Gordon Bressack

What is your name and your current occupation?
Gordon Bressack.  Writer.

 My then wife was a voice over actress and I figured hey, somebody has to write those cartoons,

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from New York City.  I got into the animation business once I moved to Los Angeles by showing my writing to Gerard Baldwin at Hanna Barbera who was then producing The Smurfs.  He loved my work and hired me to write some freelance scripts.  Then, when The Snorls got picked up by NBC HB hired me on staff.

What’s a typical day like for you with regards to your job?
Depends on whether I am writing on a show or story editing, but usually, it involves playing a lot of solitaire on my computer until just befoe the deadline then cranking out a script.

What part of your job do you like best? Why?
It’s always better to have written than to write but sometimes the writing is so much fun that you literally laugh your guts out.  That’s why I often like to write with a partner so we can share the joke.

What part of your job do you like least? Why?
The worst part is being between jobs which happens all too frequently these days.  When on the job, getting impossibly stupid notes from the network or studio that, if followed, will make the script worse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxtRApez2pU

What kind of technology do you work with on a daily basis?
Usually just my computer.

 The above-mentioned gaps between jobs.  It’s very rare to get a weekly paycheck for your whole career.  You have good years, great years and awful years.

 In your travels, have you had any brushes with animation greatness?
Indeed.  I got to know Friz Freleng quite well, also Joe Barbera and some really great artists and actors.  I’ve been complimented on my writing by Daws Butler, Frank Nelson, Steve Allen and so many others.

I had a liver transplant in 2005 along with a divorce.  Both left scars.

I have written, directed and produced a few plays in the past few years and am currently directing a short film script I wrote. I think I enjoy directing actors even more than writing for them.

 I’m a pretty fair poker player.

Is there any advice you can give for an aspiring animation student or artist trying to break into the business? Become a doctor.