Like fellow animator Johnny Gent, Taras came to Famous Studios from Terrytoons in 1945.
He started animating Popeye in “Mess Production” (de-facto dir. Graham Place.)
Taras drifted to Dave Tendlar’s unit in 1946 for the film “Rodeo Romeo.”
(Mess Production, de-facto dir. Graham Place)
(House Tricks?, de-facto dir. Graham Place)
(Rodeo Romeo, de-facto dir. Dave Tendlar)
Taras didn’t animate the Popeye cartoons for too long in the 1940s, but he returned to the series in the 1960s (albeit with much more subdued artistry.)
But when budgets were less stringent, Taras’s animation brimmed with power and detail.
Next to Gent, Taras was the most skilled artist ever to handle the series.
To identify a Taras scene, look for pronounced blocky teeth, large expressive eyes, uber-stretchy faces and bodies, and an underlying sense of force.
(Abusement Park, de-facto dir. Dave Tendlar)
(Popeye and the Pirates, de-facto dir. Dave Tendlar)
(Snow Place Like Home, de-facto dir. Dave Tendlar)
Up next: Joe Oriolo (the Popeye animator turned entrepreneur)