent is an agent who represents Writers and their written works to Publishers Theatrical producers and Film producers and Hendrik Willem van Loon ( January 14, 1882 &ndash March 11, 1944) was a Dutch-American historian and journalist prod concern = Does not satisfy [[WPMUSIC]]'s standards for notability ("Members of notable bands are not given individual articles unless they have demonstrated notability for activity independent Zane Grey ( January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author best known for his popular adventure Novels and Rex Ellingwood Beach ( September 1 1877 &ndash December 7 1949) was an American Novelist, Playwright, and Olympic Andrew Aitken "Andy" Rooney (born January 14, 1919) is an American Radio and Television writer Slesinger also acquired the rights to popularize illustrations, texts, characters and personalities in other media, a pioneering effort into ancillary rights uses and licensing. Always interested in new media, Slesinger took out several patents for experimental television presentations of cartoons and presented Winnie the Pooh as the first Sunday Morning Cartoon for the medium of television in the mid 1940s (New York TImes).
Winnie-the-Pooh
Slesinger acquired US and Canadian merchandising, television, recording and other trade rights to the "Winnie-the-Pooh" from A. A. Milne in the 1930s, and developed "Winnie-the-Pooh" commercializations for more than 30 years. Winnie-the-Pooh, commonly shortened to Pooh Bear and once referred to as Edward Bear, is a fictional Bear created by A Alan Alexander Milne (ˈmɪln (18 January 1882 &ndash 31 January 1956 was an English Author, best known for his Books about the Teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, commonly shortened to Pooh Bear and once referred to as Edward Bear, is a fictional Bear created by A Slesinger created Pooh's trademark red shirt and adapted Shepard's drawings into a classic Americanized versions for the stage, radio, television and character licensing. In the 1950s after Slesinger's death, his widow, Shirley Slesinger Lasswell, took over the business and launched her own nationwide licensing campaigns. Shirley Slesinger Lasswell (b May 27, 1923 Detroit Michigan - died July 19, 2007 Beverly Hills CA) was an American In 1961 and 1983 Stephen Slesinger, Inc licensed certain of Slesinger's exclusive Pooh rights to the Walt Disney Company.
Tarzan
In 1933, Slesinger acquired the merchandising rights to Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan character and produced a series of Big Little Books, games, premiums, toys, treasure maps and many other products. Edgar Rice Burroughs ( September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan is a Fictional character, an archetypal Feral child raised in the African jungle by Apes who later returns to civilization only to Big Little Books series first published by the Whitman Publishing Company in Racine Wisconsin in 1932 Slesinger's marketing and media strategy for Tarzan became the blueprint for success in character merchandising, even among competing characters such as Superman. Slesinger's 1935 Blue Ribbon Press New Adventures of Tarzan Pop-up book, which he also illustrated, was chosen by Albert Tillman as one of the one hundred best pop-up books ever published, and is featured on the cover of Tillman's book "Pop-Up!"
Ozark Ike
Slesinger purchased the rights to the Ozark Ike strip from creator Rufus A. Ozark Ike was a Newspaper Comic strip about a dumb but likable rural mountain boy Ozark Ike McBatt ("Ray") Gotto. In 1936, it became his first comic strip in syndication.
Other characters included King of the Royal Mounted, Alley Oop, Captain Easy, Wash Tubbs, Og Son of Fire, Polly the Powers Model, Tom Mix, Charlie Chan, Buck Rogers, as well as all of the NEA newspaper comics. King of the Royal Mounted is a fictional series featuring the character Dave King created by Stephen Slesinger in 1936. Alley Oop is a Syndicated Comic strip, created in 1932 by American Cartoonist V Captain Easy Soldier of Fortune was an action/adventure Comic strip created by Roy Crane that started Sunday June 11, 1933 and Wash Tubbs was a Comic strip created by Roy Crane that ran from April 14, 1924 to 1988. Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 &ndash October 12, 1940) was an American film Actor Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American Detective created by Earl Derr Biggers, who acknowledged that he was inspired by the career of Buck Rogers is a fictional character who first appeared in 1928 as Anthony Rogers the hero of two Novellas by Philip Francis Nowlan published in the magazine United Media is a large editorial column and Comic strip Newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by The E
Original Characters
In the late 1930s Slesinger began developing original characters, which he then hired artists to bring to life. Most prominent among these are Red Ryder and King of the Royal Mounted, which ultimately, would be Slesinger's most popular characters, syndicated internationally in newspaper comic strips and also generating books, radio shows, motion pictures and numerous ancillary commercial products. Red Ryder a popular American fictional Cowboy from the 1940s was created by Stephen Slesinger and drawn by artist Fred Harman. King of the Royal Mounted is a fictional series featuring the character Dave King created by Stephen Slesinger in 1936.
Red Ryder and Little Beaver
Slesinger, working with artist Fred Harman, who came from Pagosa Springs,Colorado, launched the popular comic strip Red Ryder. Fred Harman ( February 9, 1902 - January 2, 1982) is best known as the artist of Red Ryder, "America's famous fighting The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. Red Ryder's artistic style evolved from Harman's previous comic strip The Bronc Peeler in 1937. The two worked on the project for a year before Red Ryder was launched in 1938.
Between 1938 and 1967, Red Ryder became the longest running Western strip in the history of newspapers, the longest running Western Comic book, the subject of 12 chapter films, 26 motion pictures and many merchandising and promotional tie-ins, -including the still-produced Red Ryder Daisy Carbine Air Rifle, which holds the longest continuing license in the history of the licensing industry and was immortalized in the film A Christmas Story (1983). For other uses see A Christmas Story (disambiguation A Christmas Story is a 1983 film based on the Short stories
King of the Royal Mounted
In 1937 Slesinger licensed Zane Grey's byline and created Zane Grey's King of the Royal Mounted. Zane Grey ( January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author best known for his popular adventure Novels and King of the Royal Mounted is a fictional series featuring the character Dave King created by Stephen Slesinger in 1936. The adventures of a Canadian Mountie who always got his man, King appeared in newspaper strips, comics, Little Big Books and other ancillary items. Grey's son Romer and Slesinger collaborated on many of the stories, and the artwork was produced by Allen Dean and Charles Flanders in Slesinger's New York studio. A movie serial was produced in 1942.
Television and films
In 1940 Slesinger licensed to Republic Pictures the right to produce a 12-chapter Red Ryder serial and 23 Red Ryder motion pictures from 1944-1946.
In the mid-1940s through the early 1950s, Stephen Slesinger Productions began producing films and television programs, including adaptations of Winnie-the-Pooh, Red Ryder, King of the Royal Mounted and The West That Lives Forever. Winnie-the-Pooh, commonly shortened to Pooh Bear and once referred to as Edward Bear, is a fictional Bear created by A Red Ryder a popular American fictional Cowboy from the 1940s was created by Stephen Slesinger and drawn by artist Fred Harman. King of the Royal Mounted is a fictional series featuring the character Dave King created by Stephen Slesinger in 1936. In addition to Stephen Slesinger Productions, he also formed Telecomics Presents, which produced for television dramatically scripted comic strip segments (static images of the strips, not animated with movement). There were approximately 130 episodes produced, each lasting about three minutes. Each episode would begin with opening a comic book, the first page showing a silhouette of the lead character (Space Barton, Danny March or Kid Champion); the page then was "turned" to show a full page illustration. Telecomics is generally heralded as one of the very first cartoon series produced for television. In 1950, NBC optioned Telecomics' product and repackaged it as NBC Comics. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's
Blondie
Slesinger acquired the rights to make a Blondie television show with Arthur Lake and Pat Lake as Dagwood Bumstead and Blondie in 1951. Blondie was a radio situation comedy adapted from the long-run Blondie comic strip by Chic Young. Arthur Lake may refer to Arthur Lake Bishop of Bath and Wells (1569&ndash1626 Arthur Lake (actor (1905&ndash1987 Arthur Dagwood Bumstead is a Fictional character in the Comic strip ''Blondie'', who was introduced prior to February 17, 1933. He was working on the pilot episode at the time of his death on December 17, 1953. Events 546 - Gothic War (535–554: The Ostrogoths of King Totila Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Among Slesinger's many honors was a proclamation shortly before his death in 1953 from the County of Los Angeles which singled him out as a "nationally known humanitarian" whose works "are read by more than twenty-five million youngsters and adults" and who "has devoted much of his personal time and energy toward helping underprivileged children throughout the nation" and whose "interest in underprivileged children stems from the magnificent work done by his mother, Augusta Slesinger, who served as a psycho-analyst and social worker…for forty years". Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West The proclamation ends with Slesinger being "complimented for continuing to help in the program of making better citizens out of the youth of the land. "
External links
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic