Alex Anderson

Alex Anderson was interviewed for two-and-a-half hours at his home in Pebble Beach, CA. Anderson spoke about his early years where he began his animation career at his uncle’s Terrytoons. Anderson talked about deciding to produce animated cartoons for television (at the time of the medium’s introduction) and forming a partnership with Jay Ward to produce the first animated cartoon for television, Crusader Rabbit, which debuted in 1949. Anderson described the technique that was used for the series called “limited animation.” Anderson also discussed the creation of the prototypes of “Rocky and Bullwinkle” and “Dudley Do-Right” – characters that Ward later used to create those classic cartoons. After Crusader Rabbit went off the air, Anderson became an advertising executive and is now currently retired.  The interview was conducted by Karen Herman on July 20, 2001.