Grange Calveley
Encyclopedia
Grange Calveley is a British writer
and artist
who is best known as the creator of the BBC
's animated television series Roobarb
(1974) and SkylArk (1977).
Calveley also wrote and made character drawings for the 2005 revival series, Roobarb and Custard Too. The series was commissioned by UK's Channel FIVE and directed by Jason Tammenagi.
, England
. His father was with the Scots Guards
and was killed at Arezzo
in 1944.
After Art College, Calveley worked for a number of advertising agencies in London, including Masius. It was while at Masius that he met his wife Hanny, a copywriter. Grange and Hanny have two sons (both now married), a granddaughter named Maddie and grandson Leo Tomasz.
. Custard, Calveley tells us, was drawn after the huge cat who lived next door.
The Roobarb (1974) television series was commissioned by the BBC, who sold the series to more than 40 countries around the world. In his book, Roobarb: An Illuminated Biogwoofy, Calveley describes how the real dog would leap up into the fork of a tree and how the dog's antics became part of the cartoon's opening title. Roobarb was directed by Bob Godfrey
, the series' music was by John Hawksworth and the stories were narrated by Richard Briers
.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
who is best known as the creator of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's animated television series Roobarb
Roobarb
Roobarb is a British animated television programme for children, originally shown on BBC1 just before the evening news. Each cartoon, written by Grange Calveley and animated by Bob Godfrey, was about five minutes long. Thirty episodes were made, and the show was first shown on October 21, 1974...
(1974) and SkylArk (1977).
Calveley also wrote and made character drawings for the 2005 revival series, Roobarb and Custard Too. The series was commissioned by UK's Channel FIVE and directed by Jason Tammenagi.
Early life
Grange Calveley was born 6 May 1943 in CheshireCheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His father was with the Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
and was killed at Arezzo
Arezzo
Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....
in 1944.
After Art College, Calveley worked for a number of advertising agencies in London, including Masius. It was while at Masius that he met his wife Hanny, a copywriter. Grange and Hanny have two sons (both now married), a granddaughter named Maddie and grandson Leo Tomasz.
Roobarb
The Roobarb cartoon character is loosely based on Calveley's own dog, a Welsh Border CollieBorder Collie
The Border Collie is a herding dog breed developed in the Anglo-Scottish border region for herding livestock, especially sheep. It is the most widespread of the collie breeds....
. Custard, Calveley tells us, was drawn after the huge cat who lived next door.
The Roobarb (1974) television series was commissioned by the BBC, who sold the series to more than 40 countries around the world. In his book, Roobarb: An Illuminated Biogwoofy, Calveley describes how the real dog would leap up into the fork of a tree and how the dog's antics became part of the cartoon's opening title. Roobarb was directed by Bob Godfrey
Bob Godfrey
Roland Frederick Godfrey is a British animator whose career spans more than fifty years. He is probably best known for the children's cartoon series Roobarb , Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk and Henry's Cat and for the Trio chocolate biscuit advertisements shown in the UK during the early 1980s...
, the series' music was by John Hawksworth and the stories were narrated by Richard Briers
Richard Briers
Richard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
.
External links
- http://www.grangecalveley.com
- Video interview of Grange Calveley at BBC Cult TV site
- Roobarb and Custard's new series