Wild Minds
Also by Reid Mitenbuler
Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America’s Whiskey
Wild Minds
The Artists and Rivalries That Inspired the Golden Age of Animation
Reid Mitenbuler
Atlantic Monthly Press
New York
Copyright © 2020 by Reid Mitenbuler
Jacket design by Gretchen Mergenthaler
Jacket photograph: UPA artists Zach Schwartz, David Hilberman, and Stephen Bosustow in 1943. Courtesy of Sylvie BosRau.
Hand-lettering by Ron Haywood Jones
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Scanning, uploading, and electronic distribution of this book or the facilitation of such without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. Any member of educational institutions wishing to photocopy part or all of the work for classroom use, or anthology, should send inquiries to Grove Atlantic, 154 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10011 or [email protected].
Published simultaneously in Canada
Printed in the United States of America
This book is set in 11-pt. ITC NEW Baskerville by Alpha Design & Composition.
First Grove Atlantic hardcover edition: December 2020
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available for this title.
ISBN 978-0-8021-2938-3
eISBN 978-0-8021-4705-9
Atlantic Monthly Press
an imprint of Grove Atlantic
154 West 14th Street
New York, NY 10011
Distributed by Publishers Group West
To Lauren
What’s truer than the truth? The story.
—Jewish proverb
Contents
Prologue: “Make Us Another”
Chapter 1 “Slumberland”
Chapter 2 “Fantasmagorie”
Chapter 3 “The Artist’s Dream”
Chapter 4 “The Camera Fiend”
Chapter 5 “Cherubs That Actually Fly”
Chapter 6 “This Place Is Full of Sharks”
Chapter 7 “How to Fire a Lewis Machine Gun”
Chapter 8 “Being Famous Is Hard Work"
Chapter 9 “I Love Beans”
Chapter 10 “Bad Luck!”
Chapter 11 “Giddyap!”
Chapter 12 “That’s Money over the Barrelhead”
Chapter 13 “It Became the Rage”
Chapter 14 “I Have Become a Ghost”
Chapter 15 “The Formula”
Chapter 16 “Looks Like You’re Having Fun”
Chapter 17 “Are You a Sailor?”
Chapter 18 “You Can’t Top Pigs with Pigs”
Chapter 19 “Max Fleischer Killed Dan Glass”
Chapter 20 “I’ll Make Money”
Chapter 21 “That Goddam Holy Grail”
Chapter 22 “We Can Do Better Than That with Our Second String”
Chapter 23 “Highbrowski by Stokowski”
Chapter 24 “Law of the Jungle”
Chapter 25 “Okay, Go Ahead”
Chapter 26 “That Horse’s Ass!”
Chapter 27 “A Tough Little Stinker”
Chapter 28 “Greetings, America!”
Chapter 29 “How Is It Spelled?”
Chapter 30 “They Can Kill You, but They’re Not Allowed to Eat You”
Chapter 31 “And It’s Going to Be Clean!”
Chapter 32 “Silly Rabbit . . .”
Chapter 33 “Flesher”
Chapter 34 “Well, Kid, This Is the End I Guess”
Photo Insert
A Note on Sources and Acknowledgments
Selected Bibliography