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Paul Gruwell

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Paul Gruwell
Gruwell on a photo shoot during the late 1960s in the LA area.
BornNovember 28, 1933
DiedNovember 4, 2014
Bellingham, Washington, US
NationalityAmerican

Paul Gruwell (November 28, 1933 – November 4, 2014) was an American multidisciplinary artist, animator, creative director, and designer, whose career spanned animation, music, publishing, and graphic arts.[1] Best known as the director of Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces, Gruwell worked with major studios including Hanna-Barbera, Marvel Productions, Disney, Amblin, Filmation, Film Roman, and Warner Bros.[1] He also lead creative projects for companies like Boeing, Microsoft, Softimage, Humongous Entertainment, Shanachie Records, Epic Records, A&M Records, and Ode Records, and Watermark Inc.[2][3][4]

The Los Angeles Times referred to Gruwell as "one of the last hand-drawn animation artists" in the movie industry, highlighting his commitment to traditional animation techniques in a time of evolving technologies. With a career that spanned children's entertainment, political satire, and commercial projects.[1]

He spent his later years in Bellingham, Washington, where he remained until his death on November 4, 2014, from complications related to type 2 diabetes.[1]

Career

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In 1973, Cheech & Chong enlisted Paul Gruwell to direct and animate an original short film inspired by their song "Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces." The resulting eponymous short film was used to promote the single and its parent album, Los Cochinos, across the United States. The song achieved significant commercial success, reaching No. 15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, while Los Cochinos peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Albums Chart and earned a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording at the 16th Annual Grammy Awards.

In 1998, The Simpsons parodied the film in the episode "A Midsummer's Nice Dream," emulating its distinctive animation style and incorporating analogous characters. The short also appeared briefly in notable films, including California Split and the critically acclaimed, Academy Award-winning Being There. Its inclusion in Being There indirectly brought recognition to Paul Gruwell’s work when the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Over time, Basketball Jones has been referenced extensively in popular media. The song was famously covered by Chris Rock and Barry White for the blockbuster movie Space Jam and featured on the accompanying soundtrack, which sold over 6 million copies. Additional references to Basketball Jones have appeared in television series such as DAG, The Gregory Hines Show, and 2 Broke Girls.

Filmography

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Films

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Year Title Role Notes
1974 California Split Animator - Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces scene
1979 Being There Animator - Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces scene
1978 Up in Smoke Animator - uncredited Cut from final
1981 Heavy Metal Assistant animator Segment "Taarna"
1985 Starchaser: The Legend of Orin Storyboard artist
1987 The Garbage Pail Kids Movie

Shorts

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Year Title Role Notes
1973 Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces Director, animator
1978 The Big Sniff Director, animator Considered for Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film[5]
1989 Garfield's Babes and Bullets Model sheets Won Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1968-1969 The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Layout artist
1969 The Banana Splits
1969-1970 Scooby Doo, Where Are You!
1972 The New Scooby-Doo Movies
1973 Emergency +4
1974 These Are the Days
1978 Super Friends
1978-1979 Godzilla Story director, layout artist
1981 Heathcliff Layout artist
1982 The Little Rascals
Pandamonium
Meatballs & Spaghetti Storyboard artist
Pac-Man Layout artist
1983 Dungeons & Dragons Background designer
1984 The Transformers Storyboard artist Credited as 'Paul Grewell'
1985-1986 G.I. Joe Layout artist
1986 My Little Pony Storyboard artist
InHumanoids Model designer Credited as 'Paul Gruell'
Garbage Pail Kids Storyboard designer, layout designer, model designer
1988 Alvin and the Chipmunks Scenic designer
Dino-Riders Background layout artist
1988-1989 DuckTales Storyboard designer
1989 The Magical World of Disney
1989-1990 Garfield and Friends Director, supervising director, overseas supervisor
1990 Kid 'n' Play Background designer
1993 Bonkers Key layout designer, storyboard artist
1995 Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man Storyboard artist
1998 The New Batman Adventures Background key designer
The Simpsons Animator, additional animation timer
Batman Beyond Background key designer
1999-2002 Mission Hill Background designer

Educational Filmstrips

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Year Company Role Notes
1980s-1990s Disney Storyboard artist

Industrial

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Year Client Role Notes
1966 Boeing Filmmaker

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
1997 Backyard Baseball Background layout artist
2000 Backyard Baseball 2001 Background layout artist

Music industry

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LPs

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Year Title Artist Credits Notes
1971 Key Meredith Monk Art Direction
Cheech and Chong Cheech & Chong Album cover art & typography
1972 An Evening With Richard Nixon Gore Vidal Design and cover drawings
1993 From The Polynesian Odyssey Tubuai Choir Art direction, design

Singles

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Year Title Artist Credits Notes
1971 Santa Claus and His Old Lady Cheech & Chong Typography
1973 Sister Mary Elephant Picture sleeve illustration
1977 Bloat On / Just Say "Right On" (The Bloaters' Creed) Album cover art

Compilations

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Year Title Label Credits Notes
1970 Cruisin' 56 Increase Records Art direction, thumbnails Final illustrations by Mike Royer
Cruisin' 57
Cruisin' 58
Cruisin' 59
Cruisin' 60
Cruisin' 61
Cruisin' 62
1972 Cruisin' 55
Cruisin' 63

Radio shows

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Year Title Host Role Notes
1974–1979 American Top 40 Casey Kasem Logo designer, graphic designer for branding & marketing materials

Books

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Year Title Author Role
1972 Seven Arrows Hyemeyohsts Storm Storyboard & layout artist for film adaptation
1986 Mentor and the Magic Circle Illustrator Initially published by München Boer in Germany as Mentor und der Magische Kreis
2005 American Top 40 with Casey Kasem (The 1970s) Pete Battistini Book cover The logo for American Top 40, created by Gruwell, is displayed prominently on the book cover

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Paul Gruwell Obituary (2015) - Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  2. ^ "Paul Gruwell". Discogs. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  3. ^ "Mike Royer's Cruisin' Years: the Interview, part 2". Who's Out There?. July 13, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2025.[self-published source]
  4. ^ "Paul Gruwell". MobyGames. Retrieved January 13, 2025.[self-published source]
  5. ^ Beck, Jerry (2017-12-04). "Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award – 1978". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved 2025-01-13.[self-published source]