UNCLE SAM-I-AM: Happy B-Day Dr. Seuss!
Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, born #OTD, 1904.
Geisel's "Private Snafu" in "RUMORS", WW2 training film, NARA ID 35828. NARA Gif here.
From WW2 malaria awareness campaign, illustrated by Theodor Geisel, National Archives at Atlanta, NARA ID 784001.
Image from WW2 Newsmap story, 5/4/1942, NARA ID 66394991.
WW2 War Bonds poster by Theodor Geisel, NARA ID 515479.
Many WW2 soldiers were young, newly-enlisted men with minimal formal education. To both impart info and improve morale, the Army Motion Picture Unit – headed by Hollywood director Frank Capra – created nearly two dozen "Private Snafu" training films that featured a bumbling new recruit who routinely breaks rules (SNAFU = Situation Normal All Fouled Up). Many "Private Snafu" shorts were written by Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, voiced by Mel Blanc (infamous voice of Bugs Bunny), directed by animation legends Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng, and produced by Warner Bros. Studios.
RUMORS Military Training Film
Dr. Seuss's unique and imaginative style is evident in this "Rumors" training film. Pvt. Snafu chats with another soldier in the bathroom about "nice bombing weather."
It was a bright sunny day, air fresh and clean Not a rumor was stirring, except... in the latrine!
The rumor spreads rapidly, taking the form of hot air.
The hot air is blowing. A rumor is flowing!
The hot air fills giant balloons that then go through the "rumor mill" and become animated flying sausages that swarm the training camp, leading to the base shutdown/quarantine for "RUMOR-ITIS."
Balloon juice - it's phony, but it makes nice baloney!
That's right. Exaggerate it. Stretch it. Multiply it.
Now shoot off your face,
And baloney is flying all over the place!
Even worse, Private Snafu ends up straitjacketed in a psych ward's padded cell #13, where he is tormented by Napoleon Baloney (Bolognaparte?). Lesson learned...
From Theodor Geisel's Military Personnel File, NARA ID 40933952.
Uncle Sam-I-Am: Dr. Seuss’s Private Snafu, by Richard Green, Still Pictures archivist, The Unwritten Record blog.
Dr. Seuss Beyond Snafu: Your Job in Germany, by Audrey Amidon, Motion Picture Preservation Specialist, The Unwritten Record blog.
Dr. Seuss And The War Department, National Archives at Atlanta.
First Lady Michelle Obama reads from Dr. Seuss, White House East Room, Barack Obama Presidential Library, NARA ID 157649364.
Cool that he lived on "Wonderview Dr." in Hollywood! From his military personnel file, NARA ID 4093395
