Bonzo
The dog Bonzo was an English cartoon character .
The plump dog with the black- spotted fur and blue eyes was a creation by George E. Studdy and was initially launched as a postcard and cigarette image motif as well as in magazines, picture books and as a poster motif. Initially, the character was only known as the Studdy Dog until it was officially baptized in November 1922. Three-dimensional representations of Bonzo, e.g. B. as a toy figure or in the form of an ashtray, were already widespread before it was first seen in a cartoon in 1924.
The movies
A total of 26 cartoons were made with Bonzo; the manuscripts of these silent films came from Adrian Brunel and the animation was done by William A. Ward . The Bonzofilme were the only successful cartoon series from the silent film era from England.
The comic strips
Beginning in 1912, the artist George E. Studdy published a page of comic drawings by Bonzo every week under contract with The Sketch . These picture stories were collected in 1932 in the book Bonzo: The Great Big Midget Book . A Bonzo Annual was published every year from 1933 , which lasted until the 1950s. After Studdy's death in 1948 it was continued by other draftsmen.
Bonzo as an advertising character
From 1925 onwards, the comparatively cheap Crosley Pup radio set was made popular in the USA by Bonzo, who wore headphones as an advertising figure. This is how Bonzo can be seen today at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC .
Bonzo musically
The dog figure also inspired artists in other areas, such as For example, the Czech composer Karel Hašler on the Bonzo Blues (played by Bernard Etté on Vox 08050-B) and the German composer Hermann Krome on the jazz interlude 'Bonzo's Stelldichein' (played by Mario Iseglio on Homocord 4-3162 and Dajos Béla on Odeon O-2730).
Marcellus Schiffer composed the German text “I love my Bonzo / His dog's eye so” on the American melody “Dolores” by the two songwriters Art Kassel and Marty Bloom , which Irene Ambrus on Homocord (4-2752) and Austin Egen with the orchestra Marek Weber sang for Electrola (EG 943). The song was used in the Haller revue “Schön und schick” in the Admiralspalast Berlin in 1928/29.
In 1930 the Viennese entertainer Fritz Imhoff , accompanied by the Ernst Holzer jazz orchestra, sang a Foxtrot song by Ernst Arnold for the export label Polydor on the pranks of the dog Bonzo, whose text was written by Erwin W. Spahn .
Sound documents with "Bonzo" in the title
Bonzo Blues (Karel Hašler) Orchestra Bernard Etté, on Vox 08050-B (mx. 2541 A)
Bonzo's Tryst, Jazz Intermezzo (Hermann Krome) Salon Orchestra Mario Iseglio, on Homocord 4-3162 (mx. TC1418)
Bonzos rendezvous, jazz intermezzo (Hermann Krome) dance orchestra Dajos Béla, on Odeon O-2730 b (mx. Be 7590)
Bonzos rendezvous, interlude (Hermann Krome) Large string orchestra. Derby blue [20 cm] DO5742 a (mx. Lb 396)
I love my Bonzo (Dolores), Foxtrot (Kassel & Bloom, German text Marcellus Schiffer) Irene Ambrus, voc., Homocord 4-2752 (mx. TM 20493)
I love my Bonzo (Dolores), Foxtrot (Kassel & Bloom, German text Marcellus Schiffer) Austin Egen, voc. with Marek Weber Orchestra. Electrola EG 943 / 8-40296 (mx. BL 4412-1), apply. August 15, 1928.
What did the bonzo do again? Lied and Foxtrot (Ernst Arnold - Text: EW Spahn) Jazz Orchestra Ernst Holzer with Refraingesang Fritz Imhoff. Polydor 23 282 / B 43 226 (mx. 939 BT), attach. 1930
Band name
The British Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band was named after Bonzo.
Live on
The Bavarian comedian Günter Grünwald has a character “Bonzo” in his role repertoire. This is a guest worker, with an accent from the former Yugoslavia , with a black leather jacket, oiled hair and petty criminals (“Servus i am da Bonzo. Do you need flat TVs? What fell from trucks?”) To violent (“Korean sickle blow , you know, you are dead instantly! ”) Trains that Grünwald has as a doorman, body guard or surreptitious dealer.
Web links
English-language Bonzo fansite with pictures.