He also collects folk art and has examples by renowned – and highly collectible – artists such as Howard Finster and Jimmy Lee Sudduth, explaining, “These creations are enchanting because they’re so child-like in their execution. It has to evoke in me an appreciation of the art.”Īnd that appreciation doesn’t begin and end with animation cels. I never think of it in terms of the money. short cartoons and that led to my being able to acquire the Warner Brothers cels.” He added, “Animation art is a changing market, but for me it’s all about the beauty of the cel. “I was lucky enough to have worked with the genius Mel Blanc, who did the voices for all those Warner Brothers cartoons,” Matheson said. Other cels include a pair from Space Ghost (the original cartoon show, on which he voiced the character of Jace) and several classics from the Warner Brothers cartoon studios – Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Pepe LePew and two of Road Runner. Matheson wasn’t the only one there who wanted those cels, but he proved to be the most determined bidder, and a collection was officially born.Īfter that he scored a Mickey Mouse cel from the surreal 1940 Disney film Fantasia (purchased as a phone bidder at a Sotheby’s auction), a pair of unique “one-of-one” cels from the 1991 hit Beauty and the Beast (one of Belle and one of the Beast holding a rose, acquired at an auction in Los Angeles, held inside a huge Disney theater), and one from Lady and the Tramp, impressive at about 3 feet wide by 18 inches tall and with a painted (or Courvoisier) background, bought at Sotheby’s. “There were all these crazy lots, and one contained three separate cels from Peter Pan – of Tinkerbell, Captain Hook and Peter Pan.” “I was surrounded by animation cels on Jonny Quest, and never thought anything of it,” he recalled, “then Joe Barbera (one-half of the legendary animation team of Hanna-Barbera) gave me a cel and I just loved it.” Years would pass before Tim would think to turn the one cel into a collection, but one day in 1990 he was at an estate liquidation sale in Los Angeles (he’s always been a fan of estate sales and auctions). Matheson just happened to voice the title character. As it happens, Matheson’s very first cel wasn’t from a Disney movie – it was from the ’60s cartoon show Jonny Quest. Disney studios stopped using animation cels altogether in 1990.īecause of their slippage into history, and because they are gorgeous to look at, animation cels have become highly prized by collectors like Matheson. But with the advent of computer-assisted animation production, the use of cels has been practically abandoned in major productions. Actual celluloid was used during the first half of the 20th century, but since it was flammable and unstable, it was replaced for the most part by celluloid acetate. Cel is short for celluloid – a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Matheson is a collector of Disney animation cels. Brick Breeland on The CW series Hart of Dixie and he directs many of the show’s episodes. He currently stars as the curmudgeonly Dr. But Matheson has also earned a pair of Emmy nominations, for his portrayal of Vice President John Hoynes on the acclaimed NBC series The West Wing, and his acting career goes back to the 1960s, when he was a youngster appearing in shows like My Three Sons and Leave it to Beaver. Veteran film and TV actor Tim Matheson’s place in cinematic history will forever be secure, thanks to his role as ladies’ man Eric “Otter” Stratton in the 1979 frat-boy romp, National Lampoon’s Animal House, starring John Belushi.
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