GEEZER YEARBOOK PAGE 2020
A full page of our collection for 2020 is also at the top of the left column. Each year there will be these individual photos and remembrances.
Ann Thompson
1. Bob Porter (Hoefer in the 70’s.)
The photo comes from a Shasta shoot down south in the early 70’s. The director was Sid Avery. At the time, I was Jim Nelson’s Associate CD at Hoefer. I’ve been retired and painting for the last 15 years. And this year, I finally made it to artist status at the California Art Club. (It’s an honor that mainly that lets you pay more in dues…)
Robert Porter
2. George Hampton
Hi, Y’All!
This photo was taken last year as I was hanging my art at the Salt Traders Coastal Cooking restaurant. After moving to Austin, Texas in 2006 where I have a studio in my home, I began painting. Around this time I was very fortunate to have met Jack Gilmore and Tom Kamm, experienced restaurant chef/managers, who asked me to hang my art in their first restaurant, Jack Allen’s Kitchen. They have since opened 3 more Jack Allen’s and one Salt Traders Coastal Cooking restaurants…I have followed along and have not only sold my art to them but have sold paintings to their clientele. How lucky can you get!
George Hampton
(Formerly with Landphere Studios, Botsford, Constantine & McCarty, Botsford Ketchum & The San Francisco Chronicle)
3. Tom Peacock
No artist, but enjoyed your company while working for BM&T. Frolicking in Cuba after retirement.
(GGNote: Tom represented Blake, Moffitt & Towne (paper and printing services in San Francisco as early as 1855).
Paper, type, artist, studio and printing Reps knew everyone. I envied that. And often, when calling on a studio, Tom brought a jar of honey from his own hives of bees!
Ann)
4. Jed Falby
Greetings!
What a great gift you give us with your time machine taking us all back to our youth and those good ol’ days.
Art Director/Producer at Y&R in those great TV years 1960 – 66 with Hanley Norins Creative Director and his creative collective (Steve Gordon, Mik Kitagawa, Gerry Severson, Paul Frahm et al).
Although Y&R shipped me out of San Francisco to NYC in 1966 I stayed with them in all those ‘Mad Men’ TV years ’till 1970 when I opened my TV Production Company in Paris.
Finally moved back to England in 1990 to paint (South West Academy) draw (cartoons!) and write (“Le Train de Michel” Graphic Novel).
My cartoon here was done for this year’s NY ‘Vote’ campaign with the other SF Geezers now in NYC: John Emmerling, Mike Slosberg,
Cheers! Jed
5. John Mattos
2 items,
#1- I’m still friends with Vic Marcelli- (art director at Vicom, and other agencies in SF- ) and Vic is a TOTAL geezer- so please put Vic on the list — if he asks what this is about- just tell him “John thinks you are a TOTAL GEEZER” ‑ha
#2– I have 22 pages in the Upcoming December Graphis magazine — naturally I’m quite happy about this –
Merry Christmas –
John
6. John Hyatt
Fresh out of Art Center School in 1967 I got my first job as an art director at Lennon and Newell Advertising in San Francisco. Roy Gover was also an AD there at the time — he and I would trip over each other sneaking out the back door after lunch to go home and paint. Roy sold his work at the famous Vorpal Gallery and I sold a series of oils paintings at H.P.Corwith on Union Street. Our fine art was considerably more compelling than Lennon and Newell trade ads for Hewlett Packard electronics – a few years before HP became the personal computer giant.
During a seven year stint at Wilton, Coombs and Colnett, I was fortunate to work with photographers Stephen Frisch, Karl Bauer and Craig Simpson; illustrators Lowell Herrero and David Broad; designers Nicholas Sidjakov and Jerry Berman. I started a freelance career (JohnHyattIllustration.com) when I met Chris Blum at Honig, Cooper and Harrington. Chris gave me my first illustration job – a TV storyboard for Levis, animated by Duck Soup in LA.
Currently I’m selling huge paintings of rowboats at www.CanyonDriveGallery.com.
7. Mort Beebe
Having photographed for clients abroad for 50 years, co-founded the Image Bank, authored five books and was location manager for five feature films and TV series…now editing my film archive of the City.
Best wish to both of you,
Mort Beebe
8. Tom Brenner
! I was a copywriter for a total of ten years, averaging about 2 years per agency! The last, being BBDO, with Herb Briggs and Hal Riney. I’ve enjoyed the stories about those two. Here’s mine: It seemed that every time I took copy to Hal, he’d read it, look up and say, “Is that the best you can do?” I’d mumble, let me try again, or something like that. I left BBD&O at the end of summer on the Friday before San Francisco State started fall classes, where I went to get a teaching credential. On my last day at the agency, people came by to say, “so long, good luck.” Hal walked by, stopped at my door, looked in, and said, “Bastard.” I took it as a compliment. And then Herb came by and gave me a gallon glass jar filled with oatmeal mixed in water, with a reduced copy of an ad (Don’t let Mush Die) I had done while at Dancer for Wheat Hearts. My wife and I had just bought our first house in Berkeley. The jar of mush sat on a living room bookshelf and every time I pasted it I petted it, thanking and thinking of Herb and the others in my ad life. The jar lasted for about three weeks — it exploded one night. Glass and old oatmeal was everywhere! School started, ad writing ended. After writing ads, I taught 4th-6th grades in Piedmont. And when I retired we moved up to Vashon, an island off of Seattle. I took a few Writing for Children classes and now have three published (by Candlewick) picture books (fourth one will be out soon!)— a series of AND THEN COMES —so far: HALLOWEEN, CHRISTMAS, SUMMER., and SCHOOL is next, not sure when. I have no control over that! I REALLY enjoy the Geezer Gallery you post. Even though I only know a few of those who show up, just looking at the others takes me back to the days and how I enjoyed working with the people I worked with. Each agency had a different “set’ and I remember just about every one, even those not mentioned in my posting. Even though I enjoyed teaching little kids, there was a special element about creating ads — working with an artist to solve a commercial charge (not sure of the right word) was exhilarating! And probably can’t be found in many places, well, maybe working with Steve Jobs or Bill Gates might have made the cut. But working with highly talented people made average days exciting — looking back.
Thanks for doing the Geezer Gallery.
All the best,
Tom Brenner
9. Pierre & Marian Jacot
Here is a pic of me and one of my folks throwing a party circa 1965 – 66? It’s from an Advertising party they threw in their first home in Mill Valley.
Mill Valley House on Lovell Avenue. Pierre just started working for an Agency. I was too young to know which. Maybe someone out there was at the party that might remember?
I wish I knew more about that party. But all the ad people and illustrators and artists, etc. that they knew at the time were there from my mom’s telling years later. ; )
I hope you get some good stuff coming in!
Michele Engel (Pierre and Marian Jacot’s daughter)
10. Tom LaPerle
Then…
1977, on the Burbank “Back Lots” shooting a Transamerica series with Marty Evens (LA).
Then some…
2003, no deadlines, no stress, no worries, no hair… life is good.
Now…
2020, living in Oregon on the banks of the Columbia River with G‑monsters, family and a 37-ft express cruiser.
Forever (it seems)…
LaPerle Associates, 1970 – 1990.
11. Lars Melander
Hi Ann,? Thanks for all Mail. Always fun to see. Nice to see Nick Sidjakov’s face — who I knew and admired. Here above is a picture from Macy’s 1978 where I participated in a show for Greengrass Gallery.
Here is the card from Macy’s show. I must say I was in really good company!
Here above is a picture from my latest show this year in Stockholm. Take care and safe!?
Best from Lars
12. Diana Thewlis
Here is my latest self-portrait (in this yearbook page, above) titled, ’The Inner Woman’. Loved my years as a graphic designer, product illustrator, tech. illustrator, and then contract general illustrator. Especially loved teaching at the Academy of Art University. Now basically retired, but painting and getting back into teaching up here in Washington State. I’m going to be filmed painting a portrait in watercolor for the local watercolor society to be used as a fund-raiser.
Diana Thewlis