Former Disney artist Bob Abrams library drawing card

 

Ken Stern

PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST AS AN OLD MAN – Bob Abrams discussed his life as an artist, starting as a Disney animator in the 1950s, with an overflow crowd at the first talk at the still-new La Conner Swinomish Library last Wednesday.

Disney and magic are synonymous.

As are La Conner artist Bob Abrams and the famed mass media and entertainment conglomerate he first dreamt of joining as a pre-teen.

So, it came as little surprise that Abrams, the 93-year-old former Disney illustrator, was able to work some magic of his own at the La Conner Swinomish Library last Wednesday.

Abrams, a Pittsburgh native who grew up admiring the legendary Walt Disney, somehow managed to shoehorn his long and storied career into an extended one-hour program before a standing room only crowd of over 40 people in the library's public meeting room.

A 15-year resident of La Conner's Channel Cove community, Abrams regaled his audience with often humorous anecdotes dating to his Depression era childhood through his role in the famed golden age of animation to his eventual relocation here.

Abrams targeted himself with some of his more memorable one-liners.

"I hate to tell you this," he quipped at one point, "but I've been married five times. If you wonder where the money went, there you have it."

On a more serious note, Abrams said he was extremely well paid over the years to do something he loved: Drawing. Whether for Disney, Warner Bros. or commercial advertisers.

"I had so much fun," he said. "I feel like I never really worked a day in my life."

The thick portfolios that Abrams shared and commented upon during his library appearance prove otherwise. They contain examples of the massive amounts of art he created not only while in southern California, but since his arrival in La Conner, where Abrams has since delved into photography and painting.

"This is just a smattering of what I did," he said.

Among the many mementoes displayed by Abrams, who while at Warner Bros. was admitted to the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, was a letter received from and signed by award-winning actor and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Gregory Peck.

"I had a tremendous career," Abrams reflected. "I met lots of people and did lots of things."

It was while casually relating some of those experiences to director Jean Markert and her staff that the idea of Abrams presenting a program was born.

"He had brought some books to us," Markert told the Weekly News, "and we were listening to his stories and I thought it would make a great program."

Her instincts were correct.

Several attendees praised the program, staying on for photos and to look more closely at Abrams' portfolios. He seemed just as excited, if not more so.

Abrams had arrived at the library an hour ahead of schedule and "was talking and going strong" well before the event's official 5 p.m. start.

"I've really enjoyed my life," stressed Abrams, who was born during the depression and as a child heard the radio broadcast of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that plunged the U.S. into World War II.

"I certainly didn't expect my life go where it's been," he said. "But it's been a blast."

That includes his La Conner chapter, Abrams insisted: "I love La Conner. It's a wonderful place for me to be."

"I'm enjoying life," he said. "I'm back to doing what I love to do. I'm painting. I started out painting in oils and then I went into painting acrylics and doing some watercolors. I like to experiment.

"For my age, I'm still pretty active. Things go wrong, but that's the way it goes," he said.

Yet, in his case, the balance sheet remains more heavily weighted on the positive side. For instance, Abrams has been eagerly awaiting a family visit this week that will allow him to meet his great-grandson for the first time.

Nor, as Abrams looks forward to his 94th birthday, is his to-do list anywhere near complete.

"I have a black-and-white tuxedo cat," Abrams explained, "and, naturally, his name is Sylvester. And he loves people. One of these days I'll paint him."

 

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