The Animator, 1937

 

Presenting the first issue of the West Coast animation union publication, “The Animator.” (The newsletter later changed its name to “The Peg-Board” by the early 1960s.)

The Fleischer Studios Strike, animation’s first major labor dispute, lasted five months from May to October 1937. The strikers’ victorious compromise with the company spurred American animation studios on the West Coast to engage in organized labor activity. (Earlier attempts were made to unionize animation on both Coasts in the 1920s and early 1930s, but were unsuccessful.)

Note how, in its primordial stages, the organization labels itself as the “Screen Cartoon Guild,” later altered to the Screen Cartoonists’ Guild. Dated November 26, 1937, the newsletter circulated three weeks before the premiere date of Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, his first full-length feature production. You’ll also notice a vehement opposition to the IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) under Mafia leadership in 1937; IATSE is a parent union to The Animation Guild (TAG) today.

“Miss Darling,” the secretary of the Screen Cartoon Guild, is Charlotte Darling (1914-1990), a Schlesinger employee at the time. More on her in a future installment…

I’ll submit more “The Animator” issues for all to view. While only a marginal collection, the search for these rare materials continues.

Courtesy of Mark Kausler, who provided this document from Hugh Harman’s papers.