Mad Musician Misses Clampett

An inside gag greets us as the Mad Musician randomly picks a name from the phone book as his next victim in Buddy the Detective (1934).



Say! Some of these names look awfully familiar.



Yes, “Clampett, R.” is who you think it is. Below him is Ben Clopton, another animator at the studio. Toward the bottom on Manny Corral, who was a test cameraman at Leon Schlesinger’s through the 1930s before moving to MGM.

Interestingly, also listed is Don Coleman. I don’t know about the phone number, but that’s his actual address. The Los Angeles City Directory in 1935 lists his occupation as “cartoonist.” Was he an in-betweener or assistant at Schlesinger’s who never got screen credit? I don’t know about Conny Connor, but 1400 Bronson (at Fernwood) would be in back of the Schlesinger studio at Van Ness and Fernwood. The rest of the names are a mystery as they don’t appear in the directory.

Paul Smith and Don Williams are the credited animators; Jack King was the director.

To be honest, the cartoon would be funnier if an animated Bob Clampett replaced Buddy.