# Bullwinkle creator Alex Anderson dies
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullwinkle-creator-alex-anderson-dies/558134
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [October 23, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullwinkle-creator-alex-anderson-dies/558134 "2010-10-23T22:01:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullwinkle-creator-alex-anderson-dies/558134/1 "2010-10-23T22:01:59Z")
Alex Anderson, creator of the iconic cartoon characters Rocky and Bullwinkle and Dudley Do-Right, died yesterday at the age of 90.
The grandson of Paul Terry of Terrytoons fame, Anderson and friend Jay Ward created a television pilot entitled “The Comic Strips of Television” in 1948, which featured three ideas for original animated series using a process which would be later called “limited animation,” inspired by a sequence in Walt Disney’s _The Reluctant Dragon_ in which a storyboard is shown rather than full animation. The following year, one of the three series, _Crusader Rabbit_, went into production, the very first animated television cartoon. Around the same time, Anderson also came up with another idea, _The Frostbite Falls Revue_, revolving around a group of animals putting on their own show. Among the animals was a flying squirrel named Rocky and a moose named Bullwinkle- the latter inspired by a dream he had in which he had brought a moose to a party.
Anderson chose not to move to Southern California with Ward when he opened up his own studio and thus was not involved hands-on (but acted as a consultant) on the TV show that would bring his characters fame: _Rocky and His Friends_ (later renamed _The Bullwinkle Show_, currently marketed as _Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends_), which would not only give the moose and squirrel a starring role, but also feature another character created by Anderson for the “Comic Strips of Television” pilot, Dudley Do-Right.
Anderson did not receive on-screen credit for the creation of the characters, and in 1996 sued Ward Productions- the full details of the settlement remain confidential, but as a result the studio recognized Anderson as the creator of the characters. Despite this, he is not as well known as his former partner, who recieved on-screen credit (alongside the fictional Ponsonby Britt) as producer of the show and is even listed as the creator of the characters in the live-action Bullwinkle film. With Anderson’s passing, hopefully he will get some of the recognition he deserves. Either way, both Anderson and Ward (and Moose and Squirrel) deserve a cheer for helping to usher in a new era of goofy, entertaining animation on television, many of which of today owes a great debt to them- Homer J. Simpson and Bart J. Simpson have their middle initials in honor of Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose (who in turn got theirs from J Troplong Ward), and the creators of _Phineas and Ferb_ have also stated that Bullwinkle was a big influence. And all that entertainment- both then and now- is definitely something I hope you’ll really like.
_TIME_ has a very [nice obituary](http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2027264,00.html).
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### Author:  [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2010, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullwinkle-creator-alex-anderson-dies/558134/2 "2010-10-23T23:23:20Z")
Eenie meenie chili beanie, the spirits are about to speak.
Was watching R&B on netflix the other day… the humor has held up reasonably well.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2010, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullwinkle-creator-alex-anderson-dies/558134/3 "2010-10-24T00:42:46Z")
Hokey smoke! I join Frostbite Falls in mourning.
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### Author:  [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullwinkle-creator-alex-anderson-dies/558134/4 "2010-10-24T04:21:54Z")
And Now Here’s Something We Hope You’ll Really Like
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullwinkle-creator-alex-anderson-dies/558134/5 "2010-10-24T14:16:16Z")
That trick never works!
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### Author:  [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullwinkle-creator-alex-anderson-dies/558134/6 "2010-10-24T14:42:21Z")
> [@Markxxx](#):
>
> And Now Here’s Something We Hope You’ll Really Like
Fan mail from some flounder?
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### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullwinkle-creator-alex-anderson-dies/558134/7 "2010-10-24T14:53:41Z")
> [@K364](#):
>
> Eenie meenie chili beanie, the spirits are about to speak.
Now he’ll find out if they’re friendly or not.