Dick Freil

(1893-1939)

Raymond "Dick" Freil was born in Yonkers, New York, on 25 June 1893. He started newspaper cartooning at an early age and at 17 was producing a cartoon a day for the New York Telegram. He animated on the Mutt and Jeff series at the Barré-Bowers Studio from 1918, where he became shop supervisor.

Early in 1921 Dick Friel left Mutt and Jeff to write comedy scenarios for a live-action studio. In 1922 he worked on the first colour cartoon series, Red Head Comedies, for the Lee-Bradford Corporation. Primarily cutout animation with some additional cel work, these films revolved around a sleepy redheaded messenger boy who dreams about various historical or fictional events. Eleven titles are recorded in the series.

In his book The Story of British Animation Jez Stewart writes:

It was with the arrival in 1924 of another American animator, Dick Friel [sic], that the British industry switched to the 'Bray-Hurd process' that was used into the 1990s.

Originally American animation had been drawn on paper and delineated with black ink. More expensive celluloid sheets were used for static characters and backgrounds, overlaying the paper animation, and this was the method US animator J S "Vet" Anderson brought over to the UK. The problem with this system was that animated elements could not cross background elements unless a second background cell was made with gaps left for the action. Animator Earl Hurd traced his animation onto cells, justifying the extra cost by washing and reusing the cells many times. This meant that the characters could be painted on the back of the cell, making them opaque and able to pass over the backgrounds, which could now be more detailed and include various shades of grey.

In London, in 1925, Freil worked with Joe Noble on a proposed series of cartoons designed by newspaper cartoonist Tom Webster, featuring a horse and his trainer called Alfred & Steve. These were being made for the Ideal Film Renting Company. It seems that only three films were made, suggesting that Ideal had declined their option on a further five, apparently because the cartoons failed to match up to the US standard, being too reliant on title cards, and not enough on humerous action.

Freil returned to New York in 1926 and continued scenario writing and cartooning. Around 1936 he moved to California to join the Walt Disney studio as an animator, later moving into the story department where he wrote Lonesome Ghosts for director Burt Gillett, who had animated on Mutt and Jeff under Freil back in New York.

In 1938 Freil suffered a heart ailment and returned to New York. He died on 24 May 1939, aged 45.

I have used the correct spelling of his surname, but he is frequently referred to as Dick Friel.

Filmography (UK animation)

Links to Other Sites

Stripper's Guide: Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Raymond A. Freil Biographical research.

Herald Statesman, May 24, 1939: Raymond A. Freil Dies At 46 Obituary.

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