OT: In Memoriam: Dan DeCarlo

[M. Mitchell Marmel]

(I'm pretty sure that Dan did some Disney stuff at some point, so 
this may not be so off-topic.)

>Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2001 20:21:03 -0600
>From: mike and carole curtis <shandafa at cyberback.com>
>Subject: [shandaverse] Our friend Dan is gone
>To: shandaverse at yahoogroups.com
>
>(Note: Dan did the cover of SHANDA 14 and MAGIC CARPET 3 with the
>Shanda characters.  He was scheduled to do the cover of FURRY NINJA
>HIGH SCHOOL #1)
>
>Dan DeCarlo, creator of JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS, SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH,
>and the ARCHIE character Cheryl Blossom, died this morning.
>
>I'm still getting details, we have a call in to Josie in 30 minutes, but
>basically, he had a heart attack this morning.
>
>Funeral arrangements are yet to be announced.
>
>Dan was born in New Rochelle, NY in 1919, and had an artistic family
>background.  His father worked in landscaping, as did Dan.  When Dan was in
>his teens, he often drew art on jackets and cars for friends.
>
>During WWII, he was stationed in England first, and then Belgium, where he
>met Josette Dumont.  Dan married Josie, and then brought her back to the US.
>They soon were joined by Dan's twin sons, Dan Jr. and Jim.  He answered an
>newspaper ad and began working for Stan Lee at Timely Comics, doing a
>teenage book called JEANNIE.
>
>Dan went on to do MILLIE THE MODEL and MY FRIEND IRMA.  Stan and he also did
>a strip called WILLIE LUMPKIN , familiar to recent comic readers from it's
>reprints in MARVEL AGE.
>
>Other projects Dan worked on included THE YARDBIRDS and THE BRAIN, as well
>as cartoons for men's humor magazines.
>
>Eventually, Dan began freelancing for ARCHIE.  Instructed at first to
>imitate the creator Bob Montana, Dan quickly asserted his style, which
>became the official ARCHIE look.
>
>During this time, Dan created a teenage feature of his own, called JOSIE,
>named after his wife, and inspired by his sons and their friends.  He
>planned the feature as a comic strip, but put it aside to work on comics.
>Later he took it into ARCHIE and showed it to Richard Goldwater, hoping to
>see it become a comic.  Goldwater added his name to it, and it was pitched
>unsuccessfully as a comic strip.  Eventually it became a comic from ARCHIE,
>credited to "Dick and Dan", the first wide use of creator credits at the
>company.
>
>During the 1960's, Dan was kept busy doing promotional art for THE ARCHIES
>cartoon, and a deal was made without his knowledge to animate JOSIE.
>
>JOSIE had undergone a change, to become a girl group.  Dan had designed the
>costumes after one his wife Josie had made and worn to a costume party.
>
>JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS became a CBS cartoon show, which is still airing on
>the Cartoon Network.
>
>During the 1960's Dan also co-created SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH with George
>Gladir, when MADHOUSE needed a new character.  Dan Jr. and Jim also did work
>at ARCHIE during this time, before their deaths.
>
>Later on, Dan created the third "Archie girl" Cheryl Blossom, to make the
>Archie triangle a quadrangle.
>
>As the 1990's dawned, more and more of the older artists were retiring from
>Archie.  New talents were told to imitate his style, and ARCHIE had
>videotapes made of him giving lessons on drawing in his style.
>
>When SABRINA was made into a TV show, Dan heard rumors that JOSIE might be
>next.  He decided to look into his legal rights, which had been ignored
>during the cartoon show days.  He retained a lawyer, and was promptly let go
>by ARCHIE.
>
>Dan stayed busy, doing THE SIMPSONS, two HARLEY QUINN stories for DC, as
>well as a SCOOBY DOO story.  We at Shanda Fantasy Arts also had the pleasure
>of having him do a few covers for us.
>
>Dan made many convention appearances, and at his first "furry" con
>appearance in July 2001, was treated to a performance by a live "Josie"
>played by KATMANDU artist Lisa Jennings.
>
>Dan was busy with plans for two new series at his death.  One was LOWER EAST
>SIDE for Dan Fogel, and another was JESSICA AND THE BUNNYGIRLS, a new
>teenage girl group comic.
>
>Dan is survived by his wife Josie and two granddaughters, Jessica and
>Christie.
>
>============================================
>
>
>On a personal note, my wife Carole and I had the privilege of having Dan and
>Josie for friends in the last years of his life.  He was supported in his
>crusade for creator rights by Peter David, Mark Evanier,  Mark Ingersoll,
>Bill Morrison, Paul Dini and many other creators.
>
>On an even more personal note, Dan suffered much stress during the last two
>years during his battle with Archie  and this surely contributed to his ill
>health over the past year.
>
>I hope you b*******s at Archie are happy.  Sue me if you wish.
>
>Mike Curtis & Carole Curtis
>SHANDA FANTASY ARTS