Bobby Bumps (1916-1919)
Earl Hurd produced the Bobby Bumps cartoons at Bray from 1916 to 1919. This was not Hurd's first use of the mischievous little boy. Prior to Hurd's tenure at Bray, he had featured the Bobby-like "Brick Bodkins" in an early 1910s comic strip; Hurd subsequently starred the character, now renamed Bobby Bumps, in two 1915 cartoons for Universal's "Joker" label. Hurd's exact business relationship to Bray remains something of a mystery, though it's well known that the two collaborated to form the Bray-Hurd Patents Company, enforcing their ownership of the cel process of animation.
Hurd's personal relationship with J. R. Bray, including their initial meeting, is somewhat mysterious, too, from today's vantage point. There is little documentation describing their relationship, and J. R. had little to say about Hurd when historians interviewed him. It seems possible that Hurd and Bray had a falling out, though their mutually beneficial cel process patents remained jointly lucrative; both creators profited on them for more than a decade after Hurd left Bray in 1919. Other animation studios, including Van Beuren and Walt Disney Productions, paid Bray-Hurd to license the cel process as late as 1932, when the patent expired.
After leaving Bray, Hurd went on to produce Bobby Bumps cartoons first for Paramount, then for Educational Film Exchange, finally retiring the character in 1925. Hurd worked with Walt Disney later in the 1930s, with design on SNOW WHITE and storyboard work on Mickey Mouse's famous THE POINTER (1939) being among his accomplishments. Hurd passed away in 1940.
As a character, Bobby Bumps was a rascally middle-class kid like many in comics of the time. Very much the Bart Simpson of his day, Bobby enjoys creatively causing trouble, often with the help of his grumpy dog Fido and his black friend Choc'late. Authority figures in the series are Bobby's pompous dad, his snooty mom, and their tough family maid Goldie, a stereotypical mammy character never seen without her handkerchief headband. Some later Bobby cartoons invoked the Fleischer "hand of the artist" scenario with a hand-drawn Bobby fighting back against his cartoonist, though the conceit was only occasionally used.
Hurd's personal relationship with J. R. Bray, including their initial meeting, is somewhat mysterious, too, from today's vantage point. There is little documentation describing their relationship, and J. R. had little to say about Hurd when historians interviewed him. It seems possible that Hurd and Bray had a falling out, though their mutually beneficial cel process patents remained jointly lucrative; both creators profited on them for more than a decade after Hurd left Bray in 1919. Other animation studios, including Van Beuren and Walt Disney Productions, paid Bray-Hurd to license the cel process as late as 1932, when the patent expired.
After leaving Bray, Hurd went on to produce Bobby Bumps cartoons first for Paramount, then for Educational Film Exchange, finally retiring the character in 1925. Hurd worked with Walt Disney later in the 1930s, with design on SNOW WHITE and storyboard work on Mickey Mouse's famous THE POINTER (1939) being among his accomplishments. Hurd passed away in 1940.
As a character, Bobby Bumps was a rascally middle-class kid like many in comics of the time. Very much the Bart Simpson of his day, Bobby enjoys creatively causing trouble, often with the help of his grumpy dog Fido and his black friend Choc'late. Authority figures in the series are Bobby's pompous dad, his snooty mom, and their tough family maid Goldie, a stereotypical mammy character never seen without her handkerchief headband. Some later Bobby cartoons invoked the Fleischer "hand of the artist" scenario with a hand-drawn Bobby fighting back against his cartoonist, though the conceit was only occasionally used.
Comic Adaptation of BOBBY BUMPS AND THE STORK (1916)
Bobby Bumps Filmography (49)
Green: Project Print or Video
Gray: Print Known Elsewhere
Red: No Known Print
Bobby Bumps and His Pointer Pup 2/24/1916
Bobby Bumps Gets a Substitute 3/30/1916
Bobby Bumps and His Goatmobile 4/30/1916
Bobby Bumps Goes Fishing 6/1/1916
Bobby Bumps' Fly Swatter 6/29/1916
Bobby Bumps and the Detective Story 7/24/1916
Bobby Bumps Loses His Pup 8/11/1916
Bobby Bumps and the Stork 9/7/1916
Bobby Bumps Starts a Lodge 9/28/1916
Bobby Bumps Helps Out a Book Agent 10/23/1916
Bobby Bumps Queers a Choir 10/26/1916
Bobby Bumps at the Circus 11/11/1916
Bobby Bumps in the Great Divide 2/11/1917
Bobby Bumps Adopts a Turtle 3/5/1917
Bobby Bumps Office Boy 3/26/1917
Bobby Bumps Outwits the Dogcatcher 4/16/1917
Bobby Bumps Volunteers 5/7/1917
Bobby Bumps Daylight Camper 5/28/1917
Bobby Bumps Submarine Chaser 6/18/1917
Bobby Bumps' Fourth 7/9/1917
Bobby Bumps' Amusement Park 8/6/1917
Bobby Bumps Surf Rider 8/27/1917
Bobby Bumps Starts for School 9/17/1917
Bobby Bumps' World Serious (aka Baseball Champion) 10/8/1917
Bobby Bumps Chef 10/29/1917
Bobby Bumps and Fido's Birthday Party 11/19/1917
Bobby Bumps Early Shopper (aka Goes Shopping) 12/10/1917
Bobby Bumps' Tank 12/31/1917
Bobby Bumps' Disappearing Gun 1/21/1918
Bobby Bumps at the Dentist 2/25/1918
Bobby Bumps' Fight 3/25/1918
Bobby Bumps on the Road 4/15/1918
Bobby Bumps Caught in the Jamb 5/13/1918
Bobby Bumps Out West 6/10/1918
Bobby Bumps Films a Fire 6/24/1918
Bobby Bumps Becomes an Ace (aka Sharpshooter) 7/15/1918
Bobby Bumps on the Doughnut Trail 8/19/1918
Bobby Bumps and the Speckled Death 9/30/1918
Bobby Bumps' Incubator 10/8/1918
Bobby Bumps in Before and After 11/20/1918
Bobby Bumps Puts a Beanery on the Bum 12/4/1918
Bobby Bumps' Last Smoke 1/24/1919
Bobby Bumps' Lucky Day 3/19/1919
Bobby Bumps' Night Out with Some Night Owls 4/16/1919
Bobby Bumps' Pup Gets the Flea-enza 4/23/1919
Bobby Bumps Eel-ectric Launch 4/30/1919
Bobby Bumps and the Sand Lizard 5/21/1919
Bobby Bumps and the Hypnotic Eye 6/25/1919
Bobby Bumps Throwing the Bull 7/16/1919
Gray: Print Known Elsewhere
Red: No Known Print
Bobby Bumps and His Pointer Pup 2/24/1916
Bobby Bumps Gets a Substitute 3/30/1916
Bobby Bumps and His Goatmobile 4/30/1916
Bobby Bumps Goes Fishing 6/1/1916
Bobby Bumps' Fly Swatter 6/29/1916
Bobby Bumps and the Detective Story 7/24/1916
Bobby Bumps Loses His Pup 8/11/1916
Bobby Bumps and the Stork 9/7/1916
Bobby Bumps Starts a Lodge 9/28/1916
Bobby Bumps Helps Out a Book Agent 10/23/1916
Bobby Bumps Queers a Choir 10/26/1916
Bobby Bumps at the Circus 11/11/1916
Bobby Bumps in the Great Divide 2/11/1917
Bobby Bumps Adopts a Turtle 3/5/1917
Bobby Bumps Office Boy 3/26/1917
Bobby Bumps Outwits the Dogcatcher 4/16/1917
Bobby Bumps Volunteers 5/7/1917
Bobby Bumps Daylight Camper 5/28/1917
Bobby Bumps Submarine Chaser 6/18/1917
Bobby Bumps' Fourth 7/9/1917
Bobby Bumps' Amusement Park 8/6/1917
Bobby Bumps Surf Rider 8/27/1917
Bobby Bumps Starts for School 9/17/1917
Bobby Bumps' World Serious (aka Baseball Champion) 10/8/1917
Bobby Bumps Chef 10/29/1917
Bobby Bumps and Fido's Birthday Party 11/19/1917
Bobby Bumps Early Shopper (aka Goes Shopping) 12/10/1917
Bobby Bumps' Tank 12/31/1917
Bobby Bumps' Disappearing Gun 1/21/1918
Bobby Bumps at the Dentist 2/25/1918
Bobby Bumps' Fight 3/25/1918
Bobby Bumps on the Road 4/15/1918
Bobby Bumps Caught in the Jamb 5/13/1918
Bobby Bumps Out West 6/10/1918
Bobby Bumps Films a Fire 6/24/1918
Bobby Bumps Becomes an Ace (aka Sharpshooter) 7/15/1918
Bobby Bumps on the Doughnut Trail 8/19/1918
Bobby Bumps and the Speckled Death 9/30/1918
Bobby Bumps' Incubator 10/8/1918
Bobby Bumps in Before and After 11/20/1918
Bobby Bumps Puts a Beanery on the Bum 12/4/1918
Bobby Bumps' Last Smoke 1/24/1919
Bobby Bumps' Lucky Day 3/19/1919
Bobby Bumps' Night Out with Some Night Owls 4/16/1919
Bobby Bumps' Pup Gets the Flea-enza 4/23/1919
Bobby Bumps Eel-ectric Launch 4/30/1919
Bobby Bumps and the Sand Lizard 5/21/1919
Bobby Bumps and the Hypnotic Eye 6/25/1919
Bobby Bumps Throwing the Bull 7/16/1919
