R. O. Blechman

Life and career

Oscar Robert Blechman, whose professional name transposes the initials of his first two given names, was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, and attended the High School of Music and Art Henry Holt published his first book, The Juggler of Our Lady, a Christmas retelling of the medieval legend, in 1953. Five years later, it was adapted into a nine-minute Terrytoons animated short by Al Kouzel and Gene Deitch, narrated by Boris Karloff. The short earned a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Animated Film.

After being drafted into the United States Army and serving in Asbury Park, New Jersey, he was invited by animator John Hubley to join the advertising studio Storyboard Inc., where Blechman learned animation. He expanded into spot illustration and sequential-panel illustration for such magazines as Harper's Bazaar, Trump, Punch, Esquire, Humbug, Theater Arts and Show; a humorous print campaign for Capezio shoes; and drawings for Irving Trust bank, The New School, and D'Orsay perfumes, among others. His 1967 TV commercial for Alka-Seltzer, for which he created the storyboard and drawings, "remains a classic of American advertising".

During the 1970s, Blechman penned Vietnam War editorial cartoons for the liberal alternative weekly The Village Voice. or 1979, Blechman founded the commercial-animation studio The Ink Tank.

Blechman directed the 1984 PBS special The Soldier's Tale, an animated, one-hour adaptation of composer Igor Stravinsky's and playwright C. F. Ramuz's theater piece L'Histoire du Soldat. The special won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement – Animated Programming.

The Museum of Modern Art mounted the retrospective "R. O. Blechman and The Ink Tank: A Celebration", beginning January 17, 2003.

Blechman wrote and illustrated the 2007 children's book Franklin the Fly; and wrote the book Dear James: Letters to a Young Illustrator. His graphic stories are collected in Talking Lines. The French publisher Delpire published a collection of his artwork for the series "Poche Illustrateur", and his graphic novel Georgie.

Personal life

Blechman and his wife, Moisha Kubinyi, the daughter of painters Doris Hall and Kálmán Kubinyi, lived on Central Park West in Manhattan and Max,

Awards and honors

• Adweek Illustrator of the Year, 1983
• AIGA Design Archives: The Soldier's Tale poster in category Promotional Design and Advertising, 1984
• Inductee, Art Director's Hall of Fame, 1999
• National Cartoonists Society Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award, 2011

Primetime Emmy Awards and nomination

• 1983 Nomination: Outstanding Individual Achievement - Graphic Design and Title Sequences: Nicholas Nickleby (syndicated), R.O. Blechman, Seymour Chwast, Andy Ewan, graphic designers
• 1984 Award: Outstanding Individual Achievement - Animated Programming: The Soldier's Tale (PBS), R.O. Blechman, director

References

References

1. {{YouTube. MUWMjUjit_U. "R.O. Blechman CBS Christmas Message (1966)"
2. Sorel, Edward. "1999 Hall of Fame: R.O Blechman, Advertising/Illustration". The Art Directors Club.
3. "Biography". R.O. Blechman] (official site).
4. Blechman, R.O.; introduction by Brian K. Mahoney. (November 2006). "R. O. Blechman". Chronogram.
5. ''Franklin the Fly''. New York: Creative Editions, 2007; {{ISBN. 1-56846-148-8, {{ISBN. 978-1-56846-148-9)
6. ''Dear James: Letters to a Young Illustrator''. New York: Simon & Schuster 2009
7. ''Talking Lines'' Montreal: Drawn and Quarterly, 2009
8. Blechman, R. O.; introduction by Steve Heller. (2010). "R.O. Blechman". [[Robert Delpire]].
9. Blechman, R. O.. (April 2, 2011). "Georgie". [[Robert Delpire]].
10. [http://www.askart.com/askart/i/doris_hall_mrs_ikubinyi/doris_hall_mrs_ikubinyi.aspx "Doris (Mrs. Kalman Kubinyi) Hall (1907 -)"], Ask Art: The Artists' Bluebook. {{webarchive. link. (December 29, 2007 .)
11. [http://designarchives.aiga.org/#/entries/R.O.%20Blechman/credits%3A%22R.O.%20Blechman%22/detail/relevance/asc/5/7/11861/the-soldiers-tale/1 ''The Soldier's Tale''], [[AIGA]] Design Archives
12. "NCS Awards: The Caniff". National Cartoonists Society (official site).
13. "R.O. Blechman Emmy Awards and Nominations". [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]].