Oh, and the world’s best rock band, the Kids of Widney High. If you love classic Nick, you’ll love the Kids: KidsofWidneyHigh.com.
This book would definitely not have been possible had it not been for the following people.
Janet Rosen (again), who is not only my friend (referring to me as the stepson she never wanted) but also a true literary agent. One part Jerry Maguire (meant as a compliment), one part Broadway Danny Rose (don’t know if that can be a compliment, but let’s try).
Brittney Ross (Nick Kid and editor extraordinaire), Kevin Doughten, Phil Budnick (no relation), and everyone at Plume/Penguin who did what Nickelodeon did back in the day by taking a chance on something in which they alone saw boundless potential. And thanks to the marvelous marketing department for doing the most important thing in selling a book (or anything) these days: promoting the hell out of it.
Adam Frucci and Splitsider, who granted me a little time and space to wax poetic on a bunch of old TV shows.
John Cierpial, someone I’d never met who contacted me at the very beginning of this strange and savage quest into nostalgia, and worked gratis in any way I saw fit. Please consider this note a recommendation for any job to which he may apply in the future.
Laurie Graff, who indirectly set me on course and has been a surrogate aunt over the years.
Mike Restaino (again), Jack Hellman, Naomi Kriss (again), and Mark Johnston (again), who offered assistance in transcribing interviews for almost no money and in record-breaking time. Joseph Trinh (again) lent extra support where needed as well.
Heather Hendershot and all the folks who contributed to her Nickelodeon Nation. Of particular import were the pieces by Heather herself, Linda Simensky, and Mark Langer. Heather has also been a longtime supporter of this project. Cy Schneider’s Children’s Television was of some help when I first began this journey, too.
Fellow Nick nostalgia nitwits David Dillehunt, Hadrian Belove, Devon Whitehead, Thad Komorowski, Emily Rosenthal, Patricia Miranda, Josh Lieberman, Bilaal Smith, and Josh Yawn, for their encouragement and support.
The many people in this book who gave me their time in order to do this right, despite zero remuneration. They all deserve to be listed here, but a few people really need some shout-outs, in no particular order: Marc Summers (of course), Toby Huss, Will McRobb, Fred Newman, Billy West, Katherine Dieckmann, Chris Viscardi, Alan Goodman, Fred Seibert, Jason Zimbler, Vanessa Coffey, Linda Simensky, Mary Harrington, Karim Miteff, James Bethea, Rita Hester, Steve Slavkin, Trevor Eyster, Heidi Lucas, Venus DeMilo, Michael Bower, Diz McNally, Bob Hughes, Bob Klein, Bob Mittenthal, Melanie Grisanti, Paul Germain, Craig Bartlett, Aron Tager, D.J. MacHale, Geoffrey Darby, Roger Price, Scott Webb, Andy Bamberger, Albie Hecht, Gus Hauser, Bob Pomann, Jim Jinkins (Patient Zero!), Wendy Litwack, Lisa Melamed, Ken Scarborough, Alan Silberberg, Byron Taylor, Judy Grafe, Rick Gomez, Tom Nikosey, Kenan Thompson, Larisa Oleynik, Melissa Joan Hart, Melanie Chartoff, Chris Reccardi, Michael Maronna, Danny Tamberelli, Dave Rhoden, Dave Coulier, Marty Schiff, Eddie Fitzgerald, Mark Osborne, Christine McGlade, Abby Hagyard, Jessica Gaynes, and especially Gerry Laybourne, for inviting me into her home, her life, and the world she made with Nickelodeon.
And—like him or lump him—I must give exceedingly large praise and thanks to Mitchell Kriegman for being the person without whom I really wouldn’t have been able to do any of this.
My thanks also to the many long-suffering managers, agents, publicists, and assistants who helped me get in touch with my interviewees, particularly Shirley Gooding and Sabrina Propper.
In delving deeply into this process, I discovered quickly that the provenance of Nickelodeon is far more complex than I originally anticipated. There are innumerable additional stories that could have been told, including those by interviewees represented in this book. However, the following people were either omitted for structural reasons or could not be interviewed through no fault of their own: Jeff Weber, Mike Reiss, Dustin Diamond, Mayim Bialik, Mark Osborne, Alison Maclean, Jack Shih, Cliff Johnson, Carole Hay, Doug Compton, Richard Edson, Ray Fabi, Merle Kessler, Raymie Muzquiz, Jack Riley, Jill Wakewood, Nancy Bay, Rand MacIvor, Kit and Sam Laybourne, Max Bond, Bill Prickett (big helper, sorry!), Ivan Dudynsky, Bill Plympton, Daniel DeSanto, Chris Graves, Patrick Mallek, Natalie Nucci, Alexa Junge, Mark David, Jim Smith, Tom Hill, Joseph Piasek, Kristian Truelsen, Duncan Gillis, John Dilworth, Brodie Osome, Del De Montreux, Woody Fraser, and Robert Dollwet. Hopefully, their stories will end up in later printings of this book or in ancillary publications.
And finally (thanks for humoring me here), I want to give the stage to the husky eleven-year-old who was jumping up and down inside of me every time I spoke with one of his many contributing heroes here. Objectivity be damned: Getting to speak with John Kricfalusi was one of the coolest fucking things I got to do on this project, and I want to thank him for making a frothing fanboy’s dream come true in that regard, as well as for supplying my favorite answer to the tens of thousands of questions I asked throughout the course of this maddening ballyhoo:
ME: Would you ever want to meet someone who grew up on Ren & Stimpy?
JOHN K.: Dumb question.
I’m sure I’ve left out tons of people here and probably made at least a few mistakes in the book itself. Send any such complaints—along with whiny remonstrations wondering why I didn’t talk to a particular person no one cares about from a show no one remembers except for you—to [email protected].
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CHARLIE ADLER was a voice director on Rugrats during the later run of the series after Paul Germain left. Add. Credits Incl.: All Grown Up, Rocket Power, and The Wild Thornberrys.
JOEY AHLBUM is an animator and artist who created some of Nick’s iconic interstitial/promotional materials, such as his contemporized dinosaurs singing doo-wop and wearing sneakers. His show Thunder Lizards, based loosely on these early designs, was nearly picked up as a first-wave Nicktoon.
JASON ALISHARAN played Midnight Society member Frank in Are You Afraid of the Dark?
ED ALTON created the music for Salute Your Shorts. Add. Credits Incl.: Head of the Class, Whitney, and Suddenly Susan.
JOE ANSOLABEHERE was a writer on Rugrats who helped run the show during its first sixty-five episodes with Paul Germain. Add. Credits Incl.: Pound Puppies, Recess, and Hey Arnold!
KIRK BAILY played camp counselor Kevin “Ug” Lee on Salute Your Shorts.
HOWARD BAKER was both a director on Rugrats and the Overseas Animation Director on The Ren & Stimpy Show. Add. Credits Incl.: Aeon Flux.
JIM BALLANTINE was an associate producer on The Ren & Stimpy Show who was brought in by Nickelodeon to assist with difficulties the network felt existed within the show’s original production. He became a producer once the show was turned over to Games under Bob Camp’s administration.
ANDY BAMBERGER was Nickelodeon Employee #5, becoming Director of Production and in charge of the On-Air Promotions Department. He stayed on as an integral component of Nickelodeon’s development throughout the network’s production of original programming and the opening of Nickelodeon Studios Florida.
TIM BARTELL was the Manager of Scenic Services in the art department of Nickelodeon Studios Florida. He oversaw the construction of various sets on such shows as Double Dare, GUTS, and Legends of the Hidden Temple.
CRAIG BARTLETT was a story editor on Rugrats who would go on to create Hey Arnold! with fellow Rugrats writer Steve Viksten. He developed the characters of Reptar and Angelica’s poker-faced doll, Cynthia.
JERRY BECK is a world-renowned animatophile who’s written books on such topics as Looney Tunes, The Flintstones, and Nicktoons. From 1993 to 1997, he was the Vice President of Animation for Nick Movies, working on such films as The Rugrats Movie and Harriet the Spy.
DEBBY BEECE came into Nickelodeon as Sandy
Kavanaugh’s personal secretary, making her the nascent network’s third employee. She would stay on at Nick as Director of On-Air Promotions to help develop the channel and usher in Nick’s “Us vs. Them” philosophy.
MICHAEL BELL was the voice of Drew Pickles, Charles “Chaz” Finster, and Boris Kropotkin, among others on Rugrats. Add. Credits Incl.: Transformers and G.I. Joe.
MEGAN BERWICK played ZZ Ziff on Salute Your Shorts.
JAMES BETHEA cocreated Nick Arcade with Karim Miteff.
JOHN BINKLEY created Fifteen, Nickelodeon’s first and only soap opera, which starred a budding Ryan Reynolds.
BOB BLACK was a writer on You Can’t Do That on Television.
MICHAEL BOWER played Eddie “Donkeylips” Gelfen on Salute Your Shorts. Add. Credits Incl.: The Wonder Years and Dude, Where’s My Car?
KELLY BROWN played Bradley “Brad” Taylor on Hey Dude.
JANIE BRYANT was a costume designer on The Adventures of Pete & Pete. Add. Credits Incl.: Deadwood and Mad Men.
DANA CALDERWOOD was a director on Double Dare. Add. Credits Incl.: Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? and Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
JUSTIN CAMMY was a cast member on You Can’t Do That on Television.
BOB CAMP helped to develop The Ren & Stimpy Show before becoming a writer, director, and artist on the series. He eventually led the production when the series was taken away from creator John Kricfalusi and his Spumco studio by Nickelodeon. Add. Credits Incl.: The Real Ghostbusters and Tiny Toon Adventures.
DAVID CAMPBELL is Jim Jinkins’s longtime production partner who executive-produced Doug and worked with Melanie Grisanti and Jim on establishing Jumbo Pictures.
MELANIE CHARTOFF was the voice of Didi Pickles and Grandma Minka Kropotkin on Rugrats. Add. Credits Incl.: Parker Lewis Can’t Lose and Fridays.
CHERYL CHASE was the voice of Angelica Pickles on Rugrats. She also performed various voices on The Ren & Stimpy Show, being the secretary of show creator John Kricfalusi at his Spumco studio.
PETER CHUNG directed the pilot for and opening sequence to Rugrats before leaving the series to create Aeon Flux. He is considered to be one of the most innovative artists working in the field of animation, having pioneered new perspectives and camera movements that had never before been hand-drawn. Add. Credits Incl.: Diablo (video game series).
VANESSA COFFEY was the Vice President of Animation at Nickelodeon and is credited with having been the guiding force behind the creation of the original Nicktoons. She has worked on numerous animated series in the past and is considered the person who devised the eleven-minute cartoon segment, which became the industry standard.
SARAH CONDON was a producer on Clarissa Explains It All. Add. Credits Incl.: Bored to Death.
COURTNEY CONTE produced Salute Your Shorts. Add. Credits Incl.: Roseanne, Grace Under Fire, and That ’70s Show.
DANNY COOKSEY played Bobby Budnick on Salute Your Shorts. Add. Credits Incl.: Diff’rent Strokes, Terminator 2, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Montana Max on Tiny Toon Adventures, and Brad Buttowski on Kick Buttowski. He also performs music and voices “Crackle” in the “Snap, Crackle, Pop” Rice Krispies commercials.
DAVE COULIER was the host of Out of Control. He also voiced the show’s animated segments. Add. Credits Incl.: Full House, Muppet Babies, The Real Ghostbusters, and The New America’s Funniest People.
JOHN CRANE was a cast member on Roundhouse who regularly played the role of “Dad” in his iconic motorized chair. He was the only cast member who was also a writer on the series. Add. Credits Incl.: MADtv.
GABOR CSUPO was a creator of Rugrats who, along with ex-wife Arlene Klasky, founded and ran animation studio Klasky-Csupo, which was also responsible for animating The Simpsons, music videos, and title sequences for such shows as In Living Color. Add. Credits Incl.: Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, The Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power, and Duckman.
E. G. DAILY (aka Elizabeth Daily) was the voice of Tommy Pickles on Rugrats. She is also a musical recording artist. Add. Credits Incl.: Happy Feet, Babe: Pig in the City, The Powerpuff Girls, Valley Girl, and Dottie in Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.
CHRISTINE DANZO was a producer on The Ren & Stimpy Show.
GEOFFREY DARBY was one of the most essential personnel at Nickelodeon, having developed You Can’t Do That on Television with Roger Price—something that brought him to Nickelodeon as a producer, show developer, and finally President of Production. As second-in-command, he was in many ways the “father” to head of network Gerry Laybourne’s “mother.”
SHAWN DAYWALT-LUTZ was a cast member on Roundhouse who typically played “Mom” in sketches.
VENUS DEMILO played Telly Radford on Salute Your Shorts. Add. Credits Incl.: Ghost World, Family Matters, and Sister, Sister.
KATHERINE DIECKMANN cocreated The Adventures of Pete & Pete with Chris Viscardi and Will McRobb. She wrote and directed a number of the episodes, along with directing all of the sixty-second interstitials. She brought the “Downtown New York”/proto-hipster style to the show and continues her work in the realm of indie cinema while teaching at Columbia University. Her music video credits include the likes of REM’s “Stand” and “Shiny Happy People.”
RICHARD M. DUMONT played Sardo—no “Mr.” and accent on the “Doh”—owner of the Magic Mansion on Are You Afraid of the Dark? Add. Credits Incl.: Assassin’s Creed, Splinter Cell, and Prince of Persia (all video game series).
MICKI DURAN was a dancer and the youngest cast member on Roundhouse. She would frequently play the “airhead” character.
CHARLES S. DUTTON guest-starred in the two-part Are You Afraid of the Dark? special “The Tale of Cutter’s Treasure” as Captain Jonas Cutter. Add. Credits Incl.: Roc, Alien 3, and Rudy.
TONY EASTMAN was a supervising director on Doug. He is also an illustrator of children’s books, and his father, Phil Eastman, created such beloved children’s classics as Are You My Mother? and Go Dog. Go! Add. Credits Incl.: Beavis and Butt-Head, Daria, and Saturday Night Live.
DAVID ELLIS was the in-house art director at Nickelodeon for fifteen years and worked on such shows as Nick Arcade, Clarissa Explains It All, My Brother and Me, What Would You Do?, and Kenan and Kel.
GEORGE EVELYN was an animator and art director at Colossal Pictures, which created many of the early animated IDs and promos for Nickelodeon. He created the animated pilot Big Beast Quintet for the original Nicktoons, but it was not picked up as a series.
TREVOR EYSTER (aka Tim Eyster) played Eugene “Sponge” Harris on Salute Your Shorts.
ALISON FANELLI acted on The Adventures of Pete & Pete as Ellen Hickle, who was not Big Pete’s “girlfriend,” but rather a girl who was his friend. Allegedly . . .
JEFF FISHER performed the theme song to Are You Afraid of the Dark? and alternated composing episode scores with Ray Fabi. Add. Credits Incl.: Madeline (TV specials).
EDDIE FITZGERALD was a layout artist on The Ren & Stimpy Show and contributed in a variety of other ways, as did most staff on the series. In addition to having worked on a litany of other series in the past (as well as teaching numerous future prominent animation producers while they were students at CalArts), he was a model for the character of “Pinky” on Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain.
MIKE FONTANELLI headed up character layout on The Ren & Stimpy Show. Add. Credits Incl.: The Simpsons and Tiny Toon Adventures.
RICK GALLOWAY played Walter Patterson on Welcome Freshmen.
JOANNA GARCIA played Midnight Society member Sam on Are You Afraid of the Dark? Add. Credits Incl.: Clarissa Explains It All, Freaks and Geeks, Reba, and Gossip Girl.
JANEANE GAROFALO guest-starred on The Adventures of Pete & Pete as English teacher Ms. Brackett in episode “X = WHY?” She is a well-known stand-up comedienne. Add. Credits Incl.: Saturday Night Live (series regular), The Ben Stiller Show, The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Reality Bites, Wet Hot Am
erican Summer, and 24.
JESSICA GAYNES was a cohost on Wild & Crazy Kids who replaced Annette Lesure when she left the series.
PAUL GERMAIN was, along with Gabor Csupo and Arlene Klasky, one of the original creators of Rugrats who “ran the show” in its first sixty-five-episode run. Add. Credits Incl.: Recess (creator).
ALASDAIR GILLIS was a cast member on You Can’t Do That on Television.
JIM GOMEZ, as with the majority of artists at The Ren & Stimpy Show, “did a little bit of everything”: directing, storyboard and layout art, design. But he was “primarily a writer” on the show. He was one of the small group of people with John Kricfalusi in the earliest days of the show’s original development.
RICK GOMEZ played “Endless” Mike Hellstrom on The Adventures of Pete & Pete. Add. Credits Incl.: Justified, Sin City, and Band of Brothers.
OMAR GOODING was a cohost on Wild & Crazy Kids. He is the brother of film star Cuba Gooding Jr. Add. Credits Incl.: Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, Smart Guy, and Baby Boy.
ALAN GOODMAN worked with Fred Seibert and their company Fred/Alan to rebrand Nickelodeon in the early eighties. He was a writer on such shows as Hey Dude and Clarissa Explains It All and later created The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. Along with Seibert, Goodman is responsible for the iconic MTV logo/animation.
BRUCE GOWERS was the main director on Roundhouse. Add. Credits Incl.: “Bohemian Rhapsody” (music video) and American Idol.
JUDY GRAFE played Mom (aka Joyce Wrigley) on The Adventures of Pete & Pete.
SEYMOUR GREEN was a dancer and cast member on Roundhouse.
MELANIE GRISANTI was the producer on Doug and helped to establish its production company, Jumbo Pictures, with Jim Jinkins and David Campbell.
Slimed!: An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age Page 24
