Article #24051 (24051 is last):
From: billnes@aol.com (BillNes)
Newsgroups: alt.toys.transformers
Subject: Found: Arcane info - good enough to put in the FAQ
Reply-To: billnes@aol.com (BillNes)
Date: Mon Sep 25 14:28:00 1995

Dear Transformers Fans,

        The following posting is being placed to pay tribute to
the memory of Scatman Crothers.

        On 9/12 I found a copy of "Scatman: An Authorized
Biography of Scatman Crothers" (ISBN # 0-688-08521-0) in the
$2.00 clearance bin of my local Office Max. This biography
was written by Jim Haskins and Hellen Crothers (Scatman's
widow). Jim Haskins is the author of more than 50 books. He
has written reviews for the Gainesville Sun, The New York
Times and other publications. He is a professor of English
at the University of Florida.

        When I looked in the index and saw that the book
contained information about Scatman's voice-over role in The
Transformers, I decided to buy the book. Since this book was
printed in 1991, I'm going on the assumption that the book
is now out-of-print. Because of this, I am now posting all
the Transformers information, from the book, exactly as
printed.

Page 195, Paragraph 4:

        Scatman continued to do voice-overs. Says Steve
Tisherman, who left the Schartz agency and founded his own
agency in 1983. "He loved voice-overs. It was simple work,
the timespan was not vast, and it was fun for him to be
himself and be on in front of a mike with a character. He
would have done that until the day he dropped. It was the
perfect vehicle for him."

Page 195, Paragraph 5:

        Fortunately, such a vehicle came along in The
Transformers, an animated three-part series that focused on
the battle between the inhabitants of a long-ago mechanical
planet called Cybertron. All the inhabitants could transform
themselves into other things, and the main plot was a battle
between the Autobots, the good guys, and the Decepticons,
the bad guys. The show lasted three years, form 1985 to
1988.

Page 196, Paragraph 1:

        "The Transformers were toys," says Tisherman. "They were
robots, and you could change their shape into tanks or
airplanes by just bending the head and pushing it under.
Thus the name 'The Transformers' Those toys were very big in
the late seventies and early eighties, and the cartoon show
was a spin-off. It was a syndicated TV show produced by
Sunbow in association with Marvel, which produced the toys.
They must have done one hundred and fifty episodes, and
there were a lot of characters in the show - it was probably
the biggest cast I ever saw. Several clients of mine were in
it - Mark Jordan, Joe Leahy, Peter Cullen, in addition to
Scatman - and every few months, or cycle period, they would
cast for new characters. Scatman was in about fifty of the
shows, and Helen is still collecting residuals."

Page 204, Paragraph 4:

        Thanks to the miracle of television, Scatman is often
seen in homes across the nation on reruns of Laverne and
Shirley, The Love Boat, and the like. His voice is also
heard in reruns of the various cartoon shows on which he
worked. In addition to keeping his memory alive, these
reruns of his shows continue to earn money for Helen. "I
still get residuals checks," she says. "I remember one day I
got twelve separate checks for residuals from The
Transformers."

Page 204, Paragraph 5:

        Says Steve Tisherman, "The Transformers is in
syndication in both the domestic and foreign markets. The
payment is about eighteen dollars an episode, but when you
were in fifty of the shows, as Scatman was, it adds up.
Hellen asked about my commission, but I told her to forget
the commission."

Page 204, Paragraph 6:

        Scatman also continues, in death, to give to charity.
"Scat gave to one charity that distributes the contributions
to other charities," says Helen. "Every check I get today,
there is something taken out of it."

        If their are any questions, comments or flames about
this posting, please feel free to send e-mail or call the
E.D.C. 24-hour hotline. That number is (516) 938-5783.

Best wishes and warmest regards,
BillNes@aol.com
Director of Film and Television Services
E.D.C. Japanese Cartoon Animation Fan Club - New York
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