LISA DENTON: Barry, you know a lot of my nicknames, which don’t have to be repeated here, even the ones that are appropriate for a family newspaper. But have I ever told you about “Mama Smurf”?
That name was bestowed on me by a former co-worker (shout-out to Cathy Crawley!). She could never really explain the why of it, only that of all the people she knew, I was the Smurfiest.
I take it as a compliment.
BARRY COURTER: I think I have a new one or you – “The Randomnator.”
Lisa Denton and Barry Courter
LISA: I mention it because Ron Campbell, an animator for Hanna-Barbera’s Saturday morning “Smurfs” back in the early ’80s, is in town Tuesday and Wednesday for the opening of Area 61 Gallery in its new space. Turns out, Campbell is responsible for animating cartoons from my formative years (“The Jetsons,” “The Flintstones”) and those of my children (“Rugrats,” “Smurfs”).