Robert D. Buchanan
American animator
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert D. Buchanan (born August 17, 1931) is a creator of several animated features in the 1950s and 1960s. He joined Soundac following the departure of Bobby Nicholson, who formed the company in 1951.[1] Buchanan relocated Soundac from its original location of Buffalo, New York to Miami, Florida in 1955;[2] he maintained a sales and distribution agent, Richard H. Ullman, in Buffalo through the late 1950s.[3]
Robert D. Buchanan | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 17, 1931 |
| Occupations | animator, producer |
| Known for | co-creating Colonel Bleep |
| Notable work | Colonel Bleep, Mighty Mr. Titan |
He is most notable for co-creating the animated series Colonel Bleep, the first color cartoon produced for television, with Jack Schleh. Colonel Bleep was syndicated in 1957.
In 1965, Buchanan co-produced another animated series, Mighty Mr. Titan, which taught viewers how to exercise.[4][5] Soundac also produced Weather Man, a series of short animated clips for stations that relied on Weather Bureau forecasts to relay the weather.[6]
Buchanan and Soundac ceased operations in the early 1970s.[citation needed] Master tapes of his productions were stolen during the closedown process,[citation needed] and as a result, only a portion of the company's productions remain: roughly a third of Colonel Bleep episodes (some in their original color and others in sepia tone prints), and one black-and-white kinescope reel of Weather Man clips (Mighty Mr. Titan is believed to be mostly intact).
