B. K. Taylor
Encyclopedia
B. K. Taylor is an American illustrator, cartoonist, writer, production designer, costume designer, puppeteer, and musician known for his work on the Odd Rods
collector stickers of the late 1960s, his covers for Sick
magazine, his comics in National Lampoon, and for his work as a staff writer on ABC’S popular sit-com, Home Improvement. He lives in Metro Detroit and continues to work as an illustrator and writer, performing occasionally in a local rock band.
), under advertising department Chair and instructor Harry Borgman.
magazine. Ever since, he has been using his creative ideas to create compelling book, magazine, and trading card illustrations, muppet designs for Jim Henson
and others, and has worked on writing teams for television and feature releases such as Home Improvement with Tim Allen
, and Disney's Mulan.
, while still studying at the Art School of the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts.
He illustrated a piece in Mad
issue #357 (1997), titled "The Mad World of Religion," written by Rick Rodgers.
group of non-sports trading card/sticker series, Odd Rods
. The series proved very popular with schoolchildren of the time, resulting in a string of sequel series.
In 1988, Taylor created more collectable stickers for Leaf/Donruss
, "Awesome All*Stars," a spoof of baseball cards featuring humorously grotesque monsters. There were 99 cards in the series.
In 1989, for Leaf/Donruss
, Taylor created Baseball's Greatest Gross Outs, featuring more cartoon parodies of baseball players with names like "Long-arm Lenny" and "Garlic-breath Gary." The set featured 88 stickers as well as a repeat of some of those stickers with a 36-cardback poster.
In 1983 He did another set of collector sticker cards called Zero Heroes, featuring tragically flawed superheroes with names like "The Fantastic Fast Guy," "Lard Lady," and "Milk Man." Each card had a short bio of its character on the back, featuring the character's origin and final outcome. Zero Heroes was a joint venture between General Mills and Donruss
. There were 66 cards in the set, including a few non-character designs with various Zero Hero logos, a medal, a name tag, and a do-not-enter sign (presumably for a young boy's or girl's bedroom door).
Show, a children's entertainment show starring Arte Johnson
. At the same time, he worked for Jim Henson
as a puppeteer and puppet designer. He is listed in the credits of the 1975 production, The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence
, as Muppet Creative Consultant. He's done character design for Sesame Street
(Sam the Robot) and The Muppet Show
(Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
). He was a writer and designer for Nickelodeon's
Eureeka's Castle
and "Time for Manners," for which he also created backgrounds.
and Scholastic's Hot dog! and Dynamite
. In Hot dog! his illustrations were featured in a regular piece called "It’s Not Fair!," a page of reader-submitted jokes based on the theme of unfairness, the best of which would be selected to appear in the next month’s issue with an accompanying illustration by B.K.
, such as Sesame Street 1, 2, 3 Storybook: Stories About the Numbers from 1 to 10. He has worked on several other humorous titles, including Would Somebody Please Send Me to My Room! A Hilarious Look at Family Life and I Run, Therefore I Am—Nuts!
on Mulan, and other projects.
Odd Rods
Odd Rods was a group of non-sports trading card/sticker series created by the Donruss company beginning in 1969. The original series, entitled Odd Rods, introduced the theme of the series in 44 stickers: Monsters in cars. Done by cartoonist/illustrator/writer B.K...
collector stickers of the late 1960s, his covers for Sick
Sick (magazine)
Sick was a satirical-humor magazine published from 1960 to 1980, lasting 134 issues. It was created by comic-book writer-artist Joe Simon, who also edited the title until the late 1960s. Sick was published by Crestwood Publications until issue #62 , when it was taken over by Hewfred Publications...
magazine, his comics in National Lampoon, and for his work as a staff writer on ABC’S popular sit-com, Home Improvement. He lives in Metro Detroit and continues to work as an illustrator and writer, performing occasionally in a local rock band.
Education
B. K. Taylor studied art at Detroit's premier art school, the Art School of the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts (later known as Center for Creative Studies, now College for Creative StudiesCollege for Creative Studies
College for Creative Studies is an art education institution in the United States and was cited by BusinessWeek as one of the 60 best design schools in the world. It is a private, fully accredited, four-year college located in Detroit, Michigan...
), under advertising department Chair and instructor Harry Borgman.
Career
Taylor really began his varied and interesting career while still in art school in Detroit, illustrating covers for SickSick (magazine)
Sick was a satirical-humor magazine published from 1960 to 1980, lasting 134 issues. It was created by comic-book writer-artist Joe Simon, who also edited the title until the late 1960s. Sick was published by Crestwood Publications until issue #62 , when it was taken over by Hewfred Publications...
magazine. Ever since, he has been using his creative ideas to create compelling book, magazine, and trading card illustrations, muppet designs for Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
and others, and has worked on writing teams for television and feature releases such as Home Improvement with Tim Allen
Tim Allen
Tim Allen is an American comedian, actor, voice-over artist, and entertainer, known for his role in the sitcom Home Improvement...
, and Disney's Mulan.
Sick and Mad magazines
At least as early as 1966, Taylor was doing cover illustrations for SickSick (magazine)
Sick was a satirical-humor magazine published from 1960 to 1980, lasting 134 issues. It was created by comic-book writer-artist Joe Simon, who also edited the title until the late 1960s. Sick was published by Crestwood Publications until issue #62 , when it was taken over by Hewfred Publications...
, while still studying at the Art School of the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts.
He illustrated a piece in Mad
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
issue #357 (1997), titled "The Mad World of Religion," written by Rick Rodgers.
Odd Rods and other Stickers
In 1969, Taylor created 44 stickers for the Donruss Company'sDonruss
Donruss, currently known as Panini America and owned by Panini Group, manufactures sports cards. The company started in the 1950s, producing confectionery, evolved into Donruss and started producing trading cards. During the 1960s and 1970s Donruss produced entertainment-themed trading cards...
group of non-sports trading card/sticker series, Odd Rods
Odd Rods
Odd Rods was a group of non-sports trading card/sticker series created by the Donruss company beginning in 1969. The original series, entitled Odd Rods, introduced the theme of the series in 44 stickers: Monsters in cars. Done by cartoonist/illustrator/writer B.K...
. The series proved very popular with schoolchildren of the time, resulting in a string of sequel series.
In 1988, Taylor created more collectable stickers for Leaf/Donruss
Donruss
Donruss, currently known as Panini America and owned by Panini Group, manufactures sports cards. The company started in the 1950s, producing confectionery, evolved into Donruss and started producing trading cards. During the 1960s and 1970s Donruss produced entertainment-themed trading cards...
, "Awesome All*Stars," a spoof of baseball cards featuring humorously grotesque monsters. There were 99 cards in the series.
In 1989, for Leaf/Donruss
Donruss
Donruss, currently known as Panini America and owned by Panini Group, manufactures sports cards. The company started in the 1950s, producing confectionery, evolved into Donruss and started producing trading cards. During the 1960s and 1970s Donruss produced entertainment-themed trading cards...
, Taylor created Baseball's Greatest Gross Outs, featuring more cartoon parodies of baseball players with names like "Long-arm Lenny" and "Garlic-breath Gary." The set featured 88 stickers as well as a repeat of some of those stickers with a 36-cardback poster.
In 1983 He did another set of collector sticker cards called Zero Heroes, featuring tragically flawed superheroes with names like "The Fantastic Fast Guy," "Lard Lady," and "Milk Man." Each card had a short bio of its character on the back, featuring the character's origin and final outcome. Zero Heroes was a joint venture between General Mills and Donruss
Donruss
Donruss, currently known as Panini America and owned by Panini Group, manufactures sports cards. The company started in the 1950s, producing confectionery, evolved into Donruss and started producing trading cards. During the 1960s and 1970s Donruss produced entertainment-themed trading cards...
. There were 66 cards in the set, including a few non-character designs with various Zero Hero logos, a medal, a name tag, and a do-not-enter sign (presumably for a young boy's or girl's bedroom door).
Muppet Consultant
In 1974 he became a puppeteer on Detroit-produced the Hot FudgeHot Fudge
Hot Fudge is an American children's television series that was produced in Detroit by WXYZ-TV and distributed by the Lexington Broadcast Services Company...
Show, a children's entertainment show starring Arte Johnson
Arte Johnson
Arthur Stanton Eric "Arte" Johnson is an American comic actor. Johnson was a regular on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. His best-remembered "character" was that of a German soldier with the catchphrase: "Verrrry interesting, but...['stupid', 'not very funny', and other variations]".-Early life:Johnson...
. At the same time, he worked for Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
as a puppeteer and puppet designer. He is listed in the credits of the 1975 production, The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence
The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence
The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence aired on ABC on March 19, 1975. It was one of the two pilots produced for The Muppet Show. The other pilot, The Muppets Valentine Show, aired in 1974....
, as Muppet Creative Consultant. He's done character design for Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
(Sam the Robot) and The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
(Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem
Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem is the name of a Muppet rock band of The Muppet Show. Following The Muppet Show, they appeared in various Muppet movies and television specials, and have also recorded album tracks. Dr. Teeth and Animal were designed by Jim Henson, while the rest of the original...
). He was a writer and designer for Nickelodeon's
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
Eureeka's Castle
Eureeka's Castle
Eureeka's Castle is an American children's television series that aired on Nickelodeon from September 4, 1989 to June 30, 1995.-Synopsis:The show follows various puppet characters , including Eureeka, a sorceress in training. She and her friends live in a wind-up castle music box owned by a...
and "Time for Manners," for which he also created backgrounds.
National Lampoon
From 1975-1987, Taylor created a run of comic pages for the "Funny Pages" section of National Lampoon, including "Timberland Tales," "The Appletons," and "Stories from Uncle Kunta" His work first appeared in the 1975 special edition "National Lampoon's Very Large Book of Comical Funnies" with the comic strip "The Appletons," a family feature which supposedly ran in the 1950s. In October 1976, Taylor's "Timberland Tales" first appeared in the "Funny Pages" section of the National Lampoon. Over the next ten years, both strips ran in that section regularly, alternating from issue to issue.Children's magazines
Taylor also contributed illustrations to children's magazines, including Highlights for ChildrenHighlights for Children
Highlights for Children is an American children's magazine. It began publication in June 1946, started by Garry Cleveland Myers and his wife Caroline Clark Myers in Honesdale, Pennsylvania...
and Scholastic's Hot dog! and Dynamite
Dynamite (magazine)
Dynamite was a magazine for children founded by Jenette Kahn and published by Scholastic Press from 1974 until 1992. Kahn edited the first three issues. Then the next 109 issues were edited by Jane Stine, wife of children's author R.L. Stine. The first issue, Dynamite #1, was dated March 1974 and...
. In Hot dog! his illustrations were featured in a regular piece called "It’s Not Fair!," a page of reader-submitted jokes based on the theme of unfairness, the best of which would be selected to appear in the next month’s issue with an accompanying illustration by B.K.
Book illustration
Taylor's work has appeared in Scholastic Books, such as 101 Silly Monster Jokes and 101 Nutty Nature Jokes as well as books for Sesame StreetSesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, such as Sesame Street 1, 2, 3 Storybook: Stories About the Numbers from 1 to 10. He has worked on several other humorous titles, including Would Somebody Please Send Me to My Room! A Hilarious Look at Family Life and I Run, Therefore I Am—Nuts!
Home Improvement
From 1991 to 1995, Taylor co-wrote five episodes of the popular Home Improvement:- "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (1992)
- "Read My Hips" (1992)
- "I'm Scheming of a White Christmas" (1992)
- "'Twas the Blight Before Christmas" (1993)
- "Swing Time" (1994)
Disney
Taylor has also worked as a creative consultant for Walt Disney Feature AnimationWalt Disney Feature Animation
Walt Disney Animation Studios is an American animation studio headquartered in Burbank, California. The studio, founded in 1923 as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio by brothers Walt and Roy Disney, is the oldest subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
on Mulan, and other projects.
Movie design work
He was a production designer, costume designer, and voice actor for the 1989 movie, Moontrap. with Walter Koenig and Bruce Campbell.sticker sets
- Odd RodsOdd RodsOdd Rods was a group of non-sports trading card/sticker series created by the Donruss company beginning in 1969. The original series, entitled Odd Rods, introduced the theme of the series in 44 stickers: Monsters in cars. Done by cartoonist/illustrator/writer B.K...
(1969 - 44 stickers) - Odder Odd Rods (1970 – 66 stickers)
- Oddest Odd Rods (1970 – 66 stickers, numbered 67-132)
- Odd Rod All Stars (1971 – 66 stickers reprinted from the previous 3 series)
- Fabulous Odd Rods (1973 – a reprint of Odder Odd Rods)
- Fantastic Odd Rods series 1 (1973 – a reprint of Oddest Odd Rods, retaining the 67-132 numbering)
- Fantastic Odd Rods series 2 (66 new stickers numbered 1-66)
- Awesome All*Stars (1988 - 99 stickers)
- Baseball's Great Gross Outs (1989 - 88 stickers)
comic strips
In National Lampoons "Funny Pages" section, Taylor alternated between two and sometimes three strips of his creation:- "The Appletons: A Saga of an American Family" - featured Helen, the earnest and clueless mom; Kathy and Bobby, the mischievous and somewhat less clueless kids; and Norm, the mischievous and subversive dad (imagine Ward Cleaver with a penchant for elaborate and dangerous practical jokes).
- "Timberland Tales" - featured Doctor Rogers, an earnest Mark Trail-type; his girlfriend Kathleen; Maurice the Indian Boy ("some call him the joker"), an unbelievably naive and bulbous teenager; and Constable Tom ("rumored to have a small amount of brain damage"), a dimwitted, musclebound Canadian Mountie. The latter two characters were featured much more frequently.
- "Stories of Uncle Kunta" - a less frequently run comic featuring a narrative format with impossible tall tales told to two white children by Uncle Kunta, a satiric cross between Walt Disney's Uncle Remus and Kunta Kinte from Roots, the blockbuster TV mini-series of the time.
Awards
Taylor’s work has been recognized with several awards:- Inkpot AwardInkpot AwardThe Inkpot Award, bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International, is given to some of the professionals in comic book, comic strip, animation, science fiction, and related pop-culture fields, who are guests of that organization's yearly multigenre fan convention, commonly known as...
from Comic-Con InternationalComic-Con InternationalSan Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
in 1980 - Gold Brick Award
- Caddy AwardsCaddy AwardsThe Caddy Awards were awards handed out between 1989 and 2006 by the now-defunct Detroit Creative Directors Council, for notable advertising created in the Detroit area. The D Awards replaced the Caddy Awards....
(7) - the Funny Bone Award
- ACE Award in 1990 for Eureeka's Castle
- 2010 Reed award for political cartooning
