There never was before, and there will never be again, anyone like John Callahan.
A prolific and widely praised cartoonist who channeled deep sorrow into pitiless single panels of biting wit, he came to his artform only after he had been severely disabled by a car crash. John could still manipulate the controls on his motorized wheelchair, and he could still, using both hands, put pencil to paper. For pretty much everything else he needed help. A recovered alcoholic who was deeply grateful to be alive, his lacerating comic sensibility was showcased in cartoons which managed to offend nearly everyone.
His work migrated over to television with Nickelodeon’s Pelswick (ironically, a children’s show) in 2000, and with the Australian-Canadian show Quads in 2001.
Earlier, in 1993, filmmaker Kelley Baker had produced the beautifully simple I Think I Was An Alcoholic, based on Callahan’s book by the same title. Animator Laura Di Trapani brought Callahan’s drawings to life, and Callahan himself narrated.
You can see I Think I Was An Alcoholic here.
I hereby claim I Think I Was An Alcoholic as an Oregon film, on the basis of multiple qualifying criteria.
1 response so far ↓
1 Laura Di Trapani/Oregon filmmaker | Oregon Movies, A to Z // May 12, 2011 at 8:26 am
[...] ← I Think I Was An Alcoholic (1993) Laura Di Trapani Screens Exquisite Corpse @ Curious Comedy Theater/May 22, 8:00 PM [...]
Leave a Comment