the name behind the funny faces

May 22, 2012 3:24 PM

Artist filter: Who illustrated these funny face packs? A friend of mine is desperate to find the name of the artist, and other works by him or her.
posted by DaveZ to food & drink (9 answers total)

Perhaps a lead:

With the banning of cyclamates in 1969, sales of Funny Face started to decline and continued to drop throughout the seventies, until Funny Face drink mixes were finally removed completely from the market in 1980. Pillsbury sold the rights to the Funny Face characters to Brady Enterprises, a small east coast company that now sells Funny Face in the Northeast, having replaced the previous saccharine sweetening with Nutra-Sweet.

The Funny Face Friends Club may be contacted at P.O. Box 84, East Weymouth, MA 02189.

posted by MonkeyToes at 3:41 PM on May 22, 2012

There was also a book:

Title: How Freckle Face Strawberry Got His Freckles
Publisher: The Pillsbury Company
Publication Date: 1965

Also, this --"On February 2, 1966, According to the New York times Native Americans lodged an official protest against the Pillsbury company stating the Injun Orange character was an offensive stereo-type." -- might be a lead.
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:54 PM on May 22, 2012

Or maybe contact the present owners of the Funny Face property.
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:02 PM on May 22, 2012

My stabby stab-stab is that this is the same illustrator who would go on to do Schoolhouse Rock, and perhaps the tootsie-pop owl commercial. That would place him in association with Madison Avenue advertising agency McCaffrey & McCall. Maddeningly, I cannot find any confirmation of this hunch or what the name of such person might be.

now I feel all agro-hyped up! like I just had an artificially colored froot drink!!!
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 4:27 PM on May 22, 2012

Rube R. Nekker: Tom Yohe (NYT obit).
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:04 PM on May 22, 2012

Ed Emberley?
posted by SugarFreeGum at 6:35 PM on May 22, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just got an email from the original artist - Hal Silverman! His website is halsilverman.com
Metafilter is amazing.
posted by DaveZ at 9:19 AM on September 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

DaveZ, I'd like you to meet (MeFi's own!) halsilverman. Please check your MeMail.
posted by MonkeyToes at 9:20 AM on September 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Lowell Herrero made the final illustrations based on Hal's concepts.
posted by DaveZ at 9:35 AM on September 2, 2012 [1 favorite]