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Winsor McCay

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Winsor McCay

Zenas Winsor McCay (c. 1866–1871 – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip Little Nemo (1905–1914; 1924–1927) and the animated film Gertie the Dinosaur (1914). For contractual reasons, he worked under the pen name Silas on the comic strip Dream of the Rarebit Fiend. From a young age, McCay was a quick, prolific, and technically dextrous artist. He started his professional career making posters and performing for dime museums, and in 1898 began illustrating newspapers and magazines. In 1903 he joined the New York Herald, where he created popular comic strips such as Little Sammy Sneeze and Dream of the Rarebit Fiend. In 1905, his signature strip Little Nemo in Slumberland debuted—a fantasy strip in an Art Nouveau style about a young boy and his adventurous dreams. The strip demonstrated McCay's strong graphic sense and mastery of color and linear perspective. McCay experimented with the formal elements of the comic strip page, arranging and sizing panels to increase impact and enhance the narrative. McCay also produced numerous detailed editorial cartoons and was a popular performer of chalk talks on the vaudeville circuit. McCay was an early animation pioneer; between 1911 and 1921, he self-financed and animated ten films, some of which survive only as fragments. The first three served in his vaudeville act; Gertie the Dinosaur was an interactive routine in which McCay appeared to give orders to a trained dinosaur. McCay and his assistants worked for twenty-two months on his most ambitious film, The Sinking of the Lusitania (1918), a patriotic recreation of the German torpedoing in 1915 of the RMS Lusitania. Lusitania did not enjoy as much commercial success as the earlier films, and McCay's later movies attracted little attention. His animation, vaudeville, and comic strip work was gradually curtailed as newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, his employer since 1911, expected McCay to devote his energies to editorial illustrations. In his drawing, McCay made bold, prodigious use of linear perspective, particularly in detailed architecture and cityscapes. He textured his editorial cartoons with copious fine hatching, and made color a central element in Little Nemo. His comic strip work has influenced generations of cartoonists and illustrators. The technical level of McCay's animation—its naturalism, smoothness, and scale—was unmatched until the work of Fleischer Studios in the late 1920s, followed by Walt Disney's feature films in the 1930s. He pioneered inbetweening, the use of registration marks, cycling, and other animation techniques that were to become standard.

Infobox

Born
Zenas Winsor McKayc. 1866–1871Spring Lake, Michigan, US; or Canada (disputed)
Died
(1934-07-26)July 26, 1934 (aged 63–68)New York City, US
Resting place
Cemetery of the Evergreens, Brooklyn, New York 40°41′2.0″N 73°54′4.3″W / 40.683889°N 73.901194°W / 40.683889; -73.901194 (Winsor McCay's resting place)
Occupations
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Notable work
Gertie the Dinosaur Little Nemo
Spouse
mw- Maude Leonore Dufour (m. 1891)
Children
2, including Bob

Tables

Comic strips by Winsor McCay · List of comic strips
A Tale of the Jungle Imps by Felix Fiddle
A Tale of the Jungle Imps by Felix Fiddle
Title
A Tale of the Jungle Imps by Felix Fiddle
Begin date
Jan 11, 1903
End date
Nov 9, 1903
Notes
based on poems written by George Randolph Chester
Mr. Goodenough
Mr. Goodenough
Title
Mr. Goodenough
Begin date
Jan 21, 1904
End date
Mar 4, 1904
Sister's Little Sister's Beau
Sister's Little Sister's Beau
Title
Sister's Little Sister's Beau
Begin date
Apr 24, 1904
End date
Apr 24, 1904
Phurious Phinish of Phoolish Philipe's Phunny Phrolics
Phurious Phinish of Phoolish Philipe's Phunny Phrolics
Title
Phurious Phinish of Phoolish Philipe's Phunny Phrolics
Begin date
May 28, 1904
End date
May 28, 1904
Little Sammy Sneeze
Little Sammy Sneeze
Title
Little Sammy Sneeze
Begin date
Jul 24, 1904
End date
May 26, 1907
Dream of the Rarebit Fiend
Dream of the Rarebit Fiend
Title
Dream of the Rarebit Fiend
Begin date
Sep 10, 1904
End date
Jun 25, 1911
Jan 19, 1913
Jan 19, 1913
Title
Jan 19, 1913
Begin date
Aug 3, 1913
End date
revived by the New York Herald, printing left-over strips in color
The Story of Hungry Henrietta
The Story of Hungry Henrietta
Title
The Story of Hungry Henrietta
Begin date
Jan 8, 1905
End date
Jul 16, 1905
A Pilgrim's Progress By Mister Bunion
A Pilgrim's Progress By Mister Bunion
Title
A Pilgrim's Progress By Mister Bunion
Begin date
Jun 26, 1905
End date
May 4, 1909
Notes
appeared in the New York Evening Telegram
Little Nemo in Slumberland
Little Nemo in Slumberland
Title
Little Nemo in Slumberland
Begin date
Oct 15, 1905
End date
Jul 23, 1911
Notes
1911–14 under the title In the Land of Wonderful Dreams
Aug 3, 1924
Aug 3, 1924
Title
Aug 3, 1924
Begin date
Dec 26, 1926
End date
restarted after McCay returned to the Herald Tribune
Poor Jake
Poor Jake
Title
Poor Jake
Begin date
1909
End date
1911
Notes
appeared in the New York Evening Telegram
In the Land of Wonderful Dreams
In the Land of Wonderful Dreams
Title
In the Land of Wonderful Dreams
Begin date
Sep 3, 1911
End date
Dec 26, 1914
Notes
Little Nemo retitled when McCay moved to Hearst's papers
Rarebit Reveries
Rarebit Reveries
Title
Rarebit Reveries
Begin date
c. 1923
End date
c. 1925
Notes
revival of Dream of the Rarebit Fiend signed "Robert Winsor McCay Jr.", though most likely McCay's artwork
Title
Title
Title
Title
Begin date
Begin date
End date
End date
Notes
Notes
Title
Begin date
End date
Notes
A Tale of the Jungle Imps by Felix Fiddle
Jan 11, 1903
Nov 9, 1903
based on poems written by George Randolph Chester
Mr. Goodenough
Jan 21, 1904
Mar 4, 1904
Sister's Little Sister's Beau
Apr 24, 1904
Apr 24, 1904
Phurious Phinish of Phoolish Philipe's Phunny Phrolics
May 28, 1904
May 28, 1904
Little Sammy Sneeze
Jul 24, 1904
May 26, 1907
Dream of the Rarebit Fiend
Sep 10, 1904
Jun 25, 1911
Jan 19, 1913
Aug 3, 1913
revived by the New York Herald, printing left-over strips in color
The Story of Hungry Henrietta
Jan 8, 1905
Jul 16, 1905
A Pilgrim's Progress By Mister Bunion
Jun 26, 1905
May 4, 1909
appeared in the New York Evening Telegram
Little Nemo in Slumberland
Oct 15, 1905
Jul 23, 1911
1911–14 under the title In the Land of Wonderful Dreams
Aug 3, 1924
Dec 26, 1926
restarted after McCay returned to the Herald Tribune
Poor Jake
1909
1911
appeared in the New York Evening Telegram
In the Land of Wonderful Dreams
Sep 3, 1911
Dec 26, 1914
Little Nemo retitled when McCay moved to Hearst's papers
Rarebit Reveries
c. 1923
c. 1925
revival of Dream of the Rarebit Fiend signed "Robert Winsor McCay Jr.", though most likely McCay's artwork
Title
Begin date
End date
Notes
Films by Winsor McCay · Filmography
Title
Year
Notes
File
Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics
April 11, 1911
more commonly called Little Nemo
How a Mosquito Operates
January 1912
also known as The Story Of A Mosquito
Gertie the Dinosaur
February 18, 1914
Lost original stage show version
Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist, and Gertie
December 28, 1914
Expansion of the stage show version, adding a live action introduction in a museum and dialogue inter-titles.
The Sinking of the Lusitania
May 18, 1918
Bug Vaudeville
September 12, 1921
The Pet
September 19, 1921
The Flying House
September 26, 1921
The Centaurs
1921
survives only in fragments
Gertie on Tour
c. 1918–21
survives only in fragments
Flip's Circus
c. 1918–21
survives only in fragments
Performing Animals
unknown
original 35mm nitrate film has not survived
Title
Year
Notes
File

References

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