Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Ink-Slinger Profiles: Leslie Elton
Leslie Elton's full name is Leslie Elton Brownley. He was born in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania on August 27, 1893, according to his World War I draft card. In the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, he was the oldest of three children born to William and Nina. They lived in Waverly, New York at 118 1/2 Providence Street. His father was a furniture polisher.
The 1910 census recorded W.B. McCaffery, Elton and his two sisters, Maud and Charlotte, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 1611 Girard Avenue. The head of the household was McCaffery, a woman, with Elton and his sisters as her son and daughters. This was an error in the census. Perhaps the wrong name was given to the enumerator or maybe McCaffery belong to the preceding household but inadvertently replaced Nina Brownley. In any event, Nina was the head of the household and a widow caring for her three children, her father Frank, a widower, and his older sister Anna, an unmarried woman. Also, in the household were Hannah Bentley (misspelled "Bently" in the census) and her two sons Robert and Walter. According to the 1860 census, Frank had three younger brothers, William, John and Charles. From the census records, I believe Hannah married either John or Charles and one of them passed away before the 1910 census. Years later, Hannah and her sons would figure into Elton's life. Frank passed away on May 26, 1911 according to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Death Certificates Index at Ancestry.com.
The 1910 census recorded W.B. McCaffery, Elton and his two sisters, Maud and Charlotte, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 1611 Girard Avenue. The head of the household was McCaffery, a woman, with Elton and his sisters as her son and daughters. This was an error in the census. Perhaps the wrong name was given to the enumerator or maybe McCaffery belong to the preceding household but inadvertently replaced Nina Brownley. In any event, Nina was the head of the household and a widow caring for her three children, her father Frank, a widower, and his older sister Anna, an unmarried woman. Also, in the household were Hannah Bentley (misspelled "Bently" in the census) and her two sons Robert and Walter. According to the 1860 census, Frank had three younger brothers, William, John and Charles. From the census records, I believe Hannah married either John or Charles and one of them passed away before the 1910 census. Years later, Hannah and her sons would figure into Elton's life. Frank passed away on May 26, 1911 according to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Death Certificates Index at Ancestry.com.
Elton's work appeared The Motion Picture Story Magazine.
May 1913
June 1913
The Moving Picture World reported Elton's move to animation in its September 9, 1916 issue.
Leslie Elton, Cartoonist, Joins Paramount-Bray Forces.
Leslie Elton, the well-known cartoonist, who has contributed to the Philadelphia Record,Public Ledger, Motion Picture Magazine, Photoplay Journal and the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, has joined the forces at the Bray studio, and will contribute his comedy to the Paramount-Bray Animated Cartoons, the weekly animated cartoon released by the Paramount Pictures Corporation. The enlargement of the staff of cartoonists at the Bray Studio will enable the producers to give a great variety of subjects. Mr. Elton will work on variety of subjects.In the book Before Mickey: The Animated Film, 1898-1928 (1993), Donald Crafton said, "…Elton, a newspaper sports cartoonist, joined in September 1916 and took over the 'Heeza Liar' series." Elton drew himself inking at the drawing board in the November 1916,Cartoons Magazine.
Leslie Elton in His Cartoon Factory— Drawn by Himself
Mr. Elton, remembered for his work on the St. Louis and
Philadelphia papers, has joined the forces at the Bray studio,
and will contribute pen-and-ink comedies for the movies.
Elton signed his World War I draft card on June 5, 1917. He lived in Manhattan, New York City at 112 East 31 Street. He was a cartoonist at the Cameragraph Film Company, 140 West 44 Street, New York City. His description was medium height, slender build with gray eyes and brown hair. The Big Cartoon Database has a list of his work.
The 1920 census recorded him in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey at 112 Hobart Street. His mother was head of the household, which included her daughters and their husbands. Not only was Elton a motion picture cartoonist, but so were his brother-in-laws Vaughan Kaufman and John McManus. Both sisters were motion picture actresses. In 1920 he received a patent. For the Newspaper Enterprise Association Service he produced Jack Daw's Adventures in 1922; the first eight weeks are here: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8.
According to the 1930 census, Elton married for the first time when he was 28 years old, either in 1921 or 1922. His wife was the aforementioned Hannah Bentley, who was born on March 31, 1879, according to the California Death Index. She was 14 years his senior and three years younger than his mother, who was born in 1876. He lived in the Bronx, New York at 3344 Fort Independence Street, with Hannah and step-daughter Charlotte, who was 19. (Back in 1910, Hannah was pregnant with Charlotte.) He was a freelance cartoonist. Living in the same building were Hannah's sons Robert, a cartoonist for a film corporation, and Walter Bentley. (Robert was profiled at According to Animation: Who and Where.)
The date of Elton's move to California is not known. Hannah passed away on June 3, 1964 and was followed by Elton on July 16, 1966, both in Los Angeles, according to the California Death Index at Ancestry.com. He was recorded twice in the index as Les Elton and Leslie Brownley. I believe his obituary was published in The Los Angeles Times on July 16. If anyone has ProQuest, please let us know of any additional information.
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Coming Attraction
This blogger has to make a business trip. I'm going to be away from all my precious resources -- scanner, research library and files -- for a week. Does that mean no blog posts for a week? Perish the thought! I'm certainly not going to let my streak of daily postings end right after gamely posting on both Christmas Day and New Year. So I've spent a few long nights slaving over a hot scanner to bring you a very special treat for the coming week. Tomorrow we begin this blog's first extended reprint series, featuring Jack Daw's Adventures starting from the very first strip from July 7th, 1922.
Jack Daw's Adventures is, I believe, the very first syndicated adventure strip featuring a continuing character. There are a few adventure strips that predate it but they were either local unsyndicated features (Bobby The Boy Scout) or did not use continuing characters (The Evening World's Movie-Story Series). You can read about these and other early adventures strips in my article on the subject in Hogan's Alley magazine, by the way.
Jack Daw's Adventures is, as the title rather elegantly implies, about a small boy who leaves home in search of adventure. The storyline is all over the map, veering wildly from fanciful fairy tale settings to full-blown serious adventure. You'll see that odd genre-bending storytelling go from one extreme to the other even just in the first eight weeks of the strip that will be shown here over the coming week.
It is, I admit, not a very well written strip. The writer-cartoonist, Leslie Elton, was a passable artist but he seems to have never plotted his storyline out ahead. As you read the strips, you'll get the feeling that his story is seldom thought out more than a few panels ahead. This leads to lots of gaping plot holes, inconsistencies and klunky segues. Elton also has a really annoying habit of previewing what's going to happen in tomorrow's strip, even when he ends on a cliffhanger. Jeez, guy, what a way to kill suspense! Still, he's obviously having fun and I hope you will enjoy reading it, even if only for its curiosity value.
Over the next eight days I'll post one week's worth of strips each day. The first Jack Daw storyline, though it does not end there, does take a breather at that point so that it makes a good place to stop. And, since these business trips are threatening to become a semi-regular occurrence for me over the next six months or so, I'd appreciate feedback from you folks as to whether you want to continue with Jack Daw next time I have to resort to presenting a reprint series or if you want me to go on to some other strip. I also welcome any debate you might have over whether this strip actually qualifies as an adventure strip (I know Bill Blackbeard would say nay to that!).
Friday, January 06, 2006
Jack Daw's Adventures -- Week Three
Who needs files when we have the web. I just Googled Leslie Elton and found that he wrote and directed a series of animated cartoons in 1918-1920. Here's the link.
Comments:
Hi Allan,
Les Elton did a couple of sound cartoons in the early 1930s that are coming out on a DVD called "Cultoons" Vol. One. They are "Monkey Doodle" and "The Hobo Hero". Elton was a very eccentric draftsman and animator! He deserves to be better known.
Best regards, Mark Kausler
Les Elton did a couple of sound cartoons in the early 1930s that are coming out on a DVD called "Cultoons" Vol. One. They are "Monkey Doodle" and "The Hobo Hero". Elton was a very eccentric draftsman and animator! He deserves to be better known.
Best regards, Mark Kausler
# posted by 
: 1/06/2006 6:20 PM
: 1/06/2006 6:20 PM 
Thanks for the info, Steven. I've never seen Elton's sports cartoons. He must have been a local guy, because I'm sure I would have seen his work if it was syndicated.
--Allan
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--Allan
