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"It tells the true story of the genesis of this song, which was written for Barry Bunce, a great animation storyboard artist who was struggling with cancer when this song became his assignment. I wanted to give him something uplifing that he'd want to get up each day and work on." – Bill Burnett, 2009[1]

Barrington "Barry" Bunce (January 12, 1945 – June 14, 2005) was a storyboard artist for ChalkZone. He worked in animation from 1969 to his retirement in 2004.[2] Throughout his career, Bunce was an animator, layout artist and storyboard artist.[3]

Early life[]

He was born as Barrington Thomas Bunce on January 12, 1945 in London, England.[3] Bunce immigrated to the United States at the age of 12 with his parents and sister, Margie.[3] He graduated from Grant High School.[3] Outside of the arts, Bunce worked as a boat builder.[3]

Career[]

Bunce began his animation career in 1969.[2] He worked for DePatie-Freleng as a graphic designer, layout artist and assistant director.[4] He illustrated three children's books in 1976 for Ron Campbell, all focusing on different regions of the world: Fire on the Mountain (Ethiopia),[5] The Bridge of Saint Cloud (France)[6] and The Runaway Squash (United States).[7] Later in his career, Bunce wrote episodes of Johnny Bravo.[8] Other studios he worked for included Hanna-Barbera, Marvel, Ruby-Spears and Warner Bros.[2]

He served as a storyboard artist for ChalkZone, remaining with the series through all four of its seasons, and has the distinction of storyboarding the first episode ("Rudy's First Adventure") and the series finale ("Let It Blow My Way"). One episode of his, "That Thing You Drew," was shown at the Annecy Festival in 2005.[9] According to Bill Burnett, he wrote "Let It Blow My Way" for Bunce, who had become ill with cancer at that time, and assigned the musical episode to him, wanting to give Bunce something "uplifting" to encourage him to work on it each day.[1] Danger Rangers was his last production, airing posthumously in 2005, as Bunce retired in 2004.[2]

ChalkZone storyboard credits[]

Personal life and death[]

He was married to Arleen, who survived him.[3] Bunce was an avid surfer, serving as president of The Chobins' Surf Club.[3] He was described in his obituary as being a "film aficionado."[3]

In March 1966, while body-surfing with a friend, Trinidad Yorba, a rip tide caught the two, who were pulled out at sea. Bunce managed to swim back to shore and yelled for help, but his friend had drowned.[10]

By 2004, Bunce was suffering from pancreatic cancer.[3][1] He ultimately died from it on June 14, 2005, at the age of 60.[11] Bunce did not live to see his final ChalkZone episodes air in the United States, having premiered three years after his death.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Burnett, Bill (April 23, 2009). Let It Blow My Way LIVE. Bill Burnett's Song Mine. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Barrington Bunce. July 2005. Animation Guild. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Barrington Bunce Obituary - Los Angeles, CA. June 28, 2005. The Los Angeles Times (published online by Legacy.com). Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  4. Arnold, Mark. Think Pink: The Story of DePatie-Freleng. No date listed. Page 796. BearManor Media. Published online.
  5. Library of Congress (1977). Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series: 1976: July-December. Page 2340. Copyright Office. No book number.
  6. Library of Congress (1977). Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series: 1976: July-December. Page 2329. Copyright Office. No book number.
  7. Library of Congress (1977). Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series: 1976: July-December. Page 1932. Copyright Office. No book number.
  8. Perlmutter, David (May 4, 2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Page 319. Rowman & Littlefield. International standard book number 9781538103746.
  9. Chalk Zone "That Thing You Drew". Annecy Festival. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  10. News article, no title. March 19, 1966. Eureka Humboldt Standard. Eureka, California. Page 8. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  11. In Memoriam. Animation Guild. Retrieved February 19, 2020.

External links[]

  • Barry Bunce on the Internet Movie Database, providing a filmography
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