Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955) is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer.
Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons (with Will Friedwald, 1989), The 50 Greatest Cartoons (1994), The Animated Movie Guide (2005), Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide to the Coolest Cat in Town! (2005), Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons! (2007), The Hanna-Barbera Treasury: Rare Art Mementos from Your Favorite Cartoon Classics (2007), The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons (2010), The Flintstones: The Official Guide to the Cartoon Classic (2011), and The SpongeBob SquarePants Experience: A Deep Dive into the World of Bikini Bottom (2013). He is also an authority on the making of modern films, with his books detailing the art of Mr. Peabody and Sherman, DreamWorks' Madagascar, and Bee Movie. Beck is also an entertainment industry consultant for TV and home entertainment productions and releases related to classic cartoons and operates the blog "Cartoon Research". He appears frequently as a documentary subject and audio commentator on releases of A&E's Cartoons Go to War as well as DVD / Blu-ray collections of Looney Tunes, Popeye the Sailor, and Woody Woodpecker cartoons, on which he serves as consultant and curator.[2]
Early in his career, Beck collaborated with film historian Leonard Maltin on his book Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, Revised and Updated Edition (1980).
Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including The 50 Greatest Cartoons (1994), The Animated Movie Guide (2005), Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons! (2007), The Flintstones: The Official Guide to the Cartoon Classic (2011), The Hanna-Barbera Treasury: Rare Art Mementos from Your Favorite Cartoon Classics (2007), The SpongeBob SquarePants Experience: A Deep Dive into the World of Bikini Bottom (2013), Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide (2005), and Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons (with Will Friedwald, 1989) alongside The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons (2010). He is also an authority on the making of modern films, with his books detailing the art of Mr. Peabody and Sherman, DreamWorks' Madagascar, and Bee Movie.
In 2004, Beck and fellow animation historian and writer Amid Amidi co-founded the blog Cartoon Brew,[3] which focused primarily on current animation productions and news. Beck sold his co-ownership in Cartoon Brew in February 2013 and started an IndieWire blog, Animation Scoop, for reports on current animation while continuing to write about classic animation at Cartoon Research.[4][5]
In 1993, Jerry Beck became a founding member of the Cartoon Network advisory board and he currently serves as Vice President of the ASIFA-Hollywood board.
On a regular basis Beck moderates panels at various venues (festivals, conventions, premieres, museums, screenings, etc.) along with hosting programs/retrospectives of classic cartoons at same. In the past this included shows at the now shuttered Cinefamily and Cartoon Dump monthly live Hollywood performance.
Beck, Jerry. (2003). Outlaw Animation: Cutting-edge Cartoons From the Spike & Mike Festivals. New York: Harry N. Abrams.
Beck, Jerry. (2004). Animation Art From Pencil Ti Pixel, The History of Cartoon Anime & CGI. Harper & Row.
Beck, Jerry. (2005). Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide to the Coolest Cat in Town. New York: DK Publishing.
Sigall, M. & Beck, J. (2005). Forward for: Living Life Inside the Lines: Tales From the Golden Age of Animation. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi.
Beck, Jerry. (2005). The Animated Movie Guide / The Ultimate Illustrated Reference to Cartoon, Stop-motion, and Computer-generated Feature Films. Chicago: Chicago Review Press.
Beck, Jerry. (2007). Nicktoons! New York, NY: Melcher Media.
Beck, Jerry. (2007). The Art of Bee Movie. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
Cabarga, L. & Beck, J. (2007). Introduction for: Casper the Friendly Ghost. Milwaukie, Or.: Dark Horse.
Cabarga, L. & Beck, J. (2008). Introduction for: Hot Stuff. Milwaukie, Or.: Dark Horse.
Cabarga, L. & Beck, J. (2008). Introduction for: Baby Huey: The Baby Giant. Milwaukie, Or.: Dark Horse.
Beck, Jerry. (2008). The Art and Making of Madagascar. San Rafael, CA: Insight Editions.
Beck, Jerry. (2008). The Flintstones. San Rafael, CA: Insight Editions.
Beck, Jerry. (2008). Tom and Jerry. San Rafael, CA: Insight Editions.
Beck, Jerry. (2009). The Hanna-Barbera Treasury. San Rafael, CA: Insight Editions.
Beck, Jerry. (2011). The Flintstones: The Official Guide to the Cartoon Classic. Philadelphia, PA: Running Press.
Beck, Jerry. (2013). SpongeBob SquarePants Experience. Insight Editions, Div Of Palac.
Beck, Jerry, (2014). Essay for: Felix the Cat Paintings: A Collection of Paintings From the Prolific Imagination of the Felix the Cat Guy. San Diego, CA: IDW Publishing.
Beck, Jerry, Burrell, T., Ward, T., & Minkoff, R. (2014). The Art of Mr. Peabody & Sherman. San Rafael, CA: Insight Editions.
Beck, Jerry, & Maltin, L. (2020). The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons. San Rafael, CA: Insight Editions.
Arts
Cartoon
Film
Visual arts
