Tex and Me
Many of you may know that I dedicated my first collection of Zombie Boy comic strips to Tex Henson. Tex was my friend and mentor, who brought his valuable experience, knowledge and levity to my life. He inspired me to draw more, live fuller and make the most of each day that I’m given.
After graduating from high school in Dallas, Texas, William “Tex” Henson moved to California, where he joined the Disney Studios. At Disney he was part of the story team who brought Chip ‘n’ Dale to life. Some of the films he worked on are Peter And The Wolf, Pecos Bill, Mickey and the Beanstalk, and Song Of The South.
Tex is caricatured as a scientist in “The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met”
In New York, he worked for Paramount Studios, primarily as a storyman on Casper the Friendly Ghost. Following this, he was sent to Mexico as a supervising animator for Jay Ward Studios, working on The Bullwinkle Show. A second studio was created to focus primarily on commercial animation, where he was part of the team that created Trix The Rabbit for General Mills.
In his later years, Tex kept his hand in animated projects including The Mad Magazine TV Special, and Easter Egg Mornin’. Tex also taught college and art school classes in the Dallas area.
I met Tex in the early 1980s when I was attending art school. Me and several of my classmates where engaged in creating a short animated film and Tex came by one day to visit the campus, and came around to see what these “animation kids” were up to. In the 1990s, he was instrumental in helping me establish an animation studio, and he trained a staff of animators to create several animated projects. Tex and I became dear friends. He was a mentor, a wizard, a showman, he was never at a loss to tell an embellished story as only he could. His memory was remarkable, his storytelling was unmatched and he could regale you with unforgettable anecdotes from his long and prestigious career and life. Although he lived until 78, I was always convinced he would outlive me, so full of spark and vigor he was.
At some point, Tex and I were involved with several projects of our own, including comic book stories and strips. Below is a concept Tex created for a comic strip poking fun at our friendship, titled Tubby and the Old Timer. Tex always claimed I looked like a little owl and his sketches of me are hilarious. His interpretation of himself is just as over the top. They were crafted with love and respect and I treasure them.
Miss you, Tex!
Click on image to enlarge
That’s really interesting. Sounds like Tex was a great guy to know.
Nice, heartfelt tribute to Tex. He was without a doubt larger than life, even considering his advanced age. I know I’ll never forget hanging out at KrashPow Studios with him. One of these days, I’ll send you the sketch I did of Tex.
Oh yes, the advantages of being
old certainly outweigh the alternative
I can see your friend’s humour shining
through on this one… great work ☺
and share. A very nice tribute to your
cartooning mentor.
Tex inspired so many people, Andro. He was there at Disney in the early 40s, Famous Studios in the 50s, and Jay Ward in the 60s, his life was a testament to the Golden Age of animation. He helped me establish an animation studio, setting up an animation program for fledgling animators, some of whom have gone on to careers in the industry. He was a true treasure!
I met Tex not long before he died. My wife had met him through a friend in common. He drew me a color page of chop n dale who I love. He was most likely the nicest man I have ever met.
Yes, Tex was a one-of-a-kind guy! I’m putting together a graphic novel about him. It’s about time someone did!