Grange Calveley

Grange Calveley (6 May 1943 – 22 August 2021)[1] was a British writer and artist who was best known as the creator of the BBC's animated television series Roobarb (1974) and Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk (1977).

Grange Calveley
Born(1943-05-06)6 May 1943
Cheshire, England
Died22 August 2021(2021-08-22) (aged 78)
Occupation(s)Scriptwriter and artist for children's television
Websitehttp://www.grangecalveley.com

Calveley also wrote and made character drawings for the 2005 revival series, Roobarb and Custard Too. The series was commissioned by UK's Channel FIVE and directed by Jason Tammemagi.

Early life

Grange Calveley was born on 6 May 1943 in Hale,[2] Cheshire, England.[3] His father was with the Scots Guards and was killed at Arezzo in 1944.[4]

Grange attended Bradbury secondary school[5] on Queens Road, Hale. After leaving Bradbury at age 15 he joined Osborne Peacock, a Manchester advertising agency and later attended art college on day release.

After Art College, Calveley worked for a number of advertising agencies in London.[3] It was while at Masius that he met his wife Hanny, a copywriter.

Roobarb

The Roobarb cartoon character is loosely based on Calveley's own dog, a Welsh Border Collie.[3] Custard was drawn after the huge cat who lived next door.

The Roobarb (1974) television series was commissioned by the BBC, who sold the series to more than 40 countries around the world. In his book, Roobarb: An Illuminated Biogwoofy, Calveley describes how the real dog would leap up into the fork of a tree and how the dog's antics became part of the cartoon's opening title. Roobarb was directed by Bob Godfrey, the series' music was by John Hawksworth and the stories were narrated by Richard Briers.

The characteristic bouncy wobbly style known as "boiling" was used as Calveley and the other animators did not have enough money to use traditional cel methods and used marker pens on paper instead.[6]

Other works

Roobarb was followed in 1977 by Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk. In the late 70s Calveley and his family moved to Australia where he produced two further TV series, Captain Cookaburra's Road to Discovery (1985)[7] and in 2005 a sequel to Roobarb called Roobarb and Custard Too.[8]

Away from television, Calveley was the author of the series of children's books One to Five.[9]

Calveley died on 22 August 2021 after suffering a stroke 12 days previously.[1]

References
  1. Hayward, Anthony (27 August 2021). "Grange Calveley obituary". the Guardian. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  2. Hayward, Anthony (27 August 2021). "Grange Calveley obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  3. "Grange Calveley". Frances Lincoln Publishing. 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  4. Reading Room Manchester (24 July 1944). "Casualty Details". CWGC. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  5. Hayward, Anthony (27 August 2021). "Grange Calveley obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  6. "Roobarb (1974-75)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  7. "Captain Cookaburra's Road to Discovery". BFI Film Forever. Archived from the original on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  8. "Roobarb and Custard Too". Toonhound. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  9. "Grange Calveley". Amazon. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
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