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How a cat launched Film Roman
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Phil Roman, founder of Film Roman
Mention the cantankerous cat, Garfield, and everyone knows who you are talking about. A name behind the incredible Emmy winning TV specials is equally well known in animation circles as well. That name is Phil Roman, founder of Film Roman, a name seen on the credits of most of The Simpson’s.
It was the late animator/producer, Bill Melendez who gave Phil Roman his first really big break some years after Roman had left Disney Studios to branch out on his own. “Bill Melendez was an incredibly warm and generous man,” Roman said. “One day he approached me about taking over the direction of Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving. Of course I was eager to direct and the next day, everything was on my desk.”
Roman directed some sixteen special animated features at Melendez Studios, fifteen of them receiving Emmy nominations and three of those actually won the award. Roman had not come to Melendez without prior directing experience, however. In San Francisco he had directed the Charlie the Tuna commercials for Starkist Tuna. The line, “Sorry, Charlie, Starkist wants tuna that tastes good, not tuna with good taste,” became a catch phrase in the 1960s.
Roman and Melendez parted on good terms when Phil wanted to try his hand at running his own company. He certainly had the credentials having worked at Disney, with Chuck Jones, Melendez, and Fritz Freleng, some of the giants of animation. By coincidence, Lee Mendelson, executive producer of the Peanuts specials, happened to mention the Garfield project and asked Roman if he would be interested. In short order, Roman and a few associates were set up in a small office in Toluca Lake, Califoria. The first special was Garfield in the Rough which won an Emmy that year.
An interesting side story was the casting of Lorenzo Music as the voice of Garfield. Music had been featured as Carlton the Doorman on the Rhoda Show. CBS had done a special on Carlton and was contemplating doing more. It wasn’t until CBS shelved the specials that Music was free to do Garfield’s voice. The casting was perfect.
“The rest,” Roman said, “is history.” And what a history it has been. Film Roman went on to do more Garfield specials, a Saturday morning Garfield show, Bobby’s World, and the animated theatrical, Tom and Jerry—The Movie. That association started a personal friendship with the legendary Joe Barbera.
From a handful of animators who were personal friends working in the small Toluca Lake office, Film Roman grew into an organization of more than 500 people. The company produces The Simpsons and King of the Hill for Fox Network.
After selling Film Roman, he started Phil Roman Entertainment which has produced Christmas in Gaudinia and Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. Other projects are in the works.
Looking back on his long and successful career, Phil Roman speaks warmly of other people in the world of animation who helped him along the way. “Back then,” he said, “aspiring animators went to the studios with a portfolio showing examples of their work. Today, they come in with a video they produced. Back then, I was working with artists, people who knew the ins and outs of producing an animated feature. We laughed together and worked together and helped each other out. Today, it’s more of a business of suits running the show. It’s a different world.”
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