Painting With Crashcup

The Alvin Show would have been great—without Alvin. I can do without a self-centered jerkish character. And I can do without screechy renditions of songs that were ancient in 1961, when the show was produced.

But one part of the show was worth watching—the segment with Clyde Crashcup, the inventor of things that had already been invented. Created by Format Films along with Crashcup was Leonardo, his faithful assistant. Leonardo was childlike, sensitive (played the cello and harp) and loyal to his boss. He also knew he was in a cartoon, and reacted to what was happening by looking at the audience.



He was a pantomime character, which can be deadly in limited animation. He only spoke by whispering.



He was never afraid to express himself. When Crashcup would say he invented something and held up something else, Leonardo would roll his eyes. He’d look with horror when he knew Crashcup’s pending demonstration was going to fail. He also got bored with Crashcup’s endless self-congratulation by yawning, or looking bored.



Format engaged in money-saving techniques on the segments, such as cutting way to a held cel of Leonardo while Crashcup yacked off-screen, cycles (including turning drawings around and painting them on the other side) and using maybe the same ten cues. Here’s something you don’t see often in the series—a stretch in-between.



There was a bit of a Laurel and Hardy relationship between the two. In this sequence of the “Do it Yourself” segment, Leonardo accidentally paints Clyde’s face (Crashcup rather stupidly opens a door while Leonardo is painting it). The Hardy-like retaliation follows. Crashcup paints his nose with a roller.



Leonardo checks his nose for paint, then reaches down to do the most logical thing to end the scene.



One fact I didn’t know as a kid is Crashcup is a caricature of Stephen Bosustow, the somewhat-over-his-head owner of UPA. In the late ‘50s, Herb Klynn and a bunch of others finally tired of Bosustow and quit to form Format Films—which just happened to make The Alvin Show. I appreciate the subversion.