Queens Gazette

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Tommy José Stathes

 

Tommy José Stathes is an archivist, historian, distributor, and educator in the realm of early animated films. Stathes is best known in film history circles for creating the Bray Animation Project research initiative; the Cartoons On Film early animation re-release label and Cartoon Roots Blu-rays featuring new restorations of rare and early silent animated films; supplying early animated films to – and co-hosting them – on Turner Classic Movies; as well as for the 16mm “Cartoon Carnival” film screening series in New York City. Stathes is also a faculty member at the School of Visual Arts as well as the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema (Brooklyn College) and is also consulting Producer on Cartoon Carnival: The Documentary.

Stathes has been a lifelong resident of Queens, and has family roots going back over a century in the borough. He has hosted public screening events at Queens venues such as the Voelker Orth Museum in Flushing, the New York Hall of Science in Corona, the Bayside Historical Society at Fort Totten, various Queens Public Library branches, and Sunnyside Gardens Park.

Stathes is the Gazette’s first Local-Express Three-Timer!

NB: What are your favorite cartoons about Queens or that feature Queens?

TJS: Most of the animated cartoons I work with and know best were produced in the 1910s through the 1950s. Compared with now, Queens was somewhat less developed and populated at the time, and it hadn’t really been prominently featured in pop culture or global mass media during that period. This was well before various TV sitcoms began highlighting the borough (i.e. All in the Family, in the 1970s). As a result, Queens was rarely ever referenced or explicitly featured in early to mid-20th century animated cartoons.

However, there were a couple exceptions. As most readers will know, there was a local World’s Fair during that period, which took place in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in 1939-1940. Animation producers, especially those with New York roots, referenced the Fair in a few of their theatrical cartoons at the time. My favorite example in this category is a Color Classics cartoon called All’s Fair at the Fair, which was produced in 1938 by Max Fleischer’s studio, in the months leading up to the Fair’s opening. In the Fleischer cartoon, a married couple named Elmer and Miranda arrive at the Fair by horse and buggy, from some unnamed countryside. Presented as a couple of lovable, though slightly naive types, Elmer and Miranda are constantly awed by all of the futuristic and interactive technological devices and experiences being showcased at the Fair. It’s quite a lovely and charming film.

A runner up in this category came to us from Paul Terry’s Terrytoons studio, up in New Rochelle. Terry’s film was called Billy Mouse’s Akwakade (1939), which was a spoof of the Billy Rose Aquacade Show at the 1939 Fair. This animated adaptation featured cute and amusing mouse characters.

NB: If you could create a cartoon character to represent Queens (or choose a character that already exists), what would it be and why?

TJS: In my mind, I’m envisioning an anthropomorphized globe; a mascot shaped like the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows Park. This sort of character would be a kind and welcoming entity that speaks many different languages, appearing in various public service announcements about local culture and various ethnic groups here in Queens. Some people, especially children, seem to respond well to animated characters as opposed to live actors in PSAs. Perhaps this sort of character could help educate and enthuse local residents and visitors about all of the interesting and unusual things happening here.

NB: Tell us about Cartoon Carnival: The Documentary, and your work as a Consulting Producer.

TJS: Cartoon Carnival: The Documentary is a very special film which chronicles the early history of animated cartoons, specifically focusing on the silent film era. The documentary was shot in 2015-2016, and only began being seen by the general public last year, in 2021. While the film focuses on a wide scope of topics related to that period in early animation history, it also puts the spotlight on my own work with archiving and exhibiting those very films.

Aside from appearing on-camera as one of the ‘talking heads’ discussing early animation history, I’m also shown working in my film archive, and putting on public screening events. My role as a Consulting Producer went beyond this, in the sense that I served as a sort of guide in helping the producer and director, Andrew T. Smith, get a firm grasp on what subjects should be covered in the overall film, and what sorts of film footage and other archival materials could be used to help illustrate all of the material being discussed. It was certainly a fun, exciting, and rewarding experience for me—both behind and in front of the camera!

NB: What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

TJS: To paraphrase, “Be careful who you call a ‘friend.’ A true friend is someone you can borrow $500 from when you really need it.” While we may not always be financially flush enough to spare $500 for our very close friends during their genuine times of need, I do think the underlying meaning behind this advice is absolutely true. Thankfully, in this day and age, we now have crowdfunding—which is a really effective tool I’ve used for film related projects, and also for helping friends and family members in duress. True friends, and even complete strangers, ultimately show their true colors and are generous when they’re able to share for a good cause.

NB: What is something you wish you knew a decade ago?

TJS: It’s really difficult to predict what will happen in the future. If I’d known ten years ago that social media would have become the extremely strong promotional platform that it is now in this day and age, I would have done a bit more to explore those possibilities, significantly sooner, for promoting my work that way.

NB: Can you tell us more about your work as a faculty member of SVA and Brooklyn College? What do you love about teaching?

TJS: At Brooklyn College’s Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, I’m teaching a History of Animation and VFX (visual effects) course for students studying in their Digital Animation & Visual Effects program. At the School of Visual Arts, I’ve been teaching a wider variety of animation history-related classes, some of which are called New York Animation, the World of Animation, and so forth. When school is in session, I’m typically very busy with classes—this past fall semester, I was responsible for eight online classes, all conducted over Zoom. I’m gradually returning to the physical classroom for some courses.

There are several things I love about teaching. These classes are based on a facet of history that is inherently rooted in entertainment. That means for the most part, we are sitting in classrooms and getting to watch and discuss films which are mostly fun and amusing. I often joke with my students and say that they should tell their friends and families that they’re going to college to watch cartoons. On a more serious note, I love being able to dissect and discuss these fun and strange filmic bits of cultural history with new generations. We don’t all have to feel the same way about everything we watch, and it’s great to have a safe space to talk about how and why we react differently to these very old films. I’ve long felt that animated cartoons are very special little parodical time capsules of sorts, capturing the spirit and essence of a long lost era. Being able to explore these caricatures of history, as it unfolded a century ago, is a special experience for me—as I imagine it must be for some of the students as well.

NB: What advice do you have for readers who may be hoping to become faculty in academia?

TJS: My experience in getting to work in academia has been a bit unusual and unorthodox, and it was all based on the ‘street cred’ I established as a self-employed person, years before I began teaching in colleges. I think my perspective also may only be helpful to folks who may have an interest in the arts and art history, which are very different fields from other types of study and scholarship. Indeed, going to certain colleges and getting certain kinds of degrees is helpful and sometimes necessary.

However, my advice is to make your own mark in your chosen fields, in a more uniquely individualized way. Even if you are introverted, do something related to your interests that is more extroverted and interactive with others. Do some of your own firsthand research, then connect with others who are already established in your chosen niche, and organize new and novel ways of documenting and sharing those interests with others—such as public events, when and where appropriate—whether it be in academic circles or with the general public. Once you’ve made your own personal mark of sorts and have started making a name for yourself, this shows others that you have some personal drive and are noteworthy, and that you have something to offer beyond simply being an armchair researcher. That outward connection-making and mark-making can only help one’s reputation and desirability in academia.

NB: What is the weirdest cartoon you have found in your work and studies?

TJS: One of the weirdest items I’ve ever found in my archiving work is a short film called Down the Drain, produced in the early 1940s or so. It’s a combination of live action film footage and animation, in which a rather comical middle aged man is trying to take a bath and a cartoon cat is causing some plumbing problems in the building. The animation was done by Hugh Harman, who had previously made cartoons for Disney, Warner Bros., and MGM. While this bit of cinema was created with straight-ahead entertainment in mind, the live action acting is so strange that the piece is amusing in an ironic way. It’s a true obscurity.

NB: What were your favorite cartoons growing up?

TJS: When I was growing up, and from a very young age, I was already a fan of what we call Golden Age cartoons. Those would be all of the classic characters from the 1930s and 1940s, such as Mickey, Betty Boop, Popeye, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Little Lulu, and many others from that period. I grew up mostly around middle aged and elderly family members who helped instill this interest in me, as they shared fond recollections about the cartoons they grew up seeing 50 to 75 years earlier. A few of these cartoons were still being shown on television at the time, and quite a few were available on home video, which is how I got started with collecting them. It was a really fun time for me in that sense.

NB: Who are some cartoonists with a Queens connection that you admire or respect?

TJS: The most notable example to me would be Richard F. Outcault (1863-1928), a cartoonist who was one of the pioneers of the modern newspaper comic strip format. While Outcault was born in Ohio, he lived in Flushing, Queens, from 1890 until his death in 1928. Outcault was responsible for creating and drawing two extremely popular early recurring newspaper comic strip characters, The Yellow Kid and Buster Brown. Some of our fellow Queens residents might remember the old chain of Buster Brown shoe stores. Those stores, and their shoes, were branded with the Buster Brown character and his dog Tige, which Outcault created way back in 1902. Outcault’s contributions, and his early newspaper comic strip characters, were no doubt an inspiration to an entire generation of slightly younger cartoonists who went into the animation field in the 1910s and 1920s.

NB: What are some of your favorite stories told in your family about Queens?

TJS: By and large, the stories about Queens that I’ve enjoyed hearing from my family members are all related to their childhoods and young adult lives here in this borough, whether it be a story from 40, 60, or 80 years ago. Most of these stories center around my family members having had warm, close relationships with many different neighbors, as well as personally knowing and fondly recalling local shopkeepers and other community figures. This all seemed to unfold naturally, in a way that seems a bit more caring, idyllic, and traditionally community-oriented than what I’ve experienced myself in the last 20 or 30 years. I do have some early childhood memories of my own that are similar, thankfully.

NB: How have you seen Queens change over the years?

TJS: As with many corners of New York City, various resident groups and demographics evolve over the decades. That fact couldn’t be more true for Queens, which, thankfully, is perhaps the most diverse melting pot of cultures on the planet. In my own lifetime, I’ve noticed many different Queens neighborhoods experiencing an exponential influx of new or differing ethnic groups from around the world; bringing all sorts of fascinating shops, restaurants, and cultural institutions along with them. To be a Queens resident is to be in a position of great privilege, for the simple reason of being able to learn about and experience the lives and cultures of all different groups—right beyond our own doorsteps. This is one aspect of being a lifelong Queens resident that I’m truly grateful for!

On the other hand, Queens has had relatively few protections in the way of landmarking and historical preservation. Seeing as history and historical architecture are also great interests of mine, witnessing Queens’ evolution over the past few decades has also been a sad experience for me, in terms of seeing just how many lovely 19th and early 20th century houses and buildings have been torn down here. For as much as our population has become more and more diverse, which is a great thing, the increasing homogenization of our local architecture and our physical ties to local history has made for a more bland and lackluster physical landscape, in my opinion. The most recent example of this was the long-contested demolition of the RKO Keith’s Theater in Flushing, which had been one of our borough’s architectural crown jewels.

NB: What do you love about your work?

TJS: One thing I love about my work is interactivity with the public.

NB: How can readers get directly involved with what you’re doing?

TJS: The kinds of old films I work with can still be found in attics, basements, flea markets and antique shops—and if any readers out there have anything that could be helpful or useful, I do recommend that they get in touch! Just as importantly, my public screenings are designed to welcome all people to join in on fun communal cartoon viewings. If any readers would be interested in viewing these classic old cartoons in public and theatrical settings, they can also contact me for more information, or simply look around online for news about any of my Cartoon Carnival screenings, and similar events that I’m regularly hosting in the greater New York City area. Enjoy!

—Nicollette Barsamian

This column was originated in July 2013 by Nicollette Barsamian

 

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