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Birth/Death

Birth: 25 June 1914, Illinois, ?Death: 5 September 1995, Van Nuys, California

Occupation/Title

Graphic designer, muralist and layout artist; however, the majority of his career was spent as a background artist.

Bio Summary

Paul Julian was an American background artist who worked for Warner Brother’s, United Productions of America (UPA) and Hanna-Barbera. As a background artist/painter, Julian worked with director Friz Freleng on the Sylvester and Tweety Bird shorts. As a director, Julian directed Baby Boogie (1955) and The Hangman (1964).

Early Life/Family

Born Paul Hull Husted, Paul Julian was born June 25, 1914 in Illinois and his brother, Harry Husted, was born two years later. In 1920 their mother, Esther, had re-married a man named Frank Julian. The specifics are unclear about the circumstances surrounding Julian’s birth father; however, the boys soon took their step-father’s name. ??In the 1930s, the Julian family moved to Santa Barbara, California. Their three bedroom house can be found at 814 W. Valerio Street.

Education/Training

After moving to California, Paul Julien studied with Lawrence Murphy, Milliard Sheets and attended the Chouinard Art School.

Career Outline

In the late 1930s, Julien was employeed by the Works Progress Administration also known as the Federal Art Project where he painted murals. One mural is located at the Post Office at 202 E. Commonwealth Avenue in Fullerton, CA, near the metrolink station. Between 1940 and 1950, Paul Julien worked as a background artist and designer for Warner Brothers; however by 1951, Julien began bouncing between the WB and UPA studios (where his paintings were the foundation of the Oscar-nominated short, The Tell-Tale Heart). In 1955 he directed Baby Boogie and in 1964 he co-directed The Hangman. Julien became the At Director in Hana-Barbera’s feature Charlotte’s Web in 1973. Julien continued to work as a background artist and art director until his death in 1995.

Comments On Style

Hans Bacher’s web blog Animation Treasures quotes from the book The Art of Friz Freleng: “…according to Julian ‘backgrounds are used both to stage the character and stay behind the character’…and ‘I did a great deal of special design stuff that I kept hidden and various kinds of staging, taking liberties with perspective, and doing what I could to keep the audience’s attention directed toward the main animation with as much elaboration as I could put behind it. I tried deliberately to build the space around the characters so they were, in effect, working in a kind of tunnel…’ further …when the actual painting commenced, julian concentrated on colors, coordinating his efforts with those of the ink-and-painters…he had two six foot tables and could get the whole six minute picture laid out on the table to make sure everything went together smoothly…”

Influences

Personality

Anecdotes

Miscellaneous

While working at Warner Brother’s, Julian used to imitate a car horn when in a hurry. The catchy “Beep-Beep” sound was recorded and- though mixing- became the Road Runner’s calling-card.

Filmography

Elmer’s Candid Camera (1940) (background artist) (uncredited)
Brotherhood of Man (1945) (background artist)
Life with Feathers (1945) (background artist) (uncredited) (layout artist) (uncredited)
Hare Trigger (1945) (background artist) (layout artist)
Peck Up Your Troubles (1945) (background artist) (layout artist)
Baseball Bugs (1946) (background artist) (layout artist)
Holiday for Shoestrings (1946) (background artist) (layout artist)
Hollywood Daffy (1946) (background artist) (layout artist)
Of Thee I Sting (1946) (background artist)
Racketeer Rabbit (1946) (background artist) (layout artist)
Slick Hare (1947) (background artist)
Back Alley Oproar (1948) (background artist)
I Taw a Putty Tat (1948) (background artist)
Buccaneer Bunny (1948) (background artist)
Bugs Bunny Rides Again (1948) (background artist)
Hare Splitter (1948) (background artist)
Kit for Cat (1948) (background artist)
Wise Quackers (1949) (background artist)
So Much for So Little (1949) (background artist) (layout artist)
Hare Do (1949) (background artist)
High Diving Hare (1949) (background artist)
Curtain Razor (1949) (background artist)
Mouse Mazurka (1949) (background artist)
Knights Must Fall (1949) (background artist)
Bad Ol’ Putty Tat (1949) (background artist)
Dough for the Do-Do (1949) (background artist) (uncredited)
Each Dawn I Crow (1949) (background artist)
Which Is Witch? (1949) (background artist)
Mutiny on the Bunny (1950) (background artist)
The Lion’s Busy (1950) (background artist)
His Bitter Half (1950) (background artist)
All a Bir-r-r-rd (1950) (background artist)
Golden Yeggs (1950) (background artist)
Bunker Hill Bunny (1950) (background artist)
Canary Row (1950) (background artist)
Stooge for a Mouse (1950) (background artist)
Rooty Toot Toot (1951) (color artist)
The Family Circus (1951) (color artist)?Canned Feud (1951) (background artist)
Rabbit Every Monday (1951) (background artist)
Putty Tat Trouble (1951) (background artist)
The Fair Haired Hare (1951) (background artist)
A Bone for a Bone (1951) (background artist)
Room and Bird (1951) (layout artist)?His Hare Raising Tale (1951) (layout artist)
Tweety’s S.O.S. (1951) (background artist)
Georgie and the Dragon (1951) (color artist)
Ballot Box Bunny (1951) (background artist)
Fuddy Duddy Buddy (1951) (color artist)
Tweet Tweet Tweety (1951) (background artist)
Grizzly Golfer (1951) (color artist)
The Four Poster (1952) (background artist)
Hotsy Footsy (1952) (color artist)
The Emperor’s New Clothes (1953) (background artist)?… aka Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes (USA: complete title)
The Tell-Tale Heart (1953/I) (color artist)
The Man on the Flying Trapeze (1954) (color artist)
Baby Boogie (1955) (color artist)
“The Bugs Bunny Show” (1960) TV series (background artist) (unknown episodes)?The Hangman (1964) (color artist)
“Jonny Quest” (background artist) (2 episodes, 1964-1965)?… aka The Adventures of Jonny Quest?- The Invisible Monster (1965) TV episode (background artist)?- Dragons of Ashida (1964) TV episode (background artist)
Alice in Wonderland or What’s a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (1966) (TV) (background designer)?… aka Alice in Wonderland (USA: short title)
The Man Called Flintstone (1966) (background designer)
“Space Ghost” (1966) TV series (background artist) (unknown episodes)
Jack and the Beanstalk (1967) (TV) (background artist)
“The Herculoids” (1967) TV series (background artist) (unknown episodes)
“The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour” (1968) TV series (background artist)?Marco Polo Junior Versus the Red Dragon (1972) (background stylist)?… aka Marco Polo Jr. (USA)?… aka The Magic Medallion (Australia: TV title)
“ABC Afterschool Specials” (layout artist) (1 episode, 1974)?- Cyrano (1974) TV episode (layout artist)
“Valley of the Dinosaurs” (1974) TV series (color designer) (1974)
“The Sylvester & Tweety Show” (1976) TV series (background artist)
A Flintstone Christmas (1977) (TV) (background designer)
Bugs Bunny’s Thanksgiving Diet (1978) (TV) (background artist: classic cartoons)
A Pink Christmas (1978) (TV) (background artist)?… aka Pink Panther in ‘A Pink Christmas’ (USA: long title)
“The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show” (1978) TV series (background artist) (1978)
Bugs Bunny’s Valentine (1979) (TV) (background artist)?… aka Bugs Bunny’s Cupid Capers (USA: video title)
Daffy Duck’s Thanks-for-Giving Special (1980) (TV) (background artist: classic cartoons)
The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981) (background artist: classic cartoons)?… aka Friz Freleng’s Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie
Bugs Bunny’s 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982) (background artist: classic cartoons)?… aka Bugs Bunny’s 1001 Rabbit Tales (USA: short title)
Daffy Duck’s Movie: Fantastic Island (1983) (background artist: classic cartoons)?… aka Daffy Duck’s Fantastic Island (USA: short title)
Beauty and the Beast (1983) (TV) (background stylist)
“Dungeons & Dragons” (background designer) (13 episodes, 1983)?- P-R-E-S-T-O Spells Disaster (1983) TV episode (background designer)?- The Lost Children (1983) TV episode (background designer)?- The Box (1983) TV episode (background designer)?- The Garden of Zinn (1983) TV episode (background designer)?- Quest of the Skeleton Warrior (1983) TV episode (background designer)?(8 more)
“Mister T” (background artist) (11 episodes, 1984)?- Cape Cod Mystery (1984) TV episode (background artist)?- Mystery of the Stranger (1984) TV episode (background artist)?- U.F.O. Mystery (1984) TV episode (background artist)?- Fortune Cookie Caper (1984) TV episode (background artist)?- Mystery of the Disappearing Oasis (1984) TV episode (background artist)?(6 more)
“Alvin & the Chipmunks” (background painter) (13 episodes, 1984)?… aka The Chipmunks?… aka The Chipmunks Go to the Movies?- Hat Today, Gone Tomorrow/Snow Wrong (1984) TV episode (background painter)?- Guardian Chipmunks/Car Sick (1984) TV episode (background painter)?- New, Improved Simon/Greatest Showoffs on Earth (1984) TV episode (background painter)?- Maids in Japan/My Fair Chipette (1984) TV episode (background painter)?- The Gang’s All Here/Snow Job (1984) TV episode (background painter)?(8 more)
“Turbo Teen” (1984) TV series (background artist) (1984)
“Dragon’s Lair” (1984) TV series (background artist) (unknown episodes, 1984)
“Saturday Supercade” (1983) TV series (background painter) (unknown episodes, 1984)
The Adventures of the Scrabble People in a Pumpkin Full of Nonsense (1985) (TV) (key background artist)
My Little Pony: The Movie (1986) (background keys)
“The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show” (1986) TV series (background artist)?”Merrie Melodies: Starring Bugs Bunny and Friends” (1990) TV series (background artist)
FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) (background artist)?… aka FernGully 1 (USA: short title)
“That’s Warner Bros.!” (1995) TV series (background artist)

?Art Department:?
Rooty Toot Toot (1951) (designer)
Fuddy Duddy Buddy (1951) (designer)
Hotsy Footsy (1952) (designer)
The Emperor’s New Clothes (1953) (designer)?… aka Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes (USA: complete title)
The Tell-Tale Heart (1953/I) (designer)
The Man on the Flying Trapeze (1954) (designer)
Baby Boogie (1955) (designer)
The Hangman (1964) (designer)
A Pink Christmas (1978) (TV) (graphic designer)?… aka Pink Panther in ‘A Pink Christmas’ (USA: long title)
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989) (design development)

Honors

Annie Award: Winsor McCay Award 1980

Related Links

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0432213/?http://one1more2time3.wordpress.com/2008/09/26/paul-julian?

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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 25th, 2010 at 7:00 PM and is filed under biography.