Jerry
the Mouse Speaks
One of Classic Animation's Greatest
Actors Tells All
by Steve McFarland
I sat down recently and talked
with retired cartoon actor Jerry Mouse discussing everything from his
long relationship with comic partner Tom the Cat and his bitter
feelings about the cartoon industry and more.
Steve: It has been a number of years since your last cartoon – what have you been doing with yourself?
Jerry: As I’ve gotten older I have enjoyed spending time with my children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, even great, great, great grandchildren. I sometimes have a hard time remembering their names – I have over three hundred children.
Steve: Do you keep up with people who were part of the Tom and Jerry Company?
Tom: Of course Tom and I have patched things up from our feud. And I do run into Butch the dog occasionally. He is working as a spokesdog for a large kennel in Seattle. We meet up at cartoon conventions and enjoy sharing memories of our past. Many will remember his son (he introduced him by saying “That’s my boy”) whose name, "Tyke," stuck with him all his life. He had a difficult time in his life being a puppy actor and dropped out of the industry. He kind of fell in with a bad pack of dogs – chased cars for awhile and did a little guard duty before Butch intervened. He is now working the nursing home circuit somewhere in Ohio.
Steve: Your well publicized feud with Tom stems from
your working without him with Gene Kelly in “Anchors Aweigh”. It was a
touching moment when Frank Sinatra brought the two of you together
during the Jerry Lewis telethon. Was that when you began to patch up
your differences?
Jerry: Yeah, what Frank did for us at first was a little
embarrassing, but seeing the reaction of the public we knew we had to
overcome our differences. Tom was really hurt all those years that I
had abandoned our partnership briefly to make that cameo appearance. I
had no idea it would cause that kind of problem with him. I am sorry I
did that – but glad we have patched things up.
Steve: I read recently that you have had knee replacement surgery and had some work done on your tail?
Jerry: Tom and I did some unbelievable stunt work and we never had stand-ins. The times of being hit by fly swatters, mouse traps and swallowed by him have taken their toll on me through the years.
Steve: Tom also has had some medical conditions I understand.
Jerry: Tom is a medical wreck. The industry owes him
a lot for the work he did. He had to have his entire digestive tract
replaced due to swallowing those anvils, hot irons, whole watermelons
and more. Fans take for granted how hard that was on him. Last year he
had his tail completely removed. He had been so abused through the
years it just kind of dragged along behind him. Unfortunately his new
one is not the same color. They were not able to match that gray/blue
color that Tom is known for.
Steve: As you know this year is Mickey Mouse’s 75th
birthday. You have been openly critical of Mickey through the years.
What are your thoughts on Mickey and his career?
Jerry: Mickey and I came into the industry together and studied together at Aspa (Acme School of Performing Arts). I auditioned for Disney but they took Mickey and Donald after they agreed to that unprecedented lifetime contract. Mighty Mouse, myself and Magilla Gorilla were offered the same deal and turned it down. Magilla went with Hanna Barbera and I signed with MGM, and stayed with them until the 1950's. I’m not sure what company Mighty signed with – but he did OK – especially the Saturday morning circuit.
My problem with Mickey has always been that he was so protected by his handlers he was never forced into any difficult roles. I had to train for six months on rolling with billiard balls before filming “8-Ball Mouse”. Mickey never had to do that much as far as stunt work. The hard roles were given to Goofy and he is such a company man he will never come public with his treatment. I wouldn’t say Mickey is a no-talent mouse but he simply has not had to be talented for the roles he was given.
Steve: What is your opinion of contemporary cartoons?
Jerry: I have had a hard time liking the anime genre and have thought it was not as high quality of animation as what Warner Bros, Disney and MGM were doing 40 and 50 years ago. And Saturday morning programming has changed so much that it has been harder and harder to make it in the industry. You either get on with a big company like Dreamworks or Disney or you have to do direct video stuff that is almost embarrassing.
Steve: You have said that Bugs Bunny was the greatest animated actor in the business. Why do you say that?
Jerry: Bugs was so versatile. He could do slapstick, stand-up and even was a great impressionist. He worked with Bogart, Gable, Crosby, Betty Davis – all the great ones and never seemed shook. He could pull out a carrot and strike up a conversation with anyone. And he always takes time for others. Some people don’t realize that he was offered the role of Thumper in Bambi but allowed a cousin of his to have the role instead. Can you imagine what would have happened if Disney had gotten their greedy paws on Bugs. The industry would not be the same. His genius is evident in the new movie coming out featuring he and Daffy.
Steve: Daffy has been amazing considering all the roles he has taken.
Jerry: Daffy Duck has the most incredible recovery ability of anyone in animation. His bill had been shot off so many times by Fudd that it is literally pinned on now. He saw the same doctor that did the plastic surgery on Michael Jackson’s nose. That duck has been shot in the face so many times he had to have feather implants around his bill because they stopped growing. He is amazing. And some don’t know that he is really a very bright duck. Loves reading and has a huge collection of John James Audubon prints.
Steve: Any future plans for you and Tom to get together and do anymore work?
Jerry: We appeared in "Tom and Jerry: The Movie" and 2002's "Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring". Of course, many of our fans were unhappy that we spoke in those films. We've also been approached by a movie company to do another reunion movie. Tom is needing to heal up some and Butch has some obligations to fulfill first. But, it would be good to work again and perhaps the public can finally appreciate our work.
Steve: Good luck and thanks for your time.
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