Rocky and Bullwinkle Creator Dies

Cartoonist behind the legendary duo heads to that great Moose House in the sky

By Josh Grossberg Oct 26, 2010 8:35 PMTags

Hokey Smoke! Alexander Anderson Jr., the cartoon mastermind behind Rocky & Bullwinkle, has died.

He passed away Friday at a nursing home in Carmel, Calif., at the age of 90 due to complications from Alzheimer's disease.

He got his start in the 1940s as an apprentice for his uncle, Paul Terry, the legendary cartoonist whose Terrytoons produced Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle.

Anderson teamed up with his old fraternity brother Jay Ward to form Television Arts Productions and hatched a slew of cartoon characters right out of their garage, including Crusader Rabbit, Rags the Tiger and that righteous Mountie Dudley Do Right.

Their most famous and enduring creation was a clever flying squirrel, Rocket J. Squirrel, and his dimwitted pal, Bullwinkle J. Moose, who lived together in the fictional town of Frostbite Falls, Minn.

Beginning with Rocky and His Friends broadcast on ABC in 1959 and continuing on through various syndicated incarnations, including The Bullwinkle Show, the duo battled the likes of Boris Badenov, Natasha Fatale and the Peter Lorre-sounding Mister Big and Fearless Leader. 

A feature film, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, was released in 2000.

Rest in peace.