Peyo

Pierre Culliford known as Peyo (born the June 25th 1928 with Brussels and deceased the December 24th 1992 in Brussels) was a Dessinateur and Scénariste of Belgian Cartoon .

An essential author

The pseudonym “Peyo” was found because the great nephew of the author was unable to pronounce “Pierrot correctly”. He is in particular the author of the Schtroumpfs , series of cartoon, adapted in cartoon in the form of televised series, produced by the american company Hanna Barbera, and longitudinally measuring for the cinema. These characters known in the whole world, and are declined today in all shapes of known derivative products.

He is also the author of the series of cartoon Johan and Pirlouit, Benoît Brisefer and Poussy, and wrote scenarios for other famous series such as Natacha and Jacky and Célestin.

Peyo is universally known to have given rise to the Schtroumpfs . The origins of these amusing blue imps are to be sought side of Johan and Pirlouit , series medieval that Peyo published in the pages of the Journal of Spirou of the Années 1950, is the golden age of the magazine. The popularity of the Schtroumpfs is such as it gave place, inter alia, with a feature film of animation, television series produced by Hanna-Will bore, an amusement park and a broad product range derived.

After studies with royal Academy of the Art schools of Brussels, Culliford enters a studio of animation. This last is not long in going bankrupt, but Peyo had time to become acquainted there with his/her colleagues and soon friendly André Franquin, Morris and Eddy Paape. While earning its living in publicity, it publishes its first cartoon in the Last hour : it names Johan . One second series, Poussy , is born in the tread: it appears in the Evening , which, as of 1950, also publishes Johan, that will accommodate Spirou two years later. At this point in time the series finds its formula final: of blonde, the hair of Johan becomes black. More crucial contribution: this rather dull hero sees himself associating a laughing comparse, Pirlouit. Johan and Pirlouit becomes one of the most popular series of the newspaper. It is as at that time as Peyo adheres to the Communist party.

In the episode entitled the Flute with six holes (1958), the two accomplices discover Schtroumpfs, these strange blue imps. A legendary anecdote court as for the baptism of these creatures. Peyo and Franquin dined in a restaurant when one of them required of the other to pass salt to him. But it modified the devoted formula, “Passes to me salt! ”, from of “to me the schtroumpf Passes! ”: this unpronouncable word will pass to the posterity! Very quickly, the editor association of Spirou , Yvan Delporte, foresees the potential of Schtroumpfs and convinces Peyo to devote a parallel series to them. Their first adventures are appeared as mini-albums, supplements offered in Spirou as of 1959. Success is such as Peyo redraws soon these adventures so that they coincide with a more traditional format. The series continues then in the “normal” pages of Spirou .

Although to the head of two very appreciated series ( Schtroumpfs more still than Johan and Pirlouit ), Peyo launches a news in 1960 from there: Benoit Brisefer . The adventures of this little boy to the supernatural force (force which gives up it nevertheless with the first cold chill) also rise they with the row of traditional. In the tread, Peyo starts again its series Poussy in Spirou and imagines Jacky and Célestin for the Illustrated Evening . The extension of its activities and the growing popularity of the Schtroumpfs push Peyo to create its own studios. It lavishes there its teaching with a generation of young talents, which all will arrive in their turn at success: Walthéry, Derib, Gos, De Gieter, Ben or Marc Wasterlain.

In the Years 1970, Peyo forsakes with majority of the series of which it is occupied to devote its energy to alone Schtroumpfs. International success that the latter at the beginning of the Années 1980 meet makes moreover necessary a reorganization of the activities of the author which delegates the commercial aspects (derivative products, launching of a monthly magazine ( Schtroumpf ), installation of a true management company (Cartoon Creation) to members of its family. Peyo remains with the head of its empire until the moment when an heart attack the terrace in 1992. Irony of fate, it is the same year that its studios leave for the first time new episodes its old series, Johan and Pirlouit and Benoît Brisefer .

Curiosity

In 1976 Franquin worked at Peyo on the album Schtroumpfs and Cracoucass : the father of Gaston Lagaffe draws the large aggressive raptor which terrorizes, throughout this history, the village of the small blue heroes. Little time before Peyo had come to assistance of Franquin on the album Panade of Champignac .

Price

Saint-Michel with Brussels in 1973, for its series Schtroumpfs .
Medal of the " Minerve d' Or" with Paris in 1978, of the hands of the President of the Senate Alain Poher, decreed by the Company of Encouragement to the Good of Honore Arnoul.
Award of the Meilleur cartoon of the year in 1982 for the Studios Hanna-Will bore, with Schtroumpfs .
Alfred with Angouleme in 1984, for the album Schtroumpfs Olympic ( Alfred child , decreed by the class of 6th of the college Jules Verne of the city, with the festival this year)

Quotations

"Of all the authors of cartoon whom I could meet, Peyo was the best teller of histoires." (Delporte)
" It is the quality of a drawing of Peyo: you put his board at the wall, you move back of five meters, you see very well what occurs there: it can draw clearly! " (Franquin)

Criticisms

the Studios TV Animation Dupuis , for the 1 series of cartoons of Schtroumpfs, in the Newspaper of Spirou n° 1255 and 1257 - 1962
Where will they seek them? : presentation of the team surrounding Peyo (Matagne, Gos and Walthéry), in the Newspaper of Spirou n° 1671 - 1970
Schtroumpf - Books of the Cartoon n°12 - 1971 (Peyo file)
Cartoon and cartoons: the Novel of a cartoon , for the animated feature-length film of Schtroumpfs, in the Newspaper of Spirou n° 1966 - 1975
History of Spirou and of the publications Dupuis , by Philippe Brun, ED. Glénat - 1975
Stripschrift n°81/82 - 1975 (Peyo file)
Peyo - bédésup n°13 - 1980 (Schtroumpfs file)
Schtroumpf - Books of the Cartoon n°54 - 1983 (remelted edition)
Incredible but Schtroumpf! : Peyo tells us the fabulous adventure of Schtroumpfs! , in Hello data base n°38 (France n°157) - 1992
Peyo the enchanter , of Hugues Dayez, ED. Niffle - 2003

Documentary televised

Buddies of then , in November 1992 on RTBF: interview by Franck Baudonck
data base: Homage to the gentleman-draftsman Peyo , in 1993 (25 '), realizer Christophe Heili, producers Channel + /TVCF .

Documentary radiophonic

Talks RTBF with Hugues Dayez (cf supra): March 1988, September 1989 and October 1990
Maintenance RTBF with Luc Beyer in the emission Meeting in December 1992

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