Actor, James Avery passed away last week. And I believe I was not alone when I received an hollowed feeling upon discovering the news. Of course, Mr. Avery was renowned for his role as "Uncle Phil" in the late 90s TV show "the Fresh Prince of Bel Air." But, immediately after hearing of his passing, the first words I spoke out my mouth was, "the Shredder died?" As lovely and funny as "the Fresh Prince" was Avery's work as the villian, the Shredder in the 80s cartoon show "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles left the biggest impact on me.
For an entire Generation of people James Avery played of epitome of evil, and the model of wisdom and warmth. It's a testament of his talents that he juggled both roles so effortlessly, that they've become lasting icons to a generation.
Godspeed, Mr. Avery. Keep chasing those turtles.
The 2nd passing, is someone who you might not have heard of, but you know his work.
Greg Martin passed away in May, and I didn't hear about it until recently. Mr. Martin was an artist who worked on many video games and VHS covers. You remember the box art for the first three Sonic games? Martin did those. The Ducktales art for the NES games? Martin did that, too! The cover art of the first few volumes of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" VHS's? Martin was the man.
As a child, I didn't know his name but I was always attracted to his work. I spent hours literary copying making his artwork, line by line, in my sketchpad, and never knew his name.
But now I do. Thank you, Mr. Martin for inspiring me!
Here is my homage to his cover for "Little Nemo: the Dream Master
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