DREW Norman
This animator-cartoonist was born and grew-up in the 1950’s in Kenora Ontario. He graduated from the Alberta College of Art in Calgary. He worked for 2 years in the commercial art field in Vancouver. In 1963 he moved to Crawley Films where he worked on the NBC animated feature Return to Oz.
In 1964 he worked for the FBI producing a cartoon strip that depicted the history and activities of the agency.
From 1964 to 1967 he drew The Giants syndicated by the Toronto Telegram Syndicate.
He went to England and found work on the animated Yellow Submarine for two years.
He moved to New York where he worked on features for the Jackson Five and The Osmond Brothers for ABC. In 1972 he returned to Toronto to be animation director for an animation studio.
In 1973 he moved to Canawest Studios in Vancouver as an assistant director for 17 half hour episodes of Hanna Barbera’s Wait Til Your Father Gets Home. In 1974 he decided to open his own business Norm Drew Productions. He has worked for the Irish Rovers, Sesame Street and Chica’s Magic Sketch Book which was a regular feature on CBC.
He created the cartoon strip Bush Baby which featured the main character Kool Crow and his companions Boringham Beaver III, Tractor Moose, Fergus Squirrel, Osbert Owl, Polaris the polar bear, and Ollie Otter. They live in the metropolis of Dozy Valley in the Slushybogg region of the Great Forest.
In 2010 he taught classical animation through his Academy of Classical Animation in Vancouver.
WORK:
CARTOONIST:
PERIODICAL GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:
Content story:
Fog City Comics, 1, Sept.1977: “Kool Krow in Kools no fool.”.
ILLUSTRATOR:
BOOK TEXT:
Content story collection text & Cover book front:
Paul Bunyan Superhero. Writ., John D. Robins. Ed., Edith Fowke. NC Press Ltd., 1980.
PERIODICAL GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:
Content panel:
Orb,1-4, Nov./ Dec.1975: “Orb Poster: Space Haven”: 56.
SOURCE:
Article newspaper:
Vancouver Sun, 13 May 1977: “Funny animals can go anywhere.” Writ., Don McLellan: 6A.
Internet:
Carson, Jenn. “Persistence rewards Kenora animation artist with international recognition.” www.lotenterprise.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2527775, 6/21/2010: posted two months earlier.