Showing posts with label School of Industrial Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label School of Industrial Art. Show all posts

Monday, January 6, 2025

Comics: Ray Burzon, Letterer


Raymond William “Ray” Burzon was born on December 6, 1932, in the Bronx, New York, according to the New York, New York Birth Index, at Ancestry.com, and his obituary. His parents were William, of Germany, and Marie, of Luxembourg.

The 1940 U.S. Census said Burzon lived with his parents and an aunt in the Bronx at 2558 Creston Avenue. His parents were self-employed bakers. 


The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina), November 21, 2016, said “At age 16, Ray joined the Squire youth group and advanced to 4th degree as member of the Knights of Columbus in St. Andrews Parish …”

In the 1950 census, the Burzons were at the same address. 


Burzon studied advertising design at the School of Industrial Art in Manhattan. He graduated in 1951.

The Palette yearbook. The middle initial is incorrect.

The Sun News said Burzon 
served in the Korean War as a corporal in the U.S. Army. After the Army, he became a commercial artist and was an art director for J. Walter Thompson in Manhattan, NY, working on Pan American Airlines, Ford and Proctor and Gamble accounts. Later he went on to Ayers advertising …
Burzon’s marriage was reported in the Hackensack Record (New Jersey) on October 14, 1957. 
Eleanore Kohler, Raymond Burzon 
Palisades Park—Miss Eleanore Marie Kohler, daughter of Mrs. Marie Kohler of 30 Henry Avenue and the late Mr. Kohler, was married to Raymond Burzon, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Burzon of the Bronx, at 4:30 P. M. Saturday at St. Michael’s R. C. Church.

Given in marriage by her god father, James Lamb, the bride wore French lace. 

Miss Joshine Lamb of Palisades Park was maid of honor, Miss Erna Marquardt of Rochelle Park and Mrs. Raymond Huber of Greenwood Lake were bridesmaids. 

Best man was William Keppler and ushers were Bruce Keppler and Fred Darmstadt, all of the Bronx. 

After a reception at Sauter’s in Fairview the couple left for Daytona Beach, Fla. They will reside in Ridgefield. 

Mrs. Burzon studied at Leonia High School and is a telephone operator. Her husband, a graduate of Industrial Art High School and an Army veteran, is a commercial artist. 
Burzon’s comic book lettering began with Charlton as early as 1958. In Alter Ego #107, February 2012, Jim Amash interviewed Tony Tallarico. 
Amash: So you were lettering your own stuff.

Tallarico: Most of the time, except I had a friend of mine, Ray Burzon, who was an art director at J. Walter Thompson. He lettered a lot of my stuff.
The interview continued in Alter Ego #108, April 2012. 
Amash: From 1968 to ’75, you’re listed as lettering for them [Charlton].

Tallarico: No, that was my friend, Ray Burzon. I might have lettered a story that I was working on if the deadline was tight and I didn’t have time to give it to Ray. But that didn’t happen very often.
The interview continued in Alter Ego #109, May 2012. 
Amash: And were they paying thirty-five a page, too?

Tallarico: Yes, no lettering. With lettering, it was $37.50, so I had D.J. [Arneson] contact Ray Burzon, and Ray worked directly for him.

JA: Did you have to turn in the pencils first?

Tallarico: No, I did pencils, got them to Ray to letter, who would get them back to me; then I would ink the job and bring it in. …
At some point, Burzon moved to Pearl River, New York, where he was involved with scouting. The Journal-News (Nyack, New York), October 28, 1970, said 
... Frank McCoy has been named as the new committee chairman for Cub Scout Pack 34 sponsored by St. Margaret’s Church, Pearl River. He succeeds Connie DeFelice who held the position for three years.

Returning pack leaders and committee members include Walter Kelly, cubmaster; Pe­ter Siano, assistant cubmaster; Larry McKeamey, Webelos leader; Ray Burzon, advancement; Tom Crean; activities; John Rooney, transportation; Art Maggio, fund raiser; and Bob Roman, publicity.
The Sun News said “Ray was a very involved Scout Master for 5 years in St. Margaret’s Parish in Pearl River, N.Y.”

In 1990 Burzon retired with his wife to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. His hobbies included oil painting, gardening, swimming and reading. 

Burzon passed away on November 18, 2016, in Myrtle Beach. 


Related Posts











(Next post on Monday: Hotel Canada, Vancouver, Canada)
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Monday, October 21, 2024

Comics: A Few Details About Les Zakarin, Inker

Les Zakarin was born Lester Sam Zakarin on March 17, 1929, in Brooklyn, New York. The birth information is from the New York, New York Birth Index, at Ancestry.com, and Army draft card. Zakarin’s full name was on his Social Security application. 

In the 1930 United States Census, Zakarin was the only child of Alex, a Russian immigrant, and Mollie. They lived in Brooklyn at 334 Bradford Street. 

Lines 64–66

The 1940 census said Zakarin was the oldest of three boys. The Zakarins were Brooklyn residents at the same address. 

Lines 25–29

Zakarin attended the School of Industrial Art in Manhattan and graduated in 1947. His classmates included Jon D’Agostino, Hal Fromm, John Romita and Herbert Tauss. 

The Palette yearbook

On March 24, 1947, Zakarin signed his draft card. His Brooklyn address was 1398 East 49th Street. He was employed at the Pyramid Belt Co. in Manhattan. Zakarin’s description was five feet seven inches, 130 pounds, with brown eyes and hair.


In Alter Ego, #9 July 2001, Roy Thomas interviewed John Romita who explained how he got into comics. 
RT: You mentioned at the 1995 Stan Lee Roast in Chicago how in ’49 you started out penciling for a guy who was really an inker, but who pretended to Stan that he was penciling material which you ghosted for him. Don’t you think it's time you finally told us who that artist was?

ROMITA: The reason I never gave his name was, I didn’t want to embarrass him. His name was Lester Zakarin. I met him for the first time in forty years in 1999, at a convention in New York, and he told me he wasn’t offended by any of the interviews I’d given. I’d always say that this artist I was ghosting for would tell Stan he could pencil, but actually I’d do the penciling for him, and he just inked my pencils.

But Stan was one of the few editors who’d ask guys to make changes. And when he asked Lester Zakarin to change something, he would panic. So I would go into the city with him and I’d wait at the New York Public Library, which was very close to where Timely was, at the Empire State Building. Zakarin would get the corrections from Stan and tell him, “I can’t draw in front of people. It has to be absolutely quiet. I’m going to a friend’s office. I’ll do these corrections and bring them back in the afternoon.” Then he’d meet me at the library, and I’d do the corrections, and then he’d go back to Stan. [laughs]
Zakarin’s comics credits are at the Grand Comics Database and Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999. 

According to the 1950 census, Zakarin was a cartoonist at a magazine publisher. He earned $2,000 in 1949. Zakarin lived with his parents in Brooklyn at 1398 East 48th Street.

Lines 1–4; Zakarin’s father was on the previous sheet

Zakarin, a registered voter, was a Democrat. 

In 1952 Zakarin and Iris F. Schulman obtained marriage license number 16084 in Manhattan.

During the Korean War, Zakarin was listed in the 1953 Augusta, Georgia city directory. 


Art Director & Studio News, September 1954, said Zakarin was a winner in the Annual June Exhibition of the Cartoonists and Illustrators School. 

The 1954 Brooklyn telephone directory listed Zakarin and his wife at 642 East 92 Street. 

According to the Board of Elections in the City of New York, List of Enrolled Voters for the Year 1956–1957, Borough of Brooklyn, Zakarin and his wife were Democrats who resided at 446 Kingston Avenue. The 1962 Brooklyn directory had the same address. 

A 1969 issue of the University of the State of New York Bulletin listed Zakarin in the category of Registered Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. 
Zakarin, Lester Samuel (PE), 1841 Central Park Ave, Yonkers
Zakarin, Lester S. (62, A.M. 62) Proj Engr, Malcolm Pirnie Inc, 226 Westchester Ave, White Plains NY, 10604, (1853 Central Park Ave, Yonkers NY) (28) CO SM
The photograph below is from an event in the early 1970s. (Visit the Tripod site of Yosi Jeff Zakarin: click Zakarins Unite!!! A Family History Site; click Photographs; click Historical Photographs From 1941 to 1980, automatic download.)


In 1994 Zakarin was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. 

Zakarin passed away on January 30, 2003, in New York. He was laid to rest at Mount Ararat Cemetery. 



Related Post


Further Reading
Alter Ego #27, August 2003, preview has first two pages of Zakarin’s interview


 
 
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Monday, June 19, 2023

Comics: A Few Details About John Romita Sr., Artist and Art Director

John Victor Romita Sr. was born on January 24, 1930, in Brooklyn, New York, according to the New York, New York Birth Index at Ancestry.com.

The 1930 United States Census was enumerated in April. Romita was three-months-old and the first child of Vito, an Italian immigrant, and Minnie. They were Brooklyn residents at 1414 East 13th Street. 

Lines 40–42

The 1940 Census said Romita was the oldest of five siblings. The family lived at 242 Ellery Street in Brooklyn. 

Lines 30–36

Romita attended the School of Industrial Art in Manhattan and graduated in 1947. His classmates included Jon D’Agostino, Hal Fromm, Herbert Tauss and Les Zakarin. In a 2003 interview, Romita mentioned two instructors, Howard Simon and Ben Clemons. 

The Palette yearbook

The Romita family resided in Brooklyn at 229 Ellery Street, apartment 1. Romita was an “artist helper”. 

Lines 10–16

In Comic Book Marketplace, #84, August 2001, Romita said he served during the Korean War starting in 1951. After basic training, he was assigned to Fort Dix where he produced artwork and posters.

In 1952, Romita and Virginia G. Bruno obtained marriage license number 25662 in Manhattan. 

In The Comics Journal #252, May 2003, Romita said he was discharged from the Army in July 1953. 

The Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series, Volume 9, Part 1, Number 1, Books and Pamphlets, January–June 1955 had the following entry. 
Cooley, Donald G.
What is a friend? 15 p. Appl. author: John Victor Romita, © Ticonderoga Publishers, division of Christmas Club, a Corp.; 13Apr55; A189633.

Related Post
 
Further Reading
Cartoonist PROfiles, #39, September 1978, Interview, Part 1
Cartoonist PROfiles, #40, December 1978, Interview, Part 2
Comic Book Artist #6, Fall 1999, John Romita Sr.: Spidey’s Man (excerpt) 
Alter Ego #9, July 2001, A Candid Conversation With Marvel Artist/Art Director Supreme John Romita
Comic Book Marketplace, #84, August 2001, John Romita Sr. the Versatile Virtuoso
Editor & Publisher, November 11, 1976, Spider-Man debuts
Comic Book, June 13, 2023
Comic Book Resources, June 13, 2023
Hollywood Reporter, June 13, 2023
News from ME, June 13, 2023
The New York Times, June 14, 2023


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Comics: Joe Giella’s World War II Draft Card















Related Posts

Further Reading
The Comics Journal, Joe Giella Interview


(Next post on Monday: Victor Caruso, Photo-Lettering Inc. and ITC)
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Monday, February 27, 2023

Lettering: Vincent Pacella, Photo-Lettering Inc. and ITC

Vincent Anthony Pacella was born on September 11, 1934, in Manhattan, New York, New York, according to the New York, New York, Birth Index at Ancestry.com. His full name was recorded in the Index to Public Records, 1994–2019, also at Ancestry.com.

In the 1940 United States Census, Pacella was the oldest of two brothers born to Anthony and Margaret. His father was a textile finisher. They resided at 2460 Hoffman Street in the Bronx.


According to the 1950 census, Pacella, his parents, brother and sister, Phylis, lived in the Bronx at 625 Crescent Avenue on the 1st floor. 


Pacella was a student at New York City’s School of Industrial Art (known today as the High School of Art and Design). He graduated in 1952. 


In Life with Letters--as They Turned Photogenic (1981), Edward Rondthaler mentioned Pacella several times. On page 184 is a layout of the Photo-Lettering office in 1952 and a list of employees from 1936 to 1954. Pacella joined Photo-Lettering in 1953 when he was nineteen years old. However, Pacella was mentioned in the chapter about the year 1951, page 73. At that time he was seventeen and a student. 

On April 9, 1955, Pacella and Anne Queally obtained a marriage license in the Bronx. Rondthaler said she joined Photo-Lettering in 1954 and was “at the switchboard and typewriter”.

In the chapter about 1956, Rondthaler wrote
After a few years Vincent Pacella, returning from military service abroad, took over the night leadership and measured up ably to its rigorous requirements. Vince had the art school background, mechanical aptitudes, warm personality, reliability, self-starting zip and artistic perception that have made him a versatile photo-letterer and are rapidly making him an able type designer. I’ve always had a high regard for the advice he gives a promising newcomer: “If you want to be a photo-letterer never ride the subway without studying the ads in the car, Figure out how you’d photo-letter them in the most efficient way. Mentally match each style on an ad with one of ours. Then verify it when you get hold of a catalog. Remember its name and number. There’s no better way to train yourself. Keep doing it until it becomes a habit and you enjoy it.” No doubt it was Vince’s thousands of subway and commuter rides that developed in him keen sensitivity to alphabet design and identification. Photo-Lettering has quite a few who are remarkably skilled in style identification, but I doubt if anyone anywhere is as skilled as Vince. 
For the International Typeface Corporation, Pacella produced ITC Cushing (1982) and ITC Pacella (1987). 

1982, ITC Cushing specimen book
... ITC Cushing, issued under license from American Type Founders Company, was designed by Vincent Pacella, and features, in addition to the large x-height in popular use today, and the neat letterfit accommodated by photographic and digital typesetters, the long, bracketed serifs of the ATF version. The capitals were changed to better match the weight of the lowercase letters. In the italics, the sloping serifs of the original were changed to linear type serifs. Another modification, in the interest of improved letterfit and ease of readability, is a new point at which ascenders join the capital letters. ...





U&lc., May 1987, announced the release of ITC Pacella. 
Vincent Pacella has been vitally involved in every typeface that ITC has released. He oversees and directs the exacting process of preparing master artwork for ITC Subscriber companies. As part of this process he must fine-tune character spacing, make subtle but important changes to character shapes, ensure design consistency within each typeface and throughout a family. On occasion he has added characters missing from supplied renderings, and even worked in harmony with the original type designer to fill out a family range. …
1987, ITC Pacella specimen book
Vincent Pacella has been vitally involved in every typeface that ITC has released. He has created hundreds of display typestyles for Photo-Lettering, Inc. in New York, as well as ITC Cushing for International Typeface Corporation. ITC Pacella is the second ITC release created by Mr. Pacella and the first to carry his name. ...





U&lc., May 1987

Pacella passed away on October 28, 2009. The Social Security Death Index said his last known residence was West End, North Carolina. 





Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,

Monday, August 8, 2022

Comics: Valerie Barclay, Artist


Valerie Barclay was born Violet A. Barclay on November 5, 1922, in the New York City borough of Queens, New York. Her birth was recorded by the New York City Department of Health in “Births Recorded in 1922—Borough of Queens”, page 696: “Barclay…..Violet A…..Nov. 5…..[birth certificate number obscured]”. 


In Alter Ego #33, February 2004, Barclay was interviewed by Jim Amash. Barclay said she was born in Manhattan. 

Barclay’s father was Robert Clifford Barclay who was born on May 6, 1888, in Long Island City, Queens County, New York. When his first wife died in 1917, he married May Skilton, an English native, on November 30, 1918, in Surrey, England. The marriage date is from Find a Grave*, and location from marriage records at Ancestry.com. 

On November 29, 1920, Mr. Barclay applied for a passport. He planned to take his wife and infant daughter, Irene, to England. He was a steelworker residing at 143 William Street in Long Island City. The family was to sail on the S.S. Aquitania on December 14. The family is pictured below.


The 1925 New York state census recorded Barclay as the fourth member of the family who resided in Manhattan at 501 West 31 Street. Mr. Barclay was employed as a driver. 


The 1927 and 1928 Sacramento, California city directories listed a salesman named “Robert C Barclay” whose spouse was “May”. They resided at 2221 I Street. Barclay did not mention living in California.


The Barclays have not yet been found in the 1930 census.

In the 1940 census (enumerated April 3), Barclay’s mother answered the enumerator’s questions. The Barclay family numbered six with the addition of two boys, Robert and Arthur. They lived in an apartment building at 4207 34th Avenue in Long Island City, New York. Mr. Barclay was a milkman at the Sheffield Milk Company. According to the census, seventeen-year-old Barclay had three years of high school education and still in school since March 1, 1940. 


Barclay may have graduated in June 1940 or in January or June 1941. Many high schools had two graduating classes in the winter and spring. Barclay (born November 5, 1922) said she was seventeen when she met Mike Sekowsky at the specialized high school, School of Industrial Art (SIA), which was founded in late 1936. Sekowsky was born November 19, 1923, so he may have graduated in 1941 or 1942. Gil Kane, who also attended SIA, said Sekowsky graduated and immediately found work at Timely Comics. Howard James and Allen Bellman graduated from SIA, around the same time as Barclay, and joined the Timely staff. 
 
Barclay said she was seventeen when she worked as a restaurant hostess at Cafe Rouge which was in the Hotel Pennsylvania**. Barclay said her hostess income helped support her brothers and mother, who left her father. It would appear the family break-up occurred after the census enumeration. However, when Barclay’s father filled out his World War II draft card, on April 25, 1942, her parents were at the same address. 


In the interview, Barclay said “I was married before I met Mike, but my husband’s divorce was not final. Later my mother kept asking him for the divorce papers. After that, his wife sent him divorce papers, and they were dated after our marriage. But I had to go to court and get an annulment. Mike paid for it and it cost $350, which I didn’t have. My husband hated him.” If Barclay was married before meeting Sekowsky the marriage would have been before 1940.

Barclay was referring to Robert Ainsley. In the 1940 census there was a Robert Ainsley, age 21, who was married to Jeanne. They resided in Manhattan at 201 West 103 Street. Ainsley had one year of high school and worked as an elevator operator in an apartment building. Additional information about him has not been found.

According to the New York City, Marriage License Indexes, at Ancestry.com, Barclay and Ainsley obtained a marriage license in Queens on October 1, 1941. A week later they married on October 8. Barclay’s sister was a witness. It’s not known wby Barclay changed her birth year from 1922 to 1919. 



Barclay said Sekowsky helped her get a job with a higher salary as an inker at Timely. Amash asked Barclay when she was hired. Barclay said it was Christmas 1941 when she was nineteen. Amash noted that Timely was in the McGraw-Hill building at that time. Barclay replied, “Yes. Just after the party was when Timely moved to the 14th floor of the Empire State Building….” My research showed that Timely moved to the Empire State Building in 1943, not 1942. 

Barclay said she learned inking by watching staff artist Dave Gantz use a brush. Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 shows Barclay working for Timely to 1949, then freelancing for other comics publishers and Timely in the 1950s. The Grand Comics Database lists many of Barclay’s credits. 

In the interview, Barclay said “I was seventeen when Mike first saw me. The last time he saw me, I was 29 and he had come to the apartment where my husband and I were living, though we weren’t married yet….” That event happened in 1951 or 1952. Barclay said she married Jerry Smith but did not say when and where. Barclay said she signed some of her comics as Valerie Smith. 

In the interview, Barclay referred to a Christmas party at Timely where she met Sekowsky’s wife, Joanne. The New York City, Marriage License Indexes said Sekowsky and “Jo Anne Latta” obtained a Manhattan marriage license in 1952. The marriage date is not known.

The Florida Divorce Index, at Ancestry.com, recorded the divorce of Barclay’s parents in 1950 at Volusia. The 1950 census said Barclay, her mother and brothers lived in Queens at 21-24 31st Street, apartment 2F. Barclay was an advertising comics artist. 


Exposed #9, July-August 1949, Inker





When the comic book industry collapsed, Barclay said, “…I tried waitressing, I became a restaurant hostess for several places. One time, Buddy Rogers, the actor, asked me out. He called me “Miss Astoria.” Astoria, a neighborhood in Queens, is next to Long Island City where Barclay grew up. 

Barclay said she studied with Jack Potter at the School of Visual Arts (SVA). Potter joined the school in 1957. Barclay did not say when she started at SVA.

The passing of Barclay’s father was reported in the Long Island Star Journal (Long Island City, New York), November 2, 1960. 
Robert C. Barclay
Canadian Army Vet
Episcopal services for Robert C. Barclay, 72, of Astoria, a native of Long Island City were held last night in the Thomas M. Quinn and Sons Funeral Home at 35-20 Broadway, Astoria.

Services were to he held at 1 P.M. today in the Trinity Episcopal Church of Astoria. Burial was to follow in St, Michael’s Cemetery.

Mr. Barclay enlisted in the Canadian Army in World War I and was wounded in France. He died Saturday in St. John’s Hospital after suffering a heart attack. He lived at 32-85 35th street.

Mr. Barclay was a retired  truck foreman for the Sheffield Farms Corporation in Manhattan. He was a member of the McKenna Post, American legion, and the Crescent Social Club, both in Astoria, and the Maple Leaf Club, a Canadian veterans organization in Manhattan.

Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Kay [sic] Skilton Barclay; two daughters, Irene and Valorie [sic] Barclay; two sons, Robert W. and Arthur W., and four grandchildren.
Barclay said she studied at The Art Students League of New York which is located at 215 West 57th Street. At some point Barclay lived at 442 West 57th Street in Manhattan, according to a public record at Ancestry.com.

Barclay passed away February 26, 2010 in Massapequa, Nassau County, New York. She was laid to rest at Pinelawn Memorial Park and Arboretum. 

* The photograph posted at Find a Grave is not Mr. Barclay. The man is Edward Milton Berry whose signature is partially visible on the left side of the photograph. The passport applications, viewed at Ancestry.com, are in a bound volume. Berry’s photograph was pasted on the back of his application and faced the first page of Mr. Barclays’s application.

** The Hotel Pennsylvania became the Statler Hitlon where Phil Seuling held his comic art conventions. 



SIDEBAR: Valerie Barclay’s Siblings

Alyce H. Barclay, step-sister, June 14, 1913 – July 28, 1986 

Irene May (Barclay) Eckhart, sister, January 5, 1920 – October 9, 2003

Robert William Barclay, brother, January 2, 1927 – March 24, 2003
Popular Photography, February 1962, pages 65 and 67 
American Showcase of Photography and Illustration, 1978, Robert W. Barclay Studios, Inc.
Bernardsville News, March 27, 2003, obituary, Robert W. Barclay, 76, fashion photographer

Arthur W. Barclay, brother, January 3, 1938 – 


Women in Comics Posts









Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)