Slimed!: An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age (31 page)

CHARLIE ADLER
was a voice director on
Rugrats
during the later run of the series after Paul Germain left. Add. Credits Incl.:
All Grown Up
,
Rocket Power
, and
The Wild Thornberrys
.

JOEY AHLBUM
is an animator and artist who created some of Nick’s iconic interstitial/promotional materials, such as his contemporized dinosaurs singing doo-wop and wearing sneakers. His show
Thunder Lizards
, based loosely on these early designs, was nearly picked up as a first-wave Nicktoon.

JASON ALISHARAN
played Midnight Society member Frank in
Are You Afraid of the Dark?

ED ALTON
created the music for
Salute Your Shorts
. Add. Credits Incl.:
Head of the Class
,
Whitney
, and
Suddenly Susan
.

JOE ANSOLABEHERE
was a writer on
Rugrats
who helped run the show during its first sixty-five episodes with Paul Germain. Add. Credits Incl.:
Pound Puppies
,
Recess
, and
Hey Arnold!

KIRK BAILY
played camp counselor Kevin “Ug” Lee on
Salute Your Shorts
.

HOWARD BAKER
was both a director on
Rugrats
and the Overseas Animation Director on
The Ren & Stimpy Show
. Add. Credits Incl.:
Aeon Flux
.

JIM BALLANTINE
was an associate producer on
The Ren & Stimpy Show
who was brought in by Nickelodeon to assist with difficulties the network felt existed within the show’s original production. He became a producer once the show was turned over to Games under Bob Camp’s administration.

ANDY BAMBERGER
was Nickelodeon Employee #5, becoming Director of Production and in charge of the On-Air Promotions Department. He stayed on as an integral component of Nickelodeon’s development throughout the network’s production of original programming and the opening of Nickelodeon Studios Florida.

TIM BARTELL
was the Manager of Scenic Services in the art department of Nickelodeon Studios Florida. He oversaw the construction of various sets on such shows as
Double Dare
,
GUTS
, and
Legends of the Hidden Temple
.

CRAIG BARTLETT
was a story editor on
Rugrats
who would go on to create
Hey Arnold!
with fellow
Rugrats
writer Steve Viksten. He developed the characters of Reptar and Angelica’s poker-faced doll, Cynthia.

JERRY BECK
is a world-renowned animatophile who’s written books on such topics as
Looney Tunes
,
The Flintstones
, and Nicktoons. From 1993 to 1997, he was the Vice President of Animation for Nick Movies, working on such films as
The Rugrats Movie
and
Harriet the Spy
.

DEBBY BEECE
came into Nickelodeon as Sandy Kavanaugh’s personal secretary, making her the nascent network’s third employee. She would stay on at Nick as Director of On-Air Promotions to help develop the channel and usher in Nick’s “Us vs. Them” philosophy.

MICHAEL BELL
was the voice of Drew Pickles, Charles “Chaz” Finster, and Boris Kropotkin, among others on
Rugrats
. Add. Credits Incl.:
Transformers
and
G.I. Joe
.

MEGAN BERWICK
played ZZ Ziff on
Salute Your Shorts
.

JAMES BETHEA
cocreated
Nick Arcade
with Karim Miteff.

JOHN BINKLEY
created
Fifteen
, Nickelodeon’s first and only soap opera, which starred a budding Ryan Reynolds.

BOB BLACK
was a writer on
You Can’t Do That on Television
.

MICHAEL BOWER
played Eddie “Donkeylips” Gelfen on
Salute Your Shorts
. Add. Credits Incl.:
The Wonder Years
and
Dude, Where’s My Car?

KELLY BROWN
played Bradley “Brad” Taylor on
Hey Dude
.

JANIE BRYANT
was a costume designer on
The Adventures of Pete & Pete
. Add. Credits Incl.:
Deadwood
and
Mad Men
.

DANA CALDERWOOD
was a director on
Double Dare
. Add. Credits Incl.:
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?
and
Late Night with Conan O’Brien
.

JUSTIN CAMMY
was a cast member on
You Can’t Do That on Television
.

BOB CAMP
helped to develop
The Ren & Stimpy Show
before becoming a writer, director, and artist on the series. He eventually led the production when the series was taken away from creator John Kricfalusi and his Spumco studio by Nickelodeon. Add. Credits Incl.:
The Real Ghostbusters
and
Tiny Toon Adventures
.

DAVID CAMPBELL
is Jim Jinkins’s longtime production partner who executive-produced
Doug
and worked with Melanie Grisanti and Jim on establishing Jumbo Pictures.

MELANIE CHARTOFF
was the voice of Didi Pickles and Grandma Minka Kropotkin on
Rugrats
. Add. Credits Incl.:
Parker Lewis Can’t Lose
and
Fridays
.

CHERYL CHASE
was the voice of Angelica Pickles on
Rugrats
. She also performed various voices on
The Ren & Stimpy Show
, being the secretary of show creator John Kricfalusi at his Spumco studio.

PETER CHUNG
directed the pilot for and opening sequence to
Rugrats
before leaving the series to create
Aeon Flux
. He is considered to be one of the most innovative artists working in the field of animation, having pioneered new perspectives and camera movements that had never before been hand-drawn. Add. Credits Incl.:
Diablo
(video game series).

VANESSA COFFEY
was the Vice President of Animation at Nickelodeon and is credited with having been the guiding force behind the creation of the original Nicktoons. She has worked on numerous animated series in the past and is considered the person who devised the eleven-minute cartoon segment, which became the industry standard.

SARAH CONDON
was a producer on
Clarissa Explains It All
. Add. Credits Incl.:
Bored to Death
.

COURTNEY CONTE
produced
Salute Your Shorts
. Add. Credits Incl.:
Roseanne
,
Grace Under Fire
, and
That ’70s Show
.

DANNY COOKSEY
played Bobby Budnick on
Salute Your Shorts
. Add. Credits Incl.:
Diff’rent Strokes
,
Terminator 2
,
The Ren & Stimpy Show
, Montana Max on
Tiny Toon Adventures
, and Brad Buttowski on
Kick Buttowski
. He also performs music and voices “Crackle” in the “Snap, Crackle, Pop” Rice Krispies commercials.

DAVE COULIER
was the host of
Out of Control
. He also voiced the show’s animated segments. Add. Credits Incl.:
Full House
,
Muppet Babies
,
The Real Ghostbusters
, and
The New America’s Funniest People
.

JOHN CRANE
was a cast member on
Roundhouse
who regularly played the role of “Dad” in his iconic motorized chair. He was the only cast member who was also a writer on the series. Add. Credits Incl.:
MADtv
.

GABOR CSUPO
was a creator of
Rugrats
who, along with ex-wife Arlene Klasky, founded and ran animation studio Klasky-Csupo, which was also responsible for animating
The Simpsons
, music videos, and title sequences for such shows as
In Living Color
. Add. Credits Incl.:
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
,
The Wild Thornberrys
,
Rocket Power
, and
Duckman
.

E. G. DAILY
(aka Elizabeth Daily) was the voice of Tommy Pickles on
Rugrats
. She is also a musical recording artist. Add. Credits Incl.:
Happy Feet
,
Babe: Pig in the City
,
The Powerpuff Girls
,
Valley Girl
, and Dottie in
Pee-wee’s Big Adventure
.

CHRISTINE DANZO
was a producer on
The Ren & Stimpy Show
.

GEOFFREY DARBY
was one of the most essential personnel at Nickelodeon, having developed
You Can’t Do That on Television
with Roger Price—something that brought him to Nickelodeon as a producer, show developer, and finally President of Production. As second-in-command, he was in many ways the “father” to head of network Gerry Laybourne’s “mother.”

SHAWN DAYWALT-LUTZ
was a cast member on
Roundhouse
who typically played “Mom” in sketches.

VENUS DEMILO
played Telly Radford on
Salute Your Shorts
. Add. Credits Incl.:
Ghost World
,
Family Matters
, and
Sister, Sister
.

KATHERINE DIECKMANN
cocreated
The Adventures of Pete & Pete
with Chris Viscardi and Will McRobb. She wrote and directed a number of the episodes, along with directing all of the sixty-second interstitials. She brought the “Downtown New York”/proto-hipster style to the show and continues her work in the realm of indie cinema while teaching at Columbia University. Her music video credits include the likes of REM’s “Stand” and “Shiny Happy People.”

RICHARD M. DUMONT
played Sardo—no “Mr.” and accent on the “Doh”—owner of the Magic Mansion on
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Add. Credits Incl.:
Assassin’s Creed
,
Splinter Cell
, and
Prince of Persia
(all video game series).

MICKI DURAN
was a dancer and the youngest cast member on
Roundhouse.
She would frequently play the “airhead” character.

CHARLES S. DUTTON
guest-starred in the two-part
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
special “The Tale of Cutter’s Treasure” as Captain Jonas Cutter. Add. Credits Incl.:
Roc
,
Alien 3
, and
Rudy
.

TONY EASTMAN
was a supervising director on
Doug
. He is also an illustrator of children’s books, and his father, Phil Eastman, created such beloved children’s classics as
Are You My Mother?
and
Go Dog. Go!
Add. Credits Incl.:
Beavis and Butt-Head
,
Daria
, and
Saturday Night Live
.

DAVID ELLIS
was the in-house art director at Nickelodeon for fifteen years and worked on such shows as
Nick Arcade
,
Clarissa Explains It All
,
My Brother and Me
,
What Would You Do?
, and
Kenan and Kel
.

GEORGE EVELYN
was an animator and art director at Colossal Pictures, which created many of the early animated IDs and promos for Nickelodeon. He created the animated pilot
Big Beast Quintet
for the original Nicktoons, but it was not picked up as a series.

TREVOR EYSTER
(aka Tim Eyster) played Eugene “Sponge” Harris on
Salute Your Shorts
.

ALISON FANELLI
acted on
The Adventures of Pete & Pete
as Ellen Hickle, who was
not
Big Pete’s “girlfriend,” but rather a girl who was his friend. Allegedly . . .

JEFF FISHER
performed the theme song to
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
and alternated composing episode scores with Ray Fabi. Add. Credits Incl.:
Madeline
(TV specials).

EDDIE FITZGERALD
was a layout artist on
The Ren & Stimpy Show
and contributed in a variety of other ways, as did most staff on the series. In addition to having worked on a litany of other series in the past (as well as teaching numerous future prominent animation producers while they were students at CalArts), he was a model for the character of “Pinky” on
Animaniacs
and
Pinky and the Brain
.

MIKE FONTANELLI
headed up character layout on
The Ren & Stimpy Show
. Add. Credits Incl.:
The Simpsons
and
Tiny Toon Adventures
.

RICK GALLOWAY
played Walter Patterson on
Welcome Freshmen
.

JOANNA GARCIA
played Midnight Society member Sam on
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Add. Credits Incl.:
Clarissa Explains It All
,
Freaks and Geeks
,
Reba
, and
Gossip Girl
.