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James Simpkins

January 01, 1970

James Nathaniel Simpkins (November 26, 1910 – February 1, 2004) was a Winnipeg-born cartoonist and artist. He was one of the original artists at the National Film Board of Canada where he worked for many years before launching a successful freelancing career. His cartoon character Jasper the Bear was famous throughout Canada from 1948 to 1972 and remains as the mascot of Jasper National Park.[1][2][3]

James Simpkins
BornJames Nathaniel Simpkins
November 26, 1910
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
DiedFebruary 1, 2004(2004-02-01) (aged 93)
Area(s)Cartoonist
Notable works
Jasper the Bear

Youth edit

James Simpkins' father, Arthur, was a proofreader for a Winnipeg newspaper and his mother, Mary, looked after the family which included James and his two older brothers. He attended Luxton public school and began by drawing in his school books. He attended the Winnipeg School of Art and studied under Group of Seven artist LeMoine FitzGerald.[4]

Career edit

His professional life began by contributing to the Hudson's Bay's company magazine and submitting cartoons to Macleans. He was drafted into the army in World War II, but was still able to continue to make use of his artistic skills. He was with the Signal Corps security and intelligence group producing training posters and film strips. He recounted that during this period, on a trip to New York for training with the U.S. Signal Corps, he met Charles Addams who had just begun to sell cartoons to The New Yorker.[4] After the war, he became one of the original animators [5] of the National Film Board in Ottawa where he worked for 16 years.[6]

In 1948 he began a regular cartoon feature for Maclean's magazine, Jasper the Bear, which would prove to be his most famous and enduring creation. In 1955, Simpkins provided the artwork for a 5¢ Canadian stamp which was the idea of Canadian hockey great and member of parliament Lionel Conacher. The stamp featured three Canadian hockey players in action.[7][8] On August 6, 1962, while living in Beaconsfield, Montreal he began a thrice-weekly cartoon feature for the Montreal Gazette called Simpkins' Montreal.[9]

He eventually moved to Toronto where he continued freelancing to the Toronto Star, ad agencies, book illustration, and numerous magazines in Canada and the US.[10] [11][12] His clients have included General Motors, The National Enquirer and Jasper the Bear has been used by the Boy Scouts of Canada and Jasper National Park.[3] He had five collections of his cartoons published in book form. Four collections of his Jasper cartoons and also his medical cartoons from The Medical Post, When's The Last Time You Cleaned Your Navel?, were published.[13] He also provided the illustrations for other writers' books, most frequently for Canadian humourist Eric Nicol.

Jasper the Bear edit

His most famous creation was the cartoon Jasper the Bear[14] which appeared in Maclean's magazine for over 20 years and became popular across Canada. The character first appeared in the November 15, 1948 issue and ran as a regular feature until 1968.[15] It was then syndicated by Canada Wide Features running in newspapers across Canada for four more years until Simpkins retired in 1972. Jasper was also featured in several books.[16]

Simpkins' anthropomorphic Jasper was an urbane, friendly bear with a wife and two cubs. A typical Jasper cartoon involved a hibernating Jasper being woken by a golf ball flying into the den and hitting him in the head. Jasper, happily calls out to his sleeping family, "Wake up, everyone. It's spring." On another occasion, Jasper approached a beehive cup in hand saying to the swarm, "Could I borrow a cup of honey?"[17]

In 1962 Jasper was adopted as the official mascot for Jasper National Park[18] in Alberta erecting a statue of Jasper at the train station.[19][20][21] Jasper cartoons were also reprinted internationally in England, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Mexico. In the 1960s Jasper's copyright was sold to Irwin Toys who produced a line of Jasper toys.[6] In 1968 Jasper was used as the official mascot of the charity The United Appeal.[22] As part of their fundraising campaign, Jasper visited various locations including Parliament Hill in Ottawa.[23][24] This larger-than-life Jasper, a live person in a costume, had his picture taken hugging Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.[25]

In 1968 a seven-year-old Ottawa boy was being sent to Boston's Children's Hospital Medical Centre for corrective heart surgery paid for by private charity. In a gesture of encouragement Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau gave the boy a picture with the words "A thousand best wishes". It was a picture of the Prime Minister with Jasper the Bear.[25]

In 2004 vandals damaged a statue of Jasper the Bear which had been a local landmark for 40 years, but the statue was replaced and moved to a more secure location 160m due north of the Jasper Information Centre.[26][27] The Mayor of Jasper was quoted as saying that vandalism is not unknown to the area, but until now, "not to poor ol' Jasper".[21][28] Jasper continues as a promotional tool of Jasper tourism. Having one's picture taken with the statue of Jasper is still a must-have photo when visiting Jasper[29] and, keeping up with the times, Jasper is even on Twitter.[30]

In 2005, in celebration of Alberta's centennial, a Jasper the Bear coin was issued.[31][32]

Personal life edit

James Simpkins was married to Ethel Mary Thom who died in 2001. They had five children and at the time of his death he had ten grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.[33]

Simpkins died on February 1, 2004, at the age of 93, in Dundas, Ontario.[3] Canadian cartoonists have argued that Simpkins has failed to fully get the recognition he deserves. For example, despite his major contribution to Maclean's Magazine, they neglected to mention him or Jasper in their anniversary issue.[6][34]

Books edit

Cartoon collections edit

  • Simpkins, James (1954). Jasper. Toronto: Ryerson Press. OCLC 13589401. Subsequently reprinted by Rinehart (1960) and McClelland & Stewart (1972).
  • Simpkins, James (1970). Jasper and the cubs. Toronto: Copp Clark. OCLC 63096595.
  • Simpkins, James (1976). When's the last time your cleaned your navel?. Hamilton: Potlatch Publications. p. 112. ISBN 0-919676-07-3.

Illustrated edit

  • Eric Nicol (1953). Twice over lightly. Illustrated by James Simpkins. Toronto: Ryerson Press. p. 137. OCLC 876136.
  • Stuart Hemsley (1954). Beastly Ballads. Illustrated by James Simpkins. Toronto: Burns and MacEachern. p. 63. OCLC 61654667.
  • Eric Nicol (1955). Shall we join the ladies?. Illustrated by James Simpkins. Toronto: Ryerson Press. p. 156. OCLC 25443171.
  • Eric Nicol (1957). Girdle me a globe. Illustrated by James Simpkins. Toronto: Ryerson Press. p. 134. OCLC 63784.
  • Eric Nicol (1959). In darkest Domestica. Illustrated by James Simpkins. Toronto: Ryerson Press. p. 113. OCLC 6217822.
  • Dudley Copland (1965). Ookpik the Ogling Arctic Owl. Illustrated by James Simpkins. Montreal: Canadian Century Publishers. p. 44. OCLC 49021775.
  • Betty Sanders Garner (1976). Canada's Monsters. Illustrated by James Simpkins and John MacLeod; Initials by Laura Piotrowski. Hamilton: Potlach Publications. p. 95. ISBN 0-919676-06-5.
  • Eleanor A. Ellis (1979). Northern cookbook. Illustrated by James Simpkins. Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers. p. 358. ISBN 0-88830-178-2.

References edit

  1. ^ Hustak, Alan. "Simpkins, James Nathaniel". The Canadian Encyclopedia. from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
  2. ^ . The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on January 12, 2010. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c "James Simpkins, 1910-2004". Library and Archives of Canada. from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
  4. ^ a b TorStar News Service (February 16, 2000). "Taking a walk down cartoon alley". Cambridge Reporter. p. B.9.
  5. ^ "Jasper the Bear artist honoured in national hall of fame – Jasper's source for news, sports, arts, culture, and more | the Fitzhugh". from the original on June 18, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c Bourret, Suzanne (February 7, 2004). The Hamilton Spectator. p. G04. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ "Stamp recalls All-time Great". Ottawa Citizen. December 9, 1955. p. front.
  8. ^ . Library and Archives of Canada. Archived from the original on October 24, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
  9. ^ "New Cartoon For Gazette". The Montreal Gazette. August 4, 1962. p. 2.
  10. ^ Bourret, Suzanne (October 10, 2003). "Jasper the bear's creator still winning at age 93". The Hamilton Spectator. p. G04.
  11. ^ "The stamp". from the original on January 13, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2008.
  12. ^ "DIED: Jim Simpkins". Maclean's. Vol. 117, no. 7. February 16, 2004. p. 18.
  13. ^ . Potlatch Publications. Archived from the original on March 4, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
  14. ^ "James Simpkins". Lambiek. from the original on December 23, 2009. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
  15. ^ Seth (February 11, 2004). "Jasper the bear sheds a tear". National Post. p. AL08.
  16. ^ "Grin and bear it". MacLean's. Vol. 107, no. 12. March 21, 1994. p. 55.
  17. ^ "Jasper Jolly Bear Pranks in Pictures". Toronto Daily Star. October 30, 1954. p. 4.
  18. ^ "Jasper the Bear". Jasper National Park Journal. from the original on March 5, 2010. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
  19. ^ Marissen, Tanya (September 3, 2001). "Out of Hibernation". Maclean's. Vol. 114, no. 36. p. 10.
  20. ^ . Archived from the original on January 25, 2010. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
  21. ^ a b Canadian Press (May 26, 2004). "Jasper's mascot gets right to bear arms". The Globe and Mail. p. A.9.
  22. ^ Carroll, Bill (August 29, 1968). "Jasper figures it all out". The Ottawa Citizen.
  23. ^ "Jasper Tours the Airport". Transport Canada. Vol. 19, no. November/December 1968, number 6.
  24. ^ (PDF). Transport Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
  25. ^ a b Douglas, Rob (September 23, 1968). "Happy, hopeful Marc off for tests". Ottawa Citizen. p. 2.
  26. ^ "Google Street View" (web). from the original on December 29, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  27. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
  28. ^ "Town may pull plug on vandalized Jasper". Calgary Herald. May 26, 2004. p. B.2.
  29. ^ . Real Travel. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
  30. ^ "JasperThaBear on Twitter". Jasper Tourism. from the original on November 26, 2009. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
  31. ^ . Tourism Jasper. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  32. ^ "Uncirculated collectible Jasper, Canada Souvenir Dollar". Kijiji. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2011. note:picture of coin.
  33. ^ "James Simpkins Creator of Jasper the Bear". The Globe and Mail. February 3, 2004. p. s7.
  34. ^ "Jasper the bear sheds a tear: Jim Simpkins 1910–2004". February 12, 2004. from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2009.

External links edit

  • Jasper Chamber of Commerce webpage of Jasper the Bear
  • Simpkins family website
  • Jasper in Edmonton Journal comic section
  • Lambiek Comiclopedia article.
  • Jasper Tourism Youtube video featuring Jasper The Bear "Where's Jasper" Episode 1
  • Jasper Tourism Youtube video featuring Jasper The Bear "Where's Jasper" Episode 2

January 01, 1970
james, simpkins, james, nathaniel, simpkins, november, 1910, february, 2004, winnipeg, born, cartoonist, artist, original, artists, national, film, board, canada, where, worked, many, years, before, launching, successful, freelancing, career, cartoon, characte. James Nathaniel Simpkins November 26 1910 February 1 2004 was a Winnipeg born cartoonist and artist He was one of the original artists at the National Film Board of Canada where he worked for many years before launching a successful freelancing career His cartoon character Jasper the Bear was famous throughout Canada from 1948 to 1972 and remains as the mascot of Jasper National Park 1 2 3 James SimpkinsBornJames Nathaniel SimpkinsNovember 26 1910Winnipeg Manitoba CanadaDiedFebruary 1 2004 2004 02 01 aged 93 Area s CartoonistNotable worksJasper the Bear Contents 1 Youth 2 Career 2 1 Jasper the Bear 3 Personal life 4 Books 4 1 Cartoon collections 4 2 Illustrated 5 References 6 External linksYouth editJames Simpkins father Arthur was a proofreader for a Winnipeg newspaper and his mother Mary looked after the family which included James and his two older brothers He attended Luxton public school and began by drawing in his school books He attended the Winnipeg School of Art and studied under Group of Seven artist LeMoine FitzGerald 4 Career editHis professional life began by contributing to the Hudson s Bay s company magazine and submitting cartoons to Macleans He was drafted into the army in World War II but was still able to continue to make use of his artistic skills He was with the Signal Corps security and intelligence group producing training posters and film strips He recounted that during this period on a trip to New York for training with the U S Signal Corps he met Charles Addams who had just begun to sell cartoons to The New Yorker 4 After the war he became one of the original animators 5 of the National Film Board in Ottawa where he worked for 16 years 6 In 1948 he began a regular cartoon feature for Maclean s magazine Jasper the Bear which would prove to be his most famous and enduring creation In 1955 Simpkins provided the artwork for a 5 Canadian stamp which was the idea of Canadian hockey great and member of parliament Lionel Conacher The stamp featured three Canadian hockey players in action 7 8 On August 6 1962 while living in Beaconsfield Montreal he began a thrice weekly cartoon feature for the Montreal Gazette called Simpkins Montreal 9 He eventually moved to Toronto where he continued freelancing to the Toronto Star ad agencies book illustration and numerous magazines in Canada and the US 10 11 12 His clients have included General Motors The National Enquirer and Jasper the Bear has been used by the Boy Scouts of Canada and Jasper National Park 3 He had five collections of his cartoons published in book form Four collections of his Jasper cartoons and also his medical cartoons from The Medical Post When s The Last Time You Cleaned Your Navel were published 13 He also provided the illustrations for other writers books most frequently for Canadian humourist Eric Nicol Jasper the Bear edit His most famous creation was the cartoon Jasper the Bear 14 which appeared in Maclean s magazine for over 20 years and became popular across Canada The character first appeared in the November 15 1948 issue and ran as a regular feature until 1968 15 It was then syndicated by Canada Wide Features running in newspapers across Canada for four more years until Simpkins retired in 1972 Jasper was also featured in several books 16 Simpkins anthropomorphic Jasper was an urbane friendly bear with a wife and two cubs A typical Jasper cartoon involved a hibernating Jasper being woken by a golf ball flying into the den and hitting him in the head Jasper happily calls out to his sleeping family Wake up everyone It s spring On another occasion Jasper approached a beehive cup in hand saying to the swarm Could I borrow a cup of honey 17 In 1962 Jasper was adopted as the official mascot for Jasper National Park 18 in Alberta erecting a statue of Jasper at the train station 19 20 21 Jasper cartoons were also reprinted internationally in England Belgium France Germany Italy and Mexico In the 1960s Jasper s copyright was sold to Irwin Toys who produced a line of Jasper toys 6 In 1968 Jasper was used as the official mascot of the charity The United Appeal 22 As part of their fundraising campaign Jasper visited various locations including Parliament Hill in Ottawa 23 24 This larger than life Jasper a live person in a costume had his picture taken hugging Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau 25 In 1968 a seven year old Ottawa boy was being sent to Boston s Children s Hospital Medical Centre for corrective heart surgery paid for by private charity In a gesture of encouragement Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau gave the boy a picture with the words A thousand best wishes It was a picture of the Prime Minister with Jasper the Bear 25 In 2004 vandals damaged a statue of Jasper the Bear which had been a local landmark for 40 years but the statue was replaced and moved to a more secure location 160m due north of the Jasper Information Centre 26 27 The Mayor of Jasper was quoted as saying that vandalism is not unknown to the area but until now not to poor ol Jasper 21 28 Jasper continues as a promotional tool of Jasper tourism Having one s picture taken with the statue of Jasper is still a must have photo when visiting Jasper 29 and keeping up with the times Jasper is even on Twitter 30 In 2005 in celebration of Alberta s centennial a Jasper the Bear coin was issued 31 32 Personal life editJames Simpkins was married to Ethel Mary Thom who died in 2001 They had five children and at the time of his death he had ten grandchildren and seven great grandchildren 33 Simpkins died on February 1 2004 at the age of 93 in Dundas Ontario 3 Canadian cartoonists have argued that Simpkins has failed to fully get the recognition he deserves For example despite his major contribution to Maclean s Magazine they neglected to mention him or Jasper in their anniversary issue 6 34 Books editCartoon collections edit Simpkins James 1954 Jasper Toronto Ryerson Press OCLC 13589401 Subsequently reprinted by Rinehart 1960 and McClelland amp Stewart 1972 Simpkins James 1970 Jasper and the cubs Toronto Copp Clark OCLC 63096595 Simpkins James 1976 When s the last time your cleaned your navel Hamilton Potlatch Publications p 112 ISBN 0 919676 07 3 Illustrated edit Eric Nicol 1953 Twice over lightly Illustrated by James Simpkins Toronto Ryerson Press p 137 OCLC 876136 Stuart Hemsley 1954 Beastly Ballads Illustrated by James Simpkins Toronto Burns and MacEachern p 63 OCLC 61654667 Eric Nicol 1955 Shall we join the ladies Illustrated by James Simpkins Toronto Ryerson Press p 156 OCLC 25443171 Eric Nicol 1957 Girdle me a globe Illustrated by James Simpkins Toronto Ryerson Press p 134 OCLC 63784 Eric Nicol 1959 In darkest Domestica Illustrated by James Simpkins Toronto Ryerson Press p 113 OCLC 6217822 Dudley Copland 1965 Ookpik the Ogling Arctic Owl Illustrated by James Simpkins Montreal Canadian Century Publishers p 44 OCLC 49021775 Betty Sanders Garner 1976 Canada s Monsters Illustrated by James Simpkins and John MacLeod Initials by Laura Piotrowski Hamilton Potlach Publications p 95 ISBN 0 919676 06 5 Eleanor A Ellis 1979 Northern cookbook Illustrated by James Simpkins Edmonton Hurtig Publishers p 358 ISBN 0 88830 178 2 References edit Hustak Alan Simpkins James Nathaniel The Canadian Encyclopedia Archived from the original on September 19 2015 Retrieved December 17 2009 Cartoons and Comic Strips The Canadian Encyclopedia Archived from the original on January 12 2010 Retrieved December 17 2009 a b c James Simpkins 1910 2004 Library and Archives of Canada Archived from the original on September 22 2017 Retrieved December 17 2009 a b TorStar News Service February 16 2000 Taking a walk down cartoon alley Cambridge Reporter p B 9 Jasper the Bear artist honoured in national hall of fame Jasper s source for news sports arts culture and more the Fitzhugh Archived from the original on June 18 2019 Retrieved June 18 2019 a b c Bourret Suzanne February 7 2004 The Hamilton Spectator p G04 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a Missing or empty title help Stamp recalls All time Great Ottawa Citizen December 9 1955 p front Postal Archives Stamp by Simpkins Library and Archives of Canada Archived from the original on October 24 2017 Retrieved December 17 2009 New Cartoon For Gazette The Montreal Gazette August 4 1962 p 2 Bourret Suzanne October 10 2003 Jasper the bear s creator still winning at age 93 The Hamilton Spectator p G04 The stamp Archived from the original on January 13 2010 Retrieved June 3 2008 DIED Jim Simpkins Maclean s Vol 117 no 7 February 16 2004 p 18 Book summary When s The Last Time You Cleaned Your Navel Potlatch Publications Archived from the original on March 4 2010 Retrieved December 23 2009 James Simpkins Lambiek Archived from the original on December 23 2009 Retrieved December 17 2009 Seth February 11 2004 Jasper the bear sheds a tear National Post p AL08 Grin and bear it MacLean s Vol 107 no 12 March 21 1994 p 55 Jasper Jolly Bear Pranks in Pictures Toronto Daily Star October 30 1954 p 4 Jasper the Bear Jasper National Park Journal Archived from the original on March 5 2010 Retrieved December 17 2009 Marissen Tanya September 3 2001 Out of Hibernation Maclean s Vol 114 no 36 p 10 Jasper the Bear Jasper Alberta Archived from the original on January 25 2010 Retrieved December 17 2009 a b Canadian Press May 26 2004 Jasper s mascot gets right to bear arms The Globe and Mail p A 9 Carroll Bill August 29 1968 Jasper figures it all out The Ottawa Citizen Jasper Tours the Airport Transport Canada Vol 19 no November December 1968 number 6 Jasper Tours the Airport PDF Transport Canada Archived from the original PDF on July 6 2011 Retrieved December 27 2009 a b Douglas Rob September 23 1968 Happy hopeful Marc off for tests Ottawa Citizen p 2 Google Street View web Archived from the original on December 29 2013 Retrieved January 21 2014 Municipality of Jasper Council Meetings held Tues June 22 2004 PDF Archived from the original PDF on July 13 2011 Retrieved December 26 2009 Town may pull plug on vandalized Jasper Calgary Herald May 26 2004 p B 2 Photos Taken Near Leduc Real Travel Archived from the original on July 15 2011 Retrieved December 27 2009 JasperThaBear on Twitter Jasper Tourism Archived from the original on November 26 2009 Retrieved December 27 2009 Jasper the Bear Tourism Jasper Archived from the original on March 30 2012 Retrieved August 14 2011 Uncirculated collectible Jasper Canada Souvenir Dollar Kijiji Archived from the original on July 15 2012 Retrieved August 14 2011 note picture of coin James Simpkins Creator of Jasper the Bear The Globe and Mail February 3 2004 p s7 Jasper the bear sheds a tear Jim Simpkins 1910 2004 February 12 2004 Archived from the original on September 28 2011 Retrieved December 17 2009 External links editJasper Chamber of Commerce webpage of Jasper the Bear Simpkins family website Jasper in Edmonton Journal comic section Lambiek Comiclopedia article Jasper Tourism Youtube video featuring Jasper The Bear Where s Jasper Episode 1 Jasper Tourism Youtube video featuring Jasper The Bear Where s Jasper Episode 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title James Simpkins amp oldid 1188538430 Jasper the Bear, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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