Rocky and Bullwinkle Cartoonist Dies at Age 90

Alex Anderson, the cartoonist who created the cartoon characters of Rocky and Bullwinkle, died on Friday from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 90.

After serving in World War II, Anderson began working with his childhood friend, Jay Ward, to create “Crusader Rabbit.” The Rocky and Bullwinkle characters grew out of that collaboration. In 1991, Anderson saw a documentary about the show that didn’t give him any credit, so he filed suit against Jay Ward Productions. In 1996, the parties reached a settlement with a court-mandated acknowledgement that Anderson was “the creator of the first version of the characters” and a monetary component.

Anderson left behind his wife, four sons, a daughter, fourteen grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

See Dennis Hevesi, Alex Anderson, Creator of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dies at 90, N.Y. Times, Oct. 25, 2010.

Special thanks to Trina Montalban (attorney, Portland, OR) for bringing this to my attention.