John Hubley | |
|---|---|
 Hubley in 1941 | |
| Born | John Kirkham Hubley (1914-05-21)May 21, 1914 |
| Died | February 21, 1977(1977-02-21) (aged 62) |
| Education | ArtCenter College of Design |
| Occupation | Animated filmdirector |
| Years active | 1936–1977 |
| Employer(s) | Walt Disney Productions (1936–1941) Screen Gems (1941–1943) UPA (1944–1953) Storyboard, Inc./Hubley Studios (1953–1977) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 6, includingEmily Hubley andGeorgia Hubley |
| Relatives | Kathleen Kirkham (Aunt) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service | |
| Years of service | 1942–1946 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit | 18th AAF Base Unit |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
John Kirkham Hubley (May 21, 1914 – February 21, 1977) was an Americananimatedfilm director,art director,producer, andwriter, known for his work with theUnited Productions of America (UPA)[1] and his own independent studio, Storyboard, Inc. (later renamed Hubley Studio).[2] A pioneer and innovator in theAmerican animation industry, Hubley pushed for more visually and emotionally complex films than the productions at that time ofWalt Disney Company andWarner Brothers Animation.[3] He and his second wife,Faith Hubley (née Chestman), worked side by side from 1953 onward, earning sevenAcademy Award nominations, of which they won three.[4]
Hubley was born inMarinette, Wisconsin, in 1914 and developed an interest in art from a young age, as both his mother and maternal grandfather were professional painters.[5] After high school, he attended theArtCenter College of Design, then inLos Angeles, to study painting. At age 22, after three years of classes, he landed a job at the Walt Disney Animation Studio.[6] Although the studio recognized his talents and made him an animation director onFantasia, Hubley felt restricted by the conservative animation style. Hubley left Disney in 1941 during theDisney animator's strike and joined theFirst Motion Pictures Unit, later following many of his fellow unit artists to the newly-formed Industrial Poster Service (later renamed theUnited Productions of America). Hubley served many roles at UPA and directed several Academy Award-nominated animated shorts. Most famously, he directedThe Ragtime Bear (1949), the debut ofMr. Magoo, a character he co-created.
In 1952, Hubley was forced to leave UPA after refusing to denouncecommunism, leading to his eventual investigation by theHouse Un-American Activities Committee. He soon opened his own independent studio to capitalize on commercial work for the new market oftelevision advertising,[7] directing the successful"I Want My Maypo!" spot. In 1954, he was commissioned by theSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum to make an animated short film, the first short ever funded by an art museum.[8]
Hubley, alongside his wife Faith, is often considered the most important figure in Americanindependent animation and one of the most important in the history of animation. The couple'sMoonbird (1959) became the first independent film to win theAcademy Award for Best Animated Short. They collaborated with jazz musicians includingDizzy Gillespie,Benny Carter, andQuincy Jones and often used unscripted, improvised dialogue, creating an entirely new way of expressing emotion and feeling through the medium of animation. Their work is considered important in the evolution of post-war modernism in film.[9]The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences claim the Hubleys' films "bucked the establishment and defined an era of independent animation production".[10]
Hubley was born on May 21, 1914, at 1212 11th Street (now Shore Drive) inMarinette, Wisconsin.[11] His father, John Raymond Hubley, was a secretary at the John B Goodman Company,[12][13] alogging company, in Marinette, and his mother, Verena Kirkham Hubley, was a homemaker. Verena's maternal grandfather, Jacob Leisen, was one of the founders of the Leisen & Henes Brewing Company inMenominee, Michigan.[14][15] The Leisen-Kirkham family were economically stable, allowing Verena's parents to send her to theArt Institute of Chicago, where she studied painting from 1907 to 1909. Verena's father, Richard Archibald Kirkham, was also a painter[16] and one of the earliest photographers in Menominee.[17]
Hubley was encouraged at a young age to become an artist by his mother and maternal grandfather. In a 1974 interview, he recalled, "I used to watch my grandfather when I was a little kid...It was always ordained that I would go to art school as soon as I got out of high school.".[5]: 1
In 1921, his father partnered with a cousin, Loren O. Robeck, to open Robeck & Hubley, aFord dealership at 1919 Hall Avenue in Marinette.[18] The business was only modestly successful[19] and closed in 1928, the same year the Hubleys left Marinette and moved toIron Mountain, Michigan. Hubley attendedIron Mountain High School from 1929 to 1932.[20][21][22][23] While a student, Hubley would partake in a wide array of extracurricular activities, including the debate,[24] drama,[25] a capella,[26] basketball,[27] Hi-Y (a male-only group associated with theYMCA),[28] and mathematics clubs.[29] Hubley also wrote for the school's newspaper,The Mountaineer, and from 1930 to 1932 provided the illustrations for the school's yearbook,The Argonaut. While in high school, Hubley worked as a bank cashier in Iron Mountain.[30]
In the fall of 1933, Hubley enrolled at theArtCenter College of Design inLos Angeles to study painting.[31] Unable to support himself, helived with his aunt,Kathleen Kirkham Woodruff, who had moved to Los Angeles for her film career. Her husband, Harry Woodruff, inspired the characterMr. Magoo.[32] During his time in college, the newly-formedWalt Disney Animation Studio was scouting local art schools for talent. Hubley's painting talents caught the studio's eye, and he was hired as a background and layout artist.[5]: 1–2
Hubley started working at Walt Disney Productions on January 1, 1936.[6] He started as an apprentice onSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) producing background tracings and painting backgrounds and layouts for animators. He was quickly promoted to an art director forPinocchio (1940).
On February 25, 1939, the architectFrank Lloyd Wright visited the studio with a copy ofThe Tale of the Czar Durandai(1934), a Russian animated film directed byIvan Ivanov-Vano. Wright showed the film to Disney's staff, including Hubley,[33] who was greatly inspired by the film's stylized visuals and animation.[34]
Hubley was chosen as one of three directors (alongsideDick Kelsey and McLaren Stewart) to handle the"Rite of Spring" passage ofFantasia (1940). Specifically, Hubley directed the section covering the molten stage of Earth's creation to the cooling off into greenery. Hubley was upset by the film's inaccuracy, stating that "it was not scientifically accurate in terms of the demise of the reptiles. It was more likely they were frozen by theice age. ButDisney didn't want an ice age; he wanted a desert sequence".[5]: 1 Hubley also painted several backgrounds for the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" segment. This same year, Hubley moved out of the Woodruffs' house to his own house at 3827 Ronda Vista Place in Los Angeles. Hubley lived here with fellow Disney Studios artist and actor John McLeish.[35]
In the spring of 1941, employees at Disney Studios were unhappy with salary inequalities and the studio discouragingunionization.[36] Hubley and his wife Claudia both participated in the1941 Disney animators' strike,[37] with John taking dozens of photographs to document the event. Hubley was one of the better-paid employees of the studio, making $67.50 a week[1]: 17 (equivalent to $1,367.04 in 2023), but decided to strike in support of unionization. The strike, organized by Hubley's friendArt Babbitt, strengthened Hubley's relationship with strikers likeBill Littlejohn,Herb Klynn,Stephen Bosustow, andJules Engel, all of whom later worked with Hubley at UPA or Hubley Studios. On August 10, 1941, John and Claudia were two of the 256 employees fired by the studio when the strike ended.[1]: 22
After being fired from Disney Studios, Hubley briefly worked atColumbia'sScreen Gems underFrank Tashlin, and laterDave Fleischer. He initially worked as a writer and layout artist, but by the time Tashlin left the studio, Hubley was promoted to director alongside animator Paul Sommer, with the shortOld Blackout Joe (1942) being his first time directing. Hubley disliked his work at Screen Gems and referred to Fleischer as "one of the world's intellectual lightweights,"[38] however, Fleischer's detachment from the employees allowed Hubley to gain creative freedom he had not found at the Disney Studio. Hubley co-directed seven cartoons for Screen Gems, with many noting how most of them relied much more on human characters and stylistic designs and backgrounds, elements that would remain relevant to Hubley's later work. Hubley and Sommer were also noted for directingThe Rocky Road to Ruin (1943), a cartoon eerily similar toChuck Jones'The Dover Boys (1942) that was presented in a more minimalistic style.[39]
On November 23, 1942, Hubley enlisted in theUnited States Armed Forces to work in theFirst Motion Picture Unit,[40] an independent film production unit in the Air Force.[41] Here, Hubley directed animated training films related to flight safety and firearm equipment. Hubley's time in the Air Force was leisurely, and he "got to go home every night" and "spent half [his] time drawing [gags] and passing them around".[38] The Air Force had few expectations for how the films should aesthetically look or feel, allowing Hubley and his team near-complete creative control. Hubley, who had grown increasingly more interested in the works ofmodern artists likePaul Klee, pushed his films to have flat, abstract visuals. Since the films were often uncredited, it is unknown how many films Hubley directed for the First Motion Picture Unit, butFlight Safety: Landing Accidents (1946) was likely his last.[citation needed] Hubley is credited with the animations onTuesday in November (1945), produced by the US Office of War Information.[42]
In 1943, Hubley was contacted by theUnited Automobile Workers (UAW), who were looking to hire Hubley to produce a short film endorsingFranklin D. Roosevelt in the1944 Presidential Election.[38] Hubley took the project to the newly-formed Industrial Film and Poster Service, which was soon renamed toUnited Productions of America (UPA).[1]: 49 The film,Hell-Bent for Election (1944), was storyboarded by Hubley and directed byChuck Jones.[43][38] At UPA, Hubley found the creative freedom he had yearned for his entire career. The UAW was pleased withHell-Bent for Election and hired UPA forThe Brotherhood of Man (1946), a film on race relations.[44] Hubley co-wrote the film and led theproduction design. With both UAW films, Hubley pushed for amodernist aesthetic of sleek lines, flat shapes, and bold colors that were completely unique to UPA's films.
By 1947, Hubley had been promoted to vice president and creative head of UPA.[1]: 75 That same year, UPA founderStephen Bosustow struck a distribution deal with Columbia: UPA would produce several "trial"[1]: 75 films for the studio using Columbia's cartoon starsThe Fox and The Crow. If the films were a success, Columbia would enter a formal distribution partnership with UPA. Hubley was tasked with directing the first "trial" films,Robin Hoodlum (1948) andThe Magic Fluke (1949).
Hubley and the UPA team felt restricted with The Fox and The Crow shorts, and approached Columbia with an idea for an original short.[1]: 77 Hubley, inspired by his uncle Harry Woodruff, pitched an idea for a short-tempered, aggressive old curmudgeon. "The character was based upon an uncle of mine, Harry Woodruff"[32]: 1 he later said. Hubley and writerMillard Kaufman would name the character Mr. Magoo afterPoint Mugu inMalibu, California.[1]: 78 While Hubley is often credited as the sole creator of Mr. Magoo, the character was a combined effort with Kaufman, who based Magoo partially on his own uncle.[45]
Hubley and UPA founder Zachary Schwartz made their intentions with UPA clear in a 1946 issue ofFilm Quarterly. Hubley and Schwartz believed it had become "necessary for the craftsman-animators of the motion picture industry to analyze and reevaluate their medium".[46] Hubley and Schwartz were influenced by their shared experience in the First Motion Picture Unit making training films, specifically by how animation was being used as an educational tool, as the two believed "animation usage in the educational film [was] singularly undeveloped"[46]: 360 before the war. Now, Hubley and Schwartz understood the "significance of the animated film as means of communication"[46]: 363 and aimed to create films that could "express the essence of an idea" with "line, shape, color, and symbols".[46]: 363
Hubley served as the supervising director ofGerald McBoing-Boing (1950), written byTheodor Geisel and directed by Robert Cannon. The film won UPA their firstAcademy Award for Best Short Subject Cartoon, which "stung" and "really shocked" Hubley, claimed layout artist Bill Hurtz.[1]: 91 Hubley, now determined to win his own Academy Award for the studio, directedRooty Toot Toot (1952), UPA's most expensive and ambitious film at the time.[1]: 93 Hubley wrote the film alongsideBill Scott and hiredPhil Moore to compose the score. At the recommendation ofArt Babbitt, Hubley hired dancer Olga Lunick to choreograph the film's dance elements, and much of the film's animation was done byBetty Boop creatorGrim Natwick.[1]: 96 The film's dark themes of murder, sex, violence, jealousy, and infidelity were a "groundbreaking moment for animation".[47] While the film was nominated for the Academy Award,[48] it lost toThe Two Mouseketeers. The same year, Hubley also directed the animated segments of Irving Reis'sThe Four Poster (1952).[49]
In September 1951, UPA layout artist Bernyce Fleury testified before theHouse Un-American Activities Committee that several UPA artists, including Hubley, werepromoting communism through their films.[50] In response, the following April Columbia sent UPA a list of eight suspected communist employees which included Hubley. Columbia, threatening to end their distribution deal with UPA, wanted the named employees to either confess or leave UPA.[1]: 129 Hubley refused to denounce communism and was subsequently fired from UPA on May 31, 1952.[1]: 131 Reflecting upon his time at UPA, Hubley would say "it got too large. Before we knew where we were, we were getting more and more concerned with administration and less with creation."[51]
Following his firing from UPA, Hubley was effectivelyblacklisted from the animation industry.[1]: 131 He found work illustrating album covers forWestminster andClef Records for artists such asAl Hibbler,[52]Aaron Copland,[53]Slim Gaillard,[54] andChico O'Farrill.[55][56] These covers showed Hubley's art progressing further intoabstract expressionism and modernism, taking heavy influence fromPablo Picasso.
Still "undercover" in Hollywood, Hubley founded Storyboard, Inc. (sometimes referred to as Storyboard Studios or simply Storyboard) in 1953.[1]: 131 Since television work was both uncredited and in high demand, Hubley quickly found work directing animated commercials for companies such asHeinz,[57]Bank of America,[58] and E-Z Pop.[59][60] Since many of his clients were looking for a fast turnaround, Hubley's highly-stylized approach tolimited animation and bold graphics became both practical and popular. For these early commercials, Hubley would again collaborate with animators such asBill Littlejohn,Emery Hawkins, andRob Scribner. Also in 1953, Hubley and producer Michael Shore began developing ananimated adaptation of the musicalFinian's Rainbow.[61][62] Shore wanted Hubley to direct, and Hubley was motivated to "develop the visual art even further than the UPA films".[62] Shore had difficulty interesting studios with the project due to the musical's strong racial themes, but eventually secured funding and a distribution deal with theDistributors Corporation of America (DCA).Frank Sinatra andElla Fitzgerald were signed on for the film, marking their only collaboration. By the end of 1954, all of the dialogue and music had been recorded for the film and Hubley had assembled a large team of past collaborators, such as Littlejohn, Babbitt, and Les Goldman.Faith Elliott (née Chestman), later Hubley's second wife, served as a script supervisor on the film. While Hubley was very excited for the project, his "easygoing manner" made him "hard to work with because he wasn't very disciplined".[62] The musical's writers,Burton Lane andYip Harburg (a fellow victim of the blacklist), kept a close watch on Hubley, and tensions soon arose over the musical direction of the film and Hubley's visuals.[62] Issues also arose between DCA and members of the film's crew who were members of theScreen Cartoonists Guild (SCG) and not theInternational Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). DCA was concerned that since many members of the crew were not IATSE, the film would not be played in theaters. Soon thereafter, DCA president Fred J. Schwartz received a call from IATSE representativeRoy Brewer, who ousted Hubley for his refusal to cooperate with theHUAC. Hubley, who still refused to testify before the HUAC, caused DCA's parent company to stop funding the film. While Schwartz did attempt to save the film by approachingRKO, it was no use.[62] The film was canceled in 1955, with the contents of the entire studio impounded.[1]: 132
In 1955, after the collapse ofFinian's Rainbow, Hubley moved Storyboard, Inc. with him toNew York City,[63] where he soon married his second wife, Faith Hubley (née Chestman). Faith, herself an editor and script supervisor on films such as12 Angry Men (1957),[63]: 5 collaborated closely with her husband on all of their subsequent films. Towards the end of 1954, Hubley and James J. Sweeney, the director of theSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, began discussing the museum commissioning a film from Hubley.[64] Hubley and Sweeney were determined to create a film that also served as a piece of modern art and communicated the importance of "play" and "the sensuous pleasures of [approaching pictures through] the eye rather than [the] intellectual pleasure [of] the ear".[65] The resulting film,The Adventures of *[1] (1957) was the first short film Hubley directed after leaving UPA, as well as the first animated film ever commissioned by an art museum.[66] The film's visuals were heavily influenced by the Guggenheim Museum's collection of modern art, as well as Hubley's desire to "transform [animation] from hard-lined cel animation to textured, subtle, new styles more connected to the history of art than to the Disney or UPA look".[67]Benny Carter composed the film's score, including vibraphone byLionel Hampton. The film won several awards, including a diploma speciale from the 1957Venice Film Festival and the Grand Prize at the 1958Montevideo Film Festival.[68] In 1957, Hubley was also hired by the advertising firm Fletcher, Richards, Calkins & Holden to direct the hugely successful"I Want My Maypo!" commercial. For the first time in his career, Hubley used the voice of one of his children, his stepson Mark, for the commercial.[63]: 10 The commercial led to a boom of sales forMaypo, and the character of "Marky Maypo" (named after his stepson) became the cereal's mascot.[63]: 10 The commercial is also credited for beginning the trend of using animation to sell products to children, as it "exploit[ed] children's less than fully developed ability to distinguish between entertainment and selling".[69] Around this time, Hubley met musicianDizzy Gillespie through mutual friendPaul Robeson,[70] and the Hubleys soon made their first film with Gillespie,A Date with Dizzy (1956). The film contained many of the advertisements Hubley had already made at Storyboard, Inc.,[71] as well as an original segment by a then-unknownR.O. Blechman.[72]
Following the success of the Maypo spot, John and Faith turned their attention to producing more short films. Their next film,Harlem Wednesday (1957), marked the first time John and Faith were credited alongside one another on-screen (though Faith is credited as Faith Elliott). The film, an experimental montage of paintings byGregorio Prestopino[73] with a score by Carter,[74] further explored the Hubleys' desires to push animation towards modern art. Their next film,Tender Game (1958), included an unused track by Fitzgerald fromFinian's Rainbow.[62] Hubley experimented withmultiple exposure effects on the film to give it a distinct look and dimensionality.[56] Mark Hubley would later remark "the film has always struck me...as a love letter between [John and Faith], the figures...look like mom and dad".[56] The film won the grand prize at both the Venice Film Festival and the Montevideo Film Festival.[68] Hubley was inspired by his earlier work on the Mr. Magoo films withJim Backus to experiment with films centered around improvised dialogue, as he often encouraged Backus to riff in the studio. In 1958, Hubley recorded his sons Mark (aged 6) and Ray (aged 3) his sons playing a game where they search for a "Moonbird", referring to a pet bird the family had lost recently by leaving a window open.[56] Faith edited the conversations together into a narrative, and John enlisted Ed Smith and former UPA director Robert Cannon for animation. The resulting film,Moonbird (1959), marked one of the earliest examples of using real children voices in an animated film.[75]Moonbird won theAcademy Award for Best Animated Short in 1960, becoming the first independent film to win in the category.[76] The success ofMoonbird caught the attention of Susan Burnett, the film officer of theUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), who commissioned the Hubleys to make a film for UNICEF.[77] For the first time, Hubley used the voices of all of he and Faith's children, though most of their vocals are gurgles and mumbles made by his infant daughtersEmily andGeorgia. The film,Children of the Sun (1960), addressed "how hunger affects the world's children".[68][63]: 10
Hubley wanted to make a film aboutAlbert Einstein's Theory of Relativity, and was inspired after readingHarlow Shapley'sOf Stars and Men (1959) in 1959.[78] Intrigued by Shapley's attempts to understand mankind's place in the universe, Hubley wrote to Shapley with the idea to adapt the book's themes into an animated film. Instead of simply writing a script and getting Shapley's approval, Hubley and Shapley chose to collaborate closely on nearly every aspect of the film, with Hubley sending Shapley detailed outlines for the film's structure[79] and frequently traveling to Shapley's home inPeterborough,New Hampshire, to meet with him.[80][81] Hubley and Shapley became close friends during this period, resulting inOf Stars and Men (1962), the Hubleys' firstfeature-length film. The film follows a very loose narrative style, relying predominantly on Shapley's narration. Hubley's children would again appear in the film, with their improvised conversations again being presented much in the same way as inMoonbird. Due to the nature of the film's presentation, the Hubleys, audiences, and distributors alike were unsure if the film could be categorized as adocumentary. At the 1961San Francisco International Film Festival, the film won Best Documentary, and at the Venice Film Festival - where the Hubleys' films had been previously screened as part of the animation category - the film was placed in the feature category alongsidelive-action films. Author Sybil DelGaudio cites the film as one of the earliest examples of ananimated documentary.[78]: 193 While the film was screened in festivals as early as 1962, the Hubleys would continue to revise the film and appeal to bothColumbia[82] and Show Corp. for distribution; it would be released to the general public in 1964 byFilms, Inc.[68]
While shopping aroundOf Stars and Men, the Hubleys collaborated again with Gillespie forThe Hole (1962). Gillespie and actorGeorge Matthews improvised a conversation between two construction workers discussing life and nuclear war. The film mirrored American anxieties overthe Cold War, as it was in production during theCuban Missile Crisis.[56] The film won the Hubleys their second Academy Award for Best Animated Short, with John and Faith both being recognized by the Academy for the first time.[83]The Hole led to theWorld Law Foundation[68] commissioning the Hubleys to makeThe Hat (1964),[84] a spiritual successor of sorts toThe Hole centered around an improvised conversation between Gillespie andDudley Moore as soldiers debating the morality of war.The Hat came from the World Law Foundation's initiative to "reach...broader audiences" through "arts and media". BothThe Hole andThe Hat use a more grounded visual style than the abstract expressionism ofThe Adventures of * andOf Stars and Men and address more serious themes of violence, nuclear war,nuclear anxieties, and death.The Hat was the only film by the Hubleys distributed byMcGraw-Hill,[68] and was also released as a book with illustrations taken from the film.[85] Carter would collaborate with the Hubleys again onUrbanissimo (1966), a film humorously examining the impact ofurban sprawl on the environment made forExpo 67 inMontreal,Quebec.[86]A Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Double Feature[2] (1966), a film interpreting the music of jazz musicianHerb Alpert, was released the same year. John and Faith won their third Academy Award for the short,[87][88][89] and the film is today considered to be an early prototypical example of amusic video.[90]The film was distributed byParamount, marking the first collaboration between Hubley and a major Hollywood studio following his 1952 blacklisting.
Hubley began teaching filmmaking atHarvard in 1962, becoming the first teacher of animation at Harvard's Visual Arts Center.[91] Hubley wrote an adaptation ofEdwin Abbot's 1884 novellaFlatland, and collaborated with his students as well as Dudley Moore and several members ofBeyond the Fringe. The resulting film,Flatland (1965), was directed by Eric Martin.[91] As early as 1964, filmmaker Joseph Koenig pitched a film explaining the importance ofvoting to theNational Film Board of Canada (NFB).[92] Hubley was chosen[93] to direct the film for the NFB, which eventually becameThe Cruise (1967). The film was designed to be an educational tool for school use, though Hubley had very little involvement with creating the curriculum surrounding the film. The film would be screened in high schools and colleges across the United States and Canada throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Hubley's involvement with education would continue in the 1970s, when he and Faith became professors of film atYale University teaching animation and "The Visualization of Abstract Themes".[94]
The Hubleys continued to make short films together for the rest of the 1960s. Their next film,Windy Day (1967) featured an improvised conversation between their daughters Georgia and Emily "explor[ing] the child's projection of fantasy to enact romance, marriage, and growing up".[68] The film was nominated for the 1968 Academy Award for Best Animated Short, but lost to Disney'sWinnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day.[95][96]The Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions commissioned Hubley forZuckerkandl! (1968), a short film interpreting a comical routine byRobert M. Hutchins.[97] The short was also released as abook with illustrations by Hubley.[98][99] Hubley was commissioned again for Storyboard, Inc.'s next film,Of Men and Demons (1969), byIBM forExpo '70 inOsaka,Japan. The film earned John and Faith their fifth Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short.[100][101]
1970 saw the release of Hubley's fifteenth independent directorial credit withEggs (1970).[102] For the first time, John and Faith collaborated with musicianQuincy Jones, who composed and performed the film's score. The film addressed themes of fertility and death and continues Hubley's run of collaborating with musicians as voice actors, as singersAnita Ellis andGrady Tate lent their voices for the film, as did actorDavid Burns. The film was entirely animated byTissa David,[103] a recent hire of the Hubleys best known as the second woman to ever direct a feature-length animated film,Bonjour Paris! (1953).[104] Around this time, Storyboard, Inc. was renamed Hubley Studios, Inc. (sometimes referred to as The Hubley Studio or Hubley Studios), indicating Hubley's growing confidence towards using his name as the effects of theblacklist faded away.
Despite the critical acclaim the studio's films received, Hubley was still struggling financially. "Film shorts seem inevitably to be financial failures, for the only people who come out ahead on them are the distributors. EvenMoonbird, for instance, grossed at least as much as its production costs (about $25,000), but only a third of the gross wound up at Storyboard, Inc.",[105] revealed a 1964 profile byThe Harvard Crimson. By the beginning of the 1970s, John and Faith understood they needed to take on more commercial work in order to fund their shorts, and began contributing animated segments for New York-based children's variety programs such asThe Electric Company andSesame Street. Notably, Hubley directed the "Letter E" segment for the latter's first episode on November 10, 1969.[106] Hubley directed over thirty animated segments for the show between 1969 and 1977.[107] His most notable contributions would be onThe Electric Company, where Hubley directed "The Adventures of Letterman" segments from 1972 to 1977[108] featuringJoan Rivers,Gene Wilder, andZero Mostel.[109] On bothSesame Street andThe Electric Company Hubley would again collaborate with artists like Quincy Jones andDizzy Gillespie for voice acting and music. To help handle the new workload at the studio, Hubley hired several new artists, including Tissa David andMichael Sporn.[110]
While working on animated segments forSesame Street andThe Electric Company, Hubley became more recognized for his television work (as he hadn't made a television commercial since the late 1950s).CBS approached the Hubleys to produce an educational program on geology for the station.[68] Hubley enlisted the help of geoscientistBruce Heezen to research the film.[111] Originally titled "What's Under My Foot?",[112]Dig (1972) premiered on CBS on April 8, 1972.[113] The film's music was composed by Jones and featuredJack Warden and Hubley's son, Ray. The following year, the film was adapted into a book co-written by John and Faith.[114] Much in the same wayThe Hole andThe Hat were companion pieces, Hubley's next film,Cockaboody (1973) was a companion piece toWindy Day (1967). Hubley again recorded a conversation between his daughters Georgia and Emily and brought it to life through animation.[115] UnlikeWindy Day, John and Faith collaborated with students in their animation class atYale University to create the film.Cockaboody was created in conjunction with the Hubleys' students at Yale, as well as theYale Child Study Center. The process of makingCockaboody at Yale was filmed by Howard Sayre Weaver for the documentaryIn Quest of Cockaboody (1973).[116]Cockaboody marked the first time The Hubley Studio name was used in one of Hubley's films, and the second film at the studio animated solely by David.John and Faith earned another Academy Award nomination for their next shot,Voyage to the Next (1974),[117][118][119] another collaboration with Gillespie, as well as actressesMaureen Stapleton andDee Dee Bridgewater commissioned by The Institute for World Order.[120] Continuing the themes of previous films likeEggs andThe Hat,Voyage to the Next tackles themes of environmentalism, nationalism, and war. The same year, theZagreb Film Festival held a career-long retrospective on John and Faith's films, with John serving as president of the year's jury.[68][121] In an ironic turn of events, Hubley's next film,People People People (1975), was commissioned by theUnited States Bicentennial Commission.[68] Hubley, now being commissioned by the same government that had practically forced him out of UPA in 1952, was finally free from the effects of the blacklist. This same year, both John and Faith were awarded the Winsor McCay Award from ASIFA, the highest honor an artist in the animation industry can receive.[122]
Now one of the most respected artists in an industry that had blacklisted him only two decades prior, Hubley began his most ambitious project to date. As early as 1973, John and Faith became interested in adaptingErik Erikson'sTheory of the Eight Stages of Life in a feature-length animated film. As they did withCockaboody, the Hubleys planned to make the film in conjunction with Yale's Film Laboratory Center. Initially, Erikson was dismissive of the idea,[123] but by 1975 he agreed, with CBS interested in airing the film. Initially, CBS and Hubley agreed the film would be three half-hour episodes, but CBS changed it to be one ninety-minute film during the final three months of production.[124] John and Faith created the film's storyboards alongside their Yale class, supervised by professor Ken Kennison.[125] Hubley picked many unknown actors with few or no prior credits for the film, includingLawrence Pressman, his then-girlfriendLanna Saunders, and Yale studentMeryl Streep in her first acting role.[126] The Hubley children also appear in the film for different stages of life.Everybody Rides the Carousel (1976) was broadcast on September 10, 1976.[127] Much like the Hubleys' previous films, the film is built from improvised conversations between the actors relating to Erikson's stages of life. The larger production led to Hubley Studios hiring a handful of new employees, including Erikson's daughter, Sue Erikson,[38] coincidentally a student of the Hubleys at Yale. The film was a success, and won the Blue Ribbon Award at that year'sAmerican Film Festival.[68]
Around the time Hubley began production onEverybody Rides the Carousel, producerMartin Rosen hired Hubley to direct an animated adaptation of Richard Adams'Watership Down (1972).[38] Hubley flew to London to meet Rosen at the new studio Rosen opened for the film and the two took trips to the English countryside for inspiration, but Hubley's interest in the project quickly faded. Rosen and Hubley frequently disagreed on the film's narrative, with Rosen pushing for grittiness and Hubley pushing for a lighter tone and more abstract visual style.[128] Hubley had signed an exclusivity contract to work on the film, but Rosen soon found out he was secretly developing a new film, leading to Rosen firing Hubley from the film and becoming the director himself.[129] Hubley's work can be seen in the opening "fable" scene,[130] animated byBill Littlejohn, Phil Duncan, Ruth Kissane, andBarrie Nelson.[131] Hubley is often credited as the co-director ofthe film, but his name does not appear in the credits. In November 1976,cartoonistGarry Trudeau approached Hubley with the idea of an animated special featuring Trudeau's characters fromDoonesbury. Hubley and Trudeau had already known one another, as Trudeau was one of Hubley's students in the early seventies, and Trudeau and the Hubleys greatly enjoyed working with one another.[132] In 1976, Doonesbury was one of the most popular newspaper comics in America, having won aPulitzer Prize the year prior[133] and frequently making headlines for being dropped by papers across the country over Trudeau's decision to tackle topical and controversial real-world events.[134] Unlike their previous films, John and Faith shared directing and producing credits with Trudeau and followed a tight script for the film. Toward the middle of production in February 1977 Hubley died,[135] leaving Faith and Trudeau to finish the film themselves.A Doonesbury Special (1977) was broadcast on NBC on November 27, 1977. The film earned Hubley a posthumous Academy Award Nomination[136][137][138] and posthumous Special Jury Prize at theCannes Film Festival, tying withOh, My Darling by Dutch animatorBørge Ring.[139]
On May 30, 1941, Hubley married Claudia Sewell, one of Disney's "ink and paint girls", inReno, Nevada.[140] The couple did not go on a honeymoon, and instead sped back to California to partake in the1941 animator's strike, which had started the day prior.[141] The Hubleys moved to a house at 10543 Woodbridge Street in theToluca Lake section ofLos Angeles.[142] Their first child, Anne, was born in 1942. John and Claudia had two more children, Mark and Susan, while living at 11689 Laurelwood Drive in Los Angeles.[64] Both houses were only a short drive from the UPA studio inBurbank.[143]
Sometime in the 1940s, Hubley metFaith Elliott, a stage manager from New York City who had come to Los Angeles to become ascript clerk atColumbia.[63]: 5 Faith recalled she "met John in Hollywood...when he was in the Army".[63]: 6 The two became friends and remained so during Hubley's time at UPA. When he was fired from UPA and began work onFinian's Rainbow,Yip Harburg assigned Elliott as Hubley's assistant.[1]: 132 By all accounts, the relationship between them wasplatonic, with Elliott saying they "both... controlled their friendship for ten years and after all [Hubley] was a married man with three children".[63]: 9 Nonetheless, as Elliott and Hubley grew closer, his own marriage crumbled. John and Claudia divorced in 1954, with his children staying in Los Angeles while he left to focus on Storyboard, Inc. inNew York City.
Hubley married Elliott in 1955. She had been born Faith Chestman in 1924, but kept the name of her first husband, Melvin Elliott, a radio announcer onWQXR.[144][145] She already had one child, Mark, born in 1952. When the Hubleys married, they vowed to make one film per year together, and to have dinner with their family every night.[56] They moved to theUpper West Side of New York City at 110 Riverside Drive,[146] and had three more children: Raymond (Ray),Emily, andGeorgia. All of the Hubley's children would voice characters in their films, with Mark and Ray appearing inMoonbird andDig, and Emily and Georgia appearing inWindy Day andCockaboody. All four are featured inEverybody Rides the Carousel. Ray later remembered "there were a lot of enforced things...in our family that [were] connected to the work regiment of [John and Faith's] relationship...they used to have a thing where we'd go around the table and tell [about] your day, and it was like a pitch meeting or something."[56] Ultimately pursuing artistic careers of their own,[147] Raymond became a film editor,[148] Emily an animator,[149] and Georgia co-founder of the bandYo La Tengo with her husband,Ira Kaplan.[150] Given the nature of John and Faith's collaboration, she was sometimes overlooked professionally, with the attention and credit for their films given to her husband.[56] John actively fought against this, highlighting Faith's contributions and their collaboration whenever possible. After his soloAcademy Award win[151] forMoonbird, he and Faith would be nominated together for the rest of their joint career. In the final interview before his death, in which he spoke with journalistMichael Barrier John said he thought Barrier would surely "write [the article] in terms of the partnership of me and Faith, because all of the films, right from the beginning of our stuff, fromGuggenheim on up, have always been a very close collaboration, creatively and on every other level."[38]
Hubley remained close with a number of UPA and Disney animators, many of whom he worked with on Storyboard, Inc. films. The Hubleys also became close friends with musicianDizzy Gillespie in the 1950s, meeting through mutual friendPaul Robeson.[70] Gillespie made several films with Storyboard, Inc., including theAcademy Award-winningThe Hole. Gillespie "respect[ed] them and appreciate[d] their creativity", calling them "wonderful people, very warm and very generous" who "seem[ed] to see me in things other people don't see".[70] Gillespie was a constant presence around the Hubley's house, with Mark Hubley remembering John and Faith "having parties [with Gillespie]" often, and Gillespie once "standing on his head playing'Happy Birthday'" for Raymond.[56] Hubley was also close withBenny Carter andQuincy Jones.[63]: 13
Hubley was a lifelong registeredDemocrat.[152] In 1951, theHouse Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) heard the testimony of UPA layout artist Bernyce Fleury, who claimed Hubley's films promotedcommunism and Hubley held communist sympathies.[50] On April 25, 1952, Hubley was formallysubpoenaed by the HUAC to appear at the Los Angeles Federal Building for questioning.[153] The subpoena was served to Hubley's attorney on May 2.[154] While Hubley did leave UPA, he did not respond to the subpoena, and on February 2, 1953, Hubley was again summoned to the Federal Building for questioning.[155] Boyle found that Hubley had moved in the year prior before receiving the subpoena,[156] hence his lack of response. For an unknown reason, Hubley was not subpoenaed again until May 4, 1955, to appear before the HUAC.[157] Hubley responded, and was set to appear before the HUAC on June 20, 1956.[158] Hubley's attorney, Arthur McNulty,[159] postponed the hearing twice, first until June 28,[160] then to July 5,[161] likely since Hubley had already moved to New York City.
On July 5, 1956, Hubley appeared before the HUAC in Room 227 of the Los Angeles Federal Building with McNulty as his counsel.[159]: 5809 California RepresentativesClyde Doyle andDonald L. Jackson presided over the hearing. When asked if he held communist sympathies, Hubley responded "I feel that in the area of politics...I do not feel personally that your committee should ask me to reveal or speak on these matters, either with my opinions or associations...I do not agree it is a proper question for a person such as myself to be asked".[159]: 5811 Hubleyinvoked the Fifth Amendment for the remainder of the hearing.[159]: 5812 When asked if his films at UPA promoted communist ideas, Hubley replied:
I have a lot of opinions on art...It is public work, and anyone is welcome to examine it and to look at it, and I stand on my work, and not on my opinions. My opinions can change, and I have changed them many times, all through my life, and I like the right we have to be able to change them. But the work stands. I have no shame about it. If anyone wants to examine it, it is there...My work has been my own work, and my own talent, and my own opinions.[159]: 5814
Hubley was never formally indicted by the HUAC, but the investigation did effectivelyblacklist him from Hollywood afterwards. He named his new studio Storyboard, Inc. out of fear of using his own name.
While at UPA, Hubley's films were more flat and graphic than those ofDisney Studios orWarner Bros. Cartoons. Hubley was greatly influenced byIvan Ivanov-Vano'sThe Tale of Czar Durandai (1934),[33] which usedlimited animation and flat compositions to create an incredibly stylized world. While Hubley's early UPA films featuringThe Fox and the Crow animate the main characters in a style similar to that of Disney Studios, the films' backgrounds showcase Hubley's influence from European design.Punchy De Leon opens with apanning shot of a highly-stylized graphic background that uses skewed perspective, large blocks of color, and exaggerated shape language. Hints of Hubley's stylization of background perspectives and crows shots can also be seen inRobin Hoodlum andThe Magic Fluke.
After UPA finished its trial run withColumbia in 1950, Hubley's films became more visually ambitious. As the supervising director ofGerald McBoing-Boing, Hubley oversaw the film's unique visuals provided by designer Bill Hurtz[162] andcoloristsHerb Klynn andJules Engel.Rooty Toot Toot uses complex color blocking to tell its story visually, and implements even stronger skewed perspective and stylized line art backgrounds. UnlikeGerald Mc-Boing Boing, which uses abstract blocks of color in its backgrounds,Rooty Toot Toot experimented with different patterns and brush types.[163] The film's last act is illustrated in the style of sponge painting, pulling inspiration from Europeanabstract expressionist artists. This push towards replicating brush strokes and printmaking in backgrounds extended to the animated segments Hubley directed forThe Four Poster.
For his independent directorial debut,The Adventures of *, Hubley drew heavily from the visual style of artists likePaul Klee,Joan Miró, andPablo Picasso.[63]: 13 The film's backgrounds were painted with sponges and thick brushes for texture. The characters were drawn in yellow crayon on black paper to give them a more unique, handmade look.[164] In subsequent films, Hubley would experiment withwatercolors,ballpoint pen, andfabric markers to give his films distinctive visuals. Hubley used bothcels and theXerox method (popularized byUb Iwerks on the 1961 filmOne Hundred and One Dalmatians)[165] depending on the film. ForCockaboody, characters were drawn on paper byTissa David, then cut out and placed on cels. Hubley sometimes opted to use underlighting[166] - wherein the drawing or cel is lit from below rather than above - to make the films more distinct, and often usedmultiple exposure for more complex elements, like the river inTender Game[56] or the abstract color section inEverybody Rides the Carousel.
While directingThe Ragtime Bear, Hubley encouraged actorJim Backus toimprovise his dialogue and ramble on as his characterMr. Magoo would.[32]: 18 Bauckus' unique vocal performance would make Mr. Magoo a hit, becoming UPA's flagship character. The idea of using improvised dialogue in animation was not created by Hubley, asDave Fleischer often encouraged his actors to make up their own dialogue for hisPopeye andBetty Boop shorts,[167] but the success of Bauckus as Mr. Magoo inspired Hubley to pursue stream of consciousness improvisation for his independent films. Hubley took the idea a step further by recording his children playing together, interpreting their conversations through animation[168] after Faith had edited them together into a story. Films likeThe Hat,The Hole, andEverybody Rides the Carousel consist entirely of improvised conversations between actors, andZuckerlandl! is an animated interpretation of acomedy routine byRobert M. Hutchins.
Many of Hubley's films at Storyboard, Inc. with his wife explorewar and the nature of conflict.The Hat,The Hole,Eggs,Voyage to the Next, andUrbanissimo tackleindustrialization, war,overpopulation, and theenvironment, all subjects the Hubleys were highly concerned with. Hubley, himself an avid reader of psychology books, also looked to explore complex psychological theories in his films, as he believed animation to be the perfect medium to visualize such intricate ideas.[169] Fittingly, the Hubleys taught a class at Yale called "The Visualization of Abstract Themes".[38] Hubley was also fascinated with the way children discussed life and their own experiences, which can be seen inMoonbird,Windy Day, andCockaboody.
During the production ofA Doonesbury Special, Hubley went to theYale New Haven Medical Center for what was thought to be a standardheart procedure. Hubley died during the surgery on February 21, 1977, at the age of 62.[94]A Doonesbury Special was completed by his wife andGarry Trudeau, earning John Hubley a posthumous Academy Award nomination andPalme d'Or win.[170] Hubley wascremated, and his ashes were spread over the Atlantic Ocean.
During his life and after his death, retrospectives and screenings of Hubley's films have been held all over the world. TheMuseum of Modern Art held a major two-part exhibition on the Hubleys' films and artwork in 1997 and 1998,[171] and theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences held a salute to Hubley in 2011.[172]Mr. Magoo, a character co-created by Hubley, would become one of the most famous cartoon characters of all time, ranking #29 onTV Guide's "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list in 2002.[173] Hubley is often cited as one of the most influential figures in the history of animation, influencing artists such asMichael Sporn,[174]Gene Deitch,[175] and his own daughter,Emily Hubley. On October 2, 2022, Garry Trudeau'sDoonesbury ran a strip encouraging readers to watch Hubley'sWindy Day.[176]
Eight of Hubley's films (Moonbird,The Hole,A Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass Double Feature,Windy Day,Of Men and Demons,Voyage to the Next,A Doonesbury Special, andA Smattering of Spots - a reel of Storyboard, Inc. commercials) are preserved in theAcademy Film Archive.[177] Papers from Hubley's life are held at theSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, theHarvard University Library, theYale University Library, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2013,The Hole was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry by theLibrary of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[178] Artwork fromMoonbird,Windy Day,Cockaboody, and several other of the Hubleys' films are on display at theAcademy Museum of Motion Pictures inLos Angeles.[179]
In 2021, a crowdfunded campaign headed by the Animation Education Association to have a Wisconsin State Historical Marker for Hubley placed inMarinette, Wisconsin, reached its goal.[180] The marker was unveiled on May 20, 2023.[181] To coincide with the unveiling, May 20, 2023, was proclaimed "John and Faith Hubley Day" in Wisconsin by Marinette's mayor Steve Genisot.[182]
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