Wed Apr 23, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg

Happy Birthday: Myron Waldman

The man partially responsible for Betty Boop

Born in 1908 in Brooklyn, NY, Myron Waldman always loved to draw. He went to Pratt Institute and majored in Art, graduating in 1930.

Shortly after that, Waldman got a job with Max Fleisher Studios. He started as an inker, but by 1934 was one of Fleisher’s lead animators, working on Betty Boop, Popeye, Raggedy Ann, and even Superman. When war broke out, Waldman joined the Army, and served for three years—upon his return he went to work for Paramount’s Famous Studios, handling Casper the Friendly Ghost.

From 1958 to 1968 Waldman worked for Hal Seeger Productions, reviving the old Fleisher series Out of the Inkwell and helping to create Milton the Monster. Waldman also drew the 1940s comic strip Happy the Humbug, and wrote Eve: A Pictorial Love Story, one of the earliest American graphic novels.

In 1997, he received the Windsor McCay Award for lifetime achievement in animation. Waldman passed away in 2006 but his influence is still felt by animators and cartoon artists everywhere.

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