Missing my chance with Paul Norris, co-creator of Aquaman

In 2006, I wrote to Paul Norris, the artist who (with Mort Weisinger) co-created one of my favorite superheroes, Aquaman. 

The Brave and the Bold #32, 

art by Jesús Saíz

How favorite? This favorite. (Warning: Underoos.)

Paul was 92.

I asked for an interview.

He kindly granted it:

But then I squandered it.

I didn’t take him up on it. Part of the reason was I didn’t yet have this blog, so didn’t have an easy outlet to share the interview. Part of it was just general lapse of judgment.

In 2007, Paul passed away.

A belated thank you, Paul. I know others interviewed you but I regret missing my chance. If there’s an Atlantis, I’m sure you’re there now, relaxing as you watch a confetti of fish waggle by.

Super ‘70s and ‘80s: Sea World superheroes water ski show—introduction

Introduction to series “Super ‘70s and ‘80s.”

In 1977, every boy between 5 and 15 wanted to be Han Solo…or a Sea World superhero. 

Superhero fans nationwide born in the early 1970s remember the comic book ad showing Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Robin…water skiing.

Far fewer, however, actually made it to Ohio or Florida to see the actual show at Sea World, which ran from 1976 to 1979.

[2/5/14: I noticed that the video I had originally posted here had been removed from YouTube, but only a week prior someone posted this one—which is longer and more vivid anyway.]

When I was inspired to try to track down the skiers and interview them, I thought I’d be looking for the same number of skiers as characters who appeared in the pyramid I’d seen many times: ten.

However, once I began poking around online, I realized there were characters in the show who were not in the pyramid. My count was 23 (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Robin, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Captain Marvel, Black Canary, Supergirl, Batgirl, Mera, Mary Marvel, Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, and Captain Cold, plus Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, and, oddly, Tarzan).

What’s more, I soon learned that each skier portrayed multiple characters at different times. Combine that with the fact that there were two locations (Ohio and Florida) and multiple seasons and it meant there were even more than 23 skiers to find. For a completist like me, that is not good news. It meant I would be driven to try to find all of them.

1977, Ohio

row 1: Tommy Gardner (in cap), Debbie Hay, Tom Freeburn
row 2: Tom Weber, Andy Hansen, Kaci Whittenton (Hedstrum), Ric Jones, Karen Weber
row 3: Mary McMurtrie (white headgear), Riddler—Rodney Hendershot,
Catwoman—Paula Nelson (Bloemer), Joker—Ken McCabe, Penguin—Bubby Snow,
Aquaman—Bob “Bullet” Borth, Mera—Sherry Satterfield Runion
clump 4-5: Wonder Woman—Reyna Blasko, Supergirl—Nancy Radant Combes,
Superman—Greg Galloway, Flash—Bill Schwartz, Batman—?, Batgirl—Cindy Barhoff (Clasen),
Robin—John Macqueen, Annette Botti (Hoffman) (white headgear)
row 6: Green Lantern—Randy Messer, Black Canary—Janalee Zimmerman (Addleman),
Green Arrow—Billy Davies, Miles ?, Dave Madeline, Mike Botti, Wade ?

I didn’t, but I did find more than 40 and interviewed many of them. Most were in their late teens or early twenties at the time; a few were mid- to late-twenties. Many have gone on to raise kids and have grandkids in Florida, and most still seem to have a connection to the water.

Something else I found: there are many ways to misremember the name “Mera.” These include Mira, Myra, Merna, and Lady Meara. All lovely in their own right.

I was honored these people let me into their memories to the extent that they did. Though my only attempt at water skiing (at camp in the mid-1980s) did not go well, I felt a kinship with these skiers. For two summers I was a photographer at Lake Compounce, an historic amusement park in Connecticut, and while that job was not anywhere near as physically demanding or flashy as theirs, I suspect some of the feelings overlapped: the joy of working outdoors in a quintessentially “summer” destination, the camaraderie among the young staff, the abundance of possible love connections in one spot, the happy exhaustion of long days on your feet in the sun, and so on.

This is the one that started this project, which expanded far bigger than I could’ve expected.Many skiers and others involved with the show graciously sent me a bounty of photos. I got permission to post all images; if you want to repost, please do the same and ask me first.

Welcome to the first-ever oral history of the Sea World water skiing superheroes show, which some describe as the best ski show ever produced.


Management, staff, and non-skiing performers interviewed (6 parts):

Bob LaPorta, Corporate Director of Productions
Chuck Jordan, Supervisor of Entertainment
Clark Gault, composer
Dan Kibbie, co-writer
Curt Rector and Ken McCabe, announcers
Dan Poor, high diver (Green Arrow)

Skier interviews (10 parts):

1—the training
2—the characters
3—the costumes
4—the show (including stunts, funny incidents, and salary)
5—the mistakes
6—the audience; the fame
7—the relationships
8—after the show closed
9—the skiers' lives today
10—the memories

Skiers interviewed:

Christina Ashley; Sarasota, FL
Cindy Barhoff (Clasen); MA
Reyna Blasko; Las Vegas, NV
Doby Buesse; Orlando, FL
Nancy Radant Combes; FL
Jacque Cook (Jackie Kuntarich); Orlando, FL 
Shirley Duke; Orlando, FL
Steve Fontaine; FL
Greg Galloway; Orlando, FL
John Gillette; Charlotte, NC
Mark Gutleben; Stockton, CA
Andy Hansen; FL
Roland Hillier; Maitland, FL
Al Kelley; Nassau, the Bahamas
Linda Knapp (Moffett); rural VA
Margie LaPoint (Bates); Truckee, CA
Carl Lipsit; northern VA
Kerry Lloyd; south FL
Dave Madeline (boat driver); OH
Betsy Maher (Hawkins); FL
Mary McMurtrie; FL
Randy Messer; Orlando, FL
Paula Nelson (Bloemer); Lake Wales, FL 
Jeff Parnell; Fort Myers, FL
Bill Peterson; Windermere, FL/Breckenridge, CO
Sherry Satterfield Runion; FL
Bill Schwartz; Orlando, FL
Suzanne (and Sharkey) Schwartz; northern CA
Diane D. Smith; central FL
Bubby Snow; OH
Jody Spence; Las Vegas, NV
Lori (and Mark) Taylor; FL
Gary Thompson; TN
Tom (and Karen) Weber; Groveland, FL
Kaci Whittenton (Hedstrum); Hattiesburg, MS
Sherry Wickstrom; Lake Alfred, FL
Janalee Zimmerman (Addleman); Friedens, PA

Who's who on the famous 1976 poster:

Wonder Woman—Kaci Whittenton (Hedstrum)
Batgirl—?, Supergirl—Gay Schwartz (Peteet), Mera—Debbie Blake, Black Canary—Randi Tetrick
Robin—Randy Messer, Batman—Randy Jones, Superman—Andy Hansen, Aquaman—Tom Weber, Flash—Sharkey Schwartz

10/5/12 addendum (but read the series first): Sea World superheroes reunion!

Super ‘70s and ‘80s: “Super Friends”—Bill Callaway (Aquaman 2, Bizarro)

Introduction to series “Super ‘70s and ‘80s.”

Introduction to subseries "Super Friends" (including a list of interviewees).

Bill responded to my list of questions with a conversational e-mail, so rather than break it down into Q&A format, I will just run it as he sent it, with the usual small tweaks for clarity.

I can’t begin to tell you how great those Hanna-Barbera years were for me. In my career I’ve gotten to work with many of the great comics and actors that peopled Hollywood in the late 20th century. Many names you may not know, but rest assured, they were the heavyweights, people like Hamilton Camp, Alan Oppenheimer, Julie Dees, Janet Waldo, Frank Welker, June Foray, Danny Goldman, and many more, and lots you do know like Hans Conreid, Albert Brooks, Paul Winchell, Gary Owens, JoAnne Worley, Jim Backus, Arte Johnson, Ruth Buzzi, Jonathan Winters, Gene Wilder, Brenda Vaccarro, and on and on...and one thing I’ve learned, acting is a lot of fun! And cartoon acting is especially exhilarating!

The way I got started at Hanna-Barbera is an odd and unlikely tale, but true. I was in an acting workshop at the time, my focus being stage and film work. Another actor in the class, Bruce Watson, and I were working on a scene. I had a recording setup, was fascinated with recording in general and voices and characters in particular, and had just finished making a joke tape of commercials that could never be aired when Bruce came over to rehearse our scene.

On a break, I said, “Hey Bruce—check out my joke commercial tape.” We listened and he said, “Hey Bill, I just got hired as casting director at Hanna-Barbera. Can I take this tape over?”

Joe Barbera was at my first audition, for the part of Square Bear from the [1971 cartoon] Help!...It’s the Hair Bear Bunch. He heard something he wanted and really worked with me to solidify the character. I got the part, and thus it began, getting to work a thousand cartoons with a thousand great performers! Personally I wanted to be Steve McQueen, but I kinda went more toward Charlie the Owl [of New Zoo Revue] or Professor Keenbean [of Richie Rich]. Such are the amusements of life. I feel blessed.

Super Friends was a hoot! I was Aquaman, the kindest, gentlest superhero of the bunch. I’m not sure if I knew about Aquaman before the fact, but probably, as I always loved comics and comic books. A recently fan sent me an Aquaman comic book from that period to sign, and I thought the stories were cosmic and the artwork really great.

The style [of that time] might be described as “over the top” in a lot of instances. I was always amazed at how huge a performance Danny Dark gave as Superman, but it was mythic and good, like the Lone Ranger was on radio.

I enjoyed Aquaman; he was one right-thinking dude. But I especially enjoyed playing Bizarro, who was a messed-up Superman from another dimension with a Frankenstein thing going on. The shows were a joy to record. Generally a one-hour show was done in about two hours. We’d read it once, and then record it. The animation was done to what we had recorded, rather than the other way around, where the actors sync to pre-drawn material. This way is time consuming for performers, but still fun and challenging, and I used to do a fair amount of this, usually looping movies or overseas animation.

And yes, I got letters from young ladies. Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink! I wondered if they were 25 and gorgeous. I imagine the way it went was studio to agent to me.

One of the reasons I had such a pleasant career was because of my agent Steve Tisherman, who is a great guy and a pleasure to work with. He never argued; if I said turn down a job I didn’t want to do he turned it down, no problem. I was actually his very first client, the first actor he met on his first day at the William Morris Agency. He later went on his own and I stayed with him.

I haven’t kept up with anybody I can think of from the Super Friends era.

As to my family, I have a daughter in Tucson and a granddaughter who’s studying acting at USC. Not much is ever said about my work, so I have no idea if they’ve even seen any. My daughter never took an interest in acting, but yes, my granddaughter Amanda is fiercely good and studying hard. But somehow, we talk about life, acting, but never about actual jobs unless I bring it up. I just don’t think your family cares much about what you do, it’s who you are that’s of more interest.

Lately I’ve been energizing my long languishing on-camera career, as I think a difficult goal is a good idea in your later years, as it keeps you striving. My personal goals involve becoming superhealthy and of use to family, friends, and society. [The promo image he sent me was labeled with a goal: “To be an action star at 80.”]

[I complimented him on the verve with which he shared his memories and suggested he write a book]

I don’t think I’ll be writing a book any time soon, as I imagine the life of a writer to be more difficult and demanding than most lives. But we all have our challenges.

Next: Wally Burr (Atom).

Super ‘70s and ‘80s: “Super Friends”—introduction

Introduction to series “Super ‘70s and ‘80s.”

Gathered together from the city limits of Hollywood are the most memorable voices for toons ever assembled…

Almost everyone interviewed for this subseries (scroll to bottom for full list) had not been interviewed before about Super Friends. Some were lively and chatty while others kept it short or remembered little; I include all responses in the name of curiosity (and thoroughness).

Voice actors and production staff I reached out to but, for various reasons, didn’t interview: Norman Alden (Aquaman 1), Janet Waldo (Hawkgirl), Kathy Garver (Rima), Al Gmuer (Hall of Justice designer). I did not try for Casey Kasem since he was a household name outside of Super Friends and my intention here was to give the floor to people who we’ve heard from less, if at all.

It seems almost any time I’ve read a post about the series, the multicultural heroes created for it (Apache Chief, Black Vulcan, Samurai, El Dorado) were criticized as stereotypical or even racist.

I don’t feel they were, nor did any of the voice actors who portrayed them. I don’t see anything wrong with a character whose native language is not English speaking in an accent that reflects that. What is offensive about those characters: three out of the four did not wear pants.

Here are previously unpublished cast pics courtesy of Sydney Croskery, daughter of the late Danny Dark (Superman).

Frank Welker, Sherry Alberoni, Casey Kasem, Olan Soule, Shannon Farnon

Casey Kasem, Danny Dark, Sherry Alberoni

Wally Burr, Shannon Farnon, Casey Kasem, Sherry Alberoni

Olan Soule, John Stephenson, Frank Welker

The surfboard shot of Danny Dark is from 1973, and it’s the only one dated; I think the others are from that year, too, because I believe they include Sherry Alberoni (who played Wendy only in the first season, which began in 1973).

A cast shot that has been published:

From a great Super Friends article by Patrick Jankiewicz (Starlog 9/04).

And another version of it, plus two (including Wally Burr, kneeling):

Photo courtesy of Norman Alden.

I particularly appreciated Jonas Croskery signing an e-mail “Son of Steel.” (Yes, his father is also Danny Dark.)

I got permission to post all images; if you want to repost, please do the same and ask me first

Welcome to the first-ever oral history of Super Friends.

Writers interviewed (7 parts):

Jeffrey Scott
David Villaire
Duane Poole
Michael Reaves
Marc Scott Zicree
Glenn Leopold
Mark Jones

Production staff interviewed (5 parts):

Bob Hathcock, animator
Darrell McNeil, animator
Bob Singer, character designer, and Iraj Paran, art director
Don Jurwich, producer
Michael Kohler, musician

Voice actors interviewed (15 parts):

Bill Woodson (narrator)
Shannon Farnon (Wonder Woman 1)
Constance Cawlfield (Wonder Woman 2)
B.J. Ward (Wonder Woman 3)
Bill Callaway (Aquaman 2, Bizarro)
Wally Burr (Atom)
Mark L. Taylor (Firestorm)
Jack Angel (Flash, Hawkman, Samurai)
Michael Rye (Green Lantern, Apache Chief)
Buster Jones (Black Vulcan)
Fernando Escandon (El Dorado)
Michael Bell (Wonder Twin Zan, Riddler, Gleek)
Liberty Williams (Wonder Twin Jayna)
Marlene Aragon (Cheetah)
Dick Ryal (Captain Cold)