Dakota Piver
Yellow Submarine animator
Hey Jude, meet the Yellow Submarine animator
Ron Campbell, director of the 1960’s Saturday morning Beatles cartoon series and animator of the Beatles film “Yellow Submarine”, will make a rare personal appearance at Emerge Gallery in Coeur d’Alene, Friday, May 5 through Sunday, May 7.
Campbell will showcase his original Beatles cartoon paintings created for the show and developed new Beatles pop art paintings at the exhibit. Campbell will also feature other artwork based on his 50-year career in cartoons, including “Scooby Doo,” “Rugrats,” “Smurfs,” “Flintstones,” “Jetsons,” and more. The exhibit is free and all works are available for purchase.
“I’ve always heard that Coeur d’Alene is a beautiful city, one which I should visit,” said Campbell. “When we were scheduling shows in the Pacific Northwest, I was eager to add Coeur d’Alene to my schedule.”
The Saturday morning Beatles cartoon series debuted on ABC on September 25, 1965. It continually fueled new music to the young kids of America as they followed the bouncing drumstick to each Beatles tune. Campbell also wrote the forward to the definitive book on the Beatles cartoon series, “Beatletoons: The Real Story Behind the Cartoon Beatles.”
“Yellow Submarine”, recently celebrating its 48th anniversary, has become a permanent fixture in pop culture defining the psychedelic 1960s for generations to come. In his book, “Up Periscope”, “Yellow Submarine” Producer Al Brodax gives Campbell a great deal of credit for saving the movie and tying it all together at the last minute.
Campbell has also been involved with some of the most beloved cartoons including, “Scooby Doo,” “Winnie The Pooh,” “George of the Jungle,” “The Jetsons,” “The Flintstones,” “Smurfs,” “Rugrats,” “Ed, Edd & Eddy,” “Yogi Bear,” and dozens more. Campbell’s former studio was awarded a Peabody and an Emmy for his work in children’s television.
“My wife was pregnant with our first child, and I was eager to take on as much work as possible, so I found myself animating on ‘Yellow Submarine’ during the day, working on developing a show that eventually turned into ‘Scooby Doo’ also during the day, and at night animating ‘George of the Jungle’,” Campbell said. “I was so busy I hardly noticed how radical the ‘Yellow Submarine’ proved to be.”
Since retiring after a 50-year career, he has been painting subjects based on the animated cartoons he brought to the screen. With emphasis on he Beatles, he shows his Cartoon Pop Art in galleries worldwide.
