This just in thanks to Leslie Brooks (who owns the drawing) and Germund von Wowern.

Wade Sampson wrote about the Near Sighted Robin (see my previous post) while I was away but there was no illustration. Here is one!

This just in from Jim Korkis:

[In the early 1970s, Don and Lynda Ault interviewed artist Paul Murry. That interview is currently begin transcribed and edited for a future edition of Walt's People. Paul Murry is probably best known for his work on Disney related comic strips like "Uncle Remus" and comic books where he supplied the artwork for many of the Mickey Mouse serials in the back of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. However, Murry got his start at the Disney Studio as an inbetweener and later as an assistant animator to the legendary Fred Moore before becoming a full animator on such classics as "Dumbo".

To whet your interest, here is a brief quote from that interview where Murry talked about the fact that he and Moore would often leave early in the day from the Disney Studios in Burbank and go to a nearby bar to spend the rest of the afternoon.

"That’s what Fred Moore might do in the old days. Big cockney ass of his and he would walk out of the studio, over to the bar, sit there and drink whisky, and talk to old James Jeffries, the boxer who used to be heavyweight champion. They used to hang out together. He was a big star. Haven’t you heard of Jeffries Barn? Used to be down here in the valley. He came out of retirement and fought Jack Johnson. He got beat. Got the devil beat out of him. But you probably don’t know him."

Hard to believe that Moore not only knew Jeffries but was his drinking friend. Jeffries was the Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the world and retired undefeated in 1905. He was coaxed out of retirement to fight Africian American boxing champion Jack Johnson in 1910 in a bout in Reno, Nevada. (The life of Jack Johnson inspired the play "The Great White Hope".) Jeffries was obviously out of shape and his corner threw in the towel in the 15th round. In later years, Jeffries trained boxers and worked as a fight promoter. He promoted many fights out of a structure known as "Jeffries Barn" which was located on his alfalfa ranch at the southwest corner of Victory Boulvevard and Buena Vista in Burbank, California near the Disney Studios. Jeffries Barn is now part of Knott's Berry Farm, a Southern California amusement park.]

Disney Historian Jim Korkis sent the following:

[Back in the late Sixties and early Seventies, two friends named Wayne DeWald and Gary Brown would track down comic book and comic strip artists like C.C. Beck, Al Williamson, Don Martin, Hal Foster and write to them. DeWald and Brown were both members of an apa (amateur press alliance--where each member published a pre-determined number of his own contribution and sends it to a central mailer who picks out one copy from each stack of submissions puts them together in one magazine and sends it back to each member) named CAPA-Alpha (the first comics apa) and would share some of the information they got from these artists. Occasionally, the artists would also do free original art for them. DeWald tracked down Paul Murry who had been an animator at the Disney Studios but went on to greater fame as an artist for the DELL/GOLD KEY comic books, in particular the Mickey Mouse serials in the back of WALT DISNEY COMICS AND STORIES. Murry had been an assistant to Freddy Moore at Disney.

I recently got in touch with DeWald and Brown to ask about Paul Murry. DeWald wrote: “In Murry’s case, I don't know if I wrote him via Gold Key comics or what. In those days I regularly wrote letters to just about every artist I could think of, usually getting at least a note in response. To the best of my recollection I think we were in touch about 1968-1970. He did four or five illustrations for me of Mickey Mouse, Pluto and Goofy and those are also gone although my good friend Gary Brown still has two of the Mickey Mouse ones that he used for his K-a apa zine, “Ibid”. All the artwork Murry did (for free) was done in India ink and it was on art board. My overwhelming recollection is what a nice guy Murry was and how eager he was to talk about his animation days."

With Gary Brown's permission, here are the two Mickey Mouse drawings by Murry that he ran on his K-a zine in 1970 that he said could be shared with Disney fans. K-a had less than 50 members so less than 50 people originally saw this artwork.]