Seymour Reit
Encyclopedia
Seymour Victory Reit was the author of over 80 children's books as well as several works for adults. Reit was the creator, with cartoonist Joe Oriolo
, of the character Casper the Friendly Ghost
. Reit started his career working for Fleischer Studios
as an animator; he also worked for Jerry Iger and Will Eisner
as a cartoonist, and for Mad Magazine and several other publications as a humorist.
on 11 November 1918 (Armistice Day
; this was the source of his middle name "Victory"). He showed an early talent for art, winning a drawing contest at the age of 12. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School
and New York University
, where he drew cartoons for humorous college magazines. He graduated at the age of 19 and soon landed a job for $25 a week at Fleischer Studios
in Miami. He worked as an in-betweener
and inker
on the 1939 animated film Gulliver's Travels
, and later became a gag writer for the Popeye
and Betty Boop
cartoon series, among others. He also anonymously produced comic strips for Jerry Iger
under the Fiction House
label.
writer William Woolfolk; Reit helped launch Woolfolk's career as a writer of comics by introducing him to Jerry Iger and Will Eisner
.
Reit served in World War II
in a U.S. Army Air Force camouflage
unit tasked with defending the West Coast
from a Japanese invasion, and later served in Europe after D-Day
. He later wrote a book, The Amazing Camouflage Deceptions of World War II, drawing on his wartime experience. It contains a version of the urban legend
which claims that British aviators taunted the German Army by dropping a wooden bomb on a decoy airfield the Germans had built.
After the war, Reit did cartoon work for Archie
and Little Lulu
, and wrote gags for some of the new Casper animated shorts that were being produced. He also wrote for the TV series Captain Kangaroo
. In 1950 he started working for the publications department of the Bank Street College of Education
in New York, and also scripted industrial films and radio shows. In the late 1950s, he began submitting work to Mad Magazine, ultimately contributing over 60 pieces.
Casper first appeared in an unpublished story The Friendly Ghost written by Reit in 1940; cartoonist Joe Oriolo
provided the illustrations, and the two sold all rights to the story and character for $200 to Paramount Pictures
's Famous Studios
division (a unit formed from the remains of Fleischer Studios
). Paramount's animated short "The Friendly Ghost
" based on Reit's story was released in 1945 as part of their Noveltoons
series; it was well received and Casper eventually developed into an extensive franchise. In all, Casper has appeared in 55 animated theatrical shorts, hundreds of comic books, multiple television series, and several film adaptions, including a 1995 movie
produced by Steven Spielberg
.
Although Reit did not earn any royalties
from the Casper franchise, he was content with his character's success: "All I have are some nice memories and a little nostalgic sadness that I am not part of the movie. I'm not mourning or grieving over what I might have lost with Casper. It was fun. I did the story. It has a lot of cachet."
which was being held in a bank vault in New Jersey (the so-called "Vernon Mona Lisa"). A long-planned movie adaptation of the book has never materialized, although the Internet Movie Database
lists a movie by the same title tentatively planned for 2009.
In addition to those listed here, Reit wrote several books for Golden Press, publishers of the Little Golden Books
series, and dozens of other children's books for assorted publishers.
Joe Oriolo
Joseph "Joe" Oriolo was an American cartoon animator, writer, director and producer, known as the creator of the Felix the Cat TV series.-Early life:...
, of the character Casper the Friendly Ghost
Casper the Friendly Ghost
Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. As his name indicates, he is a ghost, but is quite personable...
. Reit started his career working for Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...
as an animator; he also worked for Jerry Iger and Will Eisner
Eisner & Iger
Eisner & Iger was a comic book "packager" that produced comics on demand for publishers entering the new medium during the late-1930s and 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books...
as a cartoonist, and for Mad Magazine and several other publications as a humorist.
Biography
Reit was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 11 November 1918 (Armistice Day
Armistice Day
Armistice Day is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day...
; this was the source of his middle name "Victory"). He showed an early talent for art, winning a drawing contest at the age of 12. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School
DeWitt Clinton High School
DeWitt Clinton High School is an American high school located in the Bronx, New York City, New York.-History:Clinton opened in 1897 at 60 West 13th Street at the northern end of Greenwich Village under the name of Boys High School, although this Boys High School was not related to the one in Brooklyn...
and New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, where he drew cartoons for humorous college magazines. He graduated at the age of 19 and soon landed a job for $25 a week at Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...
in Miami. He worked as an in-betweener
Tweening
Inbetweening or tweening is the process of generating intermediate frames between two images to give the appearance that the first image evolves smoothly into the second image. Inbetweens are the drawings between the key frames which help to create the illusion of motion...
and inker
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
on the 1939 animated film Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travels (1939 film)
Gulliver's Travels is a 1939 American cel-animated Technicolor feature film, directed by Dave Fleischer and produced by Max Fleischer for Fleischer Studios. The film was released on Friday, December 22, 1939 by Paramount Pictures, who had the feature produced as an answer to the success of Walt...
, and later became a gag writer for the Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
and Betty Boop
Betty Boop
Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick. She originally appeared in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. She has also been featured in...
cartoon series, among others. He also anonymously produced comic strips for Jerry Iger
Jerry Iger
Samuel Maxwell "Jerry" Iger was an American cartoonist. With business partner Will Eisner he co-founder of Eisner & Iger, a comic book packager that produced comics on demand for new publishers during the late-1930s and 1940s period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic...
under the Fiction House
Fiction House
Fiction House is an American publisher of pulp magazines and comic books that existed from the 1920s to the 1950s. Its comics division was best known for its pinup-style good girl art, as epitomized by the company's most popular character, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.-History:-Jumbo and Jack...
label.
Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...
writer William Woolfolk; Reit helped launch Woolfolk's career as a writer of comics by introducing him to Jerry Iger and Will Eisner
Will Eisner
William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
.
Reit served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in a U.S. Army Air Force camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
unit tasked with defending the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
from a Japanese invasion, and later served in Europe after D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
. He later wrote a book, The Amazing Camouflage Deceptions of World War II, drawing on his wartime experience. It contains a version of the urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
which claims that British aviators taunted the German Army by dropping a wooden bomb on a decoy airfield the Germans had built.
After the war, Reit did cartoon work for Archie
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
and Little Lulu
Little Lulu
"Little Lulu" is the nickname for Lulu Moppett, a comic strip character created in the mid-1930s by Marjorie Henderson Buell. The character debuted in The Saturday Evening Post on February 23, 1935 in a single panel, appearing as a flower girl at a wedding and strewing the aisle with banana peels...
, and wrote gags for some of the new Casper animated shorts that were being produced. He also wrote for the TV series Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo is a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for nearly 30 years, from October 3, 1955 until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running children's television program of its day...
. In 1950 he started working for the publications department of the Bank Street College of Education
Bank Street College of Education
Bank Street College of Education is located in Manhattan, New York City.-History:Bank Street was founded in 1916 by Lucy Sprague Mitchell as the "Bureau of Educational Experiments"....
in New York, and also scripted industrial films and radio shows. In the late 1950s, he began submitting work to Mad Magazine, ultimately contributing over 60 pieces.
The Friendly Ghost
Joe Oriolo
Joseph "Joe" Oriolo was an American cartoon animator, writer, director and producer, known as the creator of the Felix the Cat TV series.-Early life:...
provided the illustrations, and the two sold all rights to the story and character for $200 to Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
's Famous Studios
Famous Studios
Famous Studios was the animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount acquired the aforementioned studio and ousted its founders, Max and Dave Fleischer, in 1941...
division (a unit formed from the remains of Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...
). Paramount's animated short "The Friendly Ghost
The Friendly Ghost
The Friendly Ghost is a cartoon released by Paramount Pictures on 16 November 1945 under its Noveltoons series of animated shorts. It is the first cartoon to feature Casper the Friendly Ghost.- Plot :...
" based on Reit's story was released in 1945 as part of their Noveltoons
Noveltoons
Noveltoons was an anthology series of animated cartoons produced by Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios from 1943 to the close of the studio in 1967. Casper the Friendly Ghost, Herman and Katnip, Little Audrey, and Baby Huey all got their start from this series...
series; it was well received and Casper eventually developed into an extensive franchise. In all, Casper has appeared in 55 animated theatrical shorts, hundreds of comic books, multiple television series, and several film adaptions, including a 1995 movie
Casper (film)
Casper is a 1995 American comedy fantasy film starring Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci, based on the Casper the Friendly Ghost animated cartoons and comic books. The ghosts featured in the film were created through computer-generated imagery...
produced by Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
.
Although Reit did not earn any royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
from the Casper franchise, he was content with his character's success: "All I have are some nice memories and a little nostalgic sadness that I am not part of the movie. I'm not mourning or grieving over what I might have lost with Casper. It was fun. I did the story. It has a lot of cachet."
Books
Reit wrote over 80 books, primarily for children, on a variety of historical, technical, natural, and other subjects. One of his titles for adults, The Day They Stole the Mona Lisa, written in 1981, is about the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911. In the book, Reit asserted that there were two genuine Mona Lisas in the world: the one in the Louvre, and an earlier version of the work painted by Leonardo Da VinciLeonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
which was being held in a bank vault in New Jersey (the so-called "Vernon Mona Lisa"). A long-planned movie adaptation of the book has never materialized, although the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
lists a movie by the same title tentatively planned for 2009.
Selected bibliography
| Book | Year | Publisher | Pages | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Behind Rebel Lines | 2001 | Harcourt Children's Books | 130 | About Sarah Emma Edmonds, a woman who masqueraded as a man and served as a spy for the Union Army Union Army The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army... during the United States Civil War. |
| Guns for General Washington | 2001 | Gulliver Books Paperbacks | 160 | About William and Henry Knox Henry Knox Henry Knox was a military officer of the Continental Army and later the United States Army, and also served as the first United States Secretary of War.... , brothers tasked with transporting 60 tons of cannons 300 miles that played a decisive role in the Siege of Boston Siege of Boston The Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within... . |
| A Dog's Tale | 1996 | Random House Children's Books | 32 | Featured on episode 137 of the PBS TV series Reading Rainbow Reading Rainbow Reading Rainbow is an American children's television series aired by PBS from June 6, 1983 until November 10, 2006 that encouraged reading among children. The award-winning public television series garnered over 200 broadcast awards, including scores of Emmy Awards, many for "Outstanding Children's... . |
| Trains | 1990 | Western Publishing | 45 | An illustrated history of railway transportation. |
| Scotland Yard Detective | 1987 | Bantam Books | 144 | Part of the Time Machine series, a spinoff of the Choose Your Own Adventure Choose Your Own Adventure Choose Your Own Adventure is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actions and the plot's outcome. The series was based on a... books. |
| Sibling Rivalry | 1985 | Ballantine Books | 171 | About the causes of sibling rivalry and how to cope with it. |
| The Day They Stole the Mona Lisa | 1981 | Summit Books | 254 | About the theft of the Mona Lisa. |
| The Pleasure of Their Company: How to Have More Fun with Your Children | 1981 | Chilton Book Co. | 373 | Suggests activities for children and adults to share and techniques for controlling children's television-watching, diet, and play habits. |
| Masquerade: The Amazing Camouflage Deceptions of World War II | 1978 | Hawthorn Books | 255 | Reprinted in 1980 as The Hidden War: The Amazing Camouflage Deception of World War II. |
| Sails, Rails, and Wings | 1978 | Random House Children's Books | 69 | |
| Ironclad!: A True Story of the Civil War | 1977 | Dodd, Mead | 92 | |
| The Worried Ghost | 1976 | Scholastic Book Services | 95 | |
| Race Against Death: A True Story of the Far North | 1976 | Dodd, Mead | 94 | About the 1925 serum run to Nome 1925 serum run to Nome During the 1925 serum run to Nome, also known as the "Great Race of Mercy," 20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs relayed diphtheria antitoxin by dog sled across the U.S. territory of Alaska in a record-breaking five and a half days, saving the small city of Nome and the surrounding communities from... , Alaska. |
| Benvenuto and the Carnival | 1976 | Xerox Education Publications | 93 | A boy's pet dragon is captured and placed in a carnival. |
| Benvenuto Benvenuto Benvenuto may refer to:* Benvenuto Cellini , Italian goldsmith, painter, sculptor, soldier and musician* Benvenuto Rambaldi da Imola , Italian writer* Benvenuto Tisi , Italian painter... |
1974 | Addison-Wesley | 126 | About a boy who brings home a dragon from camp. |
| Rice Cakes and Paper Dragons | 1973 | Dodd, Mead | 79 | About a girl living in New York City's Chinatown Chinatown, Manhattan Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City... . |
| The Easy How-To Book | 1973 | Golden Press | 48 | Instruction for children on how to do everyday tasks. |
| Child of the Navajos | 1971 | Dodd, Mead | 64 | About a nine-year-old boy living on a modern Indian reservation Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs... . |
| The Magic of Everyday Things | 1970 | Western Publishing | 62 | |
| Growing Up in the White House | 1968 | Crowell-Collier Press | 118 | A history of presidential children. |
| America Laughs: a Treasury of Great Humor | 1966 | Crowell-Collier Press | 152 | |
| Coins and Coin Collecting | 1965 | Golden Press | 105 | An introductory manual for numismatists Coin collecting Coin collecting is the collecting or trading of coins or other forms of minted legal tender.Coins of interest to collectors often include those that circulated for only a brief time, coins with mint errors and especially beautiful or historically significant pieces. Coin collecting can be... . |
| Wheels, Sails, and Wings | 1961 | Golden Press | 94 |
In addition to those listed here, Reit wrote several books for Golden Press, publishers of the Little Golden Books
Little Golden Books
Little Golden Books is a popular series of children's books. The first 12 titles were published on October 1, 1942:#Three Little Kittens#Bedtime Stories#Mother Goose#Prayers for Children#The Little Red Hen#Nursery Songs...
series, and dozens of other children's books for assorted publishers.
External links
- All books under author name "Seymour Reit" at Google Book SearchGoogle Book SearchGoogle Books is a service from Google that searches the full text of books that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical character recognition, and stored in its digital database. The service was formerly known as Google Print when it was introduced at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October...
- Complete list of Reit's articles for MAD Magazine