Friday, February 22, 2013

Happy Birthday, Edward Gorey!

Edward Gorey, an American writer and artist, was born in Chicago on February 22, 1925. He is perhaps best known for his many delightfully dark illustrated books, which have attained somewhat of a cult status. He also created the animated introduction to the PBS series, Mystery, in 1980, and designed the sets and costumes for the 1977 broadway production of Dracula, starring Frank Langella, for which he won a Tony Award for Best Costume Design and was nominated for Best Scenic Design.



Erudite and charmingly eccentric, Edward Gorey was known for having both a profound love of cats, of which he had many, and the ballet, which he attended regularly. He was also a shameless fan of popular culture and had a particular fondness for dark genre series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Batman: The Animated Series, and The X-Files.



Upon his death, on April 15, 2000, he left the bulk of his estate to a charitable trust for cats, dogs, bats and insects. His home in Cape Cod, called the Elephant House, is now the Edward Gorey House Museum, and continues to support his work for animal welfare.

Google have commemorated the 88th anniversary of Edward Gorey's birth with a Google Doodle!





 I'd also like to wish a very Happy Birthday to my son, James, who just happens to share his special day with Mr Gorey!



Posted by Little Gothic Horrors at 11:09 AM
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16 comments:

  1. Dr. ThedaFebruary 22, 2013 at 2:30 PM

    Thank you dear Lady Emma.... for reminding us of this great artists birthday ... I will make a post as well ... Hope that you are well and the weather is good...

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    1. Little Gothic HorrorsFebruary 22, 2013 at 2:36 PM

      My pleasure, Dr. Theda! I look forward to seeing your post. It's still quite hot here. I hope it's not too cold on your side of the world?! :)

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  2. linnea-mariaFebruary 22, 2013 at 9:36 PM

    Happy birthday to James! :)
    Oh I tried to go to google.com but ended up at google.se all the time :( So thanks for sharing the google doodle. I loved the lady's bat hat in the theme (beginning) that would make a perfect halloween costume for me :)

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    1. Little Gothic HorrorsFebruary 23, 2013 at 9:12 AM

      Hi linnea-maria,

      Thank you! James is very excited to get a birthday greeting all the way from Sweden! :D

      Because I'm in Australia, I'm lucky enough to see the Google Doodle a lot sooner than most of the rest of the world, so it's my pleasure to give my online friends a sneak peek at what's coming.

      Yes, that bat hat is fabulous and would make an excellent Halloween costume! :)

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  3. Ms MisantropiaFebruary 22, 2013 at 10:20 PM

    Happy Birthday boys!
    Gotta love a man who loves animals and Buffy :)

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    1. Little Gothic HorrorsFebruary 23, 2013 at 9:16 AM

      Hi Ms Misantropia,

      Thank you! I know my boy very much appreciates your birthday greeting and I'm quite sure Mr Gorey does too! :)

      "Gotta love a man who loves animals and Buffy." Ha! I absolutely agree!

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  4. donFebruary 23, 2013 at 1:49 AM

    really love those illustrations, and really who dose not love cats

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    1. Little Gothic HorrorsFebruary 23, 2013 at 9:20 AM

      Hi don,

      I picked a few of my favourite Gorey illustrations to put together for this post. I love that Edward Gorey was so devoted to his cats. It only makes him more wonderful in my eyes. :)

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  5. NightwindFebruary 23, 2013 at 3:11 AM

    I'm in total agreement about books and cats.

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    1. Little Gothic HorrorsFebruary 23, 2013 at 10:45 AM

      Hi Nightwind,

      Yes, I love that quote! Books + Cats = Bliss!

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  6. Insomniac's AtticFebruary 23, 2013 at 1:58 PM

    Happy birthday to James! He is a lucky boy to be in such illustrious company! Did he get anything Gorey-related for his special day? ;o)

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    1. Little Gothic HorrorsFebruary 25, 2013 at 10:48 AM

      Hi Insomniac's Attic,

      "Thank you!" from James! :)

      No, he didn't get anything Gorey-related for his birthday, but he does appreciate that he's got a cool "birthday buddy". Haha. Actually, we discovered that Dwight Frye, who played Renfield in the 1931 version of 'Dracula', is also on February 22, so he was quite impressed with that too.

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    2. Insomniac's AtticFebruary 26, 2013 at 1:23 PM

      Wow, February 22 is an auspicious day indeed! Renfield, no less! :D

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    3. Little Gothic HorrorsMarch 1, 2013 at 11:34 AM

      Haha! Well, Dracula might have been better, but Renfield will do at a pinch. ;)

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  7. AlisonFebruary 24, 2013 at 5:20 AM

    Talk about a blast from the past! I remember watching the Mystery series on PBS, years ago. I love those illustrations.

    Ali

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    1. Little Gothic HorrorsFebruary 25, 2013 at 10:51 AM

      Hi Ali,

      As far as I know, we didn't ever get 'Mystery' in Australia, so the animated introduction to the show is more of a recent discovery for me, but I just love it! :D

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